Bunce's Winter Olympics Tales of the Extraordinary
Steve's back with ten episodes all about the Winter Olympics - only on BBC Sounds.
12 Jan 2018
The Highest Hero
In this final episode of the series, broadcaster and journalist, and self confessed Everest expert Steve Bunce tells Caroline Barker the tale of a man from Kazakhstan who day and night on the highest mountain, saved people from a frozen death with a series of rescues that seemed impossible. It is truly breathless at that altitude and in the thin air our hero went beyond reasonable human endurance to save lives. With a diversion back to his favourite subject of surfing Steve tells us briefly about Eddie Aikau, a man that took on the Pacific Ocean. The expression “Eddie would go” is still commonly heard in Hawaii. But it’s the tale of elite mountaineer Anatoli Boukreev that ends this series of Bunce’s Tales of the Extraordinary.
5 Jan 2018
Best and Friday
In this tale, journalist Steve Bunce makes the connection between the so-called "greatest footballer you never saw", Robin Friday, and Manchester United legend George Best. Friday is a fantastic character in his own right, the football mavericks maverick, who lit up the lower leagues in the seventies. Everyone who saw him speaks of his greatness and ability to play at the top, but did he ever get to test himself against George Best? Steve digresses to tell Caroline Barker about a night out in New York with another sporting character famous for his exploits in the bars and clubs as much as his sporting achievements, the Raging Bull, Jake LaMotta.
29 Dec 2017
The Forgotten Fight
Zamora v Zarate met one night in Little Mexico, a fearsome quarter of Los Angeles, in a fight of extraordinary quality. Veteran broadcaster and journalist Steve Bunce tells Caroline Barker about two fighters with some of the most remarkable statistics to ever meet in the ring. No defeats, a combined 74 wins with 73 ending in knockout. A man in underpants invades the ring at one point and we also hear about other unexpected sporting interruptions.
22 Dec 2017
The Kid
Writer Steve Bunce tells the story of Stuey Ungar, the greatest poker player in history, a man of marvels and a troubled genius with a strong self-destructive streak. 'The Kid’ set records at the poker tables in Las Vegas that people still talk about to this day, but this is a tale of horror with a suitably grizzly end. As with all stories of Vegas casino’s there is craziness so we also hear of escaping green painted alligators and the colourful denizens of the Vegas strip. As told to Caroline Barker.
15 Dec 2017
Nosher Powell
The life of stuntman, bodyguard and boxer Nosher Powell, told by Steve Bunce, who exchanged letters with the notorious hardman. From appearances in James Bond films to the Two Ronnies, Nosher was a showbiz staple with TV with film credits in Ben Her, Are You Being Served and Henry V to go alongside his life in the ring. As told to Caroline Barker.
9 Dec 2017
Takhti - Iran’s Wrestling Hero
The story of Iran’s most famous and decorated sportsman, the Olympic Gold Medalist, Gholamreza Takhti. He was a hero to the nation and to the WWE legend, the Iron Sheik.
Broadcaster and Journalist Steve Bunce tells Caroline Barker about the dark places he had to visit in order to research the Wrestling Hall of Famer, Takhti's battle with the Shah of Iran and the mystery surrounding his death.
Steve also takes us to Sheffield and a visit with WWE Wrestler Ric Flair.
1 Dec 2017
Crazy Matti
Steve Bunce continues his Tale’s of the Extraordinary with the story of the greatest ski jumper of all time, the record setting Fin Matti Nykanen, beloved by a nation willing to overlook his incarcerations and reputation for bar room brawls.
24 Nov 2017
The Unridden Realm
In this episode of Bunce’s Tales of the Extraordinary, journalist Steve Bunce tells Caroline Barker the story of what he believes was the greatest day of sport the world has ever seen. Steve takes us to Hawaii and the world of elite surfing and the rivalry of two legends of the waves, surf rivals Mark Foo and Ken Bradshaw, with explanations into the procurement of authentic Hawaiian shirts and coconut husk buttons. The story also features a trip to the Winter Olympics and near disaster for Japan’s ski jumpers.
17 Nov 2017
The Boxing Krays
Steve Bunce tells the story of the notorious London gangland characters Ronnie and Reggie Kray and their life as young boxers, revealing the truth about their skills in the ring. By way of diversion, Steve tells Caroline Barker about another hard-nut fighter from Wakefield who came out of jail to contend for the British title on BBC television, as described by the legendary commentator Harry Carpenter.
10 Nov 2017
The Open Golf Menace
Writer and broadcaster Steve Bunce tells the most extraordinary stories from his long career in journalism. Introduced by Caroline Barker, Steve tells a series of fascinating stories from across a wide range of sports.
In this episode, Steve tells Caroline about a man with many pseudonyms who became the scourge of the golfing elite throughout the seventies, with a sidebar into the life of 'The Mouse' Strauss. Plus an American boxer who also used assumed names in order to tally around 400 professional fights, most of them defeats.
From the extreme to the bizarre, Bunce's tales are anything but predictable. Download more episodes from the podcast, bbc.co.uk/5live.
3 Nov 2017
The Soccer War
In this week’s tale Buncey takes us back to June 1969 where a football match between Honduras and El Salvador ended up in two nations going to war.
27 Oct 2017
The Boxer and the Bear
Writer and broadcaster Steve Bunce tells the most extraordinary stories from his long career in journalism. Introduced by Caroline Barker, Steve tells a series of fascinating stories from across a wide range of sports.
In this episode, the unbelievable story of Chuck Wepner, the real life Rocky who battled a bear... and Two Ton Tony Galento who wrestled a giant octopus!
From the extreme to the bizarre, Bunce's tales are anything but predictable. Download more episodes from the podcast, bbc.co.uk/5live.
26 Oct 2017
Welcome to Bunce's Tales of the Extraordinary
Welcome to this new BBC podcast. The first episode will be published within seven days.
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