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For a man who was one of the most fearsome footballers of his generation, Terry Butcher cringes at the thought of looking back at his career in the game. “I get embarrassed by it,” says the defender who won the UEFA Cup with Ipswich Town and three Scottish titles with Rangers, and captained the England national team. “I don’t like seeing myself or hearing myself talk.”
He’s made an exception for Butcher: Invisible Wounds, a new hour-long documentary currently streaming on ITVX in the UK. It’s a portrait of a sporting warrior – a man who put the fear of god into opponents, was once reprimanded for kicking a referee’s dressing room door off its hinges in anger after an especially fiery game, and, famously, played virtually an entire match against Sweden in 1989 while bleeding profusely from a head wound, resulting in one of the most iconic images in football history.
But that’s only part of what Invisible Wounds is about. The documentary also address the death of Butcher’s son Chris, a former soldier who died in 2017 following a struggle with the PTSD from his time serving Iraq and Afghanistan. “It’s far more than just the story of a footballer’s career,” says Butcher of the documentary. “I wanted to tell Chris’s story. That was more important to me than any football I kicked.”
It’s a moving watch, but one thing it doesn’t get into is Butcher’s love of heavy metal – and especially Iron Maiden. His fandom stretches back to the 80s, a time when most of his teammates were listening to Phil Collins or R&B.
“I used to listen to Iron Maiden on my little headphones to psych myself up before going on the pitch,” says Butcher. “It was always the music for me.”
What got you into metal in the first place?
“The first album I bought was actually an Al Stewart one, Year of the Cat, which is an absolute classic. I love that. I actually like John Denver – whisper that one. But heavy metal was always there. The more I got interested in football, the more it played a part. A lot of people listened to disco or R&B, but that never got me going. If I was in my car and had heavy metal on, my foot tended to press down on the accelerator even more. I could really relate to [then-Liverpool manager] Jurgen Klopp talking about ‘heavy metal football.’”
You were the original heavy metal footballer.
“Yeah, I was probably one of them. Me and my friend [late Ipswich striker] Paul Mariner. He was a real character – he had the long hair and everything. Marrers was the one I used to go to the Ipswich Gaumont with to see heavy metal bands. I went to see Iron Maiden with him there. He took me along to see AC/DC at Wembley Arena too. Funnily enough, when I watch Ipswich now, they play Thunderstruck just before the start of the game, and Enter Sandman by Metallica. It’s perfect to get the crowd going – loud, brash… bang, bang, bang.”
I could really relate to Jurgen Klopp talking about ‘heavy metal football’.
Terry Butcher
Were your teammates into metal?
“No. Me and Marrers used to commandeer the team cassette player, and the rest of the players didn’t like it at all. I remember coming back from a game and someone put a cassette on that we didn’t like. I went to the front of the bus, took the cassette out and threw it through the skylight onto the road. We were both quite tall, so we could fend off any retribution from whoever owned it.”
When did you first see Maiden live?
“I'm sure it was at the Gaumont. I got to know a guy who was close to Maiden and Steve Harris. He introduced me to Steve, and we got to know each other very well, going to concerts and backstage. I always wanted to be a heavy guitar player or drummer. It's amazing how rock stars all want to be footballers and vice versa.”
The legendary Bobby Robson managed you at Ipswich and, later, during your England career. Was he a Maiden fan?
“No, Bobby Robson did not like heavy metal. He’d say, ‘Don’t you play that, Butcher’, so there was no chance. He was a big Sinatra guy – his favourite track was My Way. Graeme Souness, who was the manager at Rangers when I was there, wasn’t into music, but his number two was Walter Smith – a really tough guy made of granite and steel, but actually quite warm underneath. We used to play Bon Jovi, which Walter Smith actually fell in love with. Then we got him into AC/DC and a few records we suggested. We converted him into a heavy metal fan.”
Maiden famously have their own football team. Did you ever play with them?
“Yes. When I was in Scotland, they played the Playhouse in Edinburgh. On the morning of the concert, they played a football match with the roadies and local people. So yes, I was invited to play for Iron Maiden’s team.”
The other team must have been shitting themselves when they saw you.
“They were, like, ‘What a ringer! You can’t have him play.’ Another time, I went to Steve Harris’s house in Essex for an album launch. Everybody was there in their leather jackets. He’s got a beautiful house, and there was a football pitch in the garden. And to the side, he’d built a bar. It was always my ambition to walk straight off a football pitch and into a bar with my boots and shorts still on. So that’s what I did – played the game, walked into Steve’s pub and had a couple of pints straight after the game.”
You talked about listening to Maiden to psych yourself up before games. Did that really work?
“It did for me. I used to go to the toilets, put the headphones on and listen to heavy metal, and then I'd want to break down the door to get out on the pitch and go kill someone.”
Of all the musicians you’ve met, who are the tastiest footballers?
“I wouldn’t say any of them are tasty – they’re bang average. Actually, one of the best is Rod Stewart. I played with him in a testimonial for [former Aberdeen player] Alex McLeish. He was pretty good. I was wondering what the singalong was going to be in the bath afterwards, but he was knackered and couldn’t speak.”
I played the game, walked into Steve’s pub and had a couple of pints straight after the game.
Terry Butcher
What about Steve Harris? Is he any good?
“Yeah, he’s probably one of the best I’ve seen. He’s not a tall guy, though I’m 6’4” so I dwarf most people. But he’s got the energy for it. I guess you get that from playing onstage for two hours a night. But he’s going to be disappointed this season cos West Ham have gone down.”
Do you go easy on tackles when you’re playing amateur teams
“I always go in hard. If you don’t, you could come out injured. I met a guy who played in that game at Steve Harris’s house. He told me, ‘You nearly destroyed me with one tackle – you absolutely wiped me out. The impact was felt all around London.’ If I’m going in for a tackle, I steam right in.”
If push comes to shove, what’s your favourite Iron Maiden song?
“I love Run To The Hills because of the children. Chris, in particular, loved that one. We’d all do the drumming to it. But I think my favourite would be Wasted Years, just because it's a great song. I did try to get Paschendale as my ringtone., but I’m not great with technology. I actually have Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine as a ringtone. When I was assistant coach for Scotland [in the late 2000s], I did a press conference but I forgot to turn my phone to silent. Halfway through, I got a call and Sweet Child O’ Mine started playing. I got absolutely slaughtered for that.”
What‘s the best Maiden show you’ve ever seen?
“It’s got to be Twickenham [in 2008]. I've never been to Twickenham to see a rugby match. In fact, I've only been there once, and that was for an Iron Maiden concert. I had my three sons all with me, and it was the perfect night. We went backstage before and afterwards. We were all plastered, but it was incredible.
“But there was a concert at the Playhouse in Edinburgh. Normally, I stand right next to the mixing desk, and that night this roadie came up to me and said, ‘Come with me, you’re going onstage.’ I said, ‘No, no, no’, because I’m in Scotland and I’m a former England captain, so I thought I’d get pelted. But they dragged me onstage with Iron Maiden to sing along with one of their songs. Did I get any grief? Yeah, I got a bit of stick.”
Are you going to be at Maiden’s big show at Knebworth this year?
“Yeah, I’m thinking about going to that.”
We’ve got to talk about the current World Cup. What are England’s chances of finally winning this year?
“I think they‘re very good. I think the way [England coach] Thomas Tuchel goes about his work is great. He demands performances and sets his stall out right away so everybody knows what they have to do. He desperately wants to win the World Cup for England and for himself. There's also a bit of fear from the players of being left out or given a rollicking, which hasn't been there in many years. With the weather out there as it is, it's going to be even worse than when we were in Mexico in '86 with the storms and everything. But as long as the players are mentally stronger than the opposition, they'll get through it. The more games they play, the better they'll be, and there's good competition for places. I can see them going all the way.”
So should we all go down the bookies and put 50 quid on England winning the World Cup?
“No, go buy a few more Iron Maiden records you haven’t got already.”
Butcher: Invisible Wounds is streaming now on ITVX.
