Wolves fan Jason’s podcast tales are brought to book
An avid Wolves supporter has turned his popular podcast featuring in-depth interviews with Molineux greats into a book for two charities close to his heart.
Tales From The Tape tells the stories of 36 former Wolves stars – players, managers and hierarchy – from the last 50 years, with many of them previously untold.
It has been put together by Jason Guy, transforming audio from his Wolf Whistle podcast into a 350-page hardback with the aim of raising £5,000 for both Breast Cancer Now and the neonatal department at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital.
Guy, who has been a fan since the late 1980s and runs the Wolves All-Stars team alongside Mel Eves, said: “The podcast came about from helping Mel run the Wolves All-Stars.
“I was in the dressing room with the players, and I was taken aback as they were just telling stories so effortlessly.
“I then contacted a few of the players and asked if they would come on a podcast if I started one, and they said yes.
“I’d interview them, just taking about an hour to talk about their careers. To be honest, it was on a bit of a whim but it took off and did really well.
“I put pressure on myself then to put out one a week, and we’ve been going for around 18 months – nearly 70 editions out.
“At about 40 editions though, at home during lockdown, I just thought not everybody is in the digital age. Not everybody listens to podcasts, or goes on YouTube or social media.
“There’s still a lot of people who like to read things in black and white, and I thought some of the podcasts would make for good chapters.
“They turned into really interesting stories, so I’d then send the transcripts to the players for their approval, and eventually turned it into a book.
“It took about six months to write and has been a bit of a labour of love, but it’s going to two great charities that are very important to me.”
Tales from the Tape is a chronological history of Wolves, with the first chapter covering Terry Wharton’s time at the club during the 1960s – breaking through under Stan Cullis. The book then goes through the decades with the likes of John Barnwell, Andy Gray, Graham Turner, Dave Jones and Carl Ikeme before ending with a poignant interview with Vicky Wright, daughter of club legend Billy.
Guy lost wife Lucy to breast cancer in 2015, and since then he has spearheaded a fundraising drive which has raised more than £250,000 for Breast Cancer Now.
He since met Aimee, whom he married towards the end of 2019, and last October, she gave birth to their daughter Olivia, who needed the care of the Neonatal department at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital in the days following her arrival.
“The target is to raise £10,000, so £5,000 for each charity,” explained Guy.
“It’s a bit of an ambitious target, but Wolves have very kindly had 100 books off me to stock the club shop website and are interested in more.
“As a Wolves supporter, that was a proud moment, knowing it will be in the club shop as at the end of the day I’m not a journalist, I’m just a fan who reveres his heroes.
“The aim is £5,000 for Breast Cancer Now, having lost my wife to breast cancer in 2015. Then, the Neonatal Department at New Cross Hospital, who looked after my daughter when she was born.
“We’ve got Andy Gray, Kenny Hibbitt, John Barnwell, Dave Jones, Graham Turner, Ludovic Pollet, Jody Craddock.
“One of the best was Colin Lee, who just says it as it is. And another was Doug Hope, who was vice-chairman under the Bhattis so that is warts and all.
“We’ve been very lucky. There is 36 in total, and we’ve done it in chronological order so as you read the book, it takes you on a bit of a history guide – the cup runs of the 70s, dark days of the 80s and recovering 90s.
“It’s both on the pitch and off the pitch, so we try to capture all eras.”
Andy Thompson, Don Goodman and Michael Kightly are just a few others whose stories have been told, and Guy hopes there is something for every Wolves fan in the book.
“There’s lots of online presence now – podcasts and YouTube channels – which I fully support,” he added.
“But there’s been a bit of a void of books. Steve Plant did a fantastic one, but there hasn’t been many books.
“This has got a good response from the players, and a lot of work has gone into it – listening to all the podcasts back. I’m sick of the sound of my own voice now!
“But the reason I do it is for the two charities which obviously mean so much to me. This seemed a good way of raising money for them and hopefully people enjoy the book.”
Tales from the Tape is now available for £20 and all profits from the sale of the book will go to the two charities. It can be purchased via Wolves’ online megastore or www.talesfromthetape.co.uk
