Hull City in the 80s: Revisit dramatic era in book launch at The Three Tuns
By Simon Bristow
Hull City fans are being invited to rekindle one of the most dramatic eras in the club’s history in an evening of conversation and music at the Three Tuns pub this Friday.
The free event, which starts at 7pm, revisits the Tigers of the 1980s, and celebrates the launch of a new book, Not All-Ticket: From Withernsea High to Boothferry Park Halt, by first-time author Richard Lusmore.
There will be a discussion of the Mike Smith / Don Robinson / Colin Appleton / Brian Horton period, including “the good times and the bad but also some long-awaited glory years”, organisers say.
There will also be a performance by Hull musician Ian “Biz” Beharrell, formerly of the Mighty Strike, and who is featured in the book, which has a foreword by promotion-winning manager Brian Horton.
The evening will conclude with 80s music played by former Spiders DJ Chris Von Trapp.
Fans of the period will no doubt be familiar with the Three Tuns, which was packed for home games and just a short walk away from the club’s then home at Boothferry Park.
Set in the 80s, the book chronicles the life of the club through the eyes of a young fan from rural East Yorkshire. From relegation and receivership to the “Robinson renaissance”, Lusmore experiences a rollercoaster of emotions, culminating in dismay at perhaps the most contentious managerial dismissal in City history.
In the process, he charts a course through his coming of age, capturing how it feels to follow an unfashionable team in an often unloved city. He flirts with rival sporting attractions, then tosses them aside in favour of the small-fry team in this “tatty fish town”.
The football-fuelled adrenalin rush is soon replicated in his first forays into the local music and club scene. Discovering the delights of Hull after dark, he soon realises that Saturday is about much more than just the match.
“First-hand terrace tales and musical memories abound in this uplifting memoir”, book publisher Pitch says. You can buy a copy here.
Lusmore was co-editor of the first two Hull City fanzines, and is a “self-confessed Easington United nerd”, having been his local club’s press officer since 1988, and for 21 years editor of their award-winning matchday programme.