BBC.co.uk, July 5 2006

SHEARER VIDEO IS AN INSTANT CULT HIT

A video of Newcastle football legend Alan Shearer singing along to a U2 hit has achieved instant cult status after being circulated on the internet.

The former England captain was filmed by one of his daughters, apparently from the back seat of his car, as he sang along to Elevation while driving.

The footage, posted on social networking site Bebo, appears to have been captured on a mobile phone.

Shearer's management company SFX has withdrawn a threat of legal action.

The film shows the former Newcastle striker belting out the song which was playing on his car's sound system while he drives through what seems to be Ponteland, Newcastle, close to where he lives.

After being posted on Bebo, a site popular with teenagers across the world, messages praising his singing flooded in.

One wrote: "What a great guy! He's my favourite player of all time and now my favourite singer."

A message posted on football fans' website newcastle-online.com read: "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. When someone as class as Alan Shearer can be that desperately uncool as a dad, the rest of us are given hope!"

SFX had earlier threatened legal action if the footage was not removed, but later reconsidered.

An SFX spokesman said: "We have looked into it on Alan's behalf and realise that the footage is completely innocent and is simply capturing Alan spending time with his family.

"As a result we will be taking no further action."