A Question of Taste: Peter Collins

PETER COLLINS is from Westport, Co Mayo, and presents soccer, athletics, MotoGP, etc, for RTÉ.

Best recent book: Roy Keane, The Second Half... There’s a story or two in there I can definitely relate to, made it a really enjoyable read.

Best recent film: Not a movie buff at all but best one I’ve seen in recent years was Senna.

Best recent show/performance you’ve seen in recent months: Simple Minds, Coliseu dos Recreios, Lisbon. Managed to get hold of the two remaining tickets for what was the first gig of their current European tour. Brilliant set list, from ‘The American’ to ‘Waterfront’... although could have done without an encore of The Doors’ ‘Riders on the Storm’.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately: Prompted by the nostalgia of the Simple Minds gig, I’ve been raiding my own vinyl vaults and enjoying Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense and New Order’s Movement.

First ever piece of music or art or film that really moved you: This one is easy... ‘Life on Mars’ by David Bowie, my desert island disc (followed closely by U2’s ‘11 O’Clock Tick Tock’).

Magic moment from your sports TV viewing as a youth: Manchester United winning the FA Cup in 1977. It’s hard to believe now after all the recent success, but United hadn’t won a major trophy since their European Cup triumph in 1968, so this FA Cup win was momentous and my goal-scoring hero at the time, Stuart Pearson, got the opener. Jimmy Case equalised for Liverpool and Lou Macari scored the winner for United... cue wild abandon at The Quay in Westport.

If you had to pick one standout from all the sports events you’ve covered, what would it be: Almost impossible to narrow it down to just one, but probably the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix in 1998. It started with an accident involving 13 cars. After all the chaos and carnage, 18 cars were on the grid for the second start and Ireland’s Jordan Grand Prix team took an unbelievable 1, 2, beating the might of Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, etc. It was a feat I knew then we were unlikely to witness again.

Tell us about your general TV viewing: Mainly sport, and [Discovery Channel reality show] Orange County Choppers before the Tuttalls blew it all!

Radio listening: TXFM for music, Radio 1 for reliable information.

Your best celebrity encounter: Sharing the same table (albeit a rather large one) with Mick Jagger and Sly Stallone at a GP. Stallone was researching his F1/Indycar movie at the time and I clearly remember him saying to Jagger, “Man, am I glad you’re here this weekend, it takes some of the heat off me”. Took the words right out of my mouth. Also, I once had to refuse Alex Ferguson a lift as I couldn’t move the baby seats from the back of my car!

Most expensive item of clothing you’ve ever bought: I’ve been eyeing a pair of Paul Smith shoes for months now. I’m still saving for them. So is everyone else by the looks of things as they haven’t budged in four months.

Tech habits: Smartphone and tablet for just about everything from research to booking travel and organising everyone else’s itinerary.

Unsung hero: The virtue of honesty.

You are king for a day — what’s your first decree? “I hereby declare that from this moment forth social interaction will actually involve speaking to people”.

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