0:00:02 > 0:00:04They call him Hurricane.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08Hurricane Higgins. A quiet man, a confident man.
0:00:08 > 0:00:14You'd never notice him in a crowd. But in his own, twilight world, Hurricane Higgins is almost a god.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17From Accrington, Alex Higgins.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24He sent shock waves through the snooker world.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Something new had arrived on the scene that was quite unusual.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33He just loved to play. He just loved to entertain. He just loved the buzz.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39It was great to watch him. He went out on a limb, just to give
0:00:39 > 0:00:42people the type of entertainment that they'd never had before.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45COMMENTATOR: 'Is it going in? The crowd will love that.'
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Did he bring shame on the sport?
0:00:50 > 0:00:52He did some bad things.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Did he kill any one? No.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56I was not necessarily his favourite person.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00He said the next time I went back home to Northern Ireland, he'd have me shot.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03INTERVIEWER: Could you face life without snooker, Alex?
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Could snooker face life without me?
0:01:11 > 0:01:14I am sick up to here.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Alex was the best player, drunk, that I ever saw.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21I never, ever knew Alex Higgins to win one bet.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Shove your snooker up your jacksy.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24I will play it no more.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35He was ahead of his time. If he was around now, someone
0:01:35 > 0:01:38like Simon Cowell, they'd be like, you know what? We need this man.
0:01:38 > 0:01:44My dad was a born entertainer. And he was definitely the people's champion.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47I've had my tears. I shall have a few more.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50It's just so sad to think that he's not with us any more.
0:01:50 > 0:01:56Alex really, from the offset, was his own executioner.
0:01:56 > 0:01:57'Alex Higgins, ladies and gentlemen!'
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Alex Hurricane Higgins was found dead at the age of 61 on July 24th,
0:02:13 > 0:02:192010, in Belfast, the city where he was born and where he grew up.
0:02:22 > 0:02:29Snooker came to pay its respects to the man who had blown a wind of revolution through their sport.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39This was a fond, public farewell.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44Very different from the corners of Belfast where the young Higgins began to play.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Kids at that age, they're very daring.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And they probably like to do things that they're not allowed to do.
0:02:51 > 0:02:57And in my case, and in other children's case, you weren't allowed to go into the Jam Pot.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01The dreaded Jam Pot, or the billiard hall, as it was called.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05And I think perhaps in the beginning, that was the attraction.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10He would have been running about there from nine, ten.
0:03:10 > 0:03:11But he was in and he was going
0:03:11 > 0:03:14doing messages for them and errands.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17And then he was watching on the sidelines.
0:03:17 > 0:03:22But then, when he did start playing, he was standing on a box.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26And it would have been maybe with a yard brush.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27You know.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30And that's how he learned the trade. The hard way.
0:03:30 > 0:03:36'I mean, me as a 12 year-old, somebody at 17 was a giant.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38'And I was hustling at snooker.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43'Probably one of the reasons why I played the game so fast, and I'm so quick round the table, is because
0:03:43 > 0:03:49'in the Jam Pot, when you played with no money, and you got beat, you usually got a cue over the head!
0:03:49 > 0:03:54'And subsequently, I was very elusive.'
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Mummy used to send me round sometimes to bring him round for his dinner.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02But when you opened the door, it was really dark inside and you couldn't see nothing. It was all smoky.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06You just heard balls popping, that was it, really.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Because when you went and said, "Is our Sandy there?
0:04:10 > 0:04:12"Mummy says he's to come home." "No, he's not here. No."
0:04:12 > 0:04:15But we knew he was there!
0:04:15 > 0:04:19'As soon as school was finished, I would play a solid four hours.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23'My sister used to come up to the snooker club and pull me out and say,'
0:04:23 > 0:04:26"Your tea's ready. You've got to come and have your tea."
0:04:26 > 0:04:29But I'd gulp my tea down, I'd go back up to play again.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32My mother was orphaned when she was eleven.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35And she always taught us to be there for one another.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42We didn't have much in them days, but you always got your good dinner.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Actually, it was our school dinner money we used to spend.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Instead of dinners, we had a Mars bar and a Coca-Cola.
0:04:49 > 0:04:55And a game of snooker. If you had 6p left, you could play for a tanner a game.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Snooker had a rival.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Alex shared his father's love of horse racing, and a flutter.
0:05:01 > 0:05:09My father liked a bet, so he got into maybe going down to betting for my father and
0:05:09 > 0:05:12he just loved horses in general.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14You know, he thought they were wonderful beasts.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17His reading, he would have read about horses and
0:05:17 > 0:05:20that's when he decided that he wanted to be a jockey.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24And he went away when he was 15 for to be a jockey.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31Never on the ball, he was never doing what he should be doing at the right time and in the right place.
0:05:31 > 0:05:39He found it very difficult to focus his energies on to the things that we thought he should be doing!
0:05:39 > 0:05:40They can't ride, to start with,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43so they are supposed to work - clean the yard.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48And every time you came back in, there was never a sign of a broom or a rake.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50He was normally over at the bookmakers office.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55He was just 15, but he wasn't going to be told what to do.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00He was done with riding. He went back to Belfast, back to snooker.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05If I had any money, I would go to the hotbed of snooker, so to speak.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09I'd go to the Crown on the Shankill Road, I'd go to places on the Falls Road.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14I'd go to the Shaftesbury, the Oxford, North...
0:06:14 > 0:06:19all these clubs where all the reputed and notable players used to play.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21And I used to go and lose my money.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25But it was like serving an apprenticeship.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30You know, he'd come from a very poor working-class area,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32a very tough area of Belfast.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35He'd paid his dues, if you like, in the billiard halls. Which is a
0:06:35 > 0:06:40bit like an old-time comedian doing the working men's clubs before he goes to the Palladium.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42But he was hardened to that.
0:06:42 > 0:06:48In 1968, Alex Higgins won the British team championship
0:06:48 > 0:06:52for Belfast YMCA, more-or-less single-handed.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57And he played so well, so brilliantly,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00that a few enthusiasts fixed him up with exhibitions.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02I'd won the British Junior Billiards Championship.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05I'd been living in England for a year and my club brought me back
0:07:05 > 0:07:12to Coalisland and they brought Alex Higgins down from Belfast to play an exhibition in Gervins club, here.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17I was very nervous. And Alex arrived in the club, we were both 18 at the time.
0:07:17 > 0:07:23And we're out in the sticks here and I thought, "This is a cocky little fella coming from Belfast here.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25"I wonder how good he is?"
0:07:25 > 0:07:27And then when Alex started playing,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31I'd never seen anybody playing a game quite like this.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33'You could call that the luck of the Irish.'
0:07:33 > 0:07:35He was so fast around the table,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37you know, hustle and bustle.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40And he was a bit special.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43When I won the world title in 1970 in London,
0:07:43 > 0:07:48'while I'm waiting for them to make the presentations, suddenly
0:07:48 > 0:07:52'I became aware of someone standing at my side.'
0:07:52 > 0:07:55And yes, it was he.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00Young Alex Higgins, 18 year-old.
0:08:00 > 0:08:07And he didn't say to me, "Well done for achieving your life's ambition."
0:08:07 > 0:08:13He said, "I'm playing you in three months' time, up in the North West coast.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16"And I'm going to bump you."
0:08:16 > 0:08:19ARCHIVE VOICEOVER: 'Professional snooker is a sport that
0:08:19 > 0:08:22' has been largely ignored by all but the most dedicated of followers.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26'Hurricane Higgins, if he achieves his ambition, may change all that.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30'Who knows, he could bring to snooker the same air of glamour and appeal
0:08:30 > 0:08:33'that George Best has given to soccer.'
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Nobody really knew anything much about the snooker game at the top.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43You know, it was just somewhere here for the boys to go to and play.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48We just thought maybe the way you go to a youth club, you were going in and doing this.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53My father didn't know. He used to say, "Oh, he's away playing that silly old game, snooker."
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Snooker, in the 60s, was very much a folk sport.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03A lot of people played, but the professional game was virtually dead.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08The atmosphere in the match room was
0:09:08 > 0:09:10cathedral-like. You know,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14the tranquillity of the room itself was
0:09:14 > 0:09:18only disturbed by the click of the balls or somebody having a cough.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23Immaculate dress wear and high polished shoes, etcetera, for evening sessions.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27To be honest, snooker was boring before he came on the scene.
0:09:27 > 0:09:33'And I don't mean that to disparage any of the previous players, but they all played in a very sedate way.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38'And it was sort of exemplified by Ted Lowe's sort of whispering voice. Everybody said'
0:09:38 > 0:09:41it was a very relaxed thing and suddenly, in came this vibrant young
0:09:41 > 0:09:44excitable guy and they all thought, "he's going to mess it up".
0:09:44 > 0:09:48And sometimes he did. But when he got it right, he was unbelievable.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51I remember the great Joe Davis saying,
0:09:51 > 0:09:56"How does he pot a ball? He's moving on the shot, he's lifting his head."
0:09:56 > 0:10:01But everything must have just come right when Alex made contact with that ball, when he was at his best.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05His timing was just spot on.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08Alex Higgins took an Edwardian parlour game
0:10:08 > 0:10:11into the modern generation.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16Because people... Snooker is a long game - if you're not really into the sport, it can be quite dull.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Particularly when there's safety play, or Cliff Thorburn's playing, or whatever.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Higgins, you couldn't take your eyes off him. He was twitching, he was drinking, he was smoking.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28He was, you know, he was round the table. He was just mesmerising to watch.
0:10:28 > 0:10:35It was soon time to leave Belfast again, not as a wannabe jockey now, but as snooker's one-man revolution.
0:10:35 > 0:10:42He came to England in 1971 under the auspices of John Spencer,
0:10:42 > 0:10:47who in fact persuaded him to turn professional.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53'Blackburn was the first area that we arrived in, but I remember on Preston New Road, not far
0:10:53 > 0:10:58'from where I used to live, we did find a little flat for him there.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01'At that time, I was working with a television, domestic appliance company.'
0:11:01 > 0:11:06And I got a TV, installed the TV for him, and that was it. Off he went.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Higgins was 22 years old.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Young, brash, and fast.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16'During the game, he made a break of 67.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19'And a voice came out of the audience,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21'which said,"67 in one minute 34 seconds".
0:11:21 > 0:11:27That is the first time I'd ever heard of time
0:11:27 > 0:11:30put to potting balls. And I thought, "How fantastic".
0:11:30 > 0:11:33'I mean, it's a showman's game.'
0:11:33 > 0:11:39So I potted the last red and I turned round to the audience and I said, "One red, one second".
0:11:39 > 0:11:42You know, "Beat that, you little what-have-you", you see.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Yes.
0:11:45 > 0:11:51A lot of people might claim to have given Alex the Hurricane nickname, but it was John Taylor,
0:11:51 > 0:11:57in Blackburn, no relation to myself, who used to write a column in the local paper under Cueman.
0:11:57 > 0:12:03And when he'd seen Alex play, it was him who gave him the nickname Hurricane.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06And sure enough, that remained with him for the rest of his life.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08He played like what they called him, like a Hurricane.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13He whizzed round the table and he did things that nobody expected him to do. He was unpredictable.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16They said, "He'll never get that", and he do it. "Is that right?"
0:12:20 > 0:12:22He was so magnetic, you couldn't take your eyes off him.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27'In Blackburn, there was a couple of local businessmen who owned bingo clubs.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30'John McLoughlin and Jack Leeming, they were called.'
0:12:30 > 0:12:34And they played a bit of snooker themselves, just for fun.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39And they thought that they were seeing something a bit special and they took Alex under their wing.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42His life possessions, as I saw them - I asked him what he'd got
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and he said, "I'm stood here and I've got my cue and that's all I need."
0:12:46 > 0:12:51I remember Alex playing for cigarettes and the meat pie for his lunch. He'd no money at all.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56And they got him sorted out, got him nicely dressed, bought him loads of clothes.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00I remember they used to send him to the dentist and he had all his teeth sorted out.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04'And they managed Alex for a few years
0:13:04 > 0:13:07'and arranged an awful lot of matches, exhibition matches.'
0:13:07 > 0:13:11And he used to play against John Spencer and Ray Reardon.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13They were the big names at the time.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17'And his first world championship, was in 1972.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21'He played the great John Spencer in the final.'
0:13:22 > 0:13:24In those days, staid, steady snooker
0:13:24 > 0:13:26attracted little media attention.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30Higgins was about to strip away its shyness.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34How would you sum up your position in the snooker world today?
0:13:34 > 0:13:39I would say at this time, I'm in the top two.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44And after next week, in Birmingham, I think I'll be the top one.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49It was his first year as a professional, his first world championship.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51And here he was, in the final.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55The 1972 World final was about as different from
0:13:55 > 0:13:59what we expect at the Crucible as it's possible to imagine.
0:13:59 > 0:14:06It took place in a down-at-heel British Legion, now demolished, on the outskirts of Birmingham.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11The only lighting was the upturned trough type shade over the table.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15The tiered seating was on beer crates.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18The Ladies, I remember, was ruthlessly
0:14:18 > 0:14:20'appropriated by hordes of gents.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23'The place was packed out for a week.'
0:14:23 > 0:14:28On the second evening, there was a power cut because there was a miner's strike on at the time.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31'They brought in a mobile generator.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34'Amidst all this, Higgins produced
0:14:34 > 0:14:37'an absolutely magical Thursday evening session.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39'It was a week's match.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44'The score was 21-all at the time and he ran through Spencer six-nil
0:14:44 > 0:14:47'and he won by six frames at the end.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51'And that was a session which saw Higgins at his most inspired.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52'A virtuoso exhibition.'
0:14:52 > 0:14:57It's just a shame there was no telly.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59Actually, at this moment, I think I'm in a bit of a daze.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04I think I'm just starting to come out of it, you know, and realise that I'm the World Champion.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Nothing in snooker was sacred now.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11The sport had just crowned its youngest world champion ever.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13'I obviously grew up knowing all about Alex Higgins.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15'Everybody in Ireland knew about him.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16'He was this inimitable'
0:15:16 > 0:15:19individual who had a flair about him,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23'who was really exciting, who was sexy and young.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27'He brought all the things to the game that we hadn't seen before.'
0:15:29 > 0:15:32The prize money for the world champion of 1972?
0:15:32 > 0:15:37£400. And this was the only tournament in town.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40The world's finest players had to make their money on tour,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43going from club to club for exhibition matches.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47ANNOUNCER: The man who took the snooker world by storm by winning
0:15:47 > 0:15:49the World Professional Championship in his very first year as a pro.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53Ladies and gentlemen, the Irish Hurricane himself - Alex Higgins!
0:15:53 > 0:15:55CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:16:00 > 0:16:06'Spencer and myself and he, were the three names clubs wanted, really.'
0:16:06 > 0:16:11And it finished up, three of us there on the odd occasion, but generally speaking there was two of us.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15And Alex was always wanted for the exhibitions because of the way he played the game.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17So he would fill any club out
0:16:17 > 0:16:22playing exhibitions and do some trick shots at the end of it.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23It was rough sometimes.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27There was people climbing off the rafters to see.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29You didn't know what he was going to do next.
0:16:29 > 0:16:35I remember playing him in Sheffield, in a small theatre in Sheffield.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39And he turned up, and he had two black eyes.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42'Hardly been to bed, been up all night.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45'It was still funny to me, I thought it was wonderful.'
0:16:45 > 0:16:49I walked round the table and looked at him and thought, "He won't be able to see much out of those two!".
0:16:49 > 0:16:52And he goes and pots everything in sight!
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Amazing. Wonderful.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Love it.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02It's always nice to be late, but you have to rush your food and the rest of it.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04'I think he was very lonely at times.'
0:17:04 > 0:17:09- Yes.- I don't personally think that he was ever well looked after.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14Because matches were made from one end of the country to the other end, and they were chauffeur-driven.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18My brother wasn't. My brother was on and off trains.
0:17:18 > 0:17:24- And he couldn't drive.- So I think he was mistreated in many ways over the years. Very much so.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28I've got to get home. Sorry. Look, I haven't been home for three days.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32- Just three?- Four days. Good night, everyone.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Snooker was about to be relaunched in a brand new vehicle -
0:17:38 > 0:17:40colour television.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42First of all, let's meet Alex Higgins!
0:17:46 > 0:17:48And his opponent - Doug Mountjoy!
0:17:52 > 0:17:56In comes referee, Sydney Lee and your commentator is Ted Lowe.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00TED LOWE: From Ireland, Alex "Hurricane" Higgins.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03This was a whole new world of snooker
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and the star of the spectacle? The Hurricane.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08# Everybody knows there'll be shooting when he gets into town
0:18:10 > 0:18:14# Cos every where he goes, trouble always seems to follow him round
0:18:15 > 0:18:18# His reputation's that of the fastest gun
0:18:21 > 0:18:24# Across the nation Cuemen to take him on
0:18:25 > 0:18:27# What's his name?
0:18:28 > 0:18:29# Hurricane
0:18:30 > 0:18:31# And his game
0:18:33 > 0:18:37# The Hurricane
0:18:37 > 0:18:38# Hot shot... #
0:18:40 > 0:18:45When Alex Higgins burst on to the scene, he was the breath of fresh air that the game wanted.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47He was a major player in bringing about
0:18:47 > 0:18:50and changing the perception of snooker.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51He was ahead of his time.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55If he was around now, someone like Barry Hearn and Simon Cowell,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57they'd be like, "You know what? We need this man."
0:18:57 > 0:19:00That's why he was the jewel in the crown for so long.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03He was the sort of guy that everybody wanted to watch.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04# And his name
0:19:06 > 0:19:08# Is the Hurricane... #
0:19:11 > 0:19:14And I didn't have time to do my hair!
0:19:14 > 0:19:20Snooker mostly spent its time trying to achieve respectability.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24And that was not the kind of thing that Alex was interested in.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26He was contemptuous of authority.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29I like all the things that a fella at 25 likes.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Including wine, women and song.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35And I don't think I should be deprived of that sort of thing
0:19:35 > 0:19:36just because I play snooker.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Give me that package. I'll have that rather than someone who's a
0:19:39 > 0:19:45steady player and does some amazing shots. But he was never predictable.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47'Everyone loves a bad boy, don't they?'
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Women in particular love vulnerable bad boys.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56His army of supporters tended to attract, or include, those
0:19:56 > 0:20:01people who had not much good to say about established authority either.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05You've got to think about some of his friends, you know, Oliver Reed, Keith Moon.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10This wasn't a guy who hung around with snooker players, particularly.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12He hung around with the glitterati.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17The more outrageous things one does these days, the more publicity you
0:20:17 > 0:20:21get, the more famous you become, and the more money you earn!
0:20:22 > 0:20:25He was a showboater and he loved adulation, whereas Hendry or Davis,
0:20:25 > 0:20:31for example, would focus - nothing existed outside that green baize.
0:20:31 > 0:20:37Higgins, you know, he'd turn up with the Stetson on, or when the WPBSA tried to make an
0:20:37 > 0:20:44example of him, sometimes with good reason because he'd misbehaved, they'd try to get him to wear a tie.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47But he'd forever be taking them off and whipping it away like that.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Somewhere down the line, he was under disciplinary action for not wearing a bow tie, and I always felt
0:20:51 > 0:20:55it was quite ironic that, a number of years later,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58we decided to try and capture the market of a younger generation
0:20:58 > 0:21:03by wearing coloured shirts and no bow ties, and then
0:21:03 > 0:21:07if you did wear a white shirt and a bow tie, you would be disciplined.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10I always felt that Alex would've just loved that, because that would
0:21:10 > 0:21:12be the first time he would've worn a white shirt and a bow tie.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17Alex Higgins was the people's champion, but the people expected,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20demanded, a non-stop performance from their champion.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22He's the sort of guy that, when he plays snooker,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24he felt compelled to entertain people.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26It wasn't just to win the game.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29If it meant him taking a chance or taking a risk,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33he went out on a limb just to give people the form of entertainment
0:21:33 > 0:21:35they'd never had before.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38I think that Alex loved the limelight
0:21:38 > 0:21:39more than he loved winning.
0:21:39 > 0:21:45He loved to take the exhibition snooker sometimes into the match snooker, and the crowd would be
0:21:45 > 0:21:49behind him and he'd play a flair shot, and it would cost him, it could cost him dearly.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Alex led Cliff Thorburn 9-5
0:21:54 > 0:21:57in the 1980 World Final,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01and to achieve that lead, he played
0:22:01 > 0:22:04a very measured, balanced game.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06But, somehow or other, that wasn't
0:22:06 > 0:22:12enough for him, and, when he had that lead, he started to open up, play to the gallery rather more,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16and Cliff Thorburn was too good
0:22:16 > 0:22:20a player to take that sort of liberty with.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22The death-or-glory shoot-out
0:22:22 > 0:22:23was what, I think, he was unconsciously
0:22:23 > 0:22:27hungering for underneath all the time, and, of course,
0:22:27 > 0:22:32if it comes down to virtually the turn of a card,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34you can always lose in that situation,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38and I think he lost more close ones than he actually won.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40APPLAUSE
0:22:44 > 0:22:45REFEREE: 51.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:22:51 > 0:22:53'The '80 World Championships is a good example'
0:22:53 > 0:22:57where he was looking to shock, he was looking to amaze you, and he
0:22:57 > 0:23:01wasn't fighting Joe Frazier, but it was the same thing in his head.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05'He didn't just want to win, he wanted to win it his way.'
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Alex, a tribute from a champion there, and you
0:23:07 > 0:23:09know what the crowd think about it,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11but you must at the moment be the most disappointed man in the world?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I've had disappointments before, but I'll bounce back.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18The thing is, I lost the match, really, the third session
0:23:18 > 0:23:23when I was 7-3 in front, and my old crowd-pleasing bit came back again.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27It's hard to live with, but, I mean, I do. But I'll bounce.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30'He was a player of great moments competitively,'
0:23:30 > 0:23:36rather than a great player in terms of consistency.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38But that was part of his attraction,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42because you never quite knew what was coming next.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46In the new age of snooker, there would soon be a fresh crop of outrageous talents.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Cue Jimmy White and the semi-final of the World Championship of 1982,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54when the Whirlwind met the Hurricane.
0:23:54 > 0:23:55'Jimmy and Alex'
0:23:55 > 0:23:59are absolute best friends. They loved each other,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and it's very hard when you're playing your best friend.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05'You know, Jimmy modelled his game on Alex.'
0:24:05 > 0:24:08I was watching him putting these drinks down, and I was thinking,
0:24:08 > 0:24:13"This has got to be in my favour somewhere along the line." He'd be juiced.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Jimmy looked like he might win the world title that year, probably was favourite.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19COMMENTATOR: Do you get the feeling,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21this could be the winning break?
0:24:21 > 0:24:24They reckon it was one of the greatest matches ever.
0:24:24 > 0:24:25I didn't have any safety game at the time,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27I was going for everything.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31COMMENTATOR: That really is a delightful shot,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35to get around the angles, getting on the right side of all the reds.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37I was just pleased to be playing him.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40I was just delighted to be playing my hero in the World Championships.
0:24:42 > 0:24:43CROWD GASPS
0:24:43 > 0:24:46COMMENTATOR: So, Alex breathes again.
0:24:46 > 0:24:4859 points in front now.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52And still enough points on the table
0:24:52 > 0:24:55for Alex, if he can take his opportunity.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01I think he only played his best when it was back to the wall,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03'the pressure was on,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05'nobody thought he had a chance,
0:25:05 > 0:25:06'and he would somehow manage
0:25:06 > 0:25:08'to get his way out of trouble.'
0:25:08 > 0:25:10'He almost missed the first shot,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13'and because of that he lost position
0:25:13 > 0:25:14'on his intended colour, which,'
0:25:14 > 0:25:16from memory, was pink to middle.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19This left him with a safety or a long green,
0:25:19 > 0:25:20'and without hesitation
0:25:20 > 0:25:22'he swept in this long green,
0:25:22 > 0:25:23'which, as it happened,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25'was a natural cannon on to a safe
0:25:25 > 0:25:27'red on the other side cushion.'
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Fantastic long green he potted there.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38That was the only time he didn't drink, was when he was on the table.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42When you talk about perfect clearance, it was far from it.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44That's what made it so exciting,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46because, until he got to the last red,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48'he lost position on every shot.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54'There was one shot at one time
0:25:54 > 0:25:57'that he could have snookered Jimmy behind the yellow,'
0:25:57 > 0:26:02but he decided to take the black on in the left-hand black pocket.
0:26:04 > 0:26:05'And he kept grinning up,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07'I think it might even have been to John Spencer,'
0:26:07 > 0:26:12who was in the commentary box, as if to say, "Well, what did you think of that shot?"
0:26:12 > 0:26:13'Because he pulled off some
0:26:13 > 0:26:16'of the most extraordinary pots in that break.'
0:26:16 > 0:26:19COMMENTATOR: Now another difficult red into the centre pocket.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27'He asked the referee on a number of occasions, "What's left?"
0:26:27 > 0:26:31'And then he would work it out, and then he would swing around the table'
0:26:31 > 0:26:33and look in to the audience and wink and smile.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35It was great, it was great to watch.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38It was another element to snooker that we hadn't seen before.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41And later in that break, he played another extraordinary shot.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44It was a screw back from the blue, which was on its spot.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48COMMENTATOR: And Alex not able to afford any mistakes,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50or else it could be the end of the match.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52'I've set it up a few times,'
0:26:52 > 0:26:57and I don't know how he created so much backspin with the flick of his wrist.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00COMMENTATOR: Looks as if he's going for the blue
0:27:00 > 0:27:01into the top right hand corner.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Another tremendous shot.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08'He actually overhits it and ended up by the black.'
0:27:08 > 0:27:11It was just a crazy shot.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16And he had so much side, as well as backspin, on the cue ball,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18'that the cue ball hit one side
0:27:18 > 0:27:19'of the middle pocket and
0:27:19 > 0:27:21'came back over the other side.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25'I just don't know to this day how he got that much spin on the ball.'
0:27:25 > 0:27:28He could've set it up another 20 times and maybe not pulled it off,
0:27:28 > 0:27:29but he pulled it off
0:27:29 > 0:27:31'in that semi-final of the World Championship.'
0:27:31 > 0:27:34COMMENTATOR: Oh, and that's a beautiful shot.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38'When you understand the significance of getting to the final
0:27:38 > 0:27:39'and what was at stake,'
0:27:39 > 0:27:41being on the precipice of being knocked out,
0:27:41 > 0:27:43to keep on knocking the balls in
0:27:43 > 0:27:48was just one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53I've watched it a dozen times, 20 times, and there's still five or six
0:27:53 > 0:27:55balls that still shock me,
0:27:55 > 0:27:59having watched tens of thousands of frames of snooker.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01COMMENTATOR: I'm feeling nervous for him, Jack.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04I think if he clears this, this will be the break of the tournament.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12CO-COMMENTATOR: And here we have the colours on their spots.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Yes, Jack, all easy shots these, normally.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20Every one a pressure shot in this situation.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23'Looking back at it now, it's a phenomenal break.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25'I've seen it a hundred times,'
0:28:25 > 0:28:28and it's still an amazing break
0:28:28 > 0:28:30under the circumstances.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Just has to hold it together
0:28:32 > 0:28:34for five more shots.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36Tremendous break, this.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43He's on the blue here for the blue, pink and black.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46'I'm sure everything looks really easy to him now after
0:28:46 > 0:28:48'the miracle shots he's produced.'
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Beautifully on the pink.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53And he needs the pink and the black.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59And he's on the black.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03And what a fabulous break, if he knocks this black in.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11- Oh, marvellous!- He just swaggered back to his seat
0:29:11 > 0:29:13and he just gave the press box a wink, and I was like,
0:29:13 > 0:29:17"You've still got another frame to win!" But the confidence of the man as if to say, "You know what?
0:29:17 > 0:29:21"That was good." It was like, "You know what? I'm going to win the next frame.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23"I'm going win the World Championship."
0:29:23 > 0:29:26That's the biggest memories I've got of not just Alex, but of snooker.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28You couldn't script that.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33Yeah, that was an amazing clearance there.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35I look like I've been hit by a train.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39But it was one of the best games I've ever been involved in, and they
0:29:39 > 0:29:42reckon one of the best clearances ever. I agree with that.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45Alex Higgins, 21. Foul, Jimmy White, four.
0:29:45 > 0:29:46So, Jimmy White concedes.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54And what a splendid finish,
0:29:54 > 0:30:00and a truly, truly superb semi-final.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02So, the people's player
0:30:02 > 0:30:06now has a chance to really be the people's champion.
0:30:06 > 0:30:11Not only did he produce the most amazing clearance ever, it'll never be matched,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14but he was also able to go on and win the last frame.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18After 10 years, he was about to reclaim the title
0:30:18 > 0:30:21that he really wanted to win every year and, perhaps,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24in some ways wanted to win it so much
0:30:24 > 0:30:28that his character wouldn't allow him to play the game to win it.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30But that's a real statement on Alex Higgins, that although
0:30:30 > 0:30:34it meant everything in the world to him, he would still not change
0:30:34 > 0:30:36the way he played.
0:30:36 > 0:30:41I don't think there's one snooker player that you'd meet wouldn't say that that's the best clearance ever.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46I'm aghast, I just don't even know why I'm playing so well, because it was only about a month ago
0:30:46 > 0:30:49that John Spencer beat me 6-0 at the Highland Masters.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53And, to be perfectly honest, I haven't practised at all,
0:30:53 > 0:30:55so it's a mystery to me why, at this time,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58I've suddenly started to play so well.
0:31:00 > 0:31:01Of course, there was still the final.
0:31:01 > 0:31:0610 years after beating John Spencer for his one and only world title,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09could he now do it again against Ray Reardon?
0:31:09 > 0:31:14After Alex had got through to the final having beaten Jimmy White, I still expected
0:31:14 > 0:31:17Ray Reardon to beat Alex,
0:31:17 > 0:31:22because Ray was six times World Champion and Alex had only won it the once.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28And for Ray to get to the final was big news as well, because possibly you could argue
0:31:28 > 0:31:33the twilight of his career, so they both had reasons to want to win it.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37I watched that bit, but Ann and Mummy were hiding up the stairs,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40they couldn't watch the television so they couldn't.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43No, I couldn't.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Now and again you come down to peep, so you did,
0:31:47 > 0:31:50but it was just too much for me and my mummy.
0:31:50 > 0:31:55I think it was just all the way through a feeling of...
0:31:55 > 0:31:57he could do this.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00It's 10 years since he won it, you know.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04Cos you didn't know what really he was going to do next.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06So you were waiting.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08"Oh, please...
0:32:08 > 0:32:10"do it this way, Sandy, do it this way."
0:32:12 > 0:32:15He actually didn't entertain so much in that final.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18He was a bit more tactical.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20It was nip and tuck right throughout, really.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24He got up to 15-12 in front
0:32:24 > 0:32:26on the last day,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29and then I won the three frames before the end
0:32:29 > 0:32:32of the first session in the evening, and it had gone 15 all.
0:32:32 > 0:32:37It was 15 all, and then Alex played three very good frames.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43He did win it again in his kind of dramatic way that he liked to win.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46In fact, he knocked the lot in in the last frame, total clearance.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Excellent. Couldn't do anything about that, no.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54I'd like to think that
0:32:54 > 0:32:57Alex wanted just to stamp himself
0:32:57 > 0:33:01one way or the other as a great, great player.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05And I think he felt, "If I have to compromise my attacking play,
0:33:05 > 0:33:06"I want to win."
0:33:12 > 0:33:17'Ray Reardon has sat in his chair for the whole of this final frame.'
0:33:17 > 0:33:19I think that was...
0:33:19 > 0:33:24a mature victory, and quite unusual for Alex Higgins.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28- Fantastic! - CHEERING
0:33:31 > 0:33:36And the Embassy World Snooker Champion for 1982
0:33:36 > 0:33:38is Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins.
0:33:38 > 0:33:44It was an amazing achievement after a 10-year gap to lift the world title again.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46Completely exhausted, is Higgins.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49I remember watching the '82 final where he beat Ray Reardon,
0:33:49 > 0:33:53and I remember specifically the end when his wife, Lynn,
0:33:53 > 0:33:57came in with their little blond baby, who was gorgeous.
0:33:57 > 0:34:03I think we all remember the bit at the end when it was, "My baby, give me my baby," you know.
0:34:03 > 0:34:08And that was a beautiful bit of publicity, wasn't it?
0:34:09 > 0:34:13It was a pinnacle of Alex's career.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15I think he just let all his emotions out.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19It wasn't done for the camera, he just wanted to kiss his daughter.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23That was the sweet side of him that not a lot of people knew.
0:34:24 > 0:34:30There's not many people my age who can have a moment captured in time with their mum and dad,
0:34:30 > 0:34:35and I just think it shows how emotional my dad was when
0:34:35 > 0:34:39he was kind of crumpling the cheque up and he just wanted me to come on.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43I think that he was so happy about winning the title,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46and he just wanted to celebrate it with us.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49He did play from the heart,
0:34:49 > 0:34:53and when you're doing something at that level, when it's all finished
0:34:53 > 0:34:58you revert back to the things you love, so those moments of calling for his family,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02those tears were genuine, they weren't for the crowd.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07He was an emotional person anyway, you know,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10away from the snooker he would have been quite emotional,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13and he could cry,
0:35:13 > 0:35:18and I would say it just was a build-up of everything
0:35:18 > 0:35:20and real happiness that he had achieved it.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34I've watched this so many times...
0:35:34 > 0:35:37and before it's just such a nice thing to watch,
0:35:37 > 0:35:43but obviously now my dad's gone actually it does make you feel quite upset watching it.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50This is the first time I've watched it since my dad's died,
0:35:50 > 0:35:52and all I can think about is, "It's my dad."
0:35:55 > 0:35:59Since he done it, everyone does that now,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02brings their wife down to get their trophies, in any sport.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05No-one had ever seen that before, so they hadn't.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09When he always came home from tournaments, he would have sat up
0:36:09 > 0:36:13and nursed Lauren and cuddled with her.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17He spent the time at night with her that he couldn't spend during
0:36:17 > 0:36:23the day, and then chewing her dummy tit and knowing that the child was with him even when he was playing.
0:36:23 > 0:36:24His comfort blanket!
0:36:37 > 0:36:41'Ladies and gentlemen, the new world champion, Alex Higgins.'
0:36:42 > 0:36:45It was a tremendous thrill for him, obviously.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49I remember him saying afterwards, "This will set Lynn and Lauren up for life."
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Alex was back in the big time.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Ladies and gentlemen, the world snooker champion, Alex Higgins.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00He's Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins, and he's not just the fastest,
0:37:00 > 0:37:02but also the most entertaining player on the circuit.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07But when it came to stability, he was all at sea.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10His marriage to Lynn soon ended in divorce.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13My dad's always been a part of our lives, though.
0:37:13 > 0:37:19Even when my parents got divorced he'd come to our home where my mum lives.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23Sometimes there'd be arguments, sometimes they'd get along,
0:37:23 > 0:37:26just like everybody else, really.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29I used to like carrot.
0:37:29 > 0:37:30Would you like a carrot?
0:37:30 > 0:37:36You ask yourself why a player of Alex Higgins's ability only won the world championship twice.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41The reason, probably, behind that is that consistency in his life was
0:37:41 > 0:37:46something that didn't exist, on a personal level or on a playing level.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Alcohol had always had a hold, but after the divorce
0:37:51 > 0:37:53it grew a whole lot tighter.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57Alex sober could be the most pleasant person
0:37:57 > 0:37:59you'd ever sit down and talk to,
0:37:59 > 0:38:04and the demon inside him, the Jekyll and Hyde character that was Alex Higgins when
0:38:04 > 0:38:08he was fuelled by alcohol, was the biggest pain you've ever met.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12Maybe it was a little bit of frustration at times, because
0:38:12 > 0:38:16Alex was only playing 50% of what used to play,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19and sometimes that's a bit hard to take, that.
0:38:19 > 0:38:25The distractions had a damaging effect on his game, and this was no time to be missing out.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28In late 1982, Barry Hearn announced the formation
0:38:28 > 0:38:32of his Match Room team, a stable of the world's best players.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35One name was missing.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37He would have been a nightmare to manage.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41It was really great to watch him but we don't really want him with us,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45so in a way, we were feeding off a bit of Alex's fame,
0:38:45 > 0:38:50but at the same time not opening the doors and bringing him into the fold.
0:38:50 > 0:38:56Because we were identifying that snooker was coming into big-time business, really,
0:38:56 > 0:38:59and there are certain responsibilities to TV companies
0:38:59 > 0:39:03and sponsors and PR performances and all that.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06Alex wasn't reliable enough to be brought into that.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12Match Room was clean cut, corporate-friendly snooker,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15and no player was better at it than Steve Davis.
0:39:15 > 0:39:20Alex would have recognised in Steve Davis
0:39:20 > 0:39:21the opposite of himself.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25Somebody who was very balanced, controlled,
0:39:25 > 0:39:30calculating, played the percentage game at a very high level.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32He was everything that Alex wasn't.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37I think Alex, once he'd had a few battering from Davis,
0:39:37 > 0:39:41was really on edge that, not only did he not want to lose,
0:39:41 > 0:39:46he didn't want to get humiliated, and there was a few times
0:39:46 > 0:39:50when he was, and that didn't sit well with Alex Higgins.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54There were one or two exceptions, extraordinarily,
0:39:54 > 0:39:57the '83 UK final.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02Alex came from 7-0 down to win 16-15.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06And when he did win, he milked it. He beat me in the Masters,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10and he was like, "We're fighting back the moment".
0:40:10 > 0:40:15He loved the fact they were all coming forwards, and he'd shake hands with him all night long.
0:40:15 > 0:40:21That part of it, you can't make yourself like that, it's whether you are that way inclined.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25There was a huge respect from Alex towards Steve.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29I'm very, very pleased to have won.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Evidently there's no love lost between Steve and I, but equally
0:40:33 > 0:40:36I think we both appreciate each other's talents.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38He's a very hard player.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Coupled with probably an intense dislike of the success
0:40:43 > 0:40:47he had playing the game in an entirely different way
0:40:47 > 0:40:50to the way that Alex thought the game should be played.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53If I keep this up, no more seven frame starts. Anyway...
0:40:53 > 0:40:55LAUGHTER
0:40:55 > 0:40:58I don't know what he thought of me as a person.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01To be honest, it wouldn't be something that was a problem,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04even if he thought I was the most boring person in the world.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07No white smoke without fire, but he probably felt as if
0:41:07 > 0:41:09I didn't play the game with enough panache
0:41:09 > 0:41:13and in the cavalier style of, say, Jimmy or himself.
0:41:13 > 0:41:18Now I know what I can become,
0:41:18 > 0:41:22and it's just a matter of discipline all the way around.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24I think I've certainly proved it today.
0:41:24 > 0:41:29- Gentlemen, thank you for a tremendous game of snooker. - It was incredible, wasn't it?
0:41:31 > 0:41:34I think Steve was physically frightened of Alex
0:41:34 > 0:41:38because of the uncertainty of what he was going to do and who he was.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43I think the only time we were ever together for any length of time was on an early flight to Canada,
0:41:43 > 0:41:49and I was so nervous on the flight, having to spend seven or eight hours on a plane trapped with Alex.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53He probably felt the same way! I knocked a beer all over me.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56I was a gibbering wreck! And he was so nice,
0:41:56 > 0:41:59because it was a mode he was OK in, and we had a good chat.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01I felt like it was a different person.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06But of course a few more beers later, by the end of the flight perhaps it was a different story.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09On a snooker level, there was a lot of mutual respect,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12but you can't imagine the difference in personality between the two.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16I think because Steve was established in those mid-term,
0:42:16 > 0:42:21mid-Eighties and early Nineties as unquestionably the world No. 1,
0:42:21 > 0:42:25Alex wanted to be the world No. 1, and he wanted people to give him
0:42:25 > 0:42:29the attention and acclaim that's bestowed on a No. 1.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32I'm sick of all the honey and the vitamin pills and all the rest.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35I've done everything right and I got stuffed, do you know what I mean?
0:42:35 > 0:42:40I haven't had a vodka for eight weeks, you know what I mean?
0:42:40 > 0:42:43I think the game's not straight today, what's gone wrong?
0:42:44 > 0:42:48The fires still burned, but consistency was the new mantra.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51The champion of inconsistency lost more frequently.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55His frustrations grew, and so did his addictions to booze and betting.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00Alex was the best player drunk that I ever saw,
0:43:00 > 0:43:04but sometimes his game was out of control because of it.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07People might say, "Look, he's drinking orange squash".
0:43:07 > 0:43:11Well, yes, he was, but there was plenty of vodka in it as well.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15My dad never got up in the morning and had to start drinking.
0:43:15 > 0:43:20My dad was more of a binge drinker, and I think that was due to
0:43:20 > 0:43:23the type of work that he did - he went to events in the evening.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28But I think his gambling was worse than his alcohol. He loved gambling.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32I never, ever knew Alex Higgins to win one bet.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34He lost every single time.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36I used to do my money in regularly, never used to win.
0:43:36 > 0:43:41One time I heard he put an obscene amount of money on the horses
0:43:41 > 0:43:46and I'm sure that wasn't the only time that he put obscene amounts of money on.
0:43:46 > 0:43:51I don't think he won many, though, that's the problem, but he still enjoyed it and carried on.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55I remember him at Royal Ascot, and we were talking in the days when
0:43:55 > 0:43:59£20,000 was worth, I don't know, £250,000,
0:43:59 > 0:44:04and he would be betting that type of money
0:44:04 > 0:44:06on races all over the place.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08He'd come with pocket loads.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13There was a new habit - losing, and here was one very bad loser.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17He was the worst loser...
0:44:18 > 0:44:19..you've ever seen.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22No-one beat him, it was the run of the balls or...
0:44:24 > 0:44:28But that was the way it was. But after half an hour or so
0:44:28 > 0:44:33of moaning and sacking everybody round him, he was back to normal.
0:44:33 > 0:44:38There was always a sense of threat in the air when we were in Alex's company.
0:44:38 > 0:44:46Particularly when he'd lost, it wasn't good to be in the same hotel bar late at night as he was.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49It all came to a head at the 1986 UK Championship.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Somebody arrived breathlessly with the news that
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Alex had head-butted the tournament director Paul Hatherall.
0:44:57 > 0:45:03So all of us swarmed down the stairs and there is Alex just outside
0:45:03 > 0:45:08the tournament office, demented and flailing, an awful scrum going on.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12It was just crazy, we were there, we were in the other room.
0:45:14 > 0:45:19He had some sort of argument with Paul Hatherall,
0:45:19 > 0:45:21but there were some other issues going on,
0:45:21 > 0:45:25and Paul Hatherall came in and said "You've got to do this drug test",
0:45:25 > 0:45:27and apparently he just flipped...
0:45:29 > 0:45:32..and he head-butted him, apparently.
0:45:32 > 0:45:33I'm sure there was words said.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37Something triggered something in Alex, and once it triggered that was it.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41All bets are off, he's out of control, he's going to do anything,
0:45:41 > 0:45:47and he's going to do the first thing that comes into his head. It goes back to the old jam pot days,
0:45:47 > 0:45:54"Bosh, have one of those", and you think afterwards, "Where did that come from?" But, it's Higgins.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56That was him just snapping.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00That was one of the worst thing he ever did, he did regret doing that.
0:46:00 > 0:46:06Tonight, in bizarre headgear, Higgins emerged from his house to talk about today's events.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09I've been to see the police today about...
0:46:09 > 0:46:15allegations that were made against me, and they are pending.
0:46:15 > 0:46:20The ideal thing is that I too now have to await the outcome... MOBILE RINGS
0:46:20 > 0:46:22My phone, golly gosh!
0:46:24 > 0:46:28- Can you look this way, Alex? - This is very important, it could be my solicitor.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31- Could you turn this way a little bit?- Hello?
0:46:31 > 0:46:36- Business going well, send more money. - Alex, this way.
0:46:36 > 0:46:41- Could you face a life without snooker, Alex?- No more questions. - Could snooker face life without me?
0:46:48 > 0:46:53In typical showman style, he appeared on live television to hear his punishment.
0:46:54 > 0:46:59The bad boy of snooker gets dragged up in front of his peers. What have they done to him?
0:46:59 > 0:47:01They've fined him £12,000
0:47:01 > 0:47:04and suspended him from the next five tournaments.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08But the thing is - if I can chip in -
0:47:08 > 0:47:14with this type of tribunal and with the rules the PBSA carry,
0:47:14 > 0:47:17there's no right to appeal,
0:47:17 > 0:47:19so the truth of the matter is
0:47:19 > 0:47:24that I've decided to accept the punishment and come back fighting.
0:47:26 > 0:47:33More trouble soon followed. During a world team event in 1990 he lost his rag again, and not with just anyone.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38This time he turned on his old friend and fellow Irishman, Dennis Taylor.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42Alex happened to lose his frame and he was very annoyed at losing.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45Unfortunately there was a few of the press around,
0:47:45 > 0:47:49or one pressman, that heard Alex.
0:47:49 > 0:47:55He just lost it completely and said that the next time I went back to Northern Ireland he'd have me shot.
0:47:55 > 0:48:00Which was a bit of a shock, but you could take things sometimes with a pinch of salt that Alex used to say.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03But he did say something very personal besides that.
0:48:03 > 0:48:08It was a family thing that I've never repeated to anyone since that day,
0:48:08 > 0:48:13and I never would repeat it, but that was one of the reasons why I didn't speak to Alex
0:48:13 > 0:48:14for quite a few years.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18The late 1990s.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22Here was a man approaching 50, a shadow of his former self
0:48:22 > 0:48:27and still heading inexorably in one direction - towards rock bottom.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Alex remained in the arena after everybody else had left, sitting at
0:48:31 > 0:48:35the table as if he was unwilling to relinquish the limelight.
0:48:35 > 0:48:40He was well into drink, and I remember him coming into that
0:48:40 > 0:48:46press conference, and Colin Randall, the press officer, was wearing a World Professional Billiards and
0:48:46 > 0:48:53Snooker Association blazer and he was there for a symbol of the authority that Alex hated.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57So he let him have this awful punch.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00Well, chaps...
0:49:01 > 0:49:05I think that he knew he was going to be suspended anyway, and so
0:49:05 > 0:49:10it was a half-hearted attempt to pre-empt that with some sort of retirement speech.
0:49:10 > 0:49:17..I would like to announce my retirement from professional snooker.
0:49:17 > 0:49:22I remember, I think I was about 10 or 11 at school, and it was when he was on the television
0:49:22 > 0:49:26and did a press conference, and he was absolutely blottoed
0:49:26 > 0:49:30and he was saying he was going to retire from snooker.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34But again, at that age, you're just thinking "Oh, my God,
0:49:34 > 0:49:37"please stop talking, don't... Turn the camera off".
0:49:37 > 0:49:40You can shove your snooker up your jacksey.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43I'm not playing no more.
0:49:44 > 0:49:49And it's not sour grapes or nothing, it's the truth, because the Hurricane
0:49:49 > 0:49:53doesn't want to be part of this tripe any more.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56No disregard to Northern people because they like tripe.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59I like it as well. I don't want to play any more.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02You were just like "Oh, no, don't say that".
0:50:02 > 0:50:04That was him.
0:50:04 > 0:50:05You know...
0:50:05 > 0:50:10he just didn't... He just told it as it was, the truth.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14And that's...that's what the interview was about.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16Not only...
0:50:16 > 0:50:19is it a corrupt game, it's also, ugh...
0:50:21 > 0:50:23- REPORTER:- Alex, when did you...?
0:50:23 > 0:50:25Excuse me, I haven't finished.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28- I remember that press conference. - I have not finished.
0:50:28 > 0:50:33There were one or two nuggets of truth tucked away in his rambling.
0:50:33 > 0:50:34But I think he was...
0:50:34 > 0:50:40ill-treated at times by the snooker establishment.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42But he was just cutting a very pathetic figure.
0:50:44 > 0:50:49I was supposed to be the stalwart of the game, the guy that took all the brunt.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52Well, the kid that took all the brunt is absolutely sick
0:50:52 > 0:50:56up to...here and further...
0:50:56 > 0:51:00about taking all this ..., and I'm not prepared to take it any longer.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03No more snooker for the Hurricane.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Well, obviously you can't physically hit an official.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09So something had to happen to him.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12Banned for 12 months, the Hurricane had blown itself out.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15The force of nature was utterly spent.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21That was the finish of him trying to play competitive snooker.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25If you fall out of the top 16, top 32, you've got to qualify, you know.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28Everyone's entitled to have their place.
0:51:28 > 0:51:35I don't think he was humiliated. I think it was more frustration because the crowds wasn't there.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38There were only small booths that could only hold 10 or 20 people.
0:51:38 > 0:51:42So he found it hard to adapt.
0:51:42 > 0:51:47And bear in mind that the competition was getting better and better and better.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51And there were 100 Steve Davis clones, Stephen Hendry clones.
0:51:51 > 0:51:57Very difficult for someone like Alex Higgins to recapture the days of '72, when
0:51:57 > 0:52:00there was just a handful of people in the world championships and they
0:52:00 > 0:52:04were the old guard, and Alex could be the new, young, brave renegade.
0:52:04 > 0:52:10It was in disputes over money and management...
0:52:10 > 0:52:13and he stopped practising, so he didn't do the exhibitions.
0:52:13 > 0:52:18And when he done the exhibitions, because he'd not been practising, he couldn't entertain.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21And because he couldn't entertain, he got frustrated.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24The follow-on to that is that the promoters didn't want to know.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30There was no happy ending to the story of Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins.
0:52:30 > 0:52:36He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, and came back to Belfast to be closer to his family.
0:52:36 > 0:52:37We were crying.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42And he just put his arms round the two of us and said,
0:52:42 > 0:52:47"Look, I'm not here to die. I'm here for yous to look after me and for me to get better".
0:52:48 > 0:52:53We went to see him in hospital. He hadn't been eating,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56and it was just awful because my dad's quite a fighter.
0:52:56 > 0:53:02And when you've never seen someone in a vulnerable situation, it's just not something that is very nice.
0:53:02 > 0:53:08He put up an unbelievable fight against the cancer.
0:53:08 > 0:53:13He fought just as hard against that as he used to do on the snooker table,
0:53:13 > 0:53:16but that was just a battle that he couldn't win in the end.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19But he certainly gave it his best shot, that's for sure.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21We had an argument last year.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23I didn't speak to him for a few months,
0:53:23 > 0:53:26and then we started to do this Legends tour.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30He'd done the first one in Sheffield, but he was far too weak.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32So we all agreed
0:53:32 > 0:53:36that he should take a rest and get himself back together.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40There we go.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53He did have a lot of scarring from his radiotherapy,
0:53:53 > 0:53:55which did affect him.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57You know, it made him...
0:53:57 > 0:53:59not be able to swallow.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03It obviously damaged his teeth, so he couldn't eat properly.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07But my dad didn't give in.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19He always knew if he wanted anything, he'd be on the phone.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23You'd go and get it or bring it down. You know,
0:54:23 > 0:54:26but I was shocked when it did happen.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29Years before that, I thought he was away,
0:54:29 > 0:54:35at different stages, because he'd been so ill at different times.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38I just wasn't expecting it to happen...
0:54:38 > 0:54:40the way it happened.
0:54:43 > 0:54:48I love the quote that my dad said when he said, "Cancer hasn't got a chance,
0:54:48 > 0:54:54"it doesn't have a snooker cue", because he was a fighter, and he was clear from cancer when he died.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58This is why I'm so angry and so frustrated. So is his sister.
0:54:58 > 0:55:03So are his children. He just wouldn't look after himself.
0:55:04 > 0:55:09After beating throat cancer, you'd think that he would try to look after himself.
0:55:09 > 0:55:16But once again, the gambling was more important than sorting himself out, and he just declined -
0:55:16 > 0:55:21malnourishment, pneumonia - and unfortunately, he passed away.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24We did everything that we could,
0:55:24 > 0:55:26so we did, for him.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29And he knew that, so he did.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35But he did tell us, didn't he?
0:55:36 > 0:55:40- "When I go", he says... - "If you thought George Best's funeral was bad,
0:55:40 > 0:55:42"see what you have to sort out for me!"
0:55:42 > 0:55:46"Yous are going to have plenty on your hands whenever I go", he says.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57The way Belfast came out for my dad's funeral
0:55:57 > 0:56:00was absolutely amazing.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05And, you know, it was so emotional to go through the streets.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07There was happiness, there was sadness.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10There were a lot of mixed emotions.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14The clapping went on for at least 20 minutes
0:56:14 > 0:56:17from the house to the actual church.
0:56:17 > 0:56:18It was amazing.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26He knew he was the people's champion.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29The people were letting him know on that particular day
0:56:29 > 0:56:34what they thought of him, which was very gripping,
0:56:34 > 0:56:36so it was.
0:56:37 > 0:56:42- And he loved the horses, so he would have. Most definitely.- That's right.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47That there was just the icing on the cake for him, the horses.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53My dad would have liked the fact that everyone was there,
0:56:53 > 0:56:57because he said he wanted a bigger funeral than George Best!
0:56:57 > 0:57:03So he would have liked the fact that everyone came out, and...
0:57:03 > 0:57:05Yeah, I think he would have been proud of it.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15The public decides
0:57:15 > 0:57:18who its heroes are going to be.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20And Alex was one of them.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26When they made Alex Higgins, they threw away the mould.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29He was a bit unique as a snooker player,
0:57:29 > 0:57:33and he certainly was unique as a human being as well.
0:57:37 > 0:57:43I just remember him from being the person in the crowd that liked shout "Come on, the Hurricane!
0:57:43 > 0:57:46"Come on, Alex!" That's how I remember Alex.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54He loved his gambling, he loved his smoking, he loved his drinking, he loved everything.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57He must have worn out two bodies, easy.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00Will be missed.
0:58:01 > 0:58:07Alex...had the most talent out of every snooker player I've ever seen play.
0:58:07 > 0:58:09I'm a fan, and I love him.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12You know, he was just a great sportsman.
0:58:15 > 0:58:17Three words for Alex -
0:58:19 > 0:58:20great snooker player.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25That's all that has to be said, really.
0:58:29 > 0:58:31Frustrating.
0:58:32 > 0:58:34Exciting.
0:58:37 > 0:58:38And missed.
0:58:41 > 0:58:44He gave everything 100%, you know.
0:58:44 > 0:58:46It didn't matter what was going on off the table.
0:58:46 > 0:58:50When he was on the table, he was probably at his happiest.
0:58:50 > 0:58:51There was no-one better to be with.
0:58:54 > 0:58:58In everybody else's eyes, including mine, he was a genius.
0:58:58 > 0:59:00I think he was a born entertainer.
0:59:00 > 0:59:03And he was definitely the people's champion.
0:59:07 > 0:59:10Alex Higgins, ladies and gentlemen!
0:59:10 > 0:59:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:13 > 0:59:16E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk