I was asked a while ago to be part of a brand new documentary on those pioneers of the replica kit market Admiral Sportswear and I’m delighted to say that at last the finished article is ready!
It is entitled ‘Get Shirty’ and will be screened on ITV1 this Wednesday 21 September at 10.40pm. It was such a joy and honour to be involved and from what I’ve seen of the final programme it will be fantastic. There’s interviews with key personnel in the Admiral story including designers, factory workers and of course the owner back then in those halcyon days, the legendary Bert Patrick.
I was interviewed extensively for the documentary over the period of two years and talked at length about the impact and the incredible legacy this small firm in Leicester started.
The first trailer has just been released and can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvJwi81BUAU
Get Shirty – Wednesday 21 September 2016, 10.40pm, ITV1
Is anyone else as excited as I am? Don’t recall feeling this giddy on Christmas morning. Twitter is awash with kit chat.
Looking forward to hearing from the kitmaster tonight. Be nice to look at those old Leicester city 70s kits again.
Best of luck with it Dev.
Having heard about this documentary a couple of years ago, I was beginning to wonder where it had gone. Really worth the wait! Added to significantly by adding some depth, such as the designer Lindsay Jelley’s admission she knew absolutely nothing about football – hence she designed such ground-breaking styles, which have never been matched. The anecdotes were superb, and one wonders where Admiral would have gone, if they’d avoided the receiver?
Personally, I’ve always thought that it was of its time, the immediate period just prior to shirt sponsorship, that allowed innovation in football kit design that would have been restricted by the sponsors’ thereafter. Consider, how on earth West Ham’s chevrons or Coventry’s ‘dynamic stripes’ have fared with an ugly sponsor logo?