When he was at secondary school, George Pickering, a supporter of AFC Croydon Athletic, would make it a ritual to play football on a recreation ground near where the club is now. One day, a young, “really talkative” kid with “lots of energy” turned up to play with them.
“It just felt like he wanted somewhere to go, a bit of an outlet,” Pickering, now 34, recalled. It was only years later and from a friend’s recollection that he learned the boy they kicked around with was Stormzy – or Michael, as they knew him.
