On a midweek evening in South East London on February 2004, Johnnie Jackson scored his first Premier League goal at The Valley against Charlton Athletic to put the seal on a 4-2 away victory for Tottenham.
Nobody would of predicted that the midfielder would have eventually gone on to return at The Valley to represent Charlton in 279 appearances, scoring 55 goals and captaining the club on vast majority of those occasions, most memorably lifting the League One trophy during the 2011-12 season when the Addicks topped the league, gaining promotion to the Championship.
Since hanging up his boots, the skipper became assistant manager at the club, Johnnie’s now clocked over 10 years at Charlton, overseeing the many ups and downs of managerial changes and general unrest off the pitch. Undeniable loyalty which is extremely rare to find in modern football.
Away from football though, one of Jackson’s big passions is music, and he very kindly spoke with me about some of his favourite artists.
Who’s your favourite band of all time?
The Stone Roses
What song would get you pumped up before a match?
All My Friends by LCD Soundsystem
A song that reminds you of your time at Charlton?
Valley Floyd Road
Three artists you can’t get enough of?
The Stone Roses, The Arctic Monkeys, The Beatles
Your all time favourite album?
Definitely Maybe
What was the best gig you’ve ever been to?
The Strokes at Ally Pally
A song that’s a guilty pleasure?
99 Red Balloons by Nena
Which Gallagher brother would you rather meet up with for a drink, Noel or Liam?
Noel
If you had to create a band full of former footballers, who would be in it?
Andy Hughes lead singer, pure showman.
Lawrie Wilson on bass. Has the cool barnet and chilled out personality of a bass player.
Dean Gerken on drums. Complete
lunatic like most drummers.
Myself on guitar (I can play a bit!)
An artist you like that everyone should check out?
The Rifles. Joel, the lead singer, is my brother in law. Great band.
