Colin Grainger

His mother, Lily Grainger (née Holliday; 1900–79), gave birth to a total of seven children, with the one daughter also named Lily (born 1935).

He had five older brothers: Leslie (born 1920), George (born 1922), Jack (born 1924), Eric (born 1926) and Horace (born 1929), though Leslie and George both died before he was born from diphtheria.

His cousin, also named Jack Grainger, played in the Football League for Barnsley and Southport in the 1930s.

Colin Grainger (10 June 1933 – 19 June 2022) was an English footballer, as well as being a former singer and recording artist.

Born in the mining village of Havercroft on 10 June 1933, his father – Daniel Grainger (1894–1967) – was a coal miner at Monckton Colliery.

Jack's younger brother, Dennis, played for Leeds United and Wrexham in the late 1940s.

He represented Barnsley boys' team during the 1946–47 season, alongside future Munich air disaster victim Tommy Taylor and cricket umpire Dickie Bird.

He attended Ryhill Junior, Ryhill Middle School, and then Felkirk Secondary School.

After leaving school at the age of 15, he was employed as a car mechanic on wages that initially started on £1-a-week.

Grainger came from a footballing family and his younger brother, Jack, spent ten years at Rotherham United just after World War II.

His younger sister, Lily, went on to marry Jim Iley, who played as a wing-half for Sheffield United, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest.

Raised in the mining village of Havercroft, he was working as a car mechanic when he was signed on apprentice forms at Third Division North club Wrexham in July 1949.

Grainger spent his youth with South Elmsall Boys, before being invited for a trial at Wrexham in July 1949.

As a footballer he played as an outside left and had a 16-year career in the Football League from 1950 to 1966.

He came from a footballing family: brother Jack Grainger, brother-in-law Jim Iley, and first cousins Dennis Grainger, Jack Grainger and Edwin Holliday all played professionally.

He turned professional the following year and made his first-team debut in February 1951.

Though National Service prevented him from establishing himself at the club he still managed to build a reputation as an exciting young prospect and was purchased by Sheffield United for a £2,500 fee in June 1953.

He got married in 1956 and had two children.

A regular in the starting eleven in the First Division, he was called up for the first of his seven England caps in May 1956.

His international career lasted just 11 months, though he did score two goals against Brazil and one against West Germany.

He was also twice selected for The Football League XI.

Grainger performed his first professional music gig in 1956, supporting the Hilltoppers.

He appeared on television and radio, and also had a ghostwritten column in the Sport Express.

Grainger married Doreen Rowe on 3 January 1956.

They had a son, Colin Junior, born on 3 July 1956.

His career then declined as he struggled with an ankle injury sustained on England duty and he was sold on to Sunderland for £17,000 plus Sam Kemp (valued at £6,000) in February 1957.

Sunderland were relegated out of the First Division at the end of the 1957–58 season and he was sold on to Leeds United of the Second Division for a club record £15,000 in July 1960.

He was signed with the HMV label and released "This I Know"/"Are You" as a single in 1958.

Another cousin, Edwin Holliday, went on to represent England whilst playing for Middlesbrough in 1959.

His damaged ankle hindered his form at Leeds and he was sold on to Third Division side Port Vale in October 1961 for £6,000.

He helped Vale to knock former club Sunderland out of the FA Cup the following January, but missed the end of the season with a groin injury that dogged him for the remainder of his time at Vale Park.

He was not retained at the end of the 1963–64 season and signed with Fourth Division side Doncaster Rovers in August 1964.

His footballing career restricted his singing opportunities, though he did share a bill with the Beatles in June 1963.

He made 41 appearances across the 1964–65 campaign, though was dropped the following season and was released in summer 1966.

He then had a brief spell with Macclesfield Town in the Cheshire County League, before retiring to focus on his singing career.

A daughter, Kim, followed on 27 February 1964.

He later spent 1969 to 1972 as player-manager of non-League village team Newmillerdam, before playing for Woolley Miners Welfare in the Yorkshire League from 1972 to 1978.

He ended his singing career in August 1970 in order to focus on his new career in sales.

He also supplemented his income scouting for a succession of clubs: Barnsley, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic, Bury and Sheffield United.

Grainger wrote his autobiography, The Singing Winger, which was published by deCoubertin Books on 17 October 2019.