The Celtic Star is celebrating the launch of Matt Corr’s new book Majic Stan and the King of Japan with special guests John Hartson and Stephen McManus plus live music from Boolavogue at Celtic Park’s Kerrydale Suite on Thursday 19 October – the 66th Anniversary of Hampden in the Sun, Celtic 7 Rangers 1…from 7pm to midnight. Here we talk to Celtic author Matt Corr who many of you will have met on the Celtic Tours at Paradise….
Q: So Matt, how does it feel to finally be having a book launch, and to be doing it at Celtic Park? And why has it taken so long?
Matt Corr: “Well it’s more than a bit cliched I know but it really is a dream, something I didn’t ever think would happen. Why has it taken so long? Well, a combination of factors really. My first book INVINCIBLE was published three years ago, May 2020, about two months after the COVID19 pandemic produced a lockdown. Lucky white heather!
“My second book was actually a three-way collaboration, Walfrid and the Bould Bhoys, with Liam Kelly and our much-loved and missed friend and colleague David Potter. That came out the following autumn, so once again the lockdown put paid to any hopes of a book launch, which looking back now after David’s sad passing is a source of huge regret.
“My third offering was the official Harry Hood biography, Twice As Good, but delays in getting the books to Glasgow would have seen us trying to do a launch a few weeks before Christmas, so just not viable or fair to folk with so much on their plate at that time. Again, that comes with a huge slice of regret.
“Harry’s eldest daughter Lisa took ill shortly after the book was published in November 2021, and tragically after a long battle we lost her earlier this year. Lisa was the first person to see the book. I drove out to her home on the Saturday morning and she gave me a big hug when she saw her dad’s book was a reality. The family was still hurting, everything still very raw as Harry had only passed away himself around 18 months earlier. I’ll never forget that, and I think about it often. It would have been lovely to share an evening to honour Harry with his family.”
Q: So tell us about this hugely exciting launch event which is happening at the Kerrydale Suite on Thursday 19 October? What can we expect?
Matt Corr: “We’re looking to achieve much more than a book launch. As Bertie always said, “people want to be entertained.” It should be a really brilliant ‘Celtic night’ with something for supporters of all ages. I’m thrilled that our headline guest is John Hartson, as that ‘Majic, Stan and The King of Japan’ season was pretty special for him.
As one of the few remaining ‘old guard’ superstars from the Martin O’Neill era, he really stepped up to the plate during that campaign, scoring another 20 goals to take him past the 100-mark for the club. Not too many have achieved that over the years, and just to seal it, he scored the title-winning goal…on his birthday no less!
“It would turn out to be his final season at Celtic, and John is always great value in his Q&A sessions with the support, and sticks up for our club at every opportunity, so I’m really interested to hear his thoughts on that time.
“We’ve also got Stephen McManus coming along to talk about his breakthrough season as a Celtic player and, of course, New Year’s Day 2006 when Celtic were 2-1 down at Tynecastle with just a minute or two left on the clock and Big Mick didn’t just score once to earn us a point, he grabbed a double to win the match and really set us on the road to the title. We’re looking to add other special Celtic guests as well – we’ve already got another one confirmed – but no spoilers at the moment!
Q: It sounds like the Celtic chat is going to be awesome but there’s also live music on the night too?
Matt Corr: “Well it’s a Celtic night, so we need music, and that will be provided by the wonderful Boolavogue, a band who play our songs from the heart as they are both huge Celtic men. I met the lead singer Smiddy in Bodo, would you believe, then again recently at Pittodrie. When Boolavogue met @Boola_vogue! I’m delighted that they have agreed to play for us that evening. It will be superb.
“I’m really looking forward to hearing them play at the Kerrydale. Our stories and our songs, with one song in particular being very appropriate. That night just happens to be the anniversary of Hampden in the Sun, where “Willie Fernie scored as well.” That will give us the perfect excuse, not that we needed one, to celebrate the life of David Potter, who wrote Willie’s biography with the Fernie family. It will also be the anniversary of the untimely death of another hugely popular young Celt in Johnny Doyle, so you can assume it will be an emotional night, as most Celtic gatherings tend to be.
“By the way, the trophy won on that unforgettable day in October 1957 – the League Cup – will be on display to provide a brilliant photo opportunity, and it will have a ‘plus one’ in the shape of the SPFL trophy. Those were the two trophies won by Gordon Strachan’s men in that remarkable first season of 2005/06, which of course the ‘Majic’ book is all about.”
Q: Why did you write about that season?
Matt Corr: “A number of reasons really, but first and foremost I feel that the achievements of Gordon’s sides in that post-O’Neill era don’t get the recognition they deserve, and we always try to address that, whether it be individuals or events involved. It was an incredibly difficult situation Gordon inherited in so many ways, yet against all the odds he built a new team who would end the season as double-trophy winners. Some of the players he brought in would become legends – Shunsuke Nakamura and Artur Boruc the most obvious of those perhaps – whilst others already were, my own personal dream coming true when Roy Keane pulled on those famous Hoops.
“And it’s Celtic so there is sadness, as we lost the man considered to be the greatest-ever Celt, Jimmy Johnstone, then played in another very special League Cup final in his honour a few days later. Real Celtic theatre with not a dry eye in the house. And we had the first signs of illness of another great Celtic redhead, which wouldn’t end well. There’s also a final positive twist in the book which involves another former hero, but I’m saying no more on that!”
Q: Any final message for those considering going along?
Matt Corr: “There’s nothing quite like a Celtic night, when we all get together to remember our triumphs, share a few beers, songs and laughs and listen to our heroes. And you get to do it at Celtic Park! It will be a Carlsberg Thursday, so if you can make it along then we would be delighted to see you there. Tickets went on sale last night, just after we got the artwork back from Stephen, our graphic designer who makes all the Celtic Star Books look so special. So we posted that on The Celtic Star and five minutes later the news broke that Michael Beale had been sacked! Despite that distraction, the tickets for the Kerrydale are going like hot cakes so it’s sure to be a busy and enjoyable night for everyone coming along.
Q: Will the new book be available on the night and where can readers get their tickets?
Matt Corr: “Yes the book will have arrived and will be available for the first time at the Kerrydale night before it goes into the Celtic stores the next day. Everyone who has already ordered a book will also be receiving their copy at that point. Hopefully you’ll get your copy signed by our guests and your photo taken with the two trophies, we might even see if we can have the Scottish Cup there too! I can only ask. There’s lots more happening on the night too and tickets are on sale now via our Celtic Star Books website, just click in the image below. ”
