Blitz Vega's KAV: 'Robbo was like Optimus Prime!'

It started with Bryan Robson. When I was a little kid still playing Transformers and frightened by the opening scene to Ghostbusters. 

 

I was watching highlights of the 1986 World Cup and saw Robson coming off with a dislocated shoulder. He reminded me of a real Optimus Prime! 

 

I respected the highs and lows of putting everything on the line and not always coming out on top, even at that young age.

Robson is why I became a Man United fan and, from that moment, I started to get obsessed. Reading up on all the history, I believed in everything the club stood for – Bobby Charlton, Matt Busby... It hit me with so many emotions.

My mum took me to Old Trafford for my 10th and 11th birthdays. I still have all my kits from that era, and still wear the Cup Winners' Cup-winning kit. The white one! It’s the only football shirt that travels with me in my suitcase, back and forth from California to England.

 

After Robbo left, my favourite players were Denis Irwin, Paul Ince, Roy Keane and Lee Sharpe. Alex Ferguson inspired my work ethic too – the dedication you need to put into something if you want to have a chance to make it and be successful. 

 

But you can’t always win. It’s how you come back from failure and fight again. I approached music this same way. Being in it for the good or bad but sticking with it. They were life coaches for me in some way.

One of my favourite moments was Lee Sharpe’s hat-trick against Arsenal at Highbury in the blue-and-white adidas kit. But like a lot of Man United fans, for me it was probably the Class of ’92 team that brought the greatest memories, the greatest joy from being a football fan.

 

I’d only been to Old Trafford a handful of times until the 1990s. It was hard being from Leicester. I didn’t really have anyone who could take me to games when I was young, though I used to record every televised game and any Match of the Day highlights that showed United. I had posters all over my walls.

 

But, when I started playing guitar for Happy Mondays, I managed to get tickets for the games on a regular basis. So between tours I’d get to go to Old Trafford a fair

amount. This was during the time of the team which included Becks, Neville, Keane and Giggs. This was extremely special for me, as I’d had a long wait to experience the games live in person.

 

After the Mondays, I moved to Los Angeles, so I’d get up at 3-4am on a weekend and go to the British pubs, which were open all night, to watch games. We’d have a breakfast and a pint. It was fantastic, I loved it! It became a regular routine.

Whenever United came over for pre-season I was lucky enough to go to the games in L.A. I caught both Van Gaal and Mourinho’s first pre-seasons when they became

managers. When United played L.A. Galaxy at the Rose Bowl, I even got the chance to meet my hero, Bryan Robson. 

 

I’m not usually fazed by meeting anyone, but this was Bryan Robson! I got a picture with him, and it was one of those moments. I had to send it to my mum. She knew how much it would have meant to me. I used to draw and paint a lot when I was a kid, and my three main subjects were Optimus Prime, Bryan Robson and Slash. Ha ha!

No matter where I am, or what I’m doing, I rarely miss a game – everything stops. As a fan, I’ve always tried to stay optimistic and that's continued in the post-Fergie era. The young players like Garnacho and Mainoo really excite me. I hope they’re given the time to grow.

 

The icing, recently, was when Blitz Vega's keyboard player, Asa Brown, starred in the This Is the One Stone Roses-United adidas advert. He's a season-ticket holder who comes from generations of Reds, so it made me extremely proud to see him on there! Our bassist, the late, great Andy Rourke, was also a United supporter.

 

I’ve loved United since I became a fan... It’s the club, the players who represented the club, the desire, the heart and the managers. The style, the passion. It’s been

the one consistent in my life. The one thing that’s always been there, good times or bad times. 

 

It’s in my blood. Way before music, it was there. And it'll be part of my life forever.