By admin 
Releasing a one-off single with Chas and Dave as ‘The Matchroom Mob’, five of the most well-known figures in snooker have since split up to pursue different projects, and one member has tragically passed away.
When five Snooker greats joined forces with Chas and Dave to release ‘Snooker Loopy’ as a limited edition in 1986, the snooker gods were grinning down on their fans.
‘The Matchroom Mob’ was the product of the collaboration of some of the biggest names in baseball at the time, including Steve Davis, Terry Griffiths, Tony Meo, Dennis Taylor, and Willie Thorne. Reaching a peak position of No. 6 in the UK charts, the song went beyond the table and gained a devoted following beyond the typical snooker fan base.
The following year, a follow-up song called “The Romford Rap” was released featuring a different lineup of Matchroom Mob, but it never quite made the same impact as the original. In order to catch up with the original five, Daily Star Sport looks back nearly 40 years. Each of them has gone in a very different direction with their post-playing careers.
Steve Davis has proved himself a man of many talents in his 65 years, winning the World Snooker Championship on six occasions and dominating for much of his ‘first’ career. However, ‘The Nugget’ was also a dab hand at pool and played competitively in the World Pool League, not to mention serving as president of the British Chess Federation between 1996 and 2001, also authoring a book based around the board game.
However, one could say Davis’ later move into DJing was a return to his first ‘first love’, having grown up listening to progressive forms of music while still at school. He debuted as a radio host and DJ on Phoenix FM in 1996, holding the slot for a decade but has more recently branched into the club scene, earning bookings at bars and venues in London and beyond.
‘The Ginger Magician’ is more than competent at his craft, too, collaborating with Kavus Torabi at Glastonbury 2016 and is now set to feature alongside Blur at Wembley in July. As well as juggling his commentary duties for the likes of Eurosport and the BBC in recent years, Davis is an example to all that older dogs certainly can learn new tricks.
Lifelong Leicester City fan Willie Thorne was already exploring his post-playing options at the time ‘Snooker Loopy’ was released and became a commentary regular for the next 30 years or so. “But old Willie Thorne, his hair’s all gorn” was the iconic line attributed to the 1985 Classic champion, in reference to his signature bald head.
Given their Leicester links, Thorne held a firm friendship with Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who served as best man for the former’s marriage to Fiona Walker in 1985. Thorne appeared on the fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2007 but only made it as far as the third week.
Dogged by a gambling addiction and several failed marriages, Thorne attempted suicide in 2005 and again in 2015. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015 and relocated to Spain with his partner, former Miss Great Britain Jill Saxby, four years later before eventually dying from leukaemia in 2020.