Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne compared his tour to Taylor Swift’s in a recent interview (Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP via Getty Images)
Iconic football star Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne recently hit the road to speak live in front of audiences across the world – a tour he compared to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.
The icon, 57, joked that his Audience With Paul Gascoigne show is just like the pop icon’s record-breaking tour and, in a recent interview, opened up about what it’s like to be back in front of crowds again, saying the buzz makes him ’emotionally soft.’
During his shows, he relives his career as one of the most legendary midfielders of all time, as well as sharing anecdotes from his personal life.
‘I tell them jokes and say “I did play football as well during my career”,’ he told The Mirror. ‘It’s good seeing the fans again. I did 460 selfies at one show in Sheffield.’
Gazza’s return to the limelight has only been made possible by his hard-won sobriety, which he’s been able to maintain by moving into his agent Katie Davies’ spare room in Poole.
During an interview with High Performance, Gazza explained what changed with his relationship to alcohol: ‘I used to be a happy drunk. I ain’t anymore. I’m a sad drunk. I don’t go out and drink, I drink indoors.
Paul Gascoigne opened up about his alcoholism (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
‘People know Paul Gascoigne but Gazza, no one knows. Even me sometimes. I’ve spent a lot of years being down, when I did my ligaments and then my kneecap, I missed four years of football. I would’ve got 100 caps (for England).
‘I try not to get down because the world’s already down enough. And when I’m really down, that’s when I pick up a drink to cheer myself up.
‘I don’t think I let any managers down, or the players or the fans you know. If there was anyone I let down, it was myself. But more the drinking side of it, when I finished playing.’
He explained to The Mirror his decision to get sober: ‘I called Katie up in November a few years ago crying my eyes out.
The legendary player also shared stories about his on-field exploits (Picture: Getty Images)
‘What I put myself through and other people, jail and rehab – taking cocaine off toilet seats – and then I’m asked to be ambassador for my country, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
‘When I do these venues, I hardly talk about football, more the crazy stuff I used to get up to. I’ve got to get straight in and get them laughing.
‘There’s a few times when I’ve cried on stage. You miss it on a Saturday, you know, entertaining people. I got such a f***ing buzz from it and you miss that.
‘I can be emotionally soft. It doesn’t take long for us to cry sometimes. I keep a lot of stuff in, stuff I should share but get scared of sharing with …read more
Source:: Metro
