Pop star desires to ‘do a Wrexham’ by shopping for soccer membership however he is ‘no Ryan Reynolds’
Tears for Fears star Curt Smith has joined a consortium buying non-league Bath City. He hopes the team can climb the football pyramid just like Wrexham
Curt Smith on stage(Image: Getty Images)
A pop star is hoping to ‘do a Wrexham’ by ploughing money into his boyhood football club. Curt Smith, co-founder of chart-topping band Tears for Fears, has joined a consortium buying non-league Bath City.
The Everybody Wants to Rule the World hit-maker will take up a role as its ambassador and hopes the National League South side can scale the football pyramid just like Wrexham.
Curt, 65, revealed: “I’ve been at the Bath stadium [Twerton Park] when there were only 600 people. After our bid was announced, there were 1,300 at the next match, despite us just being relegated. To have that sort of effect already is very exciting.
Radio Bath’s Dave Mason with the pop star
“The dream is to climb the ladder and get into the Football League in the next five or six years, and have a stadium which can get somewhere close to 8,000 fans again.
“We want Bath to be known as a football city as much as a rugby city. It’s a lofty ambition, but one that should be doable. There is no reason why the clubs cannot thrive side by side.”
Wrexham were a non-league clubwhen they were bought by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2020 and now sit in the Championship with their journey captured in a hit telly doc series.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, co-owners of Wrexham (Image: Carl Recine, Getty Images)
Bath-born Curt, who has shifted more than 30 million records, is now based in Los Angeles but jetted home to reassure fans that the £6.3m takeover, led by businessman Andrew Stalbow, is the real deal.
He said: “The idea began with Andrew. A mutual friend put us in touch. We both live in LA and after speaking with him it was obvious he is a huge football fan who wanted to do this the right way for the right reasons.
“The working-class people of Bath who love their football have lacked that outlet because we’ve not had a great football team. I’m no Ryan Reynolds. His level of fame is a lot higher than mine, but I know my reputation is on the line. If it goes wrong I won’t be able to walk around in my home city again.
“The community element of our bid is fundamental to it. I feel like being involved means I can give something back to my city in a tangible way.
“Without question that’s a big part of this. I was brought up on a council estate in Bath, so although I live in America now, it feels important to be able to get involved in this way.”
“We’re taking away debt and investing in the team. We want to become a professional club, first. That would be a huge jump for us. We’ll do it bit by bit.
Twerton Park in Bath(Image: The FA via Getty Images)
“We can’t do everything at once when we’re in the seventh tier. It’s a question of spending the substantial investment wisely over the years. Each year we can go further.”
