Adieu Clive

“Warning, genius at work.”

Clive Everton talking about Jimmy White.

Introduction

Clive Everton was the ultimate professional. One of a breed of commentators who is sadly lacking from sport today. A protege of Ted Lowe, who would become his heir to the snooker microphone title. He was the cherry on the cake as Dan Maskell was to tennis and Richie Benaud to cricket. The former editor of Snooker Scene, BBC snooker commentator and Guardian snooker correspondent was a class act. A multiple amateur champion in billiards and snooker professional from 1981 to 1991, his snooker career sadly didn’t match that of his one in billiards. A back injury caused his decline and an operation to fuse his vertebrae, ending his unique style of play, sighting the ball with his left eye like Graham Miles. However, he did manage to get to 47 in the rankings.

The Ultimate Voice

Clive had plenty of experience as a journalist, covering tennis, squash and rugby. As a young boy, he saw Sidney Smith play billiards at Leicester Square Hall, and this caused a fascination for billiards and snooker. First signed up to BBC Radio for snooker in 1972, he would move to BBC television coverage in 1978, remaining there until his discriminatory sacking in 2010.  He later worked for Sky Sports and ITV. A commentator who experienced the highs and lows of snooker, the triumphs and bad decisions. However, he agreed with the commercial arm of World Snooker and the ruling body of the WPSA.

Clive once lost his balance in the commentary box when he leaned backwards in his chair, and the sea went in two directions. This was not helped by it being on wheels. He grabbed Dennis Taylor’s tie to save himself and nearly garroted the Northern Irishman.

Fortunately, he came out unscathed. This allowed us to savour this national treasure for over thirty years. Clive was so good, precisely because he could link a past event or statistic to a specific match. He made the players familiar by using their first names and used his personal experience of the game in his commentary. A former player who used to practice with Fred Davis at his house and saw the genius and dark side of Alex Higgins close up and personal.

Editing Snooker Scene right up until Parkinson’s Disease took hold of his body in 2022, Everton was the benchmark for snooker for many years. He knew the game inside out and could predict a player’s choice of shot before it was even played. Admired by the media and players alike, his presence is greatly missed and his passing will cause many a fan to shed a tear.