Former England international Chris Waddle celebrates his 56th birthday today, and here at Shoot! we’d like to wish him a very happy birthday.

Waddle was a big part of English football back in the 1980s and 1990s, and appeared 62 times for his country over a six-year international career.

The 56-year-old started making his name at Newcastle United, where he moved to in 1980, and made over 191 appearances to club in helping them get back into the First Division.

A four-year spell at Tottenham followed when he signed at White Hart Lane in 1985, but 173 appearances later he decided to move abroad, and joined French side Marseille, where he would remain until 1992.

He returned to England that year with Sheffield Wednesday, and made 147 appearances for the Owls before moving to Scottish side Falkirk in 1996.

Spells at Bradford, Sunderland, Burnley, and Torquay followed before officially retiring in 2002, although he is currently undertaking a spell in amateur football with Hallem.

Waddle made over 700 club appearances in his career, netting 148 times, and we at Shoot! have brought you FIVE things that you probably didn’t know about the 56-year-old…

He released a single with Glenn Hoddle called ‘Diamond Lights’

In 1987, Waddle turn his attentions away from football temporarily, and went about recording a track with Tottenham team mate Glenn Hoddle.

The single, ‘Diamond Lights’, made it to number 12 in the charts in May 1987, but it didn’t ever break into the top ten.

However, they didn’t stop there, as they created a follow-up called ‘It’s Goodbye’, although that only just broke into the top 100.

Nonetheless, a fine effort indeed!

He began his football career with Pelaw Juniors

Long before he made the move to Newcastle in 1980, Waddle started playing football for a team called Pelaw Juniors.

They were the team on the council estate in Gateshead which Waddle grew up on in the 1970s, before he moved on to a while host of other regional teams before signing for amateur side Tow Law Town in 1978.

Two years later, he was playing for Newcastle.

He never won a major trophy in England

Despite lengthy spells with Newcastle, Tottenham, and Sheffield Wednesday, Waddle never won a major trophy as a player in England.

He was part of the Spurs side that lost the 1987 FA Cup final to Coventry, and the Wednesday team that were foiled by Arsenal twice in the 1992/93 campaign, but his only honours came while he was at Marseille, where he won three successive French championships from 1990 to 1992.

He also reached the European Cup final with the club in 1991, although the French side lost 5-3 on penalties to Red Star Belgrade.

He supported Sunderland as a boy

Despite spending five years at Newcastle, and that spell the one that announced him on the big stage, Waddle was a Sunderland fan as a boy.

He actually had a two-week trail with the Black Cats prior to his move to St James’ Park, but his boyhood club didn’t want him.

He did get to play for Sunderland in his career though, as he signed for them in 1997, although he couldn’t help them stay in the Premier League.

He took part in a Pizza Hut advert with Gareth Southgate and Stuart Pearce

Waddle appeared in a Pizza Hut advert with fellow England internationals Stuart Pearce and Gareth Southgate in 1996.

Southgate missed the penalty that sent England out of Euro 96 against Germany, while messrs Pearce and Waddle missed spot-kicks in the 1990 World Cup, where they were also knocked out by the Germans.

The three of them came together to shoot an advert which sees Southgate with a paper bag over his face, and the other two take the mickey out of him.