After rocking the world with sixes and fours, Viv Richards now rocks us with a single
He gave bowlers butterflies in their stomach. He gave ‘swagger’ a new meaning. Now, he’s here to give us a song.
West Indian cricketing legend Viv Richards has just released a single with INXS drummer Jon Farriss, called Smokin’ Joe.
Make no mistake, the original master blaster’s flamboyance that we once witnessed on the field can now be felt oozing through his deep-tone voice.
Nicknamed Smokin’ Joe and crowned by Wisden as the No.1 batsman in the list of all-time greats for ODI and No.3 in the list for tests, Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards dominated the game in the 70s and 80s with his punishing, front-foot batting style.
And now, 24 years after retiring, Richards is back with a score. Coincidentally, Jon Farriss had hung up his hat, too. When he met Richards at a party, their common interests got them inspired to do a track together.
“Viv was such a charismatic and affable guy,” Farriss said in a statement Thursday. “We hit it off straight away and it wasn’t hard to recognise his love of music. Given these parallels and my desire to hear him on a track, I approached him to see if he was interested in doing something musically and thankfully he said yes.”
Enjoy ‘Smokin’ Joe’, available on iTunes since March 2015:
Relive some of Viv Richards’ greatest knocks:
