John Barnes

Barnes was born in Jamaica, to Roderick Kenrick "Ken" Barnes (a Trinidadian) and Frances Jeanne Hill (a Jamaican). Ken Barnes hailed from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago emigrating to Jamaica in 1956 as a member of the West India Regiment. He joined the Jamaica Defence Force when formed after the nation's 1962 independence when he was initially commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Jamaica Regiment. In 1973 he was promoted to colonel remaining in the army until retiring in 1989. While in the army, he was a semi-professional footballer for a Jamaica National Premier League club and also captained the Jamaica national football team.[7][8] Barnes spent his early childhood living in Jamaica's biggest military base,[9] playing football and living a disciplined life. His father was president of the Jamaica Amateur Swimming Association and later formed Jamaica's first bobsleigh team.[8]

Barnes' father was a huge squash and football fan who encouraged his son to pursue sports, having named him after Welsh footballer John Charles.[10] Ken Barnes, who was promoted to Colonel in 1973,[8] was appointed Defence adviser to the High Commission of Jamaica, London (1976–1981)[8] and Barnes moved to London with his family in January 1976[11] when he was 12 years old. He attended the rugby-playing St Marylebone Grammar School[12] then a short stint at Haverstock School, Camden Town.[13] While at school he played four years of youth football at the Stowe Boys Club in Paddington.[14]

During his playing career, Barnes (like other black players of his era) was frequently the target of racial abuse from the terraces. At one of his first appearances at Anfield, Barnes said that the tea lady had, intentionally or unintentionally, served tea to all the players in the lounge except him, and he made a joke about it by asking light-heartedly, "Is it because I'm black?"[31] As well as being abused by opposition players, on occasions Barnes reported overhearing teammates making racist remarks towards other black players in opposition teams. One instance of racial abuse by a section of Everton supporters in the Merseyside derby at Anfield led to Everton chairman Philip Carter disowning the offending supporters, branding them "scum". The highest profile racial incident of his career was captured in a photograph where Barnes, in full Liverpool kit and mid-match, casually backheeled away a banana which had been hurled at him during a match with Everton at Goodison Park.[34]

Although born in Jamaica, Barnes had no intention of representing Jamaica at international level as the "Reggae Boyz had not yet made a significant mark on world football and he was eager to get to the game's biggest stage".[35]

At the time of Barnes' international career, FIFA's national team eligibility criteria allowed British passport holders to represent one of the British football associations if they had no blood ties to the United Kingdom. Barnes had already planned to represent England where he had lived since the age of 12.[36] Barnes said: "the only reason I played for England was because they were the first to ask...if Scotland had asked [first]...You go and play for Scotland."[35]

Barnes debuted for Bobby Robson's England on 28 May 1983 as a second-half substitute for Watford teammate Luther Blissett in a 0–0 at Northern Ireland's Windsor Park in the British Championship.[37] Blissett was the fifth and Barnes the seventh black full England football internationalists.

England failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championships, so instead toured South America. On 10 June 1984 Barnes v Brazil dribbled through several Brazilian defenders and rounded Roberto Costa to score in a friendly match at Rio de Janeiro's Estádio do Maracanã.

It was after the World Cup that Barnes became a British passport holder. Speaking in 2008, Barnes said "I don't even know if the English F.A. didn't know that I wasn't born there and wasn't brought up there...maybe I played (for England) illegally, right?"[35]

In his early England days, he and fellow black player Mark Chamberlain were subjected to threats from racist groups. Barnes was abused by supporters of the National Front on the plane back from South America in June 1984; with the group claiming that England had only won 1–0 against Brazil because Barnes' goal "didn't count".

Bobby Robson did not use Barnes at the 1986 World Cup until the quarter final with 15 minutes left when trailing 2–0 against Argentina.[37] (BBC commentator Barry Davies shouted: "Go on! Run at them!" when Barnes was given the ball), setting up a goal for Gary Lineker and laying on another chance denied by the head of Lineker's Argentine marker. England were eliminated with Barnes praised for his contribution and many asked why he had not played more nor in previous games. He then became a regular starter for England at both the 1988 European Championships and 1990 World Cup.[37]

As part of a front four with Gary Lineker, Peter Beardsley, and Chris Waddle, England lost all three of their group games at the 1988 European Championships. However, Robson stayed in his job.

Barnes pulled out of England's first international game after the Hillsborough disaster due to grief he felt at the time. In his absence, England won the World Cup qualifier against Albania 5–0 at Wembley on 26 April 1989.[38]

In the Football World Cup 1990 lead up, Barnes played several times as a forward alongside Gary Lineker, and in a warm up game against Uruguay played well and scored a half volley from a Stuart Pearce cross. Barnes again rapped this time in New Order's UK Number 1, "World in Motion", tie-in song.

At the 1990 World Cup he injured his groin against Belgium shortly after his volleyed goal was wrongly disallowed for offside. England went out to West Germany on penalties in the semi-final.

In June 1992 v Finland in Helsinki in England's last warm up game before the 1992 European Championships, he tore his achilles tendon. He was injured for five months. In his absence England were eliminated at the group phase. On his return he had lost his explosive burst of speed and was now past his peak.[24]

In a Wembley 1994 World Cup qualifier against San Marino, Barnes was booed by an entire section of England fans after the whole team played poorly. Barnes later believed an article attributed to Jimmy Greaves in the Daily Mirror, which cited his supposed support for the West Indies cricket team and questioned his loyalty to the England team, had influenced the crowd to boo.[31]

He earned a surprise England recall in 1994 under Terry Venables and was in the squad in the run up to Euro '96 after improved form for Liverpool, although he was not selected for the final tournament squad despite England not having an established left-sided alternative.

Barnes' 79 caps (11 goals) made him England's record capped black player for a time. Compared to his club form, he was never seen as a player who peaked wearing an England shirt. Bobby Robson described him as the "Greatest enigma" of his career; whilst including him for his all time dream team England squad of all the players he had picked as manager in his 1990 book "Against All Odds" (placing him on the bench), he was baffled at Barnes's inconsistency. He described Barnes as being a player of "the highest calibre" but sometimes being unable to reach for that bit extra when he or Captain Bryan Robson shouted at him to take more players on.[31]

Barnes has since said he felt the systems England played were "rigid" focusing on speed, aggression, and attacking through the centre rather than patient, passing play. He also said he could receive the ball as few as six or seven times in a game whereas at Liverpool he may receive it more than twenty times, and he had more freedom under Kenny Dalglish who did not ask him to stay on the left wing all the time. England also had a very different system to Liverpool at the time, who were much more free-flowing, and later said that to have got the best out of him, they would have needed a similar system to the one used by Dalglish, which was never likely to happen. He also cited Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle as players he felt England were unable to get the best out of.[31]

Newspapers at the time of his England career even queried whether his disciplinarian upbringing in Jamaica to a military family and rumoured beatings as a child from his parents had contributed to his underperformance as an England footballer.[31]

After 12 years Barnes won his 79th and last cap on 6 September 1995 in a 0–0 friendly draw with Colombia at Wembley that contained extrovert Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita's 'Scorpion Kick.'[39] Barnes was in the top ten most capped players list for eleven years until David Beckham and then Gary Neville edged him from ninth to 11th.

In 1999, Tony Adams picked Barnes to be in his England dream team in his book Addicted, citing that Barnes "could pass, move, dribble, had Brazilian style movement... what more could you want?" He also backed Barnes's view that England at times used rigid systems.[40]

Former England international Tom Finney remarked that "players like John Barnes come along just once in a lifetime."[47] Twice in his career, Barnes was voted Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. He also won the PFA Players' Player of the Year. Although he is widely regarded as among the most underperforming players, when compared to his club form, to wear an England shirt, Barnes was voted England's "greatest left foot" by readers of The Times in 2016, ahead of Chris Waddle and Jimmy Greaves.[5] Barnes was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of his contribution to the English game.

The Liverpool fans’ adoration for "Digger" (he was nicknamed after the character Digger Barnes in the American soap opera Dallas)[48] was emphasised when he finished in the top 5 of the poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop which was conducted by the official Liverpool Football Club web site in the summer of 2006. More than 110,000 supporters worldwide voted for their 10 favourite players of all time, Barnes finished 5th behind Robbie Fowler (4th), Ian Rush (3rd), Steven Gerrard (2nd) and the man that signed him three times (for Liverpool, Newcastle and Celtic) Kenny Dalglish (1st).[49]

He also appears frequently as a selection in FourFourTwo magazine's Perfect XI, a choice in which current and former professional footballers select the best 11 players they have ever seen, played with or against, including selections by Michael Owen, Steve McManaman, Peter Beardsley, Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher.[50]

He performed the Keith Allen-penned rap section of New Order's "World in Motion" as well as appearing on the track "Anfield Rap", a Liverpool FC FA Cup Final song, rapping the lyrics "Liverpool FC is hard as hell/ United, Tottenham, Arsenal",[51] and performing lead rap in Liverpool's '96 cup final song "Pass & Move (It's the Liverpool Groove)".

"World in Motion" reached #1 in the charts and spent 18 weeks in the UK top 75 (including re-releases in 2002 and 2010) although Barnes was only paid a flat rate of £200 and received no royalties.[52] "Anfield Rap" reached #3 and spent 6 weeks in the top 75, and "Pass & Move" reached #4 and spent 4 weeks in the top 75.

The rap portion of "World in Motion" is the most remembered part of the original song, becoming an iconic piece of English football culture in its own right, familiar to subsequent generations of England football fans not even born in 1990.[53]

Barnes was first married to and subsequently divorced Suzy with whom he has two sons and two daughters - Jamie, Jordan, Jemma and Jasmine. John's second wife is called Andrea and they have two daughters: Isabella and Tia, and a son, Alexander. With fellow former footballers Les Ferdinand and Luther Blissett, he founded Team48 Motorsport, a team aiming to promote young racing drivers of African-Caribbean background. In 2008, the team entered the British Touring Car Championship, running Alfa Romeos for white Jamaican Matthew Gore and 18-year-old black Briton Darelle Wilson. However, the project never got off the starting line and the team failed to show up for any of the races.

A few days after being sacked by Tranmere, Barnes was declared bankrupt. He has described the bankruptcy as a technicality, saying "The bankruptcy issue is a tax oversight which is being dealt with."[54][55] Barnes' claims of the bankruptcy being a "tax oversight" proved true and the order was quickly overturned.[56]

As a sporting icon in England in the early 1990s Barnes appeared in a commercial for the energy drink Lucozade, launching their Lucozade Sport drink.[57] Barnes became a pundit on ITV and a presenter of the football coverage on Five as well as having his own weekly football discussion show on LFC TV called The John Barnes Show, every Thursday. He also worked as an ambassador for Save the Children. Barnes has appeared on several shows and media outlets to promote his charity work, including a notable appearance on Soccer AM in February 2009 performing the "World in Motion" rap and a parody of the mistimed advert by ITV in the previous week's Everton vs. Liverpool FA Cup tie, with Barnes' "Under-11 World Champion Baton-twirling" routine missed by mock commercials.[58][59][60] In 2001, Barnes appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank.[61]

In 2000, Barnes presented a one off soccer special with Lisa Rogers entitled The Pepsi World Challenge, devised and produced by Nathan Carey and airing on Channel 5 in the UK. The show was edited with local presenters around the world.

He was the subject of a This is Your Life programme in 2001, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel.

Barnes competed in the fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing which started in October 2007. His dance partner was Nicole Cutler. They finished in seventh place. He was also the first male celebrity to receive a ten from the judges, which he got for his salsa.

After an absence of nearly eight years, Barnes returned to football in late 2007. He agreed to run several coaching clinics across the Caribbean for young players with the possibility of them joining Premier League side Sunderland on trial.[62]

He made a guest appearance as himself in episode 10 of Series 6 of Waterloo Road that was aired on BBC One on Wednesday, 27 October 2010.

He has been used as a pundit in ESPN's coverage of the FA Cup 2010, and in SuperSport's coverage of the UEFA Champions League 2010–2011, in South Africa.

He appeared on Russell Howard's Good News best bits show on Thursday, 15 December 2011, as his Mystery Guest. In the show he was dressed as Santa Claus and along with Russell Howard he performed his famous rap from New Order's "World in Motion".

On 17 October 2012, Barnes featured in series 9, episode 9 of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?.[63]

Barnes has suggested the American National Football League's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for coaching positions, should be adopted by the Premier League.[64]

In 2016 in the run-up to the 2016 EU referendum, Barnes refuted Michael Gove's claim that he wished the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, clarifying that he supports continued UK membership of the EU.[65]

In January 2018, Barnes participated as a housemate on the twenty-first series of Celebrity Big Brother.[66]

On 21 February 2019, Barnes was a guest on Question Time, commenting on racism and discrimination in society.[67]

As of 6 September 2009

Team	Nation	From	To	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Celtic	Scotland	10 June 1999	10 February 2000	29	19	2	8	65.5%
Jamaica	Jamaica	16 September 2008	30 June 2009	11	7	4	0	63.6%[70]
Tranmere Rovers	England	15 June 2009	9 October 2009	12	3	1	8	25%
Total				52	29	7	16	055.77

• List of England international footballers born outside England

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Barnes (footballer).

• Player profile at LFChistory.net
• John Barnes at Soccerbase
• John Barnes England appearances at Englandfanzine.co.uk
• John Barnes index at Sporting-heroes.net