Tailenders Of The World Unite And Takeover... Manchester

Hello and welcome to something I’d like to name: The Mattchin’s Blog (Captain’s Log).

G-Force here. Before I let you read another Mattchin masterpiece, I wanted to thank all the Tailenders that bothered to turn up in Manchester.

We say it often but it’s because we mean it - but it’s the most brilliant surprise to us that it’s taken off like it has. And we love it so much.

Thanks also to everyone who works behind the scenes, the insanely talented band who play our ludicrous songs and especially Mark Wood and Alastair Cook who gave up their time to come to Manchester.

Mark Wood surprising the crowd by singing his OWN song will live long in my memory. As will Cook wearing Felix’s batting jacket.

Click here to listen to Tailenders Live at the Palace Part 1 and here for Part 2.

Long live Tailenders! And now, Lord Mattchin:

Just over two years ago, I responded to a tweet I’d seen looking for callers to feature in a phone-in about ‘cricketing claims to fame’.

Sat in my car, in a grey rainy day outside of work in Bristol, the phone rang at 9:00 as scheduled from BBC producer Mark ‘Sharky’ Sharman.

He put me through as a caller to a new cricket-related podcast so I could explain that despite my absolute ambivalence to cricket I am distantly related to Indian cricketing God Sachin Tendulkar (Uncle Sach) - a quirk of my family tree that people who loved cricket always got far more excited about than I ever did.

Hosting the show was Greg James - who I always loved on Radio 1 - Felix from the Maccabees - a band who I’ve been obsessed with since I saw them in the Thekla in Bristol in 2009 - and a professional cricketer called James, who I’ll be honest I wasn’t overly familiar with.

During the call an extraordinary thing occurred which I don’t think would ever happen when broadcasting any other sport or debate show, but on reflection is indicative of the inclusive nature of the guys and cricket fandom in general.

The easy joke for the hosts to make would be to highlight the divide between a dopey cricket-ignorant Bristolian shoe salesman and the great Jimmy Anderson, pull the ladder up, laugh at my naivety to the sport they hold so dearly and move on…you don’t like cricket? You can’t sit here!

But this is cricket - and this is Tailenders: a spontaneous safe space where these guys were doing their best to break down the lazy stereotypes of cricket being an exclusive boys club for 'certain people'.

The guys have all got such joy from cricket and their mission was to hold the door open and show anyone that this bizarre and passionate community was waiting to greet you

So instead of shutting me down, they opened their arms and invited me back - and each week my curiosities and stupid questions learning about the sport became a vehicle for listeners also new to it to help understand the weird nuances, jargon and rules of this ancient game.

Who better to explain that you’re not allowed to catch the ball in your hat than Jimmy Anderson?

As my love for cricket and its community grew, so did the Tailenders following. And so, by beautiful accident, this daft but warm community has evolved, where no membership card or even knowledge of cricket is needed.

Every week we can celebrate the artistry and developments of the game against a backdrop of in-jokes, music and chatting nonsense.

Cut to present day, and we’re 83 podcasts not out - which apparently is decent for a Tailender.

The live show in Manchester has an all-star cast of Greg James, Felix White, Jimmy Anderson with special guests Mark Wood and Sir Alastair Cook on stage backed by most of the Maccabees.

All of these bookings could fill a theatre on their own merit, but in Tailenders spirit the headline feature is two listeners from Middlesbrough who hadn’t seen each since they used to play together as infants but reconnected over their love of Tailenders.

They are sat in a ball pool at the front of the stage with cricketing royalty fielding questions.

The show descends into a chaotic, musical life-affirming mess that celebrates the mammoth success of English cricket over the last 18 months and the nonsense Tailenders has spouted out whilst giddily loving, laughing and clapping alongside it.

The crowd embrace it for what it is in full fancy dress - cheering, heckling and singing along as England’s highest ever wicket taker destroyed people’s personal documents using an industrial shredder (dressed in full safety gear complete with hi-vis jacket).

During the big finish, Greg James launches a mannequin of Allan Lamb into the audience, and as the lights go up on this 2,000-strong crowd and Allan Lamb crowd surfs into the rafters, we can see a joyful diverse mix of ages and genders highlighting the open door policy that kick-started this podcast.

Sat here on the come-down from the energy in that room, I don’t even begin to understand it: why I’m involved, why something that most people listen to alone can create such a community and connection on a cold Sunday night in Manchester? But I’m very grateful I found it.

Like me, I know Greg, Jimmy and Felix use Tailenders as a happy, almost cartoon-like bubble away from the pressures of their real but vastly different jobs and I guess that’s what a lot of listeners do too?

A small, daft but positive corner of the world away from the depressing news cycles, a Tailenders family which anyone can join and where everyone is related to Uncle Sach.

Download both parts of Tailenders Live at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, below.