Three Degrees West

06 September 2003

"If one is looking at a roll call of black heroes then the Three Degrees are up there with the likes of Muhammad Ali and others of that sort of achievement" - Piara Powar

Radio Four is an unlikely place to find programmes about West Bromwich Albion, but Monday morning, September 8th, at 11:00 is one rare exception. In the programme "Three Degrees West", Garth Crookes tells the story of Football?s Three Degrees - the impact they made and the legacy they left behind.

"It was radical. West Bromwich Albion was a focal point of a serious change in black football having three black players who were breaking down serious barriers" - Cyrille Regis

From the summer of punk, through the winter of discontent, Laurie Cunningham, Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson lit up English football

"They had great attitude and ability... it doesn?t matter what colour you are, it's who you are that counts" - Ron Atkinson

They rose above unprecedented racist taunts to deliver some of the most memorable soccer of football?s flair era

"There is a defiance... we went to a lot of places, got a lot of abuse but came away with the points - so that did give you a lot of satisfaction" - Brendon Batson

They were lynch pins in an exciting West Brom team that charmed fans, pundits and lovers of the game

"They were part of a pop star culture. Big Ron created a footballing band that got on stage on every Saturday" - football historian Phil Vasili

The Three Degrees broke down the mythology and prejudice that black players couldn?t hack the rigours of English football - they were an inspiration for subsequent generations of back players

"They said if Cyrille Regis can do it , I can do it, so retrospectively, we can say we had an impact on black boys in this country" - Cyrille Regis

The Three Degrees 'split' when Laurie Cunningham joined Real Madrid in 1979. He died in a car crash in ten years later. Cyrille Regis remains a respected figure in football and a hero among Britain?s black community and Brendon Batson, when the programme was made, was English football?s most senior black administrator.

"There is no doubt we came through a time that was a bit special" - Brendon Batson

The programme interviews a whole host of well known names connected with Albion, including Cyrille Regis, Brendon Batson, Ron Atkinson, John Wile, Tony Grealish, Darren Moore and club journalist and co-author of "Samba in the Smethwick", Dave Bowler, and has been produced by dedicated Albion fan Chris Green. Chris told BOING:

"We've had to play down some of the more football specific side of things, like the 5-3 win over Man United, and the reasons we didn't win the League title, but overall I'm very pleased with the programme. Brendon, Cyrille, Big Ron, Big Dave and Tony Grealish did us proud, as did fans like Adrian Goldberg and Head Albion Ultra, Darren Ward - and folks like Bob Downing and Lord Tarsem King chipped in well too. Garth was well up for it and Piara Powar likened their influence to Muhammed Ali, and Phil Vasili compared Laurie to George Best. There's some very moving stuff in there, although sadly we couldn't find any archived material about Laurie's death. Musically, it's a treat even though "Oh West Bromwich Albion" really had to be included!"

Latest: Although the programme has now been broadcast on Radio 4, it can still be heard through the "Listen Again" feature on the BBC web site.

Previous Stories:

  04 September 2003:  Preston fail in penalty appeal

  04 September 2003:  Pompey: We can buy Jason

  02 September 2003:  Reserves switch venue

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