David Bowie developed football obsession during 2002 World Cup

England swept Denmark aside in the round of 16 in a performance that gripped the country.

However, in the quarterfinals they went on to face the best Brazil team in a generation, starring the “original” Ronaldo, Rivaldo and the extravagantly talented Ronaldinho, which went on to win the tournament.

Mr Edwards, who worked for Bowie for 35 years, said the music icon treated him like a “London newspaper” while on tour.

“He wanted the gossip – who was at what gig, what band was on the rise, what Paul Smith was selling.”

Unlike many other famous artists who preferred to be alone in the minutes before the start of a performance, Bowie would often summon Mr Edwards, who counted The Rolling Stones and Elton John among his other famous clients, for a chat about literature.

“He’d talk about books. What was I reading? Had I read A World Lit Only by Fire, by William Manchester, or Peter Ackroyd – he loved Hawksmoor and London: The Biography.”

Mr Edwards said that Bowie, who died in 2016 aged 69, was meticulous in courting journalists, taking a personal interest in where they were sitting during his gigs so they got the best acoustics.

“If they weren’t, there might be an inquisition,” he said. “Same thing with the photographers.”