HE swapped his football boots for tap dancing shoes, rekindling a childhood love for singing in the process.

Former Manchester City star Jim Whitley – who had his heyday in 1998 becoming the club’s young player of the season – has had a complete change of his career and is now treading the boards in a show called Crooners.

Forming part of a trio, who are joined by nine-piece band, the 43-year-old plays one of the last of the crooners who ‘swing the hell out of’ the music of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin and Matt Monro.

Jim, who also represented Northern Ireland at international level earning three caps against Spain, Turkey and Finland, originally turned to painting when his football career ended.

He was once commissioned to do a portrait of Princess Diana for her former butler Paul Burrell and his painting of David Beckham is hung up on the wall in the Professional Footballers’ Association offices in Manchester.

But he has loved singing since joining his school choir in Wrexham and has not looked back since meeting fellow ‘crooners’ Roman Marek, who created the show, and Phil Barley.

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Jim said: “Since finishing football I’ve been looking for new challenges. I’ve worked with the writer Roman Marek for many years on Rat Pack shows. It’s the same with Phil Barley. He did the West End Rat Pack and I worked with him on a couple of other shows.

“So we all knew each other very well and that’s important because with any show you need the camaraderie on stage. If you don’t get on the audience can see that.”

Jim’s part also involves tap dancing.

He added: “When I started doing some Rat Pack and having to play Sammy Davis Jr there were times when I had to mimic tap.

“So I started with YouTube and learnt how to tap dance and I’ve been taking lessons for two years now. I thoroughly enjoy it and it’s something I put a lot of time into. I put my tap dance shoes on whenever I can and it is a nice little feature of the show.”

But any quick footwork he learnt as a midfielder did not help.

Jim said: “With football you need a really strong ankle and a strong foot to kick the ball. When you are tap dancing your ankles have to be quite loose to do the double taps and triple taps that are needed.

“There are no comparisons between football and tap dancing whatsoever so I’ve no idea how I’ve managed to pick it up so quickly.”

If you want to see Jim in action Crooners is coming to the Parr Hall on November 9. It is a bit of a cross between a concert, a raucous comedy and an interactive theatre production.

Jim said: “Essentially, we’re the last three remaining crooners in England and to keep the line going we’ll be bringing a nine-piece band on stage.

“I think the biggest selling point is the humour which people don’t expect from the show. You see a band and three singers you think that’s essentially that’s what it’s going to be.

“But there’s a lot of one-liners and laughs and a bit of a plot to it. There’s a bit of a Morecambe and Wise and a Carry On element to it.

“The audience leave with a smile on their face which is the best thing you could ask for. People do shout things and that has become part and parcel of the gig. We break the fourth wall down and talk with the audience.”

The show has only been running for about a a year but the Jim, Roman and Phil have already done about 60 performances.

Jim, who is also a pundit for BBC’s Sport at Six and an occasional commentator for Man City matches, added: “When I was coming to the end of my football days I was introduced to a lot of Frank Sinatra stuff which I could sing.

“I loved all the pop and Michael Jackson and all that but I couldn’t sing it. All of a sudden I thought this fits my voice.

“I was in a choir as a kid so I’ve always sang. I loved harmonies. Since then I’ve listened to other singers and I’ve just realised this kind of music is timeless and touches the lives of all kinds of people.”

So does Jim find that people look at him strangely during the show as they try and place where they know him from?

Jim said: “The hair has gone compared to my footballing days so I’m always very shocked if someone does recognise me to be honest.

“It does mention it in the programme and we do a meet and greet afterwards so the big football fans are often interested in that.

“But it’s quite good if they don’t recognise me because that means I’ve immersed them into the character and the show and they don’t see me as anything else but a singer.

“So it’s quite good if I can fool them on that front.”

Crooners is at Parr Hall on November 9. Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345