Alan Hughes, snooker's Master of Ceremonies for much of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, has sadly passed away.
Our deepest sympathies go to his friends and family. Alan had an amazing life and career, as summarised in the article below which was first published in the 2004 World Championship programme...
From Charles Aznavour to Jimmy White – there is barely a famous name in showbusiness or sport that Alan Hughes hasn’t introduced. So now it’s time to introduce the man himself…
Snooker’s renowned Master of Ceremonies has had a long and successful career having started in showbusiness when he was just 14 – winning both Search for a Star and Opportunity Knocks as a singer.
He then turned his attention to football and, as a nippy inside forward, enjoyed periods at Norwich and Brentford as well as a spell at Tottenham when Jimmy Greaves was in his prime.
Hanging up his boots, the man known as ‘Hughesie’ joined the cabaret circuit as a singer, compere and comedian and worked 11 seasons at Great Yarmouth.
He was then invited by Lovelace Watkins to be his road manager and travelled across the Atlantic with the soul singer to work in Las Vegas. “Lovelace was the best performer I’ve ever seen – and through him I met everyone,” said Hughes. “I was due to introduce Charles Aznavour once, and I said to him ‘what should I say?’ He said ‘nothing, just open the curtain. And when I’ve finished, just close it.’ He did the whole gig without saying a word – he just sang. And he got a standing ovation. I even met Frank Sinatra. Those were the best days of my career, it was a fabulous time.”
Rather than move full time to Vegas, Hughes elected to remain in the UK and his life changed when he met the promoter Barry Hearn.
“Barry had his Matchroom stable of snooker players and I started working at his tournaments. I owe a lot to Barry because he introduced me into the sporting world,” Hughes explained. “I did the boxing too – I did most of Chris Eubank’s fights. I’d like to think that I made an impact in boxing because my style of introducing fights was unique.
“I have some great memories of boxing. At one of Eubank’s fights there were 52 celebrities there and I had eight minutes to introduce them all. All the England footballers and cricketers were there, plus the Rolling Stones and a few others. The one I left until last was Jimmy White – and he got the biggest cheer of the lot!
“I was also at White Hart Lane when Eubank fought Michael Watson. I knew Watson was in trouble at the end but there was pandemonium in the ring because the crowd thought the fight had been stopped to early. I took the microphone and shouted ‘Order! There’s a man fighting for his life!” Suddenly you could hear a pin drop. But sadly it was too late to stop what happened to Michael.
“I’m still good friends with Eubank. I often see him in Brighton where I live and we have a good laugh remembering old times.”
Eventually, Hughes had to choose between boxing and snooker, and he chose the latter. “Snooker’s more laid back and that suits my style better because I like to build an audience up gradually,” he said. “I’ve always tried to make the crowd feel at ease. I believe in them and they believe in me – that relationship is very important. I never get nervous but I have made a few mistakes over the years – even the best do. I remember Sinatra forgetting the words to My Way.
“I was backstage with Dennis Taylor once about to introduce Graham Cripsey. Dennis kept calling him Crispy to try to confuse me. I was determined not to say that but I said Crapsey instead!”
Hughes, a permanent fixture on the snooker circuit, worked with Taylor for ten years on exhibitions and is now MC at the Crucible for the 20th consecutive year.
“Sheffield is something special,” he added. “The first time I came here in 1985, I was standing backstage with Steve Davis and Willie Thorne. They both wished me good luck and I wondered why. Then I went through that pink curtain and I realised – the Crucible can turn your legs to jelly!”