My First. . .

HOLIDAY: My family holidays were spent at Butlins, in a caravan or camping and being part of a large family. My first summer holiday abroad was when I was 16 and I went with a youth group of young men and women, all late teens, camping and climbing, to Interlaken, in Switzerland. We travelled on a double decker bus, had a great time and you can guess what we sang!

HOME: We lived in a small three-bedroomed terrace house, and my family included five boys. All of us boys slept in one bedroom which was rather cramped and very untidy.

JOB: A Saturday job selling tiles. Before I went to university I worked as a bin man.

CAR: An Austin A40 with leather seats and a walnut dashboard -- very posh!. I bought it for £45 fully taxed, but that was probably because in true '70s style it was painted fluorescent pink.

RECORD: I think my first single was Tears of a Clown by Smokey Robinson, but the first LP I bought was Ten Years After, by the band of the same name, in about 1968.

AMBITION: To play for Everton. Also, to marry my university sweetheart, which I did.

HERO: Alex Young, a mercurial centre forward for Everton.

PET : Other than the occasional budgie and goldfish (which usually quickly expired), we did not have a pet when I grew up. However, my first pet was inflicted upon me by my wife when we got married -- a cat. The cat was very instructional in making it clear that the house belonged to her and my role was merely a servile one

POLITICAL INSIGHT: I was very keen on the intrigue of student politics and got involved in issues prominent at the time, particularly around apartheid.