VFL stars remember awful ‘Footy Favourites’ album

Get 12 of the biggest names in the VFL to record an album of the biggest hits of the 80s. What could go wrong? As one star recalls, it wasn’t as bad as he thought - it was worse. WATCH THE SONGS

Jon Anderson

3 min read

May 18, 2020 - 12:58PM

Sunday Herald Sun

The Footy Favourites record was released in 1981.

AFL

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ForMark Maclure, the opportunity to honour a legend in John Lennon seemed “like a good idea at the time”.

Thirty-nine years on and the triple Carlton premiership forward who answers to “Sellars” isn’t quite so sure when he occasionally listens to his 1981 version of the classic Imagine.

“It must be a very slow news day,” Maclure laughed when reminded of his contribution to an album titled FOOTY FAVOURITES that featured 12 VFL stars of the time doing their best to honour the greats.

“It’s not the hardest song to sing when you think about it, with only a few verses, apart from the ‘ah-ha’ and ‘yoo-hoo’ bit in the chorus which get a bit high.

“It was actually a lot of fun doing it, with Barry Round already having kicked off with about eight cans at Armstrong Studios in North Melbourne. I can’t tell you who was any good, but I do know Kelvin Templeton was the worst.

“I got a cheque for $500 the first month, then $180 the second month before it dried up a tad. Someone said it’s now a collector’s item but I’m not sure, although it was fun and that’s what footy should be. Sadly that fun aspect is lacking in today’s game.”

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BARRY ROUND

Round, 70, played 135 games for Footscray from 1969-75 and 193 with Sydney from 1976-85, winning the 1981 Brownlow Medal

“Mark Browning dobbed me in when they asked would anyone be interested in becoming a pop star. Every club has a sacrificial lamb and good old ‘Roundy’ was it for South, but at least I could talk in tune, unlike Kelvin Templeton.

“I was very shy at the start but after 14 cans I wanted to do the whole album.

“They said the only song left was Little Jeannie, which was hardly ideal with Elton John’s high notes. I thought they should have awarded me a degree of difficulty like the diving.

“At the time we thought we were going to make some serious money, given the way they sold it to us. The NRL had done the same thing and supposedly it had gone well.

“I still get up these days occasionally and belt out a couple of numbers, but Little Jeannie isn’t part of my repertoire.”

LAURIE SERAFINI

Serafini, 61, played 146 matches for Fitzroy from 1977-85

“It came about when teammate Leon Harris, who was also our promotions officer, yelled out in the gym one day did anybody want to sing on a rock album. I always fancied myself as a rock ’n’ roller and put my hand up.

“I had visions of the Don Lane Show and then a national tour, maybe even overseas. I think I ended up with $360. When it came out I was a teacher in North Melbourne. The students gave me a fair bit.

“Who was OK on the record? I thought Roundy was OK with Little Jeannie, and Tim Watson not too bad with Ruby. Michael Moncrieff and Kelvin Templeton struggled a bit.”

ROBERT FLOWER

Flower, who died aged 59, played 272 games (315 goals) for Melbourne from 1973-87. He recalled the event with this author in 2010

“It’s so ridiculous, it’s funny. I still can’t believe I agreed to do it.

“At Murrumbeena Primary School there were canaries and blackbirds in the choir, and I was always a blackbird.

“I sang Macho Man, such an appropriate song for someone built like me (182cm, 68kg). After a couple of attempts they said stop and told me to sing Blue Bayou. That was worse so I went back to Macho Man.

“I remember getting ready to do it and thinking it can’t be that bad. And it wasn’t, it was worse. They were recording me a line at a time. Even now I will turn up somewhere and someone will break into a rendition of Macho Man. Apparently an album had been successful for the rugby league guys, but maybe they could sing.”