Still snooker loopy after all these years

Steve Davis is back in Sheffield this month for the Snooker World Championship. He talks to Chris Bond about sport, music and that famous ‘black ball final’ against Dennis Taylor.
Steve Davis (left) with Dennis Taylor following their epic world championship final in 1985. (PA).Steve Davis (left) with Dennis Taylor following their epic world championship final in 1985. (PA).
Steve Davis (left) with Dennis Taylor following their epic world championship final in 1985. (PA).

AS a young sports fan growing up in the 1980s, I always sat down to watch the Snooker World Championship final on telly.

If the match was boring, or a bit one-sided, I’d go upstairs and play Subbuteo with my brother.

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But 30 years ago I was glued to my seat, along with 18.5 million other people in living rooms right across the British Isles, as a sporting battle of Herculean proportions unfolded in front of my eyes.

Big finals like this often fail to live up to the hype, but there are times, too, when they transcend sporting barriers and become part of our collective memory. The 1985 final between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor was one of those rare occasions when the sporting gods joined forces to help create a genuine classic. Even people who barely knew one end of a cue from another found themselves compelled to watch.

Taylor eventually emerged victorious winning 18-17 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest moments in British sporting history.

This epic match, which went on past midnight, not only came down to the last frame, it fell to the very last ball – whoever potted the black won the match and would be crowned world champion.

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It attracted a record TV audience for BBC2 and was also, at the time, the largest British audience for a sporting event.

The match was billed as a David versus Goliath clash, with Davis, the reigning champion, favourite to win. “This was the golden era for the game and the hype in the UK at the time was incredible,” says Davis.

“We had people on the edge of their seats, although we didn’t know at the time. It was only afterwards that we realised how much excitement it had created.

“It’s one of those sporting moments that everybody remembers, it’s become folklore. Even though I lost and was distraught at the time, I’m proud to have been a part of it. We’re both proud to have been involved in a match where so many people watched us.”

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The final frame lasted almost an hour and 10 minutes as both players began to wilt under the mounting pressure. “I’ve watched it on video so my memories are the same as most other people’s,” says Davis.

But when he came to write his autobiography he went back to watch the whole of the last frame, rather than those final, nail-biting, shots.

“I had to watch it dispassionately because I had to make sure the explanation of that final frame was correct.”

He found it brought back memories of specific moments from the match. “My legs were like jelly. We were both feeling the tension and neither of us could pot a ball. There was a shot on the pink about halfway through the frame and I gasped when I missed.”

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Some players might struggled to have recovered from losing in such a painful manner, but Davis bounced back. “I had a long time to dwell on it but I didn’t think my little success empire was crumbling. I won three more world championships afterwards – though it would have been a different story if I’d never won it again.”

The six-time world champion is one of the greatest snooker players ever to grace the famous green baize, and has his father to thank for starting him down the road to sporting fame and fortune. “His hobby became my profession. It’s not necessarily what kids want to do, to go and play snooker with their father. Snooker wasn’t really on TV back in those days although Pot Black had started by then.”

Talent and a prodigious work ethic are a potent mix in any field and Davis turned professional in 1978 just as the sport was taking off, winning his first world championship three years later at the age of 23.

“It all happened so quickly. Almost overnight the interest in snooker exploded. All of a sudden people who’d never been to a snooker club in their life were suddenly interested and it had a broad appeal, from old women to young kids.”

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As the new kid on the block he found himself in the spotlight. “My life changed completely. I went from practising eight hours a day, every day, in the run up to tournaments to being recognised wherever I went.”

Not that he disliked his new celebrity status. “It was great. Everybody loved snooker and you felt that the world was a happier place,” he says.

During his pomp he was known not only as a fierce competitor and a master tactician, but also for his inscrutable countenance at the table. It didn’t initially endear him to some fans so when Spitting Image coined the nickname Steve ‘Interesting’ Davis you might think he wouldn’t have been best pleased. But instead he joined in with the laugh. “It was a massive blessing without me knowing it at the time,” he says. “Spitting Image used to rip the p*** out of politicians but apparently I was the first sports person they did. I actually thought it was funny and played up to it.”

By the 90s another young pretender, Stephen Hendry, had taken over as snooker’s top dog and now, at the age of 57, Davis focuses more on being a pundit.

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He does still play and was back in Sheffield this month to take part in the World Championship qualifying rounds, winning his first match before getting knocked out. “I can pick and choose which events I play in. I’ve no intention of winning, I just turn up to play and enjoy it. But the world championships are special and deserve to be respected.”

If the tournament is special then so, too, is its spiritual home at the Crucible Theatre which, despite his defeat in 1985, holds a lot of fond memories for him. “If you mention ‘The Crucible’ to people around the world there’s half a chance they will know that it’s where the Snooker World Championship is played.”

As well as offering his expertise during this year’s tournament, he is also teaming up with Jarvis Cocker to co-host the singer’s BBC Six Music radio show – as part of the BBC’s Cue Sheffield series of events during the championship. “Jarvis went on tour with Pulp a few years ago and he got in some guest presenters, although he didn’t get proper DJs, he got people like me,” he says, laughing.

Davis is looking forward to showing off his DJ-ing skills although there does appear to have been a bit of a misunderstanding.

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“The funny thing is that Jarvis assumed that I was a Northern Soul fan. I’ve been a soul fan for a long time, but that’s different,” he says.

“I’ve been going back to my roots, back to the music I used to listen to, which is something called progressive rock. So it might be an alternative prog rock show.”

It should be quite interesting.

Listen to Steve Davis co-presenting with Jarvis Cocker on BBC 6 Music’s Sunday Service from 4pm on May 3.