Currently on show at the IKON Gallery in Brindley Place is an exhibition by Birmingham born artist Dean Kelland. Kelland spent four years undertaking an artist residency at HMP Grendon between 2019 and 2023, working with imprisoned men to explore creativity and culture within their own experience. The exhibition, entitled Imposter Syndrome, draws themes of masculinity and cultural production together in a variety of ways, especially though a series of pieces called Tin Soldiers. The work uses images found by the prisoners of ‘cultural icons’ and I was delighted to see, as you can below, that one of those was our very own Tyrone Mings.
Kelland’s work with the imprisoned men at Grendon is not unusual in that it asks us to consider our own cultural icons as part of our identity. A football club is an integral part of many people’s identities so it is no great surprise that cultural ‘producers’ often imbue their own work with links and motifs that align with their own identity – including that of football clubs. Seeing Tyrone’s image feature in Kelland’s work made me think about other examples where Aston Villa has featured or been mentioned in popular culture. It turned out to be some rabbit hole.
The BBC sitcom Porridge ran from 1974 to 1977, with its sequel Going Straight following the next year. Both series featured a character from Birmingham called Lennie Godber, who was an Aston Villa fan, as revealed early in Series 1 during an episode entitled ‘A Night In’. In the episode Godber describes events on the day of a Villa 1968 FA Cup 4th Round tie:
“When I was up in juvenile court and Villa looked like doing well in the cup, I prayed. But I don’t know, it didn’t seem to work out. I got probation and Villa lost to Rotherham one nothing”
The game and result were real – Villa going down to a solitary Jim Storrie goal, securing a win for future Villa manager Tommy Docherty who was Rotherham boss at the time. The Villa side that day featured the recently departed Charlie Aitken at left back.
Another BBC production, the spy drama Spooks also featured an Aston Villa reference in an early series. The episode Nest of Angels featured a radicalised mullah in a Birmingham based mosque and community centre. At one point one of the young radicals being exploited by the mullah, has the following exchange with an Algerian refugee agent working with MI5:
Refugee – ‘Suicide’s a bit extreme even for an Aston Villa fan, don’t you think?’
Radical – ‘What?’
Refugee – ‘Your shirt! It’s Villa, right? Football. It’s one of the finer things in life’
Nothing like poking a bit fun at the Villa to lighten some suicide bombing themes. Although you never see the young martyr’s actual shirt you can see the collar clearly. For my money the shirt Abu Hassan is wearing is the 1997/98 away kit or possibly the 1998/99 home kit both of which featured very similar collars.
It’s perhaps not surprising to see that Villa are referenced in the Birmingham set drama Peaky Blinders albeit a show more readily with our city neighbours. In the Season 4-episode Heathens character Charlie Strong is arming locals, in essence, to become de facto bodyguards for the Shelby family. As part of the security process one man is asked to prove he is from the local area by naming the current Aston Villa goalkeeper. He answers with Tommy Jackson, a correct answer that is enough for Strong to issue the weapon – he does also name the Blues goalkeeper of the time for good measure.
Jackson made 186 appearances for Villa, having taken over from the legendary England goalkeeper Sam Hardy, when Hardy left for Nottingham Forest in 1921. Often having to compete with Cyril Spiers for the goalkeeping spot, Jackson was on the losing side in the 1924 Cup Final.
There are numerous other snippets of Aston Villa in multiple film and television productions, some more random than others. Here are a few more:
The 2010 feature film, starring Martin Sheen, called The Way features a character called Jack whose Villa bag is clear for all to see:
In Mr Bean Goes to Town (1991) the episode ends with a Villa Arsenal game playing on multiple TV screens in a shop window as Rowan Atkinson’s character walls past. The commentary on the TVs mentions England but you can clearly see Villa in the white Mita Copiers 1990 away kit. The game is likely to be the televised clash in April 1991 when Villa got stuffed 5-0 at Highbury. Less said of that the better, but the game is memorable for the sight of David Platt having to play in goal after Nigel Spink had been stretchered off. Bizarrely he even had to wear an Arsenal jersey for a short time, several years before he joined the Gunners.
If that is all fairly random, then imagine seeing Julian Joachim on a TV in the feature film Hannibal (2001). Yes, that really did happen:
There are also some good examples of Villa featuring in music and song. In a remix of Stormzy’s track Sore, Jack Grealish is namechecked:
You don’t live the life, you just dream it,
Don’t mind them boys, they don’t mean it,
If I slap your face, you’re gonna feel it
Slide in the middle like Grealish
Comedian Lenny Henry meanwhile took an opportunity to have a swipe at Villa in his spook of Michael Jackson’s Thriller video, riffing that the Zombies he was encountering ‘looked like fans of Aston Villa’
Perhaps the best musical link is to the song Holte End Hotel by Stephen Duffy and featuring Nigel Kennedy. Some lovely lyrics are below:
Holte End Hotel
Where I live all year around
In my dream
Where I live by the ground
I’ll meet you where the lane from Witton stalls
They hurry when the voice of football calls
Holte End Hotel
Falling down, down, down, down
Ballroom days
Lochhead plays, balding crown
The ‘Lochhead’ mention of course is Andy Lochhead who played 131 times for Villa including the 1971 League Cup Final and drove the team to promotion from Division 3.
Duffy’s song seems an apt way to close out a divergent journey through some cultural references to our beloved Villa.
There’s probably a huge amount more and I’d love to hear them.
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One Response
Remember Lennys Thriller spoof that was hilarious. You could hear one or two cheers in the audience when they made the Villa reference 😄
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