Russell Osman is hosting a screening of Escape to Victory on Thursday at Greshams to raise funds for The Beat Goes On, the campaign for a statue of Blues legend Kevin Beattie, who was Michael Caine’s body double in the 1981 John Huston-directed film.

Osman, who played prisoner of war Doug Clure, will be joined by other members of the cast, including John Wark, who was cast as POW Arthur Hayes, Laurie Sivell, who was German keeper Schmidt, and Kevin O’Callaghan, goalkeeper Tony Lewis, who famously had his arm broken, to recall tales from the making of the film.

The movie, which also featured Sylvester Stallone as goalkeeper Hutch, as well as a host of footballers including Pele, Osvaldo Ardiles, Mike Summerbee and Kazimierz Deyna in addition to Osman, Wark, Sivell, O’Callaghan and Robin Turner, will be shown on a large screen. Tickets are available from Greshams here at £10 per person.

Led by the EADT and Ipswich Star in conjunction with BBC Radio Suffolk and TWTD, The Beat Goes On was launched on December 18th last year on what would have been Beattie’s 65th birthday.

The current target is £110,000, although it is hoped that figure will be reduced as the campaign progresses, with £80,000 already having been raised.

You can make a donation online via the Go Fund Me page or send a cheque made payable to ‘The Beat Goes On’ to Kevin Beattie Statue Appeal, EADT, Portman House, 120 Princes Street, Ipswich, IP1 1RS.

There are also collection buckets at reception at the EADT’s offices and at BBC Radio Suffolk.

You can find The Beat Goes On campaign website here.

Photo: TWTD

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