WHEN Gareth Ainsworth was a youngster, his dad handed him a cassette of The Who’s famous rock opera Tommy.That album would kick-start a love affair of music, an early obsession with The Doors and Jim Morrison, a passion for LA hair metal of the 1980s to later forming the band, The Cold Blooded Hearts.
QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth’s first love was music, not football
Now, Ainsworth and his band The Cold Blooded Hearts have released their debut albumCredit: Al Stuart
It seems like a side note Ainsworth would go on to become a Premier League footballer and a one-time second longest-serving manager in the EFL during his Wycombe Wanderers tenure that lasted 12 years, before he move to QPR back in February.
Football gave him a comfortable living. But it is music that came first and became a lifelong dream.
His mother Christine was a professional singer who passed on her love of performing to her self-confessed ‘extrovert’ son and taught him how to sing using his diaphragm.
While father Bill, a big Jimi Hendrix fan, inspired a young Gareth to listen to 60s and 70s classic rock and set his son on his way to developing his own musical tastes.
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“I think mum was the wild one,” Ainsworth, 50, tells SunSport in the manager’s office at QPR’s impressive new training ground near Heathrow Airport.
“She was the one who influenced me to have that bit of edginess. I’ve always loved that sense of just being a little bit out control and different.”
Gareth is celebrating the release of The Cold Blooded Hearts’ debut album, The Cold Light Of Day.
His is not wearing his lucky red snakeskin leather boots that have been seen on the sidelines at Loftus Road, and differentiate him from every other manager in the country.
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Instead, he is in sporting attire for our meeting to discuss how he became a Premier League footballer instead of a rock star, which seemed more likely growing up in Blackburn, Lancashire.
“It was music that came first for me,” he says.
“I was a late developer and didn’t get into my school football team until I was about 13.
“By that time I was already in the school choir performing solos and appearing in drama class productions.
“But I was sporty and I developed very fast. I ended up signing for Blackburn when I was 16 and music took a back-burner as I began making a career out of football.”
In 1998, Gareth joined Premier League club Wimbledon, where he would meet a kindred spirit in ex-Norway international Trond Andersen.
The pair bonded over Guns N’ Roses and would soon jam together. He had rekindled his love for rock and roll.
“He played the guitar and we connected really well,” Ainsworth recalls.
“We formed a band with the groundsman Chris Perry, who was in a prog-rock group in the 70s called Jericho, called ourselves APA, and wrote a few songs.
“That reignited the fire in me. Music was back and it was here to stay.”
Rocker Ainsworth grew up in a musical family and loved drama at schoolCredit: Al Stuart
The Doors singer Jim Morrison was Ainsworth’s idol and he wore leather trousers like his hero
Ainsworth and Andersen would play gigs, and were joined by their supportive team-mates as they belted out covers from bands like Kings of Leon.
That newfound release gave Gareth the confidence to express himself through fashion, and he became famous for his outfits among his peers.
He reveals: “We used to go on end of season trips to places like Ayia Napa in Cyprus, and there would be other players from different football clubs there.
“I would wear my leather trousers all week and not take them off! I was known as that guy.
“I didn’t go for the tan, I went for a good time and there was definitely a Jim Morrison influence in what I wore. But it was nice to have an identity.”
Gareth lives in band T-shirts and ripped jeans, which led to one hilarious exchange with a former manager during his playing days.
He remembers: “One particular coach came up to me once and asked, ‘Who’s that on your T-shirt? Is that Lady Diana?’ It was Debbie Harry of Blondie!”
But was his rock persona that led to an ex-QPR coach question the rocker’s professionalism.
“I remember Ian Holloway pulling me after a poor game at Plymouth,” he explains.
“He said to me, ‘Were you gigging the other night?’ And I could see he was probably thinking this guy is out singing the night before a game.
The Cold Blooded Hearts were formed in 2015Credit: Al Stuart
Ainsworth starring for QPR as a player
“And I can say I never did that. I never jeopardised my career by doing something like that.”
Nor was Gareth influenced by the sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyle some of his idols craved.
“I can thank my football career for keeping away from that kind of thing,” he divulges.
“I like a Jack and Coke, but I was a professional athlete and would never have thought about taking drugs.
“My drug was playing football, training hard and being super professional.”
In the early 2000s, Gareth auditioned incognito to be a singer in a band who advertised for a frontman in Loot magazine.
He passed the audition with flying colours, with his bandmates unaware of his footballer status as he bellowed out ZZ Top’s ‘Legs’.
“I would say it’s one of the best moments of my music career – because they chose me for my singing talent and not because I was a footballer.
“I was completely unrecognised and that gave me the belief that I could do this after football.
“We formed the band Dog Chewed The Handle, which is where I met guitarist and songwriter Lee-Van Sergeant, who has been in various bands with me for 20 years now.
Gareth and his band are influenced by 80s LA rockersCredit: Al Stuart
Management wasn’t something Ainsworth envisaged as his playing career wound down
“I really saw myself going down that route, with my life in football ending and a new start in music beginning.”
Fate would take Gareth in a different direction. In 2012, he was handed the reigns at Wycombe Wanderers in a player manager role.
“That was a surprise for me,” Ainsworth tells us.
“I had a taste of coaching at QPR as a caretaker manager (in 2009), I touched on doing my B Licence, and thought I would do a couple of years at Wycombe as a player, as my career was winding down.
“But I got offered the job and took on the challenge. Little did I know that I would be there for 10 years!”
In 2015, Ainsworth formed The Cold Blooded Hearts alongside pal Sergeant, with drummer Luke ‘Chalky’ Sergeant and bass guitarist Ron Campbell completing the line-up.
A year later, independent record label Cherry Red Records began sponsoring Wycombe. It was a perfect marriage and called for a collaboration.
After hearing the band’s songs, managing director Adam Velasco offered them a record deal. The fruits of that relationship is the debut album, The Cold Light Of Day.
It takes influence from bands including Guns N’Roses, The Clash and Dead Kennedys and is produced by the legendary Geoff Downes, former keyboardist of YES and The Buggles.
Ainsworth is football’s most rock and roll manager – wearing snakeskin boots on the touchline
From left to right, The Cold Blooded Hearts are made up of songwriter Lee-Van Sergeant, singer Ainsworth, drummer Luke ‘Chalky’ Sergeant and bass guitarist Ron CampbellCredit: Al Stuart
Ainsworth admitted he has plenty of fears how the album is perceivedCredit: Al Stuart
This is not a novelty record. Forget Gazza’s Fog On The Tyne or any ghastly FA Cup final number, this is the real deal.
But Gareth admits he had plenty of fears ahead of the album’s release with how it is perceived.
“People will probably look at this and go, ‘He’s made it at football and just because he’s got a bit of a name he can bring an album out.’
“That couldn’t be further from the truth. This is my first love. I’m a musician who became a football manager.
“Footballers have been battered when they have tried to bring music out.
“But many of those songs were brought out because of who they were as players.
“I’ll admit I’ve had doors opened for me because of football, but it’s been an absolute desire for me to release music for as long as I can remember.
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“It’s really a dream come true. I just hope that people give it a chance and it does well for Cherry Red Records, who pinned their faith on us.”
*The Cold Blooded Hearts debut The Cold Light Of Day is out now on Cherry Red Red Records.
The Cold Light of Day is out now More
