Crazy Andy Carson, the news conference that never was and
a four-hour session in the pub

BONKERS: This pic, dated October 1981, is an intriguing snap taken at the Daily Star in Manchester. It is one of the few photos we can find of Andy Carson. Yes, that’s him grovelling on the floor. The caption on the back of the photo in Ray Mills’s handwriting reads: “Andy ‘Bites Yer Legs’ Carson in typical pose.”

We can’t fill in all the spaces but pictured, from left, are: Bob Coole; unidentified; Jeff McGowan, Daily Star news editor; unidentified; Vic Giles and Ray Mills. 

By PHIL JOHNSON

The Drone’s story about the red  paint attack on the Express building in Ancoats reminded me of the day the legendary Andy Carson saw red outside the famous old office . . . and it wasn't paint!

We were working away on the Daily Sport one afternoon when the fire alarm went off and everyone started to go outside. As I left office manager Chris called me over and gave me a message from the editor for Andy, who was deputy editor at the time.

Out of the building I saw him on a street corner chatting to a couple of colleagues, and walked over. "Is the editor coming?" he asked. "Yeah," I replied. "He says he's going to hold the conference in the street."

For a couple of seconds there was a deathly silence. Then Andy exploded as only he could. "In the fucking STREET! Over my dead fucking body. You lot follow me."

A couple of minutes later we were comfortably installed in a quiet corner of the Edinburgh Castle.

The fire alert lasted 15 minutes. We staggered back four hours later. The conference in the street never took place. The incident was never mentioned again.

A couple of months later a new editor of the Daily Sport was appointed. Mr Andy Carson.

PS: Thinking of Andy brought another Daily Sport incident to mind. He shouted from the backbench "Who's got the soccer yob story?" My hand went up. "Make sure you get scumbag in the headline."

The story was a single column one. The headline count was eight. Knew his stuff, did our Andy.

I WAS ANDY CARSON’S INTERPRETER

11 October 2023