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Hunter Davies
Wayne Rooney |
Hunter's
in for Wayne
A PHONE call last Friday brought joy to Beatles biographer
Hunter Davies. He was commissioned by HarperCollins to ghost
write the first instalment of a five book contract worth £5-million
signed by the England and Manchester United football star Wayne
Rooney. And he has the option to write the second volume too,
the subject of which has yet to be chosen.
“He’s only 20 and I’m old enough to be his grandfather,”
says Hunter, now 70 and already with two grandchildren of his
own.
“It’s going to be exciting and a lot of hard work,
as the first book has to be done by late July, just after the
World Cup.” He is going to do well out of the deal, but
not that well.
“You have to fight for royalties, as well as fee,”
he explained at his home in Boscastle Road, Kentish Town. “I’m
going to get a good wack, but I haven’t done as well as
I have on the royalties for my Paul Gascoigne, Gazza, bestseller.”
Indeed, Hunter, author of an iconic history of Tottenham Hotspur
– he supports them as well as his home town team of Carlisle
United – was at first reluctant to do the Rooney book when
he was dramatically told he was on a short-list of three writers
chosen for the task.
“Bloody hell, that’s what I said when HarperCollins
told me, I’m not going in for some beauty contest at my
age,” revealed Hunter, author of 40 books, 14 of them biographies.
“Then I immediately said Yes.” So off he went to meet
the HarperCollins sports director, along with Wayne’s agent,
his brand manager, and his PR consultant.
“They were all in suits in the boardroom,” he said.
“And there was Wayne in hoodie top and trackie bottoms.
He seemed calm and relaxed, and not at all arrogant. That was
the first time we had met.”
Hunter made his pitch, basically on the line that he would be
Wayne’s literary Alex Ferguson. “I wanted to be sure
that he wanted an old git like me,” he declared.
And Hunter insisted too on making his own demands and being
assured that he would be given full access to Wayne at all times,
plus the footballer’s own personal archives too, school
reports included.
Now it has been arranged that Hunter will write the main body
of the 80,000 biography – it will cover the whole of Wayne’s
career, not just his childhood – and leave the last 10,000
words for England’s forthcoming challenge to win the World
Cup in Germany.
“I shall phone him every day during he World Cup to find
out his thoughts on what has been happening,” said Hunter.
“It will be a thrill to ring someone in the England dressing
room as the matches are being played. And hearing at first hand
as it is happening. It’s my idea of heaven.” |
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