Peter Beardsley

I just met him at Croft Park. He was eating an apple and I was too shy to talk to him so I just shook his hand and walked off.

Has anyone had a less glamourous celebrity encounter? Share your stories of tongue-tied awkwardness here.

 

Malcolm McDonald parked his car on my foot in 1974. Instead of reversing off it, he just turned the wheel. The twat.

 

I think I've mentioned this, but I gave Michael Fish a few 'hand gestures' when he cut us up in Knutsford

 

I saw Adam Johnson in Pets at Home in Hartlepool about two weeks ago. My partner went to school with him and I played against him a couple of times for my school.

He saw us both, smiled and got in his Range Rover with his newly purchased dog bed.

 

Mrs P and I were staying at the Jesmond Dene Hotel for a special occasion. We were woken up at about 05:30am by a succession of strange noises and thuds from the room above. Went on for about 15 minutes. Annoying, but not enough to get me out of bed at that time to complain. I did have a moan to the concierge the next day who nodded knowingly - "Oh not again. Sorry, we have Uri Geller staying with us. He likes to get up early and do his routine of morning exercises in his room. We have asked him already to tone it down......."

Never did like the Michael Jackson loving spoon bending twat.

 

I met Beardsley in Fenwicks when i was 15(ish) back in 96/97 (around). I was putting a snooker cue back and he asked if he could have a look at it. I was midway through handing it over before i realised who it was, said nothing and he mumbled "tar". It may be a Beardsley thing, legend that he is.

 

When we signed Nicky Butt I rang into the legends to say how pleased I was. Supermac slaughtered me and Gatesy and Bernie stuck up for me. I compared him to Batty and Supermac said 'Batty took us back a decade and Butt will never make it'.
Two weeks later I was in a pub in Consett watching a dodgy foreign feed and low and behold Supermac walks in and say next to me.
I told him who I was and after a bit of banter he said 'wait until the end of today then... let's see how he does'... Butt had a mare and I had egg on my face.
Couldn't resist asking him about why he left the Fulham managers job though (a whiff of controversy) which promptly shut him up at the end.

 

Was in a rather swish Italian eatery with a colleague having dinner, when Bryan Ferry sat at the table next to ours. He was literally only a shoulders width away to the side of me, but diagonal to my colleague who said nothing.
I left it for a while thinking maybe my colleague was just being uber cool, but eventually said to them, do you know that's Bryan Ferry from Roxy Music?
My colleague just looked at me and said "who" with a very puzzled expression, I felt about a million years old and rather foolish for being a little overawed in the presence of someone my companion didn't even know.
Enough to say it kind of killed the moment and l never said Hello to Mr Ferry.

 

I once "met" the Hartlepool keeper. I was about 12 or 13 standing in an almost empty Rink End. Someone took a shot an it ended up behind the goal. I got the ball and kicked it back to the keeper, but as I did, my slip on shoe flew off and ended up near the penalty spot. The referee held the game up while the keeper retrieved my shoe......

 

I've met Peter on a number of occasions. He's everything good about the Geordie nation. A true gentleman.

 

I HAVE RETURNED! (Too no one who remembers me..)

I live in Tranmere, a small town just outside of Liverpool, and the birthplace of Ryan Taylor! I was about 7 years old in an Italian restaurant with my parents, when I had a light tap on the shoulder. It was the manager, informing me that a player from the local team Tranmere Rovers, was just across the room eating alone, and I was quickly given a piece of paper and prompted to get his autograph.

Now, me having Geordie parents and a Geordie upbringing, didn't have a ****ing clue who this guy was. But nevertheless I walked over, I approached the man and kindly asked if I could have his autograph. He looked at me in confusion clearly he's not been asked often, and started to sign the piece of paper. He then asked the dreaded question..

"So what team do you support mate?" I was caught off guard and felt extremely awkward.. "Err..Tranmere.." I said non convincingly he looked at and simply said "I'm guessing the manager forced you over here?" I snatched the autograph and ran away, that is the most awkward time I can remember..

 

When travelling to Fulham by train a few years back (First Class by the way), Alan Shearer was in the same carriage. Once he realised we wern't going to be twats by give him abuse or telling other Sunderland fans that he was on the train, he actually came up and asked if he could join us..To cut a long story short he offered a hand shake before getting off the train, which I excepted on the terms of begrudged respect.. That day my whole perception of Shearer changed, as I found him to be both humble and sociable which in all honesty didn't expect.

 

Warren Barton at Boldon Cinema he was with his kids and was very friendly.

 

I have a story about Beardo that paints him in a different light. A mate was playing a Sunday league game years ago at Ponteland Leisure Centre (lovely pitches they were)

After his game finished he noticed a commotion at a kids game across from him. A distressed parent was unhappy with the ref and was remonstrating on the pitch, the language was horrendous, the guy was being a complete prick and a typical pushy parent. He then heard the immortal words "do you know who I am you ****ing twat?" Oh yes it was Beardo. Destroyed the wholesome image we'd all had of the bloke.

I think about it now though as a parent and whilst not excusable, you do lose it when it comes to your kids. I was at a soft play thing the other week and there was a little **** running around pushing kids over, jumping on their heads in the ball pit etc. Parents saw it but said nothing. My little one came over and said "dad that boy has just pushed me over" holding back the tears. I said "you get back in there and smash him in the back, he'll learn". Off she went and carried out my instruction immediately! The look I got off the missus was a classic. It was one of "great you teach her violence is the way to combat violence"

It worked though, he didn't bother her again

 

I once ran into the whole Newcastle team in Legends when younger too. Shaka Hislop quietly sat in the corner clasping his bottle of beer, trying to shrink into his own shadow. Albert was knocking back beers like they were going out of fashion. Warren Barton was playing bigshot at the bar with the barmaid. Darren Peacock was lolloping around like a galloping horse. Gillespie was looking shady as **** talking to some local bad types. Bez, Steve Howey all in high spirits but not shaming themselves. Nothing too bad overall. Then we saw Steve Watson and Lee Clark. They just staggered across the room together absolutely paralytic! Tut tut. Albert seemed amused by their inability to hold their drink. We had a bit crack with Philippe you wouldn't have known he'd been drinking, really nice bloke.

Met Bez a few times at the races in corporate boxes, seems a decent fella

 

You really want to be black and white, don't you? For all you live in Sunderland and are red and white, there's a bit that's really gnawing away at you that makes you be black and white, because you know it's right.

 

They all do really, we're great

Well maybe not at the minute

 

Touche my friend..

 

My geography teacher back in the early 80s was Bryan Ferry's brother-in-law. He was a right git but would bring in signed photos of Bryan for the girls in our class, the slimy git.

 

I was at Newcastle airport at the end of October picking up a mate from Belfast when I saw Shane Ferguson picking up a mate (on the same Belfast flight) in his flash Audi...I drive a classic mini (souped up, deep dish alloys etc.) and I caught him staring at it - I gave him a bit of a sideways nod (like "aye, I caught you staring at my car") and he gave me a sheepish grin and a wave...Felt cool as **** (and very proud of my little car) until I had to drive home in the absolutely brutal snow with headlights that are weaker than the backlight on a 3210!