Northern Ireland football hero turns his attention to music scene

Ian Stewart is best known for his exploits on the football field, most notably scoring the winning goal against West Germany at Windsor Park in 1982.

Not many people are aware of Ian’s musical passions, however that could soon change thanks to The Back Four.

Ian, who now works for the IFA, made many friendships in the music community when he lived in London in the 1980s.

In 2019, having written some songs for football projects, Ian put a band together with his friend Philip McCarroll, who he had worked with in Sounds of NI for many years, championing Northern Irish music.

With Philip on lead vocals the duo assembled some of their favourite NI musicians to become The Back Four including members of The Dead Presidents, Levity Breaks, Red Sirus and Bandwagon.

Philip, who was in the band Pay*ola, said: “I’ve known Ian since 2004, he had a record label called Music Best Records. I began working with him on promotions and gigs through Sounds of NI.

“I’m a huge Northern Ireland fan. When I was a really young kid the first games my dad brought me to Ian would have been playing. I’d have had posters of him on my wall.

“The first few times I met him I was always in awe a bit.

“I’m always trying to get him to tell me football stories and he wants to talk about music – we’re coming from opposite sides of the tracks on that.”

The band’s first recording – Under 19 Team – was chosen as the official Irish FA and UEFA song for the UEFA Under 19 European Championships, due to be held in Northern Ireland in the summer of 2020, but with the inevitable cancellation of that tournament due to COVID-19, the football songs were put on the backburner, and phase two of the project began.

One of Ian’s friends in his London days was guitarist/singer/songwriter Matthew Ashman, who sadly died in late 1995 at only 35 years old.

He had been in bands including Adam and the Ants, Bow Wow Wow, Chiefs of Relief and Transvision Vamp.

Philip said: “Ian felt that his talent and songs had been unfairly forgotten, and upon discovering a cassette demo buried in his garage became determined to give these tracks a new lease of life. They had originally been intended for Chiefs of Relief, who also featured Paul Cook from Sex Pistols.”

The debut single ‘This Is Where It All Begins’ on Cherry Red Records can be downloaded and streamed at all the usual sites. A limited-edition picture disc can be bought at www.thebackfour.bigcartel.com

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