Football and Music

A slip in the muddy grass changed everything. This time though it wasn’t an English player who blew it for his team.

Yes I know that Terry had that golden chance but in the end it was Le Sulk who gave van der Sar an easy effort to save.

It will be interesting viewing in the Euro 2008 Finals watching Portugal and France if either of them take a match to extra time and pens - will Rolando, who must think he is cursed after another penalty miss, dare to step up and try again.

- And after the finals too. Will the man who scored more goals than Rooney and Tevez this season be booking a flight back to MCR Ringway or Madrid Barajas ?

This, and the fate of many others to be decided after Sunday the 29th of June I’m sure.

As promised the other day - two songs from the winners:

This one from 1996 and an FA Cup Final song which has the players singing on the track, but thankfully their contribution was minimalised by the producers from Pete Waterman’s PWL Productions. The song borrows from many musical influences at the time. It is as ravey-ravey/2Unlimited thumping dance record »

» Manchester United 1996 - Move Move Move (The Red Tribe)

» There’s also a video.

Next is another one that steals borrows from the popular music genres of the time and is cheekily very Oasis and The Verve influenced. Sadly the team vocals are full on for this one. After hearing this somebody must have put a stop to it all because this is the last time that a Man Utd team has sang on a record »

» Manchester United 1999 - Lift It High (All About Belief )

» Video for that too.

It’s been hyped up so much that you know it’s going to be a dire game.

We’ve seen it happen with FA Cup Final matches and I reckon - although I’d love to be proved wrong - that this one is going to be the same.

Both teams will probably play it close and tight and if they nick the odd goal will then defend it for the rest of the 90.

But…. there’s obviously no love lost between the players, so there could be a couple of sending offs and if that happens then it could be an exciting encounter.

I don’t know what to go for. I’d like to see a good old fashioned football match, but because there is so much at stake (financially too) we may see the former.

I’ve delved into my collection of songs and have selected some random songs done by each team from years gone by.

In alphabetical order…

From 1984 - recorded when a Chelsea team including Nigel Spackman and David Speedie celebrated getting out of the old 2nd Division and back into the 1st »

» Chelsea 1984 - Back On The Ball

From 1990 - a Scottish-tinged outing with some bagpipes and a voice-over at the end, also a Scotsman, who reads out the names of the team members at that time »

» Manchester United 1990 - We Will Stand Together

Later on in the week I’ll post a couple of songs from the winning team.

This could become a marquee game for a couple of veterans in the Pompey team.

Some footie pundits are saying that this is the best season old Calamity James has ever had. Plus it could be a swansong for Sol Campbell who is eyeing one last big payday with a possible move to Villareal afterwards.

Both of them will want to be noticed and as well for the team who, like Cardiff will see this as the best opportunity to win the cup, because who knows if they will get back there.

I’m hoping, as well as the Beeb I’m sure, that this will be a good old fashioned end-to-end stuff FA Cup Final.

But I also hope that after their pisspoor performance in the last couple of game of the season, somebody will give the Pompey players a shot of Expresso before they run out onto the Wembley pitch.

As for some cup final music from them, sadly no trip into the studio.

But this didn’t stop a local radio station running an online competition to find the best track to be a sort of unofficial FA Cup Final song for Pompey:

107.4 The Quay’s Rich and Hayley have the “Top Of The Pompey Pops” where you can listen to a number of tracks and click to add your comment/vote on your favourite song. There’s 8 to choose from in total, with some professional artists lined up alongside some fan produced productions.

From there I’ve chosen the most recognisable recordings that everyone would know, plus they are in my opinion the best of the bunch.

The first one I had almost forgotten about until hearing it again. It’s from the bloke who set Richard Branson off on his Virgin Records adventure… (and we’ll draw a veil over the Blue Peter/with Simon Groom thing.).

» Mike Oldfield - Portsmouth

- plus a thumping remix:

» Portsmouth (Remix)

..and the best of the lot in my opinion. Done by the late lamented great wordsmith. This track from his final album isn’t about old Hurryup.. as far as I know anyway. The song is in because it includes Wembley chant:

» Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Mash It Up Harry

Please don't go searching for that video. Just... just don't.

I’m glad to report that the F.A. Cup Final song is alive and well.

Well at least with Cardiff.

As you may have seen in the press they’ve found a semi-famous singer who decided to knock one out for them.

Snippet of an article via IcWales:

Cardiff City record FA Cup song

Apr 8 2008 By Simon Kendal-Williams, Media Wales

MOVE over Chas n Dave, Baddiel & Skinner and Englandneworder - Cardiff City are set to make an assault on the singles chart with their first-ever FA Cup record.

Broadway musical star James Fox has written and recorded the track, entitled ‘Bluebirds Flying High’, ahead of the FA Cup final against Portsmouth on May 17.

The lifelong City fan, who hails from Bargoed and is a season-ticket holder, decided to pen the song after Cardiff made it to the semi-final.

“It did cross my mind at Chasetown in the third round that we might need the traditional FA Cup song if we went all the way to Wembley,” said 32-year-old Fox, who represented the UK in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest.

“But as soon as we beat Middlesbrough in the last eight, I decided to write and record it…

» Full article

For your listening pleasure, a lower quality stream below.   No download because this is a current single still for sale.

James Fox and Cardiff FC - Bluebirds Flying High:

Links:
- James Fox MySpace page
- Buy the single

There’s also an unofficial song done by Stephen Light, an unsigned artist from Caerleon in Wales. Have a listen below and again no download because this is a current song still for sale online.

Stephen Light - The Bluebirds Stomp:

Links:
- Stephen Light MySpace page
- Buy the song

You’d think that with him being there for so long, there’s bound to a few decent songs done about him.

Well there isn’t.

There is this very weak effort done by a mentioned in a couple of other posts studio group:

» The Rainbow Choir - Ryan Giggs We Love You

But come on… is that it ?

It’s the same problem I had when I posted a tribute to Maldini, another loyal servant to his one and only club.

I did some extra searching around and on You Tube there’s obviously lots of clips done by people paying tribute.
From there I found this one which is clips of some of Giggs’ greatest goals with music by Moby.
The creator/uploader overlaid a bit of commentary on the track so I’ve named it the “Giggs Mix”

» Moby - Rise Up (Giggs Mix)

If there is any actual decent musical tributes done for Giggsy then please let me know.