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Vice Magazine UK have sent a mouth-watering invitation to Joey Barton via Twitter, asking if the Premier League footballer would like to write a regular column for their iconic publication.
Vice is a free magazine which started in Montreal, Quebec, before moving its HQ to the Big Apple. It is available in 27 countries worldwide including Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa and many parts of Europe.
The famous Mag has long been heralded as a champion of the free press, a symbol of dissident youth, culture, and art, and an outlet for the gnarled voice of the underground.
The approach from Vice UK came swiftly on the heels of an interview Joey Barton did with Kerrang Magazine today, in which he shared his perspective on “Kurt Cobain, Nirvana and being a dysfunctional teenage indie kid.”
Vice UK approached Barton with a brief Tweet asking: “do you want to write a regular column for us, Joey?” … and later elaborated on their vision, saying the column could be about: “Music, literature, sport, politics, the arts… Whatever’s occupying your mind, basically.”
Barton is obviously considering their offer, and he put the question to his 500,000+ followers to get their thoughts: “What do people reckon about this @Viceuk column, would it interest you? #listentourdemographic”. The saga continues on the micro-blogging site.
Vice have always been risk takers, with their choice of obscure and irreverent content, they challenge boundaries and tackle issues others wouldn’t touch. Now it’s Joey’s turn to carry the torch, should he accept the challenge.
What a staggering change of fortunes this represents for the controversial sportsman, who was once vilified for his bad behaviour on and off the field, and was depicted as a tyrant in the national press. The kind of man the editorial team at Vice wouldn’t have acknowledged, let alone offer work to.
But the 29 year old has undergone a miraculous transformation in the recent past, he has sobered up, cut his hair in the style of a Hitler youth, and has utilised Twitter as a springboard to reinvent himself as a quasi-intellectual poetic type who adores The Smiths, and dislikes writers of the Sunday supplements.
Barton’s verbal sparring matches with Piers Morgan have been full of surprising vitriol and witt, and he has held his own against the one time editor of The News of the World. He is now something of a cult hero, and Vice obviously want to tap into that. Even Morrissey is a now a fan, having personally requested to meet the QPR midfielder at Glastonbury this year.
The general public have also warmed to him considerably, after he helped to lobby a petition to get the Hillsborough papers published in full, badgering celebs, footballers and followers to contribute their names and support the movement.