'I don't fear death. I fought to save Portsmouth': Mark Trapani on double cancer battle

Mark Trapani remains intent on fulfilling his band’s commitments at Victorious, a tantalising target even if doctors aren’t convinced over his recovery-time optimism.

The Vagabonds are booked in for a debut appearance at the popular August festival, the five-piece group being handed a Sunday afternoon slot on the Portsmouth Creates stage.

As lead guitarist, Trapani is relishing the opportunity to wield his Fender Stratocaster with customary swagger, although, on this occasion, he’ll be relinquishing backing vocal duties in the aftermath of cancer surgery.

The 69-year-old will next month undergo a complex 10-and-a-half hour procedure to remove a 2 cm tumour from his oesophagus, before repositioning the stomach further up his chest, expected to confine him to QA Hospital for up to three weeks.

Having wept from his South Stand season-ticket seat following Pompey’s League One title-clincher on an emotionally-charged evening against Barnsley, Trapani does not yet know whether he’ll be well enough to attend their scheduled Championship opener on August 10.

Agony for the former Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust figure who was instrumental in keeping his beloved club alive in 2013, before taking a place on the maiden Blues board under fan ownership.

Yet he has pencilled in a cherished comeback gig at Victorious on August 25.

‘Technically, being retired, I suppose I’m a professional musician these days, which sounds very grand. Although I’m not that good, I just love playing music,’ he told The News.

‘We were originally called the Dickensian Vagabonds, which came from dear old Joe Michalczuk, who used the phrase to describe Pompey fans when he left Express FM.

‘Now we’re called The Vagabonds and I’m playing at the wedding reception of a Pompey fan at the Groundlings Theatre two days before my operation. When I return, I’m desperate to get fit for Victorious.

‘That’s my target, even though I have been told it’s stretching it, but they’ll know more after my operation. I hope to goodness I’ll be there.

‘They say I may have difficulty talking afterwards, there’s a cancerous growth on the oesophagus which is quite high up. I probably won’t be able to sing at that one, while I may have to play the guitar seated.

‘I found out about my cancer 10 weeks ago. The only sign was struggling eating bread and certain other things, it gets stuck down my throat.

‘Still, it’s got to be done, get it out, stitch me back together, please. I may be quite hoarse for a while and I will lose about three stone, which I can afford. My meals will no longer be large, but children’s portions of food.

‘It’s a big operation and they seem to be quite optimistic. They have a good track record of positive results. They’ve told me that, on balance, I should be okay.

‘Do you know what, I’m not worried about death. When it happens, it will happen - and if it’s as calm and as pleasant as my previous experience of it, then I’m not worried.’

Trapani spent 40 years as group managing director of Snows BMW, overseeing 50 businesses. Those connections saw him enlisting with the Trust to battle to prevent Pompey’s liquidation at the High Court in April 2013.

Yet, after retiring in 2019 at the age of 65, ill-heath has hindered him and since 2022 he’s also been fighting prostrate cancer.

While in 2020, Trapani suffered a heart attack in his sleep at his Southsea home - only to be saved by Dante, his West Highland Terrier.

He added: ‘I was in bed at 3am and drifted into a cardiac arrest, which is the strangest of experiences.

‘I can only describe it as a tunnel made of highly polished and tinted glass and I was travelling down it. I suffer with tinnitus and was conscious I no longer had this buzzing and ringing in my ears, it was silent.

‘Where I was heading to goodness only knows and there was no-one else there. In the distance was a very small light, get closer and closer.

‘The next thing I know, Dante had jumped onto my face. There was no licking, but his movement brought me to. Suddenly I was physically very sick and alerted my wife, who was in the next room. She said I was as white as a sheet.

‘I didn’t want an ambulance and I was determined to stay awake. I thought if I went back to sleep then I’m gone.

‘I had a device on my knee used to transmit my heart rhythms directly to QA Hospital and, at 8am, my cardiologist Dr Guha called. He told me there would be an ambulance outside my door in two minutes and added: “We need you straight in, I can see from your heart readings that you’ve got a big problem”.

‘When I relayed exactly what happened to Dr Guha, he said a number of other patients had shared very similar stories. It was probably the beginning of the end.

‘They subsequently put a defibrillator and pacemaker into my heart. My pacemaker operates at 100 per cent pace, while the defibrillator has never needed to kick in. I haven’t had a problem since.

‘I believe Dante saved my life. I don’t know that for certain, but he was there and for ages and wouldn’t leave my side. He has a basket in my bedroom and even now will periodically jump up and tap me to see if I’m okay.’

Along with Mick Williams and Ashley Brown, Trapani was pivotal in the rise of fan ownership which overcame Portpin at the High Court to save the club.

Failure would have signalled liquidation and understandably emotional scenes greeted Mr Justice Peter Smith’s life-saving verdict, both within the courtroom and across the city.

With Iain McInnes installed as chairman, the Trust trio then formed part of a new-look Fratton Park board, with Trapani remaining for four years until the club’s sale to Tornante.

‘I have cried three times over football. Once coming out of the Rolls Building after saving the club and then promotions from League One and League Two,’ he said.

‘I am a silly Latin, these things become very important to me and it stirs my emotions. To see those thousands of fans on the pitch against Barnsley made me enormously happy and very proud.

‘Before the game I walked up behind the Fratton End after paying my respects to Jimmy Dickinson and people were patting me on the back, thanking me for the job that we’d done.

‘Goodness that’s a long time ago now, but people still remember, which is lovely. It makes me feel emotional even talking about it now.

‘During those days, there was one awful moment when Ashley, Mick and I were sat in the front room and told the club was hours away from folding.

‘God bless Trevor Birch, who initially hated Mick and I - and even admits it now. It was quite a heated discussion when we first met and he asked us to leave.

‘It was at Fratton Park and I said to him “Trevor, you need to help us too”. To which he replied “I’m only helping the creditors”. I thought “I get where you’re coming from, but please point us in the right direction!”.

‘We were told to come up with a business plan, which we had anyway, and later went through it with Trevor. He said that was a pivotal moment for him, he realised we had pulled together a number of businessmen who ran successful businesses. We weren’t fly-by-nights. He took us seriously after that.

‘However, at that first meeting he escorted us off the premises, he thought we were just another bunch of lunatic fans who had a pipe dream to own a football. 

‘It got a bit passionate and Mick and I looked at each other as we walked down the stairs and said “I think we may have gone too far”.

‘I actually found Balram Chainrai, Levi Kusnir and Deepak Chainrai to be okay individuals. That was until we met with Kushnir and a few others in London.

‘We believed it was going to be the turning point for us - then he came up with a ridiculous Fratton Park rental scheme of £1.2m a year. It was cuckoo.

‘When we took over, for my sins I became the director responsible for all the catering and kiosks. For our first match in charge against Sheffield United (April 2013), we had no floats, no cutlery, no tablecloths, and half the kiosks didn’t have any provisions.

‘We were going backwards and forwards to the cash and carry to fill up the kiosks, while I had to go to the bank and get change from my own bank account to pay for it.

‘It also turned out that all the staff - waitresses and chefs - came from a company in Stoke. They’d send bus loads of staff to work at each game, none of it was local! We sacked them and did it ourselves.

‘After winning the League Two title, I really thought fan ownership could have carried on into the Championship. I loved Paul Cook and Leam Richardson, I thought the team was more than capable of running through League One.

‘When we were then having open discussions with the Eisners, I could see Cookie and Co were not keen. I was against the sale at first, I was disappointed we sold, but the disappointment didn’t last too long, I have to admit.

‘It was absolutely the right decision.’

In May 2017, Tornante received the support of 81.4 per cent of Pompey’s equity holding following a charismatic pitch at Portsmouth Guildhall, paving the way for a £5.67m takeover.

It was completed two weeks before the start of the 2017-18 season, with Michael Eisner appointed chairman. Meanwhile, Kenny Jackett had already become manager.

Trapani added: ‘The third or fourth time I met with Michael and his wife, I was convinced they had long-term intentions. This was a Japanese approach which wasn’t a 10-year plan, it was a 50-year plan - and I believed him. They have been true to their word in every respect.

‘They got it cheap and he loved the thought of being able to turn Fratton Park into some Tudor stadium. The emotion of the whole thing was the key driver for him.

‘I know lots of people were hoping the Eisners failed, but I didn’t. It was the right thing, without a shadow of a doubt, although I wish they’d put more money onto the pitch earlier.

‘They became obsessed with Fratton Park and its safety. We were too, but they wanted to dig deep to put it right, whereas we would have probably continued to patch it up for years to come. They’ve done very well with the ground, it still retains that feel.

‘I believe the Trust could have carried on, although there would have been a critical time when funds would have run low. There was always talk of trying to get people to go in again with money, but the feeling was “No, we’d asked enough”.

‘Perhaps we would have needed to find a wealthy partner prepared to sit alongside the Trust - but that’s something Michael would never entertain. And I get that, although lots of people on the Trust didn’t.

‘The Eisners were pleased we were leaving behind a club that was well organised, financially secure, with money in the bank account. They got a fantastic club for not an awful lot of money.’

Fittingly, Trapani will be present at Sunday’s Pompey celebrations on Southsea Common, following a personal invitation from Pompey chief executive Andy Cullen.

With the Blues keen to acknowledge those whose immense contribution in the past shaped the future, he is scheduled to be introduced on stage to the crowd along with his old boardroom colleagues McInnes and Williams during the three-hour event.

A moment to savour for the infectiously upbeat Trapani ahead of his May 21 operation in the battle against his latest cancer.

He added: ‘All my treatment has been done on the NHS and QA are absolutely marvellous. What remarkable people, the most caring of people.

‘You have to be positive and there are still things I want to do in life. I want to be happy, to be comfortable, to watch Pompey succeed, to watch Italy win the World Cup again and have another star on their shirt.

‘I want to watch my six grandchildren grow up. My youngest Raphaele is aged 18-months and likes football. He can say “Football” and “Goal”, but not “Pompey” yet. He can also string two word together, unlike me.

‘And I want to play lead guitar with The Vagabonds at Victorious.’