Jeremy Clarkson furious as he’s snubbed over huge deal
The former Top Gear presenter has made a veiled threat to the managers of Lords Cricket Ground after they chose a rival lager for their bar
TV star Jeremy Clarkson made a distinctly old-school reference to express his anger at being passed over by the managers of Lord’s Cricket Ground: “I have two words for you: George Davis,” he said, referring to a notorious 1975 vandalism incident. Clarkson, 66, has made no secret of his frustration after Italian beer brand Peroni – owned by Japanese drinks giant Asahi – secured the contract to supply lager to the ground’s bars for the next three years. The refreshingly fizzy Peroni was chosen over Clarkson’s own brand, Hawkstone, and he is not remotely happy about it.
He chose to express his anger in the form of a veiled reference. Back in 1975, bank robber George Davis was wrongfully convicted of an armed robbery in Ilford, Essex. The conviction sparked nationwide protest; walls and bridges across the country were emblazoned with the painted slogan “G DAVIS IS INNOCENT.” The campaign peaked with a stunt at Headingley in Leeds in August 1975. Cricket fans hoping to see England finish off Australia in the final Test of the Ashes series were greeted with a message in white paint near the stadium entrance which read “sorry, it had to be done.”
Inside the ground, they found groundskeepers shaking their heads over a pitch that had been dug up and doused with oil. The match was called off and the incident made national headlines. It is unlikely that Clarkson intends to imitate the Davis supporters’ actions, but he did say: “We might just have a message about them in tar on the pitch, not that I’m bitter or anything.”
Clarkson launched Hawkstone lager in 2021, using barley grown on his Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire. It was originally planned as an exclusive for Clarkson’s Farm Shop, but is now available online and in several major supermarkets.
He stealthily promoted the beer by forming a choir of the same name, which went on to perform on Britain’s Got Talent.
A number of TV adverts were reportedly filmed but later banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, apparently because Clarkson could be heard saying the phrase “f*** me, that’s good” in at least one of them.
A new advertisement, starring Clarkson’s popular sidekick Kaleb Cooper, is set to air on June 17 in the final advertising slot on ITV before England kick off against Croatia in their opening World Cup group match.
Clarkson told The Times that the TV spot will involve Kaleb in a hair-raising stunt. “He’s Tom Cruise now,” he said. “We have done online ads but never done a proper, full-on, all the bells and whistles, hair and make-up, two catering trucks, full ad-man-gone-mad television commercial before.
“The star is Kaleb,” he added. “I am just in the back, where I belong.”
He added that England supporters should really be drinking English beer when they’re watching their team: “Supporting England with a glass of Peroni in your hand feels wrong to me. If you are supporting England you should have a Hawkstone in your hand,” the Hawkstone owner said.
