Football and Music

As mentioned yesterday there are two clubs in the Championship that are both favourites for that one remaining relegation place.

But there are others who are nervously looking over their shoulders and should the results go a different way could find themselves making a trip to Yeovil next season.

They are Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry and today’s subject: Blackpool.

How long is it since I’ve been there….? How long…? In the 80’s ? Bloody hell that’s a while.
I think the last time was with me mates on our motorbikes, before that it was when I was a kid it was day trips with the family.

Blackpool, the Las Vegas of the North with all the cheezy cabaret shows. It was here you could find the personalities you don’t see on telly any more. Light entertainment hell at the end of the Central Pier.

As for the footie it was back in the day when money didn’t matter, when you couldn’t buy the title but had to have players who could win it for you.

Blackpool FC had their halcyon days after World War II when they had Mortensen on their books, plus in the 1950’s the other legend Stanly Matthews played for them.

The Seasiders made three Wembley appearances in six years and came close to winning the League Championship on several occasions, but never quite made it.

After years of slumber lower down the leagues this season (at the moment) they are in the Championship, but like the above mentioned there is a chance that they could drop again.

- As for their music I discovered the following song which was originally posted by Twohundredpercent. It was done by those (they were fit the 80’s) Nolan Sisters.

It’s a very short one at only 1 minute 40 seconds:

» The Nolans - Blackpool

After a quick Google I found more information via the blackpool-madwebsite. On there it has details about this song which was originally recorded in 1972 when the Nolans were part of a the family group with their parents and known as the Singing Nolans.

If you want to know the full story go over there and have a read.

Because of the short length of their song I wanted to add something else, so have some Manics:

» Manic Street Preachers - Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier

And finally...

One for all the threatened clubs from a F&M stalwart. By final whistle this coming Sunday these teams will hope to be…

» Half Man Half Biscuit - Mathematically Safe

In the Championship (old 2nd Division) they’ve managed to fix it so that it all comes down to the last game of the season to decide things.

I’m not complaining, this is a rare thing and makes for exciting viewing.

Apart from the title decider and play-off places, the fiercer competition to avoid a certain position is actually at the other end of the table where a couple of former “big” clubs are circling the drain.

Vying to avoid the one remaining relegation position are Blackpool, Coventry, Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester and Southampton.

Things looking even more doomed for fans of both these teams next season with (rumoured) news that if Leicester drop they will replace manager Ian Holloway with Iain Dowie.

Stop laughing there Saints fans.
Recently their previous chairman Rupert Lowe has gained power back at the club and if they survive this current financial crisis… and relegation would make them immediately call in the receivers… but if they do somehow scrape out of it there’s a whisper going around that Lowe would bring the nightmare that is the Hoddle out of the wilderness…

Dark times indeed.

So for these reasons and more, not just because of the above dire consequences if one of these two do go, this coming Sunday will be edge of the seat stuff.

As it stands Southampton are at home but are facing a Sheffield United side that’s been on a run (won their last 4) and a win would put them into a playoff spot. Meanwhile Leicester go away to play Stoke City who are level on points with West Brom for the Championship title.

Musically looking at the situation with these two and I have to say after listening to the following “efforts” that they both deserve to go down.

I usually try not to form or post my opinion about the songs, I leave that up to you, but in this case I have to speak out.

The performers on these songs chose to hide their identities and used a pseudonym and I can understand why.

In the first one done by “The Valley Slags” and is an ode to Matt Le Tissier… BUT - when you hear the first line you will wonder if they are actually singing about one in the same person:

» The Valley Slags - Legend Of The Saint

“Tall and gangly…”   Really…?

Next is a really dreadful effort about Leicester City. It’s a short song which barely makes it to the 1 minute 40 mark:

» Phil Bert and the Foxes - This Is The Season For Us

If the relegation issue was to be decided on these tracks I would say that Leicester are fcuked.

I can understand Wrighty’s sentiments about not wanting to sit on the sofa next to Hansen and Shearer anymore. I mean come on, not exactly sparkling company are they. But with the Beeb losing nearly every televisual rights to any decent footballing matches, (apart from the Jewson Home Counties under 14’s Sunday League), Ian Wright Wright Wright wasn’t going to get to see Gary’s smirking face up close ever again because he only sat in on Auntie’s coverage of the England matches and since we are sitting this one out…

But let us not forget that the original jug eared one was a decent footie player in his day.

In his time at Leicester he was constantly the top league scorer. In 194 appearance for the club Lineker bagged 95 goals and helped to get them promoted to the old First Division and afterwards got sold to…

No not yet. Later..

Everton. Where in that one season he scored 40 in 52 games and again become the leagues top scorer. Then he went into the shop window that was the 1986 World Cup where yet again he became the top scorer of the tournament.

Everton cashed in on him and after the finals was sold to El Tel’s Barcelona where he partnered Sparky Hughes up front. Eventually Lineker followed Venables to his next job at Spurs where when the year ended in 1 and despite Gazza’s antics, they won the FA Cup.

Finally he went off into semi-retirement and was a proto-Beckham where he explored and was introduced into new territories playing for Grampus 8 in Japan. Sadly it was an injury plagued season which led to his decision to hang up his boots before eventually finding the anchors chair and lulling us all to sleep on a late Saturday’s evening.

Here endeth the history of Leicester’s favourite son™

Now to the music and hat-trick of songs. Two of them from studio created groups and one with a tenuous connection since he played in that league:

» Romaine - Gary Lineker : A Young Girls Dream » The Rainbow Choir - The J-League Freakout » Her - Ooh Gary Gary

For those of you who haven’t checked the calendar, today is St. Georges Day.

St George is not just England, but of Georgia and Moscow too. The above pic is from a World War II memorial in Moscow.

I wanted to find some appropriate music to go with this day. Thanks to the England teams various efforts (in the recording studio that is) there are a few to choose from.

But I also wanted to find something else, some non-footie&musical songs that are not jingoistic but still is a celebration of England and all things English.

So three variations on a theme starting with…

Traditional:

» And did those feet in ancient time…     Lyrics/info

I know Fat Les did a “version” of this, which you can listen to via the Jukebox.
Even though I’m not all religious I find this hymn to be very stirring.

- Next we have a folk song:

» Ralph McTell - England

You know him, he’s the bloke who did Streets Of London.

Lastly an obvious one which I think is the third outing on F&M now:

» 1970 England Squad - Oh Sweet England

Extra Time - a reposting of some England desktop wallpapers I did. Click on the image to view the full image and then do the business to set it as your wallpaper:

Bonus link - The Chariots of Fire soundtrack.
(Has a version of Jerusalem with Vangelis music over it)

Don’t say I don’t give you owt ;)

Got an email from a regular visitor who’s got a blog of his own and he’s posted some footie and music:

Name:: carrascus

Website:: http://www.blogin-in-the-wind.es/
Message::

Hi:

I writed a post on my blog about football and music. Looking for information, I come to your blog now and them. I want to thank some information contributed, and I want also to say hello and invite you to read my resulting post.

…The text is in Spanish, sorry…

Best wishes.

Hello Carrascus great to hear from you !

F&M obviously posts mostly English language footie/musical songs and occasionally I do some non-English stuff [eg: Brolin, Ronaldinho] but because of the language barrier I have trouble researching and finding more songs, more information for other overseas musical footballing outputs.

But now we now have more discoveries.

I found the post on his Bloggin’ In The Wind site that concerns the footie&music and holy crap look at that !

Carrascus has posted on one page what would be a 6 month output for me !

He’s got some legendary players on there who I never knew took to the mic either during or post their footballing careers.

Names such as Johan Cruyff, Arnold Muhren, Beckenbauer and is that… Maradonna..? And there… is it really Pele… singing…?
Oh wait there’s more - the bloke who plays for Blackburn, there also Jay Jay Okocha and yes even Drogba.

The google translation of the page gives me a good idea of what he’s posted and helps me research further onto each of them.

So thank you again Carrascus for contacting me, I’ll add a permanent link to your place somewhere on Football and Music.
And you as well dear reader, make sure you make regular visits over there too.

In the future I’ll feature some songs originally posted by Bloggin’ In The Wind but for now I’ll highlight a couple of familiar names who were in the Prem a couple of seasons ago and both of them may actually return »

Djibril Cissé once of Liverpool now of Marseille but maybe back in the North West (he still owns land in Cheshire and is married to a Brit) has a go at some house music with an afro beat with this curiously titled single:

» Dijbril Cisse - Shake by Play ‘mo Bitch

- Next up is Jay Jay Okocha previously of Bolton Wanderers and now playing up front for Hull, who have a decent chance of getting into the Prem for next season. Whether the 34 year-old veteran will be still with them then remains to be seen.
His attempt at the charts was released in 1994 and it is another curiously entitled tune:

» Jay Jay Okocha - I I Am Am Jay Jay