Former TalkSPORT presenter Mike "Porky" Parry offering free drinks for 70th bash

Mike began his career at the Chester Chronicle

Famous Chester journalist and broadcaster Mike Parry is set to make his triumphant return to the city – and he’s offering the community the chance to grab a free drink.

Mike, known as 'Porky', has put a hefty sum behind the bar at Ye Olde King’s Head, situated on Lower Bridge Street in Chester, to celebrate his 70th birthday and return to the area.

From midday on Sunday, December 29, punters can come along to grab a free drink and exchange a few words with the man himself.

Mike is well-known as the co-founder of TalkSPORT, but he began his media career as a fledgling journalist at the Chester Chronicle back in 1974.

Now he’s looking forward to returning to his hometown: “Being born and brought up in Chester was a great, great advantage in life. It’s a beautiful city. I loved growing up here.

“Chester’s got everything: Roman walls, medieval buildings, and beautiful architecture. All my memories are of growing up at the Chester Chronicle. Every night at 5 o’clock, we used to pack up work, go to the pub, have lots to drink, go home and start work.”

Mike worked at the Chester Chronicle for a number of years, before going on to work at the Newcastle Evening Chronicle and the Birmingham Evening Mail. He would later join The Daily Express, taking him to Manchester, London, and New York.

He later co-founded the popular TalkSPORT phone-in football radio station in 1995, working as an on-air pundit for around 6 years.

He relived his time at the station: “We did millions of things. We were there to watch one of England’s greatest overseas victories, beating Germany 5-1 in Munich under Sven-Göran Eriksson. Meeting David Beckham and interviewing him two or three times was a very big highlight.

“It was massively successful, and I did that for a number of years before I was diagnosed with acute heart failure. I was at the European Football Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, and I was just dying, so I had to be rushed home on an air ambulance to have emergency surgery.

“I spent seven months in Harefield Hospital in Middlesex waiting for a heart transplant. But it didn’t happen. After a while, I checked myself out and got back on with my job. And I’ve been running on the same old knackered ticker ever since!”

Mike hasn’t been back in Chester for a number of years, after his family moved further afield. He explained: “After my dad died, we moved my mum south to Bournemouth where my sisters live. So I haven’t had a lot of connection to Chester since, but in the last couple of years I’ve felt like I wanted to come home. So I’ve bought some property in Chester and I plan to retire here.”

The semi-retired pundit is now keen to get back involved with the local community, and hopes to see a few familiar faces. He hopes offering drinkers a free round is the perfect way to do it.

Mike explained his motivations: “What I’m doing is coming back. I loved my upbringing. I loved my job on the Chronicle. Now I want to come and give something back to the community.

“It’s been so long but I’m hoping to see some old faces. I’m hoping that I might bump into one of the girls I danced with at the old King’s disco! Somebody as old as me who worked on the Chester Chronicle might think, ‘Oh boy, it’s amazing’, and come down and relive the past. It would be great if that happened.

“When they open the doors, there might be a 100 people there or it might be empty. I don’t know. I literally just want to say to everyone, ‘It’d be nice if you came down and had a drink.’ Everyone is very welcome.”

If you’d like to grab a free drink with Mike, the open bar will be available at Ye Olde King’s Head, Lower Bridge Street, Chester, on December 29.

NEWSLETTER: Sign up for CheshireLive email direct to your inbox here