|
Some would say that the latter day football anthems started life in the 60’s when youth were getting their legs but in fact they started much earlier. Certainly with the ending of world war two the nation began opening up and the children of the 40’s became the football fans of the sixties. One particular city springs to mind, yes it has to be Liverpool. During the sixties Liverpool rode on a wave of euphoria, with their music out in the forefront of the revolution. The city almost single handed managed to crank up the countries musical awareness by introducing a youth culture that has long been gaining momentum. Throw the sixties and Liverpool in one pot and you get The Beatles. Of course there were many other groups around at the time but it was The Beatles that got the breaks. One of these other groups became the starting point for probably the most well known, the football anthem of them all. This anthem is sung to this day more than any other anthem. Yes Gerry and the Pacemakers was the group and ‘You’ll never walk alone’ was the song. The terrace’s of Liverpool FC – Anfield was a breeding ground for the legendary Liverpool humour. Most of the anthems came from humour. One famous incident when the Leeds goalkeeper Gary Sprake threw the ball backwards into his own net, immediately triggered the Kop into a rendition of Des O’Connor’s release of ‘Careless Hands’ There were many more hilarious anthems after that. Strangely when the BBC first broadcast ‘Match of the day’ it was widely thought that no other football club could match Liverpool supporters for noise and anthems. So the BBC decided to hold a competition to see who were the best supporters. A strange one this as they gave every club in the 1st division the opportunity to sing their anthems before the camera’s. The shock overall winners were Stoke City! Of course, football anthems are not anymore restricted to the game of Soccer. We are now witnessing the gentleman’s game of Cricket being infiltrated by the anthem singer, largely influenced I must say by alcohol. Rugby Union is another sport that receives regular renditions from the crowd. I must say though that of all the anthems we here there is one that really sticks itself at the top of the pile. I can still hear Freddie Mercury pumping it out now, yes ‘We are the champions’ rides high. This song is ready made for sport, after all there is always going to be a winner, a champion. There are also certain tunes for certain teams which don’t get used elsewhere… You’ll never walk alone - Liverpool Three Lions – England Fog on the Tyne – Newcastle Who could forget the Three Lions hit by Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds and how the England team only just missed out. Imagin Manchester United fans singing You’ll never walk alone’! These days though, football anthems have taken a somewhat turn for the worse, being used for very different reasons. It’s not uncommon to hear football anthems being turned into tools of abuse. This abuse can be anything from racial to referee’s to players to opposition supporters. Thankfully, most football clubs have their own identity, they certainly tend to create anthems based around their individual players. Why do supporters sing these anthems? A strange custom, or is it? First thing that comes to mind is that they are giving their team a lift. How about the fact that they are simply just happy? My theory is the need to be aggressive towards the opposition. There have been matches that for one reason or another, the away fans have been banned, I noticed the complete lack of anthems being rung out. Could anthem singing be the fans way of snarling at the opposition fans? Some more great football anthems…. Beautiful Day - U2 The Great Escape 2000 - England Supporters Band Jerusalem - Fat Les We wait for what is preparing to be the next huge football anthem, the anthem that will connect us all. Probably be the World Cup of 2006 in Germany when every England match will ring out to the tunes of one fortunate celebrity singer or band, that has come up with the formula. One thing is certain, if England win then the royalties will flow, if England lose then this is one particular anthem that will slink out of site. |