Sad to hear of the passing of one eyed big baz. One of The original Zulu boys
Had. many a good night with him in the old mackedown pub, in kitts green but he was always. Ok. Knowing I was a Walsall fan And. Spoke highly of migsar And had a respect for Walsall fans despite going toe to toe with them. On a few occasions.
A proper terrace legend. Has been lost today
R I P. And. K R O. big guy
Funny story in regards to the Zulu Warriors
Quite a few years ago some friends of my in laws, whoâs son had been playing for the Villa for some 5-6 years, threw their season tickets in the bin in disgust after they let their son go.
So seeing an opportunity i got him to retrieve them for me.
I had always wanted to experience the atmosphere of a Blues Villa derby.
So off i trundle with my nephews to watch the game, and as we came out after the final whistle, we were confronted with about 50 lads, all hooded up shouting âZULU ZULU ZULUâ
As they came toward us i rolled up my sleeve to reveal one of Stanâs finest swifts and i said to a couple of the lads " I am a Saddler mate, and If you think that i am going to get a beating in the name of these wankers then you can think again"
They just looked at each other and burst out in fits of laughter then walked off
My nephews said it was genius even if i did dis them
Probably mate, the studio was above the book store opposite the entrance to the saddlers centre and the old tavern in the town, his daughter took over i think after he either retired or passed away?
I canât remember sundown? i remember a clothes store because i bought my first pair of Karmen Ghia jeans from there but tattooing badly certainly ran in the family
I also met him a few times. Kitts Green, Stechford, Bordesely Green was my manor growing up. My uncle - another Barrington, ran the door at the Bordesely pub another regular haunt of the Zulus.
Itâs hard to explain the Zulu phenomenon to people who donât know that area. The National Front had a decent stranglehold in the late 70âs, regularly marched and like at most football grounds got a bit of a stranglehold at St Andrews. But then came 2Tone from just down the road in Coventry, black and white lads started running together and the local old bill at Stechford nick hated it. The big black and Irish communities had become fair game with the blessing of the local white English community. But that all changed and it manifested most notably through the emergence of the Zulus. Certainly not all angels fighting for racial equality and justice but people like Baz, Wally and Cud became legends and role models. Sounds odd for a hooligan firm but locally people felt safer with these guys around. It transcended football. More an attitude and outlook. My own vehement anti racist stance found across these pages comes from that time and that place. An awakening in me that led to a realisation that together we are stronger. Form the line, black and white, trust your mates either side of you and believe in yourselves no matter how much others try to create and exploit gaps between you.
It made me smile last year when in amongst all the statue defending, Football Ladz Alliance (I canât believe itâs not the EDL) and BLM backlash, there was Baz and Wally mobilising the usual faces for one last meet. And rather than fetishising over âback in the dayâ hooliganism Iâd like to remember Baz as a surprisingly vulnerable giant, at the front of this March having made a positive difference to a lot of lives.
Did you ever use smother pub. Mate called the
Mazeper. I think. It was
Another blues stronghold. Alongside the king hurst
Had some great times in those places And as said. Even tho they new. I was a Walsall fan. They welcomed me into there. Circle