A book written from the heart with Celtic fans in mind

JUNGLE DAYS: SUPPORTING CELTIC IN THE 1980S

Written by John Wight

Pitch Publishing Ltd

Price: £18.99

JUNGLE Days: Supporting Celtic in the 1980s by John Wight does what it says in its title. The book chronicles his support of the Bhoys in the one of the most turbulent decades of the 20th century. Yet the tome delivers far more, giving a superb history of Celtic and its importance to the Irish in Scotland.

Wight—a lifelong Celtic fan from Edinburgh—begins his story the 1979-80 season with Celtic beating Rangers 1-0 in the Scottish Cup Final and the infamous Hampden riot after the game. His writing captures the 1980s with astute insights into football and Thatcherism during the decade.

Jungle Days evokes to the mood of the time from the viewpoint of a fan on a supporter’s bus travelling to the games from outside Glasgow. The drink and the characters flow from the book’s pages with the 80s music of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and U2 providing the soundtrack to the bus journeys to Paradise.

In each chapter the author also gives a team sheet for iconic games. Who cannot smile when you read the names club legends such as Charlie Nicholas, Frank McAvennie, or Paul McStay? But Wight also mentions lesser-known Celtic players that most of us have forgotten or have tried to forget. Asking us: “Today who remembers the likes of Mark Reid and Pierce O’Leary?” His diligence in chronicling uncelebrated players is one that demonstrates the deep knowledge of a committed supporter.

As well as players giving a sense of the era, he is also able to capture the collective supporter memories of great Celtic days. One celebrated day was May 3, 1986, when Celtic won the league at Love Street in the final eight minutes of the season. When reading his account, we are back on the open terraces, as the news filtered through transistor radios of Albert Kidd scoring a brace for Dundee against Hearts at Dens Park. The pandemonium and pitch invasion in Paisley are all there in these pages.

Wight blends memories of a supporter with an insightful historical analysis of why Celtic is so important to the Irish of Scotland. His accessible history of the club and its origins is superb because it accurately describes how Irish immigrants were discriminated to such an extent in Scotland. In response as a community, the Irish established their own parallel social structures. This included setting up institutions such as Catholic education, charities like St Vincent de Paul, sporting organisations such as Celtic and how the club was central in the formation and promotion Irish identity in Scotland.

Whilst Wight is impassioned in his writing of the history of Celtic, he nevertheless pulls no punches in his account of the historical tensions within the club. He specifically focuses on acrimony between the Board and the support during the 80s. Observing that by the 1980s the founding spirit of Brother Walfrid’s charitable cause was replaced by business self-interest and these financial considerations being the paramount concern of the Board. He observes, in the decade of Thatcherism, the Board viewed the support as: “Customers rather than custodians. Capitalism in the boardroom: solidarity on the terraces.” Wight adeptly makes parallels between the 80s with the contemporary dynamics between Green Brigade and current Board. The author astutely comments that the more things change the more things seem to stay the same.

Jungle Days is essential reading for anyone who wants a good insight into what it was like to support of Celtic during the turbulent decade that was the 1980s. However, the book is much more than just a fan reminiscing about the era. It gives a superb historical account of why Celtic Football Club is an important institution for the Irish in Scotland. He observes that: “Out of this history derived a concrete set of values that succeeding generations of Celtic fans have embraced, upheld represented and carried with pride.” This is a supporter’s book written from the heart, but also with a clear mind of a fan who understands that: “And if you know your history,” is not a cliché, but a mantra to be lived by Celtic supporters.

Jungle Days: Supporting Celtic in the 1980s by John Wight is available in both Kindle and hardback formats on Amazon. It can also be purchased from various other online and high street stores