CSB - Simon Finch - Barmy Army

Since 2021, he has been a professional trumpeter with the Barmy Army, travelling across the world to back the England team, and having played with the likes of Eric Clapton, Paloma Faith, Tom Jones, Paul Weller and Beyonce, Finch has a song for every mood

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Country Sport Breakfast with Brian Kelly on Gold Sport.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, they are the Army, the Barmie Barmie Army and
they are in New Zealand for the three Test series
England and the black Caps and joining us as the
trumpeter from the Barmie Army, Simon French, Simon, welcome to
New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Thank you very much, curous you.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Listen how long you been trumpeter with the Barmie Army.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
I joined in twenty twenty but it was unfortunately curtailed
quite briefly, well quite quickly by the COVID. So my
first live in ground experience was in twenty twenty one
against New Zealand's funny enough, So.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
When you say you joined, I mean, is that how
you get into the Barmie Army? Do you actually hit
physically have to join them?

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Well, it's it's it's kind of a slightly movable feast.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Like I've always been a massive cricket fan, but I
used to go at the games and see the Barmi Army,
but I wasn't really part of it. But in terms
of being a member, we have we have a full
membership program, but you can you can join with a
membership card and lots of benefits. We get preferential ticket
seeing and you get we'll get chance to sit together
in the games because we buy to gives on block.

(01:28):
But then we also do when we go abroad, we travel,
we have travel packages that we know you pay one
fee and we set out your hotels, your flights, your
transports plus special events. But then there's also the traveling
independent supporters who don't trouble with us in one of
our kind of packages, but they members of the Barmi
Army through and through they've been traveling and identify as
the Barmy Army, so it's a kind of and then

(01:48):
you get the evening supporters who don't identify as Barmy
Army but covered with England. So it's a kind of
it's a kind of strange sort of mixing. It kind
of depends on the depends on whether the home or
a way to be honest, So.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
How many how many you're in the bar the Army
in christ Church for for day one of the dismatched.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Today Barmie Army, I would say they're probably getting on
for a.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
Thousand, seriously a thousand, yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
I would say, I mean that i'd say, yeah, people
who identifies Barmie Army.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yeah, ah, that's going to be amazing to hear you guys,
and you sort of leading them with well number one Jerusalem.
That's kind of the theme song, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
That's right, that's the Barmie Army anthem.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Here the Army anthem. But what other what other songs
do you have in the repertoire that we'll hear from
the from the Gang today?

Speaker 3 (02:35):
Well, we also we hear my Famous World.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
I say famous, that's about high fologing in it, my
my Coulter arms, which is the thing from the Great
Escape everyone goes and that gets that that gets the
fans going. If there's a bit of a lull. Also
here where are the Army are? We are mental bussy?
You'll hear Joe Roots song which is no Rots and

(03:02):
Zach Crawley he's tolder that the floodlights, Zach Cruney, stuff
like that. So yeah, but we've got we got some
new bies in you obvious got Jacob Bethel is new
and Biden Carson and Doug gas Akinson.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
They're relatively new, so we need some new songs for them.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
So if anyone's got any ideas for songs with those
guys come and say hello, Oh I love.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
It, I love it, I love it. So tell us
about you, I mean so, I mean you. You've got
a degree in music, haven't you.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah? Oh yeah, I'm a I'm a I'm a See.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
I've been a professional for over thirty years working in London.
I've been very fortunate to play with some pretty big
names like I'm in Kanye West, I've perform I've recorded
with jay Z, Beyonce, Blur, Liam Gallagher, Tom Jones, Eric
Captain being like that.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
You know, I've been very fortunate.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
And I believe you were in the in the music
for Jowsey Boys for seven years.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
I was.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
It was in the air when it opened in when
it opened in London in two thousand and eight.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
You know I did the first seven years of it,
That's right.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
So what's the what's the plan for today? It's just
coming up nearly a quarter to nine here in New Zealand.
So what are the Bambi Army going to be doing
between now and eleven?

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Drinking? Probably?

Speaker 1 (04:08):
No, not me.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
I haven't happy breakfast yet.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
I've been waiting for your phone, Darling but I've been
sat by the foe waiting for you. Now I'm going
to have you breakfast and then we're going to head
down to the ground, get there at ten o'clock and
then get stuck into it. I mean with the food
and the callers of the beer and drinking in New Zealand,
it's outstanding.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
I remember that for my last time here.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
So I'm looking forward to getting stuck in some lovely
craft opas and having a great time basically, and I'm
putting a good show and hopefully.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
Getting some new local friends into the ranks to Baymi Army.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Ah, fantastic, Well, thank you for entertaining us this morning, sigmon,
and have a great stay with the Army in New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
Thank you very much, sir.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
Nice talk to you. And here's a.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Here's a week at two of Simon Finch and his
signature tune of the signature tune for the Barmie Army Jerusalem.
And let's play a little bit of that one mark
shall we? Yeah, looking forward to looking forward to hearing

(05:48):
from them today the Barmie Army. Welcome to New Zealand.