Full of surprises: Jon Smith explains in his new book why a player might take a year out in Belgium, and why Arsenal rely on a warehouse in Cambodia

Jon Smith marked his 40th birthday with a very big bash, taking over Wembley Arena, and for his 50th he staged a five-a-side football tournament in which Geoff Hurst played in goal. He had a “huge” party on his 60th too. On his 30th? “I was on my own,” he says. “I was alone in my home in LA and didn’t see anyone.”

Smith, then, was lost in grief after the death of his first wife, Lee, from leukaemia. A millionaire by 29 through the music industry, he felt he had achieved his working ambitions. He had no children to live for, just a dog. “I disappeared,” he admits. “Every drink was an alcoholic drink, to dull the pain. There was no real raison d’être.”