Iconic football star recently hit the road to speak live in front of audiences across the world – a tour he compared to ’s Eras tour.
The icon, 57, joked that his Audience With Paul Gascoigne show is just like the pop icon’s record-breaking tour and, in a recent interview, opened up about what it’s like to be back in front of crowds again, saying the buzz makes him ’emotionally soft.’
During his shows, he relives his career as one of the most legendary midfielders of all time, as well as sharing anecdotes from his personal life.
‘I tell them jokes and say “I did play football as well during my career”,’ he told . ‘It’s good seeing the fans again. I did 460 selfies at one show in Sheffield.’
Gazza’s return to the limelight has only been made possible by his hard-won sobriety, which he’s been able to maintain by moving into his agent Katie Davies’ spare room in Poole.
During an interview with High Performance, Gazza explained what changed with his relationship to alcohol: ‘I used to be a happy drunk. I ain’t anymore. I’m a sad drunk. I don’t go out and drink, I drink indoors.
‘People know Paul Gascoigne but Gazza, no one knows. Even me sometimes. I’ve spent a lot of years being down, when I did my ligaments and then my kneecap, I missed four years of football. I would’ve got 100 caps (for England).
‘I try not to get down because the world’s already down enough. And when I’m really down, that’s when I pick up a drink to cheer myself up.
‘I don’t think I let any managers down, or the players or the fans you know. If there was anyone I let down, it was myself. But more the drinking side of it, when I finished playing.’
He explained to The Mirror his decision to get sober: ‘I called Katie up in November a few years ago crying my eyes out.
‘What I put myself through and other people, jail and rehab – taking cocaine off toilet seats – and then I’m asked to be ambassador for my country, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
‘When I do these venues, I hardly talk about football, more the crazy stuff I used to get up to. I’ve got to get straight in and get them laughing.
‘There’s a few times when I’ve cried on stage. You miss it on a Saturday, you know, entertaining people. I got such a f***ing buzz from it and you miss that.
‘I can be emotionally soft. It doesn’t take long for us to cry sometimes. I keep a lot of stuff in, stuff I should share but get scared of sharing with people. I don’t think I’ll ever grow up, which I don’t mind you know?
‘I’m proud of what I’ve given people. I gave nearly a million quid to 10 different charities and called them to keep it quiet.
‘I’ve never (given up). I think the time I’ll give in is when I’m in a wooden box. Apart from that, I’ll keep on fighting on.’
He spoke extensively about this difficult time in his life while on tour as well as some of the more iconic stories from his football career.
He reminisiced during the interview: ‘At Euro 96, there was a great atmosphere in the team hotel. Gareth Southgate, David Batty and Stuart Pearce would be playing cards, I would be playing snooker with Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler.
‘Southgate was quiet, a great defender, solid in training and really well organised. I always joke that I scored my penalty in the semi, and ended up in rehab. He missed and got a £30,000 pizza advert and the England manager’s job.’
He also discussed some of the moments of glory from his iconic career, reminiscing: ‘There were 90,000 people singing “there is only one Paul Gascoigne” for our win against Holland, there were tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat,’ he shared.
He also recalled a moment after Italia 90 when he met Pope John Paul II, Princess Diana, Elton John, Robbie Williams, George Clooney, and Dustin Hoffman.
Another crowd-favourite story was the time he had to literally pull his hair out before a game: ‘I had a weave on top,’ he said.
‘But I got some plaids put in and Archie Knox said to me “you cannot go out like that. They will have to go or you’ll be dropped.” So I had to pull them all out. It was sewn in, not syrup but a weave. It took so long to get it all out.
‘It came out in clumps.’
