I think it’s fair to say that I am slightly obsessed with the subject of this week’s unusual wikipedia article. Is there anyone in the world with a more stupid name? And what drugs were his parents on?
Neville Neville (born 26 September 1949) is a former league cricketer, football agent and director. He is the father of professional association football players Gary Neville and Phil Neville and netball player Tracey Neville.
Neville played cricket for Greenmount Cricket Club in the Bolton Cricket League league during the 1980s. Neville is the agent for his two sons. He has represented both during contract talks with their clubs.
Neville is a former director of club Bury of the English Football League. He was the spearhead and vice-chairman of the “save our shakers” appeal which was a bid to give financial assistance to the struggling football club after it had gone into administration. The campaign was “brilliantly orchestrated” by Neville and he was praised for tirelessly organising supporters groups, giving media interviews and working closely with the administrators to arrange a deal to secure the club’s safety. It is said that Bury owe Neville “a huge debt”.
Neville has achieved somewhat of a cult status among football fans, because of his unusual name.
His name is part of what has been called “one of the best chants in football”:
Neville Neville your future’s immense
Neville Neville you play in defence
Neville Neville you ain’t half bad
Neville Neville is the name of your dad
(Sung to the tune of David Bowie’s ‘Rebel Rebel’)
I knew a Jane Jane in college.
I, of course, immediately realized that this is yet another sign of the fall of civilization and the coming apocalypse. (Amazing how often those show up in college.)
In fact, it was, Jane told me, a family tradition.
Then of course there’s Joseph Heller’s Major Major Major, who is promoted to Major purely to avoid administrative confusion.
As an aside, a friend from the early sixties, living in Hawkhurst when the toffs weekended there, making contact with their Benenden encased sprogs, was the local postman, earning pin money. He had been a major in the engineers, mainly based in India and had, putting it mildly, been around a bit. Knocking on the Miss Marpleish door of a Kent weekend retreat he presented the occupant with a parcel Mr b…….?, “it’s captain B…… actually” oh, well, best call me major then.
Major Tom of the GPO.
Jerome (K) Jerome
Humbert Humbert
and who could forget
Edward ‘Eddie the Eagle’ Edwards…
Jerome (K) Jerome
It’s the K that makes it funny.
Of course there’s Francis Francis from Potter’s Lipstick on Your Collar and my favourite Diana Ross calling her son Ross. Thanks mum
Ford Madox Ford – but he can’t blame his parents.
I have an ancestor whose name was Tanchan Tanchan.