Football and Music

Some real danger here… Jabba The Hut’s twin brother is looking to buy out the Arse. The first football hostile takeover ?     Close one for Liverpool too. He was slobbering over them before moving on to the Gunners.

I call this the perfect storm. Because it is.
Let me explain:

The most successful template you can have for a football song, in my opinion, is when you combine some footie commentary (cf. PWEI - Touched By Cicciolina) and some chant-like lyrics which can be easily remembered and repeated on the terraces (Baddiel/Skinner - Three Lions). If you combine these elements then you have the perfect storm. The dictionary definition of a footie song.

Why ? It’s obvious isn’t it ?
You hear some slightly stirring music in the background but over that you hear Sinstadt/Motty describing a legendary match and snippets to the build up to… You then add a simple chorus which is repeated often and at all if possible - start the song with it too.

The above two mentioned examples personify this and have gone into our collective memory. This is the successful formula, this is what you need to do to make a footballing record.

Or if you are brave enough… If you think you could even raise that bar higher… by adding some extra ingredients to it ? Would this science experiment work ? Would it be a success or would it die on the table ?

One man dared to try. One mad bastard musical footie fan, in loyalty to his club decided that he would go out and create this holy grail of football music. He wanted to give back to the team he loved so, one that he had followed for so many years and because they are in the lower reaches, need every bit of finance available to them.

So he went into the studio and created…

Ah… but before the reveal a BIG shout out to the person who alerted me to this work of footie/musical genius and a copy & paste of his message which sold me on it instantly:

Brian L wrote...

“Have you written about the Stockport County song that crashed into the top 200 earlier this year by former UK Eurovision representative Daz Sampson? It’s brilliant in the way that Agadoo is brilliant, and the commentary is fantastically low rent.”

The background is that Daz Sampson was the UK’s entry for Eurovision 2006. (Which finished in 19th place, but it was still better than this year’s [2007] debacle) Daz is a massive Stockport County fan and he gave the royalties from this download only single to the Stockport Supporters Trust. As a thank from from Stockport themselves Sampson was given a Life Membership.
Nice one.

If you were footie fan and had the abilities and facilities wouldn’t you do the same thing ? I would. No matter how it would turn out I would have had a crack and shown my support for my team, just as he did. So well done to you on that part Daz.

But, as Brian says in the message with his instantly quotable line: “…It’s brilliant in the way that Agadoo is brilliant.”

Alas it may have been that Daz flew close to the sun. Once you take a listen you will agree that it has the formulae for a perfect footballing song is there, but there may have been too many of and some of the wrong ingredients added.

Maybe it was the craptacular local radio commentary from a Stockie match… maybe it was the kazoo’s… who knows.

Take a listen for yourself and then post your comments below on whether we have a glimpse of genius here or if it is a pile up on the M6 motorway:

» Daz Sampson and the Cheadle Enders - The County Song (Jim Gannon’s Army) *

* Because this is still a current release and because this is an effort to raise money for Stockie the download is a lower quality file. If you want the full version go to the websites below to download/purchase it.

A mate of mine and former Prediction League player Manc is a massive Stockport supporter. He’s out on the road somewhere. Hope I can find him and find out if he knew of this work of wonder.

Websites:
http://www.myspace.com/thecountysong
http://www.indiestore.com/nuxx

…language in the dressing room at the moment.

Continuing with the Chelski theme:

Since they are still front and center because of the happenings off as well as on the pitch, reports from some of the latest troubles at the Bridge »

Chelsea players: Grant ‘not good enough’
Duncan Castles / Sunday September 30, 2007 / The Observer

“Roman Abramovich barracked by his own fans, John Terry’s cheekbone fractured, Didier Drogba sent off on his comeback from injury, no goals and no win for the new manager. Chelsea’s great post-Jose Mourinho experiment is charting predictably turbulent waters…”

For some reasons known only to himself, Roman decided - fresh from sacking agreeing by mutual consent their most popular and successful manager, to watch the match against Fulham in the Shed End in amongst the hardcore supporters.
After the above happenings in the match it comes as no surprise that he received a full barracking from some of them.

How long before he decides, because everybody knows, to sit in the dugout.

Chelsea themselves hit back at their own fans accusing some of them of anti-semitism »

Racist abuse of Grant must stop warn Chelsea
David Hytner / Monday October 1, 2007 / The Guardian

Chairman Buck reveals anti-semitic fan mail
Clarke to quit as assistant as turmoil continues

“The Chelsea chairman, Bruce Buck, has attacked a minority element of the club’s support for anti-semitic abuse of the new manager, Avram Grant.

The Israeli’s appointment after Jose Mourinho’s departure from Stamford Bridge has provoked strong feeling but Buck said some of the comment which the club had received crossed the boundaries of acceptability.”

Something has got to give eventually. It doesn’t look like the fans or the team are going to be happy until somebody walks away. It will be a pity to see Steve Clarke leaving by the way, but I mean between Grant and Abramovich.
Grant’s position as with all those who hold a similar one in the Prem, is always a shaky one. As we saw with Jose, you can go in a spit second. But what about Roman ? How long will it last with his fiddling about with the team ? Various newspaper sites talk about who will probably replace Avram Grant, but whoever it will eventually be, they will not like the way it is up at Hearts, with the boss giving a team talk and then the bigger boss giving his after. Van Basten has been seen at the Bridge, Jurgen the German has also signalled interest, but neither of these are Phil Neal’s.

Are they Phil ?        

To lighten the mood and to bring back some older happier times down the Kings Road, a performance by the 1972 League Cup Final team and a memorable tune.

Wikipedia sez:
“The song “Blue is the Colour” was released as a single in the build-up to the 1972 League Cup final, with all members of Chelsea’s first team squad singing; it reached number five.”

The single was more successful than final though, which they lost 2-1 to Stoke…

OK so not so much of a happy memory, but a good song.

Some of the players in the team and on the recording were Peter Osgood, Peter Bonetti, Alan Hudson, Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris and David Webb, who went on to manage them in 1993 before being replaced by The Horror.

» Chelsea 1972 Squad - Blue Is The Colour

Previously: Peter Osgood and the 1970 Chelsea team - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep