{"id":294754,"date":"2023-10-19T22:24:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T22:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=294754"},"modified":"2023-10-19T22:24:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T22:24:03","slug":"jim-white-opens-up-on-drink-his-remarkable-career-and-mick-jagger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/jim-white-opens-up-on-drink-his-remarkable-career-and-mick-jagger\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim White opens up on drink, his remarkable career and Mick Jagger"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>&#8216;Graeme Souness told me to quit boozing. I did not listen&#8217;: Jim White on his trouble with drink, his remarkable career and how he messed up a Mick Jagger interview<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jim White ended up in hospital after trying to juggle jobs at Sky and talkSPORT<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The 66-year-old is a reporter at heart, brought up on local papers in Scotland\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He has written a book on the football transfer market with Kaveh Solhekol<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Earlier this year Jim White was at Wembley working as a host for the Football League at the Carabao Cup final between Manchester United and Newcastle. United owner Avram Glazer entered the room and a familiar instinct kicked in.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I just desperately wanted to get my phone out and get some quotes from him,\u2019 recalls White. \u2018The next day I could have had: \u201cThis morning on talkSPORT, a world exclusive: Avram Glazer speaks to us. Avram are you in the last days of your ownership?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But I was there for the EFL. So I couldn\u2019t. It wouldn\u2019t have been right. But then part of me thinks it would have been worth getting thrown out for.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>White, 66, was for years the face of Sky Sports News, a crackling ball of energy and insight synonymous with transfer deadline day and that bright yellow tie that came with it.<\/p>\n<p>For a while he tried combining that with a late morning show on talkSPORT but the experiment landed him in hospital.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76770433-12651169-Jim_White_above_is_riding_high_with_his_weekday_show_on_talkSPOR-a-12_1697751559933.jpg\" height=\"459\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76774363-12651169-image-m-11_1697751554004.jpg\" height=\"459\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Jim White (above) is riding high with his weekday show on\u00a0talkSPORT with Simon Jordan<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76774039-12651169-image-a-4_1697750863326.jpg\" height=\"351\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>White is an old school reporter at heart, brought up on local papers in Scotland\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Having two jobs was killing me,\u2019 he reveals. \u2018I ended up badly ill with a kidney problem.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>So now it\u2019s radio only for White. Every weekday between 10am and 1pm with Simon Jordan. But that tells only half of the story of this charismatic and fascinating man.<\/p>\n<p>For White is a reporter at heart. Old school. Brought up on local papers in Scotland, his first big scoops when he eventually graduated to television were interviews with Mick Jagger, David Bowie and the ballet star Rudolf Nureyev.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I am a reporter who happens to present a show,\u2019 he explains. \u2018I\u2019ve been in a studio with a shirt and tie on quite a lot. Scotsport, Sky. But the best times I have had were when I have been out there running riot, going after people.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They either speak to you or they don\u2019t. That\u2019s the biggest adrenaline rush in the business, especially when you walk away from someone and you\u2019ve got it. It\u2019s a different discipline from presenting but it gets me more, yeah. And over the years I have really had to work on it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Someone at Sky said to me once, \u201cYou are one of the best I have ever met at getting into position and getting big names&#8230; and then asking them f*** all\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That made me realise it\u2019s one thing getting into positions but if you then don\u2019t execute the questions then it\u2019s a waste of time.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I was very much like, \u201cMick Jagger, it must be great being in Glasgow\u201d. \u201cYeah it is\u201d. You know? Hopeless. I was just ill-prepared. Put it this way. I know what I would ask David Bowie now. These days my approach is that I am not going to let someone go until I have nailed them.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76772399-12651169-Joel_Glazer_R_could_have_a_say_in_on_field_matters_after_Sir_Jim-a-5_1697750941348.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He turned down the opportunity to interview Avram Glazer (left) while on hosting duties for the EFL\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76770431-12651169-his_first_big_scoops_when_he_eventually_graduated_to_television_-m-7_1697751064565.jpg\" height=\"547\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>his first big scoops when he eventually graduated to television were interviews with Mick Jagger, David Bowie and the ballet star Rudolf Nureyev\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The truth is that White could still be on the road now. He has one of the best contacts books in football. Owners, managers, players. What viewers of Sky would perhaps not appreciate is that during those long days presenting transfer shows, White would often be the member of the team using the advert breaks to call his contacts for breaking stories.<\/p>\n<p>Along with his former Sky colleague Kaveh Solhekol, White has written a book about the art of chasing and breaking transfer stories.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I am obsessed with news,\u2019 he explains. \u2018I have always been inquisitive and keen and see no downside to getting a phone number, calling someone and asking a question. People who say no by and large don\u2019t mean it. Sometimes they might but often they don\u2019t. And when they eventually say yes it\u2019s all the more satisfying.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Back in my early days on newspapers, I liked the courts. I liked learning what you could and couldn\u2019t write and I liked hearing the stories. Families at war. Getting pictures of murder victims. I loved getting in the middle of all that.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There was a riot at Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow in 1987 and there were people on the roof. And because one of them was a football fan my boss at Scotsport asked me to go down. I was presenting at the time. I knocked on the door of his family and they were like, \u201cIt\u2019s f****** Jim White\u201d. Next thing I was in there getting the chat and later on we went down there to the prison as the lady tried to talk her son down from the roof.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>You get nowhere in journalism if people don\u2019t like you and White has always appeared to have the knack. An early relationship with Graeme Souness bore fruit when the former Liverpool midfielder called him at home one Saturday to tell him he would be the next manager of Rangers.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I was on TV back then and so had to sit on that story over the weekend,\u2019 White says.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u2018All I could do was take a cameraman to the airport on Monday and wait for him. There is a picture in the book of me with a moustache and ridiculous long hair walking with Souness who looked equally ridiculous with a moustache and long hair. But he has never changed. He\u2019s accepted me over the years as the guy I am and he\u2019s been very good to me.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/22\/76774069-12651169-image-a-8_1697751142953.jpg\" height=\"406\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>White once messed up an interview with British Rock n Roll legend Mick Jagger (centre)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/20\/76770455-0-image-a-45_1697745351961.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>White, with former Sky colleague Kaveh Solhekol (left), has written a book about the art of chasing and breaking transfer stories<\/p>\n<p>Souness\u2019s friendship extended to a conversation while he was Benfica manager in the late 1990s. Souness was concerned about White\u2019s drinking and told him so.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He told me I should knock it on the head but I didn\u2019t take the advice and just kept going,\u2019 he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018When I eventually did, it was 12 years ago and it was no big deal.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>White describes his old self as a binge-drinker. \u2018Sometimes on my own and sometimes with others,\u2019 he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I wasn\u2019t really choosy. But I knew it was right to stop. I was up in Glasgow at an event and I just thought, \u201cNah, not tonight\u201d. I got through the event and flew back home and just got on with that and that was it. I don\u2019t think I will ever drink again and I am happy to say that to you.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I did AA for a spell and enjoyed going to the meetings. But I felt that I was hearing the same thing over and over I had to cut the umbilical cord eventually. I had said I would do it so I had to damn well do it.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>White is protective of his home life. He lives in central London and by his own admission doesn\u2019t sit still very much. He remains consumed by the challenges ahead and amused and vaguely irritated by some of the stories that have remained untold.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/19\/20\/76770501-0-image-a-46_1697745490793.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>White, with his bright yellow tie, was\u00a0synonymous with transfer deadline day om Sky Sports<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Years ago I was invited to a box when Bolton were playing Chelsea,\u2019 he says. \u2018Roman Abramovich was next door and I got to meet him. The next few minutes were bizarre. Everything flashes through your head. You are thinking you are about to get the big exclusive. He said \u201cYes\u201d several times to a chat and then one of his aides leaned over and said to me, \u201cHe means no\u201d. I still rue that one.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Before the 1998 World Cup Scottish TV sent me to Brazil where I interviewed Gerson, the great Brazilian midfielder from 1970. Then to Algeria where I met the manager of Norway. Brazil and Norway were in Scotland\u2019s group. It was fantastic but I really fancied interviewing Ronnie Biggs, the train robber. He wanted some money for the interview, about $500, and Scottish TV said it would be quite hard getting him into a World Cup documentary about Scotland.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I ran out of time and never got face to face with him which really disappointed me. We would have wheedled him into that football documentary somehow\u2026.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><span><span>Deadline Day: The Inside Story of Football\u2019s Transfer Market by Jim White and Kaveh Solhekol is out now (\u00a325, Constable).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12651169\/Graeme-Souness-told-quit-boozing-did-not-listen-Jim-White-trouble-drink-remarkable-career-messed-Mick-Jagger-interview.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Graeme Souness told me to quit boozing. I did not listen&#8217;: Jim White on his trouble with drink, his remarkable [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294753,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Jim White opens up on drink, his remarkable career and Mick Jagger - All My Sports News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/jim-white-opens-up-on-drink-his-remarkable-career-and-mick-jagger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jim White opens up on drink, his remarkable career and Mick Jagger - All My Sports News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#8216;Graeme Souness told me to quit boozing. 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