A family divided, Anfield memories & Jurgen Klopp – John Bishop’s Liverpool Life

Sam Millne

@sam_millne

November 14, 2024

Having interviewed Jurgen Klopp and played at Anfield, renowned comedian John Bishop has had some incredible experiences as a Liverpool supporter.

Performing in packed arenas around the world, Liverpool’s funniest fan has had an amazing 25-year career in stand-up comedy. All the while, Bishop’s love for the Reds has remained a constant in his life.

It was only in May that he interviewed Klopp at the M&S Bank Arena in front of 11,000 people on a memorable night celebrating the German’s time at Liverpool.

At the 2024 Kip on the Kop, we had the chance to speak to Bishop about his Liverpool-supporting life.

My first Liverpool match was…

I’m not entirely sure whether it was my first game or the one that stood out in that first season.

I was in the Anfield Road End and obviously, it was standing then. I was on the bar, sat on the bar. My dad used to sit us on the bar and stand and hold back 10,000 people by standing there.

I was down there and I watched Phil Boersma get the ball here (left wing in front of the Kop), come inside and hit it from what seemed to me like a mile away into the top corner.

I can picture it all happening in front of me now.

I started supporting Liverpool because…

My dad’s a twin and his brother supports Everton and my dad supports Liverpool… so we haven’t seen his brother for years now (that’s a joke!)

But that’s how it was in our family, I mean literally Everton on one half and Liverpool on the other.

If you could relive one Liverpool game, which would it be?

Everyone’s going to pull certain significant things out when they were there, and there’ve been loads of games when I’ve been there and it’s changed – loads of massive games even in recent years.

But I think for me, I think watching them win the FA Cup on tele (in 1974), that for me – Kevin Keegan, all of them.

For me, that was when the team I supported first had that magic of trophies.