The Billy Wright Story is a night of entertainment and history to commemorate 25 years since the passing of the England great, and will be held from 7.30pm on Thursday 5th September at the stadium he called home for more than 20 years.
Hosted by comedy icon Bobby Davro, the evening will tell the complete history of Wright’s time in football, as well as give an insight into the private life of the most-capped England captain, while including an auction of memorabilia taken from Wright’s personal collection.
His daughter Vicky initially came up with the idea to put a presentation together due to this year being the 25th anniversary of her father’s death, which coincided with her own daughter’s – Wright’s first grandchild’s – 25th birthday.
Vicky said: “For my daughter’s birthday, I planned to put together a small tribute and a few life stories about her grandad, including pictures and video footage, so she can see the man he was and what he achieved.
“But the more I put together, the better I felt it needed to be, as there was so much to include. It has now grown into something that is so amazing.
“I’ve spent hours on end in the studio going through the archives and editing the footage because much of it was very grainy and you have to weed through so much of it to get those bits you can use – but I knew I had to finish it and make it as perfect as I could.”
Vicky used her own savings to pay for all the archive footage and editing time, so launched a Kickstarter campaign to help her recoup some of the funds.
“When I put out the Kickstarter, I had such a great response and it felt like I had the whole of Wolverhampton behind me,” Vicky said. “The outpouring of love for my dad from the public was overwhelming.
“After that response, I went to Molineux and spoke to those at the top of the club, because I felt this project should be launched here. It’s not just going to be a little gift that I give to my daughter, it’s going to be a gift to all those Wolves supporters who showed so much love for my dad.”
Vicky and her partner Bobby will be joined on the night by celerity friends of Wright, including Nick Owen, Willy Thorne and fellow Wolves legend Steve Bull.
She added: “I’ve also had help from Kevin Keegan as he is an expert in these kinds of evenings, but he said I bring something different, as it’s not just about the football, I’ve got the life stories of how he met mum, the romance, how he was as a dad and all the private things that no-one else knows about him.
“Unfortunately, I never got to see dad play football live as he retired the year I was born, so being able to go through all this footage has made me extremely proud. It has also brought back so many fond memories, like the time his stand was opened. I had never seen him as shocked as he was on that day. I remember him saying to me: ‘Playing for England and playing for Wolves has nothing on this – my own stand.’
“If he knew about the statue, which takes my breathe away everything I go past Molineux because it’s so life-like and it’s almost a god-like monument, he would be overwhelmed as he loved this club and he loved the people of this city.”
A night not to be missed, tickets are available from EventBrite priced at £20 by clicking here.
