Poster for Steven Seagal's band when they were playing in Worthing
Every time I pick up my guitar I prove Radiohead wrong. Some people just don’t have a knack for music at all. Unfortunately far too many of them find enough success in another field that they feel tempted to dabble in music too.
There is a long line of actors who think that if a few million punters enjoyed their films they will all enjoy them strangling a song. Many of them are wrong, although one or two turn out to be not too bad: they do after all have the advantage of being performers in the first place.
Less successful in translating their talents to music are professional sportsmen. There are some musicians who were involved in sport early in their lives, but only found any great success in music (Rod Stewart, Julio Inglesias, Sean Paul), and then there are the sporting superstars who try music and just sell a few records for their novelty value. For some reason Diamond Lights springs to mind here.
The only person I can think of who had a successful sporting career, followed by credible success in music is Yannick Noah, winner of the French Open and Davis Cup team captain. He may not be a household name in the UK, but he shifts a lot of records in France and plays big venues.
Is he the optimum sportsman/musician? Is there anyone who got as far in sport that has done better in music? Or is there anyone who has sold as many records who achieved more in sport?  I can’t think of anyone, but I’m happy to be proved wrong.
Just because I like it, here is Noah singing one of his better songs:
Not sure if it’s totally relevant but isn’t David Hasselhof(sp?) known as a multi-million selling pop star in Germany although most of us know him here as one of the very wooden actors in Baywatch?
Totally different field but Camus was a goalie before was a writer. Probably couldn’t play guitar though.
Hasselhof made that transition quite well, but as I said ‘actors’ (I use quotes there because he got out-acted by a car in Knight Driver) do find it easier. I still can’t think of sportsmen who have done it that well.
If I was talking about writing rather than making music, Dick Francis would be a better example as he was a very successful jockey before becoming a best-selling writer. Camus’ sporting career was like Inglesias’ – more people knew about it as a bit of trivia after he got well known that ever knew he was a goalie at the time.
It is always possible that someone who was a major American football, baseball or basketball star has a Grammy-winning career in country music… in which case they would not have got onto either my sport or music radars.
There could also be a famous Indian cricketer selling millions of bhangra records a year on the sub-continent.
I can’t think of any, but its always possible.