England v Poland: The recreation of a sporting shock

In 2011, British violinist Nigel Kennedy staged the most outrageously ambitious event of his career to date: a three-day ‘Polish Weekend’ at London’s Southbank Centre, celebrating Polish music and culture. Kennedy himself played in eight of the 13 concerts. At the heart of the weekend was Kennedy’s ‘World Cup Project’, a screening of the legendary England v Poland football match of 1973, in which England—for the first time ever—failed to qualify for the tournament. Kennedy’s band engaged with a group of Polish musicians in providing a semi-improvised soundtrack to the otherwise silent footage. Paul Munden, who is writing a hybrid biography of Kennedy, was present at the event, which demonstrated Kennedy’s profound association between music and sport, and informs a key chapter of the book.