CELEBRITY KOP CLUB: DR KARL KENNEDY
Jimmy Rice 25 January 2007
Welcome to Celebrity Kop Club, a unique band of Reds who’ve risen to fame with hope in their hearts and a Liver Bird on their chest. The third inductee might come from OZ, but he has more than a little understanding of what it means to be a Red...
Everybody needs good neighbours - so goes the theme tune of the popular Aussie soap. And it seems Anfield could soon be getting one of the best ever.
"Eventually I will move to the UK and I think Liverpool may well be the place I end up. It'd be great to be able to take my lad to Anfield," reveals Dr Karl, aka Alan Fletcher.
While Neighbours' fans are led to believe Susan is the love of his life, The Doc has in fact been cultivating an affair thousands of miles from Ramsay Street.
"I'm in love with Liverpool," he confesses. "I was attracted primarily because it was the home of the Beatles. I also have some distant relatives living on Merseyside, so the Reds were a natural fit for me.
"I've been over about five times in the last two years. Perhaps it's the Irish influence in the city, but I find Scousers to be incredibly friendly, open people with a delicious sense of humour."
Okay, so he loves our great city, and he's chosen the correct team. But it can't be easy being a Red Down Under, can it?
"No," admits the ultimate out-of-towner. "It's very difficult to see games because of the time difference; they're played in the middle of the night.
"The SBS television network shows all the football highlights, but I'm planning to get an e-Season Ticket to make things easier.
"I take my allegiance to LFC very seriously. I still have an enormous amount to learn about the team, though. My son and I spend a lot of time watching DVDs about the club and its great victories.
"My favourite is 100 Years of The Kop. I can only imagine what the atmosphere was like crammed into that stand watching the Reds at their finest."
The 49-year-old tries to get to as many games as he can while on tour with his band, Waiting Room. And he likes to reveal his support in another, more vocal fashion.
"I started singing You'll Never Walk Alone at gigs as a tribute to the club," he says.
"The great thing is that everyone loves to sing along with the song regardless of who their team is.
"We were playing the Walkabout in Nottingham on the night of the Champions League final. Minutes after we won I walked on stage and sang it wearing my shirt. The audience went wild."
Such is the force of The Doc, he's even managed to get a bunch of Evertonians singing their hearts out to our famous anthem.
"After the FA Cup win last year I was performing in Liverpool for the Edge Hill College ball. Again the crowd went berserk for it. Even the Everton fans joined in!"
KK is clearly doing his best to spread the Liverpool word, then. So how come YNWA never featured when he appeared on Soapstar Superstar earlier this month?
"We had no choice of songs for the show," scoffs The Doc, not hiding his irritation. "Sadly they didn't choose it as part of my repertoire."
Coming from OZ, The Doc's passion for the Reds has to compete with an unhealthy interest in cricket and Aussie rules. But when push comes to shove, there's only ever one winner.
"The thing is, because Aussie rules matches are high scoring, the crowds have frequent occasions to release their tension," he explains.
"The tight nature of the scoreline and speed of British football makes the game so much more exciting and tense.
"Football is very popular in Australia because of the big European population and the success of the Socceroos in the World Cup. The game is still dwarfed by Aussie rules but that is changing rapidly.
"When my son and I have a kick down at the park and we wear our Liverpool strips, many people stop and profess their support for the club."
This is the same strip – with FLETCH embezzled on the back – which he wears on the set of Neighbours, though he admits he's yet to convince any of his co-stars to join him in the Kop.
"I don't have any friends who support the Reds but I do have a mate who follows West Ham, and I've had some fun at his expense lately!" he says.
Despite a lack of Kopites in his address book, The Doc is friendly with another member of Celebrity Kop Club – as well as a current Liverpool player.
He said: "I met Euan Blair in London when he came to see my band at the Walkabout in Shepherd's Bush.
"Then I was working in Manchester recently and had the pleasure of meeting Harry Kewell. I had a terrific night with him and his darling wife Sheree."
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drill...70125-1420.htm
Quality
Jimmy Rice 25 January 2007
Welcome to Celebrity Kop Club, a unique band of Reds who’ve risen to fame with hope in their hearts and a Liver Bird on their chest. The third inductee might come from OZ, but he has more than a little understanding of what it means to be a Red...
Everybody needs good neighbours - so goes the theme tune of the popular Aussie soap. And it seems Anfield could soon be getting one of the best ever.
"Eventually I will move to the UK and I think Liverpool may well be the place I end up. It'd be great to be able to take my lad to Anfield," reveals Dr Karl, aka Alan Fletcher.
While Neighbours' fans are led to believe Susan is the love of his life, The Doc has in fact been cultivating an affair thousands of miles from Ramsay Street.
"I'm in love with Liverpool," he confesses. "I was attracted primarily because it was the home of the Beatles. I also have some distant relatives living on Merseyside, so the Reds were a natural fit for me.
"I've been over about five times in the last two years. Perhaps it's the Irish influence in the city, but I find Scousers to be incredibly friendly, open people with a delicious sense of humour."
Okay, so he loves our great city, and he's chosen the correct team. But it can't be easy being a Red Down Under, can it?
"No," admits the ultimate out-of-towner. "It's very difficult to see games because of the time difference; they're played in the middle of the night.
"The SBS television network shows all the football highlights, but I'm planning to get an e-Season Ticket to make things easier.
"I take my allegiance to LFC very seriously. I still have an enormous amount to learn about the team, though. My son and I spend a lot of time watching DVDs about the club and its great victories.
"My favourite is 100 Years of The Kop. I can only imagine what the atmosphere was like crammed into that stand watching the Reds at their finest."
The 49-year-old tries to get to as many games as he can while on tour with his band, Waiting Room. And he likes to reveal his support in another, more vocal fashion.
"I started singing You'll Never Walk Alone at gigs as a tribute to the club," he says.
"The great thing is that everyone loves to sing along with the song regardless of who their team is.
"We were playing the Walkabout in Nottingham on the night of the Champions League final. Minutes after we won I walked on stage and sang it wearing my shirt. The audience went wild."
Such is the force of The Doc, he's even managed to get a bunch of Evertonians singing their hearts out to our famous anthem.
"After the FA Cup win last year I was performing in Liverpool for the Edge Hill College ball. Again the crowd went berserk for it. Even the Everton fans joined in!"
KK is clearly doing his best to spread the Liverpool word, then. So how come YNWA never featured when he appeared on Soapstar Superstar earlier this month?
"We had no choice of songs for the show," scoffs The Doc, not hiding his irritation. "Sadly they didn't choose it as part of my repertoire."
Coming from OZ, The Doc's passion for the Reds has to compete with an unhealthy interest in cricket and Aussie rules. But when push comes to shove, there's only ever one winner.
"The thing is, because Aussie rules matches are high scoring, the crowds have frequent occasions to release their tension," he explains.
"The tight nature of the scoreline and speed of British football makes the game so much more exciting and tense.
"Football is very popular in Australia because of the big European population and the success of the Socceroos in the World Cup. The game is still dwarfed by Aussie rules but that is changing rapidly.
"When my son and I have a kick down at the park and we wear our Liverpool strips, many people stop and profess their support for the club."
This is the same strip – with FLETCH embezzled on the back – which he wears on the set of Neighbours, though he admits he's yet to convince any of his co-stars to join him in the Kop.
"I don't have any friends who support the Reds but I do have a mate who follows West Ham, and I've had some fun at his expense lately!" he says.
Despite a lack of Kopites in his address book, The Doc is friendly with another member of Celebrity Kop Club – as well as a current Liverpool player.
He said: "I met Euan Blair in London when he came to see my band at the Walkabout in Shepherd's Bush.
"Then I was working in Manchester recently and had the pleasure of meeting Harry Kewell. I had a terrific night with him and his darling wife Sheree."
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drill...70125-1420.htm
Quality
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