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Islington Tribune - NEWS
Published: 12 October 2007
 
FAREWELL TO THE BEAR

Pet Shop Boys pay tribute to ‘folk hero’ of Arsenal terraces


THOUSANDS of Arsenal fans have joined the Pet Shop Boys and the Sex Pistols in paying tribute to a terrace regular known for his near-religious dedication to following the club home and away.
Dainton Connell, 46, – known as The Bear – died late last Thursday in a car crash in Moscow.
In a double outpouring of grief, Gunners supporters and fans of the Pet Shops Boys – he worked for them as a bodyguard for over 20 years – have both passed their condolences onto his wife and three children.
But the most striking tribute came on Sunday when more than 1,000 fans turned up to Arsenal’s home match with Sunderland wearing black. They circled the Emirates Stadium waving flowers and teddy bears.
The Pet Shop Boys said they were “devastated” while the Sex Pistols John Lydon described him, on his website, as “a true Arsenal legend, sadly missed and very much loved.”
Mr Connell was named in a book on hooligans as the leader of a so-called ‘firm’ known as ‘The Gooners’ and reportedly had a fearsome reputation for bruising scraps at away fixtures in the 1970s and 1980s.
But friends said his notoriety came from a different age and that in his later years he had mellowed and was enjoying Arsenal’s resurgence at the top of the league.
“If you were an Arsenal fan, he was your friend, ” said one pal. “And that’s all that mattered.”... > more

Click here to download a copy of the Front Page in PDF format.
Click here to download a copy of the Full Story in PDF format.
To obtain an original copy of the "Farewell to the Bear" edition of the Islington Tribune, please send a cheque for £5 to cover postage and administrative costs to The Bear Edition, New Journal Enterprises Limited, 40 Camden Road, London NW1 9DR
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