蜜芽传媒

Former Arsenal and England footballer Ian Wright is castaway by Lauren Laverne

Ian is a former professional footballer and now a football pundit on TV and radio. He began his career at Crystal Palace before moving to Arsenal where he became their highest goal scorer of all time, a record only surpassed eight years later by Thierry Henry.

Born to a Jamaican couple in south-east London, Ian grew up with his mother and stepfather. His biological father had left the family when Ian was under two years old. Things at home were difficult and Ian spent as much time as possible outside playing football.

At his primary school a teacher, Mr Pigden, took him under his wing and Ian would later credit him with changing his life. He left his secondary school at the age of 14 to get a job. Although he took part in trials for many professional football clubs as a teenager, he was never selected. He continued to play for amateur sides. By the age of 21, he had three children to provide for, so when Crystal Palace came calling in 1985, he turned them down three times before accepting a two-week trial, followed by a three-month contract. His football career had finally begun.

After impressing as a forward at Palace, he was bought by Arsenal for a record fee in 1991. He was called up to the England squad the same year and would go on to collect 33 caps. He spent his last couple of years in professional football at a number of clubs around the country and in total, he played 581 league games, scoring 387 goals for seven clubs in England and Scotland. Since his retirement from football in 2000, he has had a career as a pundit on both TV and radio.

He has eight children and has been happily married to his second wife, Nancy, since 2011.

DISC ONE: Mozart - The Marriage of Figaro / Edith Mathis & Gundula Janowitz, Orchestra of the German Opera, Berlin, conducted by Karl B枚hm - Sull'aria
DISC TWO: Kirk Franklin - Looking For You
DISC THREE: Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep - Mountain High
DISC FOUR: Bob Marley & The Wailers - Redemption Song
DISC FIVE: MFSB - Mysteries of the World
DISC SIX: Randy Crawford - Endlessly
DISC SEVEN: Stormzy - Crown
DISC EIGHT: Mary J. Blige - Just Fine

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Randy Crawford - Endlessly
BOOK CHOICE: Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
LUXURY CHOICE: 7-iron and some golf balls

Producer: Cathy Drysdale

First broadcast on 蜜芽传媒 Radio 4 in February 2020.

Show less