Unique Shankly Tribute

Four of Bill Shankly's greatest players will appear in a unique autumn show when the stirring, tartan tones of their legendary manager resonate around Southport Theatre.

Archive clips of the great man, from an interview only recently released, will feature in The Bill Shankly Anniversary Show which hits Southport on October 7.

Kop heroes Ian St John, Ian Callaghan, Ron Yeats and Chris Lawler will be live on stage in a special memorial tribute to football's most charismatic manager, who died 30 years ago this autumn.

The fascinating memories and anecdotes of the four former players will be interwoven through the two-and-a-half-hour production with Shankly's own words, extracted from interviews with the great man by blind former headmaster Frank McFarlane and by broadcaster John Keith, the show's writer and presenter.

Keith said: "We are indebted to Frank for letting us use his interview with Bill which he did in 1979 as part of a series of talks with sporting celebrities for the visually impaired.

"We have blended Frank's material with some of my own interviews with Bill from my days as a Daily Express sportswriter and we also hear Bill's wife Nessie. I know it will rekindle many memories for the former players on stage, some funny, some sad, and I'm sure the audience will find it captivating."

The incredible archive clips feature Shankly's views on many topics including:

How he landed the Liverpool manager's job in 1959, when the club was languishing in Second Division mediocrity.

The players he signed to revolutionize the club's fortunes.

The man who opened the Anfield purse strings to fund transfers.

The Liverpool player he rated even better than England's World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore.

His shock retirement as manager in 1974 and the Boot Room legacy.