Different Class : Fashion, Football & Funk The Story of Laurie Cunningham

By Dermot Kavanagh

A biography of England's first professional black footballer, who represented Leyton Orient, West Bromwich Albion and became the first Englishman to play for Real Madrid

Friday, 10 February 2017

Dandies Take Care

The cover artwork for 'Different Class' has been approved and is now on amazon where it is available to pre-order before it's publication date on Thursday 13th July. I am told that traditionally books are always published on a Thursday, although I don't know why this is. I am very pleased with the cover. It is simple with elegant lettering, and suits the subject well. Laurie Cunningham was sometimes called 'flash' but he was not at all like that. He took great pride in dressing in a distinctive manner but never dressed merely for effect. The great music writer Nik Cohn in his 1971 book 'Today There Are No Gentlemen' gave his definition of men's style with the following words, "The word dandyism has taken on a totally false meaning. Popularly, it is supposed to mean display, exhibitionism but in fact, it only means perfectionism. Dandies take care they do not make gestures." Taken four years after this was written the photograph of Laurie Cunningham on the book's cover embodies the 'perfectionism' and 'care' of a teenage dandy in his prime.

 

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Comments

Nick Hadkiss
 Nick Hadkiss says:

Shouldn't the heading to this page read along the lines of "A biography of the first professional black footballer to represent England U23"? It currently suggests something completely different, that Laurie was the first black footballer to make a living from the game in England.

posted 13th February 2017

Dermot Kavanagh
 Dermot Kavanagh says:

Hello Nick - I see what you mean, although it is made clear in the opening sentence when you click through that it was as an under 21 player.

posted 15th February 2017

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