Stephen Brady was one of those larger-than-life characters who had more anecdotes than Peter Ustinov and wore more hats than Audrey Hepburn.
There were his sporting passions, most notably in cricket, football and athletics, which were nurtured as he grew up in Aberdeen in the 1960s, and graced myriad stadiums and far pavilions across the north east, especially in his beloved Deeside.
And, allied to that was his acting talent, which developed from appearing as an extra in the likes of Coronation Street and Emmerdale into meaty roles in such dramas as The Missing, Blue Murder, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell and his lead performance as the fabled Manchester United manager, Sir Matt Busby, in an acclaimed play.
In some ways, football provides an appropriate analogy for Mr Brady, who has died following a brief illness at 66, because his life was a tale of two halves.
In the first part, he lived in and around Aberdeen, working to subsidise his artistic aspirations – he was also an accomplished drummer and harmonica player – in a variety of bars and clubs, even as he scheduled matches here, there and everywhere.
Then, in the second chapter, he moved to Manchester, established a reputation in the dramatic world, as well as becoming a supporter of Lancashire CCC to the extent he had a tattoo of the organisation inked on his body after they won the county championship.
In the Granite City, he was simply Steve; in the north of England, he was ‘El Jocko’, a term which he embraced with the good humour which oozed from this blithe character.
Yet when he appeared on TV, among the spectators at the Grange club in Edinburgh on the summer day in 2018 when Scotland’s cricketers made history by beating England, there was no doubt about which team he was supporting.
Nor the pride he felt in the fact the winning Scottish captain, Kyle Coetzer, was a fellow Aberdonian.
It has been a strange career route
He told me during one of our meetings: “I was involved in athletics and cricket at Aberdeen Grammar and Aberdeenshire and loved my time at Mannofield and Dyce.
“But I’ve always been interested in acting and I really decided to pursue that after making the move to Cheshire in 2000.
“I suppose it has been a strange career route in some regards, but you have to keep challenging yourself: when I first moved to England, I played drums in a pipe band.
“Then I started to appear in more acting roles and it built up from there to meeting [writer and businessman] Roy Cavanagh and hearing about his play Bishop United.
The play was very special
“The work has added resonance for me because it was Sir Matt who helped bring Alex Ferguson down to Old Trafford in the 1980s.
“It’s always a challenge when you get involved in portraying somebody who was so well-known and so cherished by the football community. But this is something special.”
Mr Cavanagh thought the same about his colleague and pair struck up an instant rapport. He recalled: “I liked Steve right away, we were both cricket enthusiasts, but we had plenty of side conversations about life and I found out all about his acting roles.
“This coincided with a book I had written which I was turning into a play about how Bishop Auckland FC had helped Manchester United at the time of the Munich [air disaster in 1958] by being the only club to give them players.
Steve was top bloke and I’ll miss him
“One of the parts, and it was obviously a big part, was Matt Busby. Steve was a natural and I always called him Sir Matt from that point on. Most of the others [in the company] had already named him affectionately ‘El Jocko!’
“But, whatever the name, Steve Brady was a top bloke to know and I will miss him.”
He wasn’t alone in that regard.
Whether in his remarkable collection of sporting memorabilia, his involvement with the Lord’s Taverners, who regularly brought a star-studded team to Deeside for charity fixtures, or his delight in travelling to and from Pittodrie to Glasgow and elsewhere for football action, Mr Brady was in his element.
His nephew, Richard Massie, spoke of that whole-hearted enthusiasm when he said: “Steve never did anything by half measures.
“In his world, life was to be enjoyed and he had this ability to strike up conversations and make friends wherever he travelled.
“He never had any grand plan for his career, and he worked at Manchester Airport after he relocated to England.
“At first, the extras work kept him going, then he would phone me to say: ‘Watch out for this’ and he started becoming more noticeable on screen.
“It’s sad that Covid happened just as he was about to take part in a touring production of Bishop United, because he was really hopeful he could bring the production to Aberdeen – but then, the pandemic struck and the curtains came down.”
Mr Brady, who is survived by his sister, Sheila, and his nephews, Richard and Stephen, was determined that he would return to his roots before the end of his life.
And, helped by his family, he spent the last few months in Maryfield West Care Home in his home city’s Queen’s Road and was still inquisitive as his condition worsened.
It’s sad that he’s gone so soon
Richard said: “Following a private service at the graveside of his late mother, Jean, and his father Gerard, we are planning to sprinkle his ashes down in Lancashire and in Braemar with his friends and family to celebrate his life and personality, because both places were very dear to him.
“Even on the Saturday, prior to his passing, he was asking me about the cricket at the T20 World Cup and checking on the score and he just had this great appetite for sport.
“In fact, he had a great appetite for life. Which makes it so sad he has gone so soon.”
