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“Chelsea fan Hugh Hastings was the club’s Official Photographer between 1977 and 1986 (and matchday programme editor 1980-86), a time when being the same age as the players enabled him to build a trust with the team and gain access to their lives away from the matchday spotlight - such as it was in that troublesome era.
Today, he has just had published what we think is one of the best Chelsea books we have ever seen, featuring a fascinating selection of his photo- journalistic work behind the scenes at Chelsea called “Deep Blue”.
CFCnet caught up with him after a recent home game (he is now a season ticket holder) to ask him about this classic retro Chelsea publication - published by http://www.retrobooks.co.uk/
Why now and why Deep Blue?
HH: “For some time I’ve thought that with all the dramatic changes which the club has undergone in recent years there’s a possibility that we might all lose sight of who we are and what qualities we have been associated with during our history. I mean it’s incredible what success we have had in recent years and I’ve enjoyed it as much as anyone but it actually means so much more with an appreciation of our historical context. Pictures do that job better than anything. That’s why it is Deep Blue - it’s Chelsea in the blood, a deep relationship, whatever the club’s situation.”
What specific club qualities did you have in mind?
HH: “Humility, a sense of enjoying the moment. These are part of the Club’s DNA, they are what make us special and they alive today. A good example occurred at Barnsley. Terrible result for the team, yet JT went on to a minibus full of Chelsea fans after the game and apologised for the team’s performance. The team were also full of praise for Barnsley. Contrast that with how Man Utd reacted to losing to Portsmouth in the FA Cup that same weekend: like spoilt little boys looking to blame anyone else for their own failings. JT’s response to defeat was classic Chelsea: we love to win, but it’s not life and death and if we lose, we’ll enjoy something along the way, even if it is how to be good losers. Another example: against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on March 23 this year. Arsenal skipper William Gallas was standing in the tunnel before the game looking deliberately focused and stern, and Claude Makelele was ribbing him, laughing his head off, as if saying “Come on William, it’s us, lighten up, you can’t fool us!” It was priceless. Deep Blue is full of moments that show the true nature of Chelsea.”
There are several photos of fans in the book. That’s an interesting angle.
HH: “Well, the fans are as much a part of Chelsea as the players for me. I was really lucky in that the managers in those days, especially Hollins and Neal, let me travel with the team to away games and even use the team’s changing room to get into my touchline all-weather gear, yet I had as much fun travelling to away games with the fans on the trains. It made you realise how special it all is when you were at a game in the north west of England in the middle of the week in a freezing cold winter, losing 2-0 with a rubbish referee in charge and yet the Chelsea fans would be packed into a little enclosure singing their hearts out in support of the team.”
The fans look very different in your book from who watches Chelsea today.
HH: “Well, some are for sure. The profile of football fans has changed in the last few years. It’s fascinating actually to look really closely at some of those pictures and see who the fans really were.”
What did you enjoy most about working for Chelsea?
“The best thing was being so close to the action and being able to capture the big moments from a game. I always used to enjoy looking at photographs in the matchday programme. Remember this was before widespread TV coverage of football matches so pictures from away games in the programme were the only things we had to look at to see how a goal was scored. That, and getting behind-the-scenes because I was lucky enough to know and be trusted by the players. “Deep Blue” is full of pictures that are practically impossible to take today. It’s a real lost world.”
How has Chelsea itself reacted to your book?
HH: “The club has been really supportive. They do not usually stock third-party books in the Megastore but because they know me from all those years ago they were happy to look at the book and really liked it. Since then they have organised book-signings with former players and really been as supportive as one could hope for. I think it shows an appreciation on their part that the club’s history is an important issue. They could easily have asked for some photos to be changed, but they didn’t and I think they deserve great credit for that. I know that not everyone who works at Chelsea in a senior position supports Chelsea, but they are good professionals and the longer they remain in their jobs, the better their understanding will be of the club’s culture. The players have been great too, and it was terrific of Peter Bonetti to write the Forward.”
And how can fans buy a copy?
HH: “By visiting our website, http://www.retrobooks.co.uk/, or the Chelsea Megastore. We are not supplying the wider UK book trade at the moment as they take a massive percentage and several months to pay up, but I really hope the fans take the extra trouble to find us. Many of those who have - and they live far and wide - have since written me some great emails about how they have enjoyed the book and some of the experiences they have had following Chelsea. Maybe enough in fact for another book!”
“Deep Blue” is priced £14.99, 240 pages A5.
