Steps Ahead: The Laurie Cunningham project moves apace
//Laurie Cunningham in bespoke suit and tie of his own design aged 17, 1973. Photo courtesy Dermot Kavanagh//
Journalist Dermot Kavanagh’s project to celebrate the life and achievements of the late soul boy footballer Laurie Cunningham moves apace; if you have the opportunity, listen to Kavanagh talking to BBC London 94.9’s Robert Elms today.
Kavanagh first contacted me last autumn about his interest in Cunningham’s importance in his field; he was the first black player to represent England (in 1977 as an under-21, scoring a winning goal against Scotland) and the first Englishman to play for Spanish giants Real Madrid (in 1979).
Cunningham – who died aged 33 in a car crash in Spain in 1989 – also occupies in interesting position as an early example of the pop culture footballer, one who apparently rose above the casual and pernicious racism of the period via his engagement with style and music.
//Another country. The cover story on Cunningham in The Sunday Times Magazine, March 1976//
Keen on bespoke tailoring and garments from London’s cutting edge fashion outlets, Cunningham simultaneously embraced the emerging club scene in the 70s as a competition-level dancer.
“I hope to raise awareness about Laurie and his story, which I think is radical and very British, one which deserves to be brought to the attention of a contemporary audience,” Kavanagh told me last autumn.
And now he’s on his way to achieving that objective. In the first public manifestation of his project, Kavanagh has joined forces with Yemisi Blake and Tony Nwachukwu on Steps Ahead, which explores the footballer’s story with young people from the Elthorne Estate in Cunningham’s home turf, Archway.
This is part of the local team initiative Arsenal In The Community, and will culminate in a week of interactive events running from July 25 at a space in Junction Road, London N19.
Read more about Steps Ahead here.
You can hear Kavanagh and Elms after 1pm GMT here.