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Nigel Kennedy loves St. Pauli, but not like Aston Villa!

Tom Gennoy
September 16, 2017

Known for his classical and contemporary music, Nigel Kennedy is also a keen football fan. The violinist sees comparisons between the music he plays and the sport he watches. He has a team in Germany too.

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Bonn - Jazzfest
Image: Nicolas Hudak

DW's Tom Gennoy caught up with a fellow fan of Birmingham club Aston Villa, violin virtuoso Nigel Kennedy. You can watch the full interview in the video above, and there follows a few of our favorite snippets.

Asked whether it was true that he favored St. Pauli over Villa, Kennedy demurs: 

"I've been going to the Villa since I was eight. It's part of my life, it's like my blood. I can't take my blood out. And I don't need a transfusion."

On the similarities between professional sports and the performing arts:

"Music is there for the audience. People have bothered to leave their homes and come and hear you play. People have bothered to leave their homes and come and see St. Pauli play. The players owe it to the crowd, I owe it to the crowd. They're the ones who keep me in a living and give me the respect of coming and hearing it."

And what if he were forced to choose between either a match ticket or a concert ticket if told he could only ever visit one again?

"I've heard so much music in what I do. It's not that I'm tired of it, but the football, with, on a good night, 50,000 people all wanting the same thing, and you can cut the atmosphere with a knife - yeah, I'd choose a match ticket any time."

Tom Gennoy
Tom Gennoy Reporter@TG94__