Football and Music » Liverpool

Football and Peelie

Webbie - Footie And Music — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:01:30 +0000

October 25th: We are #KeepingItPeel

Today is October 25th.

Today is a solemn day, but not for long. Because we don’t mope here. We celebrate.

Celebrate and commemorate a life less ordinary and one that touched hundreds… thousands… dare I say it – millions of people.

But not because of what he did, well yes partly… more because of the music he played.

I’m not going to start listing all the bands/artists he played. Just pick a letter and see for yourself.

Peelie impacted and influenced my life more than I could say. This is why I started the #KeepingItPeel project. Initially the idea was that we – the people who listened – that we show our appreciation. Then the podcasts came along because once again the BBC, as the did with the John Peel Day and with a podcast – they abandoned them.

This is why it’s vitally important that all of us continue with #keepingitpeel today and every day. This year and every year.
Not just with the Peel Sessions, but by going out and finding new music. Listening to the new upcoming bands.

Right I’ve prattled on enough. It’s time that I added my contribution to #keepingitpeel today:

As you would expect with a football and music website – plus with John Peel himself being a big football fan, guess what this special edition podcast is about… Yes that’s right. Flower arranging.

My source for this podcast, as it is with all the #KeepingItPeel podcasts is the very excellent John Peel Wiki.

As everyone knows John was a huge Liverpool fan, going as far not only getting married in Liverpool colours, but by giving his children middle names associated with the club.

The podcast today has items featured on the football section of the John Peel Wiki, as well as material taken from or sent by ross ofcourse my collaborator on the #KeepingItPeel pods.
Suffice to say if you are a Liverpool fan you will enjoy this. Even if you are not but still a football fan you’ll still like.

Tracklistings (with explanations if needed):

The first 13 minutes of his show from 30th May 1984:

This was the night when Liverpool (after a penalty shoot out with Roma), won the European Cup. Watching along in the studio with Peel at the time was David “Kid” Jensen and Kid asks John about the game and how he feels about it.
Tracks played in celebration:
a) Kop Choir – You’ll Never Walk Alone
b) (Church Bells)
c) The Mighty Wah! – Come Back
d) The Undertones – Teenage Kicks

The first 14 minutes of his show from 24th June 2004:

Once again John is watching another crucial match which went the same way at the 1984 game, this time though it was England and unlike Liverpool’s fortunes from the penalty spot, we all know what happens with England.
Peel has to start his show whilst the game is into extra time. He puts on his favourite song by The Fall at which point Frank Lampard scores, so he then plays the same track again. – Listen to the audio for explanation. Tracks played:
a) Beny Page – Neck Breaker (12″)
b) The Fall – Kicker Conspiracy [twice !]

Audio clip (from 1992) talking about football and the magazine When Saturday Comes.
Show from 24th June 1998 show on BFBS:

John is once again watching football, this time it was the 1998 World Cup. In the clip he mentions Robbie Earl’s goal for Jamaica and plays an excerpt from: Black Congo – Reggae Boyz. *If anyone has the full track please contact me.

Makabe – Pam Pam Cameroon
The first two minutes of his show from 27th April 1982:

John starts with a German nursery rhyme/song and then: Ju Ju – You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Before Half Man Half Biscuit performed live – John Peel asks Nigel Blackwell about Pat Nevin
The Tractors – Pat Nevin’s Eyes
Half Man Half Biscuit – Even Men With Steel Hearts (Love To See A Dog On The Pitch)
Pink Floyd – Fearless (played on 30th April 2002 show)
Billy Bragg – Greetings To The New Brunette
Costa Rica Football Team – The Costa Rican 1990 World Cup Song
John Hegley – Jimmy Greaves
Jeff Astle – Sweet Water (played on 22nd January 2002 show)
Barmy Army – Sharp As A Needle (Festive Fifty show)
Albert Whelan – Pass! Shoot!! Goal!!! :

Taken from John Peel and Sheila: The Pig’s Big 78s: A Beginner’s Guide

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

[See post to listen to audio]
» D/load [pod is 1hr 9mins/File size is 63MB]
- or » D/load & embed the file on your own site.

If you like this sort of thing (the Peel stuff) then get yourself over to #KeepingItPeel for updates.

Without whom…etc.

A huge thank you to @rossofcourse for his invaluable input.
To all the chaps who contribute/maintain the fantastic John Peel Wiki.
Thanks to Fredorrarci at Sport Is A TV Show for his continuing support.
Also to Chris from Obscure Music and Football for his time.
Thanks to Mark at We Love All That for his support.
And finally to The Vinyl Villain for the inspiration.

Webbie – Football And Music + #KeepingItPeel: 25th October 2011

The Beatles FC

Webbie - Footie And Music — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:54:40 +0000

Many years ago the chap in the football strip above was dubbed the “The Fifth Beatle” or “El Beatle”.
This came from the Portuguese press after he scored a goal for Man Un a 4 – 1 win against Benfica in the European Cup in 1965. This naming was mainly due to his Beatles-style “mop” haircut, which was popular with everybody at the time, including George Best.

He was one of the many given this title. Little known fact: Despite both the footballer and the band having the same sort of adulation at the same time, neither George Best or The Beatles ever met.

The question has often been raised whether any of The Beatles liked football. The subject was also covered in depth a couple of years ago by the excellent Run of Play. Then a short time later Paul McCartney revealed that he is an Evertonian, but the band weren’t all that interested in football.

But football liked The Beatles.

I’ve found a few scraps of evidence from various places, some bits of audio that are football and Beatles music related.

The first one though I think that everybody would like to disown really… especially those of you down the Carrow Road way… No more information is available as to who, why, when and how this was done. Which is probably a good thing.

[See post to listen to audio]
» Norwich City – On Board The Beatles Yellow Submarine

Meanwhile back in Liverpool…

[See post to listen to audio]

» The Vernon Football Pools Girls 1963 – We Love The Beatles

[See post to listen to audio]

» The Anfield Kop 1964 Sing The Beatles and Bacharach – She Loves You/Anyone Who Had A Heart

Going back to the band themselves and the only time that any football reference got into a song was on the track “Dig It” where Sir Matt Busby got a mention:

» Link to video

[See post to listen to audio]

» The Beatles – Dig It (Long Version)

A different code…

- Here’s a clip of John Lennon talking to the announcer Howard Cosell during an Ameican Football game in 1974. It was seven years later that the same presenter would have the sad duty of telling the viewing public watching a Monday Night Football game of Lennon’s death…

- The only other reference to football by John was on the Wall and Bridges in which the album cover was a painting he did as a kid in 1952 of the FA Cup Final between Newcastle and Arsenal.

[See post to listen to audio]
» Whatever Gets You Thru The Night [Alternate Take]

[See post to listen to audio]
» John Lennon – #9 Dream

As you can see I timed this post to go out on December 8th, the day the world lost the genius of John Lennon… This is my F&M tribute to someone who has been a huge influence and had a profound effect on my life.

So long ago…Was it in a dream, was it just a dream…?

Scully

Webbie - Footie And Music — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 22:39:49 +0000

You remember Franny Scully don’t you ?

Back in Liverpool in 1984 ? The kid who was always sagging it. Always had run-in’s with the school caretaker (who looked like a vampire) and with the law.

Scully had a very vivid imagination and throughout the series run there would be surreal scenes born out of conversations and thoughts that he had – such as with the caretaker, nicknamed Dracula, would be chasing him around in full cape and fangs.

Still don’t remember him ? Have a look at this clip of Franny introducing a couple members of his family:

» Link to video

Yeah now you do… The mini-series on Channel 4 written by Alan Bleasdale, one of the holy trinity of Scouse playwrights (the other two being Carla Lane and Willy Russell) at that time.

Let’s start at the beginning though – The idea for this character started back in the 1970′s when Bleasdale was writing short stories that were aired on Radio Merseyside.

An episode of the Scully stories voiced by the writer Alan Bleasdale:
[See post to listen to audio]

Then in 1978 the BBC produced it as a Play For Today with Andrew (also known as Drew) Schofield as the title character and his best mate, the slow witted Mooey crashing a New Years party. The play was all drama as opposed to what it became some years later.

Before the Scully idea made it’s return to the screen, Bleasdale had a success with another of his Play For Today scripts which was made into a mini-series: Boys From The Blackstuff was set, like nearly all his other writings, in his home city.

With some harsh views, but with black humour, it looked at the economic effects of Thatcherism on Liverpool with high unemployment and a sense of abandonment and loss of hope. Each episode focused on a different character and there was one particular bloke who everybody still remembers to this day…

Yosser Hughes is a man driven to the edge of his sanity by the loss of his job, his wife, the authorities continued attempts to take his children away from him and his constant attempts at salvaging his male pride (often the main give-away of his insecurity). His catchphrases, “Gizza’ job!” and “I can do that!” became part of the popular consciousness of the Eighties, summing up the mood of many who sought desperately for work during the era.
» Wikipedia

Go on…gizza job:
» Link to video Yosser talks to his lookalike – Graeme Souness:

» Link to video

That footballing idea was used two years later when Channel 4 commissioned Scully with the title character and his obsession to play for Liverpool FC. Various players would be seen in episodes, including specifically Kenny Dalglish who Scully saw in his imagination and talked to him, but Dalglish never replied because he was imaginary.. There was even one time when Franny had a vision of Kenny dressed as a fairy godmother…Sadly I couldn't find any screencaps of this moment.... Other Liverpool legends to appear in the series were Bob Paisley and Ian St John.

As you saw in the first clip of Scully introducing his family there was Jean Boht, who went on to play Ma Nellie Boswell in Carla Lane’s Bread.

There were other now familiar names in the series, including Gary Bleasdale (Alan’s cousin) and Mark McGann (who both played Scousers in Harry Enfield sketches), as well as Cathy Tyson and Gilly Coman – who also played the first Aveline in Bread but sadly died in July this year (2010).

Gilly Coman in Scully was Marie, the object of his affection. You can see her below as well as Scully’s bessie mate the always picked upon Mooey:

» Link to video

Another family member Scully introduced us to was his brother Henry, who you can also see in the family photo below. As he says in video the brother Henry isn’t quite right, his Mam fell down two flights of stairs with him when they were leaving the maternaty ward and then his Dad dropped him on his head. Henry is obsessed with trains.

If you haven’t spotted it by now Henry was played by one Elvis Costello, who also provided the title music to the show.

As mentioned Scully’s one and only ambition was to play for Liverpool F.C, and at the time this was the mid-1980′s all-conquering Liverpool side. In the opening titles we see an imaginary scene (or is it real ?) of Scully as a member of the Liverpool squad in the dressing room and the going down the tunnel to run onto the Anfield pitch with his fellow players. For the Kirkby born Drew Schofield this was a dream come true for him, never mind his character:

“…I also got to lead the team out in front of the Kop and that was an amazing experience. All of a sudden the crowd just started singing ‘There’s only one Franny Scully,’ it couldn’t have been scripted better. People thought it was planned but I can honestly tell you it wasn’t.”
» Yoliverpool.com Forum

» Link to video

- Lots more related videos on the Drew Schofield video channel on You Tube.

[See post to listen to audio]
» Elvis Costello – Turning The Town Red

Info for the above article also gathered from:
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085089/fullcredits#cast
- http://www.retrotogo.com/2006/07/scully_1984_rev.html
- http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2576
- http://www.elviscostello.info/books/scully.html
- http://thevideovillain.blogspot.com/2008/09/classic-telly.html
- http://www.londonlee.com/2009/03/down-pool.html

Extra Time - Other music released around that period:

[See post to listen to audio]
» The Imposter – Pills And Soap

[See post to listen to audio]
» The Imposter – Peace In Our Time

The Footballers In Video Challenge

Webbie - Footie And Music — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:24:12 +0000

As you many have guessed I’m taking a bit of a break. So in the meantime whilst it’s quiet and for something to do – I am throwing down the challenge glove…

This challenge was something started via Twitter when Sweeping The Nation tweeted with this comment a few months back.

The tweet, for those of you who can’t be arsed clicking on that link is for a video from Edward (Ed) Ball and his song: “Mill Hill Self Hate Club”, which I think tickled the lower to mid end of the charts in 1996.
What was significant about the video for his song was that there were a few well known faces including a Premier League footballer.

So from the suggestion originally by Sweeping The Nation, this has now become:

Find a music video where a football player makes an appearance.

Now there are rules to this – the video has to be of a player who just pops up somewhere. He doesn’t sing, but instead tries his acting chops in these three minute mini-tales…plays…? fables ? …I can’t think of the right word at the moment.

Some examples of what I’ve found below. Can you add to these ? Leave a comment.

I’ll post these in the order of the year the song was released and start with Junior Giscombe.

You remember Junior ? He had that fantastic song Mama Used To Say which was a huge hit in 1981. A few years later he released a single Do You Really (Want My Love) which was als on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.

The setting for the accompanying video was an indoor 5-a-side match at the local gym. Not very imaginative and reverting to type just because of the footballer they managed to get involved I think, or maybe it was because Junior was a friend or fan of this particular striker.. Who knows.

The plot for the video is that Junior is the subs bench and was pleading with his manager to get a game because there’s this girl on another bench who he wants to impress. By half time his team are 5-nil down and the boss gives these players a rollocking. A team which includes one Garth Crooks, late of Spurs at the time, now still a cub reporter at the Beeb… As you can see from the screencap above old Garth doesn’t look too impressed at this bloke telling him what to do.

The 2nd half kicks off and Junior’s team are still getting mullered and eventually he’s given a chance.
Our hero steps onto the pitch… sorry gym floor and… well have a look for yourself:

- Link to video

Additional notes: Loses a few points because it uses a football player in a football setting. Would have liked to have seen Crooks dresses as a clown in a circus or something. There could be some other Spurs players in the video too , I’m not familiar with their team from that era. If you spot one add a comment.

Next we have the aforementioned Edward Ball, who was signed to Creation Records at the time and a big mate of the founder of the label Alan McGee, who you can see on the video. As well as him Ed got another mate of his to play guitar in the band. I don’t know if he actually played on the single or just appear in the video… anyway step forward Nick Heyward, late of Haircut 100 and one of the many lead singers who think they can break out on their own but end up in obscurity.

Our featured footballer this time is the Guardian reading Graeme Le Saux, who at the time was playing for the Jack Walker financed Blackburn Rovers, but a few months later moved to Chelsea.

The plot for this one is really simple – Ed is sitting in a caff (and occasionally playing with the band) waiting for his date to show. Whilst he’s there – for a good few hours – some people (McGee and then Le Saux) come and sit at the tables. Eventually his date turns up and it’s…

- Link to video

Additional notes: Another one that loses a couple of points because of the set up of a football pitch on the table as a way to telegraph that this was a well known footballer we were looking at. We know who he is.

Now we have some bizarreness… It comes in the form of Dr. Alban (not a real doctor obviously) who you may remember from the early 90′s dance hit “It’s My Life” which was also used in those bloody (literally !) Tampax adverts. The bizarre doesn’t come from that but from another tune he did in 1999.

For this song he went the Ed Ball route and roped in some of his (Swedish) sporting pals – and what friends he keeps. In the video you will see Bjorn Borg and a footie player featured previously on F&M – Tomas Brolin.

In the clip below the good (non) Dr. Alban has hired a stretched limo and along with Borg and Brolin, they are all dressed to the nines in some white dinner jackets. Also in the video there’s some bikini clad birds in a swimming pool and err… You’d better just watch:

- Link to video

Additional notes: Again we know who he is so there’s no need for any clips showing his greatest moments (although he might have requested that himself.) Or the footage of the chunky Brolin destroying a wall with a… football. Again a bit too on the nose.

For this one it is back to a World Cup year (2002) and a silly decision by Keith Allen to once again flog this dead horse with a self-released tune. It was also a notable event with his daughter Lily (aged 15 at the time )making her first guest vocals and video appearance. The song, with Blur’s Dave Rowntree on drums, has a video shot in and around Soho in London. And to compete with Dr. Alban above it seems, there’s a bit of bizarreness in the form of Wayne Sleep wearing that protective gear that boxers use when in training. He can be seen pirouetting around the crowds in Carnaby Street.

The football representation in this case (because in the song there’s barely any mentions) comes in the form of that Sky Sports legendary summariser Chris “Kammy” Kamara, who is also name checked in the song.

- Link to video

Additional notes: Points lost because of the name check and because Kammy is on camera for only a few seconds.

Here now we have a 2004 video from a Spanish group who score some major points because of the player they got to appear in the video and what they got him to do.

The band is El Canto del Loco (The Song of the Madman).
In the video below it takes a nod to the Junior Giscombe clip. In this case it’s the lead singer of the band who’s at a bus station when who should walk in but Fernando Torres. He is accompanying a female (assumed to be his girlfriend) and whilst they are sitting waiting for the bus the lead singer catches the girls eye and the girl also spots him. Then they both have an out of body experience… No I’m not kidding here. Eventually the bus is ready to leave and the singer boards. We then see Torres and the girl approach the bus, Fernando goes in to kiss his video partner BUT SHE BLANKS HIM ! She must have been a clairvoyant and saw this trip that Torres took in the future.

- Link to video

Additional notes: As I said extra points for snagging Torres for the video, for not mentioning or even giving a hint of football. But especially for the fact that the lead singer steals Fernando’s girl.

Lastly for now and I can’t believe that I’m posting a Westlife video on here…

The premise for their pop music video – “Bop Bop Baby”… it hurts as I type that…. is that the boys are Musketeers are locked in a dungeon. There’s a girl (as always) which wanted to marry one of the boyband members – it’s not clear which, maybe all of them. But her Father is forcing her to marry the vilest man in the kingdom for cold, hard cash. That man is Duke Vincent – known more commonly to you and me as Vinnie Jones, who is well known to croon a few tunes himself.

As mentioned the lads are locked in an underground castle dungeon and singing some (slightly confusing) lyrics which really do not fit in with their situation:

“When I call you at home and he answers the phone
Or I get your machine and I don’t hear me”

Then suddenly help from outside and some unknown accomplice blows a big fecking hole in the wall, they escape, storm the wedding and proceed to beat the living crap out of Jones.
So the video does have some high points.

- Link to video

Additional notes: Loses a couple of points because they got a footballer who likes to sing, but the man himself helps gain them back by being in a Westlife video and for allowing a boyband to beat him up.

Those are the ones that I’ve found, but there’s got to be more out there. Do you know of any ?
If you spot any candidates please add a comment below:

Voodoo Keegan (Slight Return)

Webbie - Footie And Music — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:38:48 +0000

Many of the songs posted here in the last couple of months have been courtesy of and a big thanks to Stu Davis who had the foresight all those years ago to purchase some CD’s and thusly helped me towards my quest to gather everything to do with the musical aspect of the beautiful game… It is a side that many of us wish didn’t exist but it does and this is why F&M is here to remind these people of these past deeds.

There is one individual in this football and music jungle who’s name, as it does with the back page headlines, keeps reappearing. [In fact he's been featured on here so many times that he's got his own tag.]

This person was recently in the news again when he piled even more misery on the owner of a certain club in the north east when this well known ex-messiah won a compensation claim to the tune of 2 Million – plus costs.

The above image changed to protect the obvious.

He seemed to have started a trend here because Curbs has just won a similar case against West Ham – another ailing club. – And these two big reasons why Hicks and Gillett will not even entertain the thought in regards to Rafa.

Back to the subject in hand though and again thanks to Stuart for another addition to the collection of KK tunes. This one was his debut single from 1973 and has some… interesting lyrics.

One part of it looks like a threat:

“Show me a happy face each morning
Just be the same when I come home
‘Cos I may leave you without warning…”

Whilst another, after that award for compensation, is very prophetic:

“Cheering crowds and far off places
Lots of money in my hand…”

» Click for full lyrics

Believe me/it ain’t easy
To live this life with me
Believe me it ain’t easy
To live this life with me

Show me a happy face each morning
Just be the same when I come home
‘Cos I may leave you without warning
And they’ll be many times you’ll find you’re on your own

Believe me/it ain’t easy
To live this life with me
Believe me it ain’t easy
To live this life with me

Cheering crowds and far off places
Lots of money in my hand
But I come home too tired for lovin’
Something a girl would find hard to understand

Believe me/it ain’t easy
To live this life with me
Believe me it ain’t easy
To live this life with me

Sadly only a snippet and not the full song:

» K*vin Keeg*n – It Ain’t Easy

Ah what the heck, might as well repost the rest:

» KK – Head Over Heels In Love

» Kvn Kgn – Move On Down

» Keggie Keegle – In England

My quest for everything KK still isn’t over. Still have to find Do I Know You (the B Side to It Ain’t Easy) and Somebody Needs (the B side to In England) – as well as a telly appearance when the curly mopped one sang with Little and Large. » If you know of the location of any of these – drop me a line.

"Come here, there's more"

Some visual and additional musical treats for you.
I’ve gathered together and created a playlist of YouTube clips featuring himself:

» Link to playlist

- (The only information I have on the next vid clip) : This was made by a group called G15 around the time of Euro 2000 when Kevin Keegan was England manager:

» Link to video

» G15 – Self Preservation Society (Kgn Mix)

I think that’s enough for now.

The English Disease

Webbie - Footie And Music — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:04:46 +0000

I had this next entry scheduled and then all this happened so I debated whether I should postpone or even cancel this post. But then I decided that the many should not be punished for the idiotic actions of the few… well a few hundred… but still…

With this next one, in which the producer Adrian Sherwood was involved, the project looks at football at the time and everything surrounding it – including the trouble on the terraces and outside the grounds:

I’ll pull some quotes from kiwimick who posted this commentary on Rate Your Music and gives an excellent summary on the whole thing:

…The Barmy Army are effectively the loose collective otherwise known as Tackhead and friends, and here they combine a couple of their shared passions – sampling and football – to create a body work unlike anything else heard before or since. It won’t appeal to all, but it does have some curiosity value, and will be well worth a listen for anyone who has previously enjoyed Tackhead, Little Axe, Dub Syndicate, Mark Stewart, or indeed fans of experimental dub or eclectic lightweight cut-and-paste style Hip-Hop.

When this was initially released circa 1989 in the immediate aftermath of the Heysel/Bradford/Hillsborough tragedies, English football was at its lowest ebb for several generations, and the game was awash with violent so called “fans”… …Attendances were low, safety concerns high, and the family-friendly all-seater environment we see today was still some way off in the future…

Instead of using samples some lines from any songs, they used the chants/songs sung by the crowds at some football matches. Most notably was recordings from West Ham and Celtic games, which I’ll mention more about below.

- Actually I’ll add another quote from the excellent and very detailed site On-U Sound In The Area which is an unofficial tribute to the On-U Sound record label. Click to read more

From the Barmy Army biography and this is a snippet of an introduction to the album done by Steve Barker:

“Recorded at a time of social paranoia when the Thatcher years were drawing to a close, football was under unprecedented scrutiny. Identity cards, the destruction of the traditional terrace, hooliganism (“the English disease”), policing standards, a return to family values – the game was becoming, to coin a phrase, a political football! Sherwood resisted the obvious temptation of an easy shot by turning out a strictly Hammers polemic but focused instead on producing a passionately political sonic documentary where supporters from across the football spectrum joined together in a joyful celebration of the game whilst levelling a number of incisive jibes against the game’s establishment, both at club and organisational levels.”

So to the songs then and I’m going to post some selected tracks from the album and add some short notes (taken from the Barmy Army biography page) beneath each one with a bit of background:

Starting with the tracks which were released on a 12″ single *

* I don’t have the full 12 inch version – this is the 4 min one
[See post to listen to audio]
» Barmy Army – Sharp As A Needle

[See post to listen to audio]
» Sharp As A Needle dub

[See post to listen to audio]
» England 2 Yugoslavia 0

-> Read the notes

“Abide With Me” was probably taken from the 1989 FA Cup Final.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” sample is from Celtic’s Parkhead, when Liverpool played their first match after Hillsborough in April 1989.
The man on the keyboards was Ministry’s Al Jourgensen
That’s Kenny Daglish on the cover of the single – you can find more images here.

One about Alan Devonshire, who was a West Ham legend:

[See post to listen to audio]
» Barmy Army – Devo

-> Read the notes

Another of the album’s rhythms was actually used by Mark Stewart when “Devo” surfaced as “These Things Happen” on the artist’s Mute album Metatron (ON-U LP51) :
[See post to listen to audio]
» Mark Stewart – These Things Happen

Because of the increase in trouble around the grounds, the Tories were trying to introduce a compulsory national ID card specifically aimed at the time at football fans. Neil Kinnock and the Labour party were against it, [column 150] but hey – 20 years later – guess what.

[See post to listen to audio]
» Barmy Army – Civil Liberty

Finally to cap this off – I may post some more in the future, but for now here’s a couple of traditional terrace songs dubbed up by Sherwood/Clail/Tackhead and co:

[See post to listen to audio]
» Barmy Army – Blue Moon
[See post to listen to audio]
» Barmy Army – Que Sera Sera

Tackhead

Webbie - Footie And Music — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:37:02 +0000

Taking the 2nd wander off the usual beaten F&M path [first one here] with a look not just any producer, but an über producer who was (sometimes partly) responsible for so much musical output.

That man is Sherwood:

No not that Blackburn Rovers midfielder, this is Adrian Sherwood who like Weatherall the other day you’ll remember seeing his name quite a few times in the ’90′s.

As well as remixing the likes of Coldcut, Depeche Mode, The Woodentops, Primal Scream, Pop Will Eat Itself, etc..etc… he founded the record label: On-U Sound.
Ah now it’s ringing bells.

Sherwood and that record label were responsible for many, many artists. Gary Clail probably being the most familiar. One of his most well known was Human Nature.
Ringing even more bells now.

But this On-U Sound/football soundclash comes courtesy of another act who Gary Clail was also involved with at one time. Their name you will also remember: Tackhead.
Or to give them their correct title:

A quick bio:

“Tackhead (sometimes known as The Maffia or Fats Comet) are an industrial hip-hop group that were most active during the 1980s and early 1990s. Their music occupies the territory where funk, dub, industrial music and electronica intersect. The core members are Doug Wimbish (bass), Keith Leblanc (percussion) and Skip McDonald (guitar) and producer (sometimes credited as “mixologist”) Adrian Sherwood.”

That info is via Wikipedia, a more in depth look is here.

Tackhead (thanks to Sherwood) were one of the experimenters with sampling and on one of their singles they not only sampled the Kop, they got a now legendary commentator to do some guest vocals:

[See post to listen to audio]
» Tackhead featuring Brian Moore – The Game (You’ll Never Walk Alone)
[See post to listen to audio]
» Tackhead – The Game [Instrumental Chants]
[See post to listen to audio]
» Tackhead – The Game [Full Time Instrumental]

That’s right they didn’t just sample him, they got Brian Moore into the studio and recorded him.
- There are still two other mixes out there, so if you ever see:
The Game (Political dub) The Game (Featuring Ronnie and Margaret)*
Anywhere give me a shout.

*Early unreleased versions of the track are thought to feature un-vetted samples of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan which were subsequently replaced by vocals from impressionists Chris Barrie and Kate Robbins before release. » More info

EXTRA TIME - Some other Tackhead tunes:

[See post to listen to audio]» Tackhead – Dangerous Sex
[See post to listen to audio]» Tackhead – Ticking Time Bomb
[See post to listen to audio]» Tackhead – What’s My Mission Now ?

I’ve got another Sherwood/On-U Sound related item to do, but I’ll leave that one for the end of this little trip. Before that and coming up next – more sampling via another producer.

In Memory Of The 96

Webbie - Footie And Music — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:49:29 +0000

There’s no need for me to write anything…

I’ll post quotes from a related news article which is the footie&music link to this sad anniversary:

Stars launch Hillsborough single

Thursday, 26 March 2009

Former Liverpool FC footballers and musicians from the city have launched a single to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

The Fields of Anfield Road features Cast’s John Power, James Walsh of Starsailor, ex-manager Kenny Dalglish and former player Bruce Grobbelaar.

A new verse has been added to the terrace anthem by Peter Hooton, previously of the band The Farm.

He said it was a “commemoration to the 96 who lost their lives”. …

… The idea for a commemorative CD came from Liverpool’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Steve Rotheram.

“It’s important that 20 years on we try and do something,” he said.

“So after talking to some of the people in the industry, they thought this was an appropriate way they can do that.”

The CD’s lead track, performed by the Liverpool Collective featuring the Kop Choir, features contributions from Nick Kilroe from Echo and the Bunnymen and Rob Taylor of the Troubadours and was recorded by Coldplay producer Ken Nelson. …

… The track includes vocals from Grobbelaar, who was Liverpool’s goalkeeper when the tragedy occurred.

“You can’t forget what happened at Hillsborough,” he said. “We’ll always remember it.”

Former player John Aldridge, who was also on the pitch at Hillsborough on the day of the disaster, said he wanted to keep memories of the day fresh.

“This hopefully will keep them alive and make people realise we’re still there for them,” he added.

John Power, who found fame with The La’s, said everyone involved with the song had been brought together by the tragedy of April 1989.

“You’ve got people who lost dearly loved ones, you had people who just went to the game and ended up dead, and you ended up also with the injustice of being blamed for that event,” he said.

The single, which will be released on 6 April, has been backed by the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

» Full article with audio interviews and video clips

- The Official Video:

- The original version :

Fields of Anfield Road:
[See post to listen to audio]
(Stream only – go and buy the new version from ITunes)

Links/further reading:
- Hillsborough Memorial Website – www.fieldsofanfieldroad.co.uk
- BBC Football [Video] – Anfield remembers Hillsborough
(plus interviews with Stevie Gerrard, John Aldridge & Des Lynam)
- Liverpool Echo – Hillsborough remembered
- Guardian Football – Hillsborough disaster

Update: I’ll update this post with some more tunes. Come back in a few days.

Another Update - More music:

- This track can also be found on the Fields of Anfield Road CD.
Again this is stream only because;
1) It is still on sale with proceeds go to the Hillsborough Family Support Group.
2) I don’t want Wylie to come round and kick me ‘ead in.

The Mighty Wah! - Heart As Big A Liverpool:
[See post to listen to audio]

- This one you can have though. It’s a follow-up song done a few years later by that shouty Welsh band:
[See post to listen to audio]
» Manic Street Preachers – S.Y.M.M (South Yorkshire Mass Murderers)

Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time Part 1 – Stan Collymore

Webbie - Footie And Music — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:15:06 +0000

I went off on a tangent with songs about German football players and then about some German teams. Still got a good few more to post on that subject but I've decided to hold them back and do them at a later date because I want to return to the "theme" I was originally on - songs about some players.

I’d like to have more time to post on here, but there are people who give me money so that I perform certain services for them..*ahem*…. Talking of which…

Actually I don’t think he had to pay …

It’s been a few years since, but it is still the first thought that comes into your head when you think about Stan Collymore.

Sad isn’t it.

I would write about his glittering footie career but he didn’t really have one. Yeah he knocked in a few good goals, but in all that time he never lifted a cup. Not one medal to his name.
(Notts Forest ? They were runners up in the league and gained promotion, no silverwear is awarded for that.)

Liverpool sold him and Villa loaned him, ~~Doggy~~Collymore’s playing career went into a downward spiral with a free transfer to Leicester (11 games, 5 goals), followed by a brief stint at Bradford (7 games, 2 goals) before finally finding himself Real Oviedo. He was dropped after playing 3 matches so he could get his fitness back but decided at the age of 30, to retire from the game.

After retirement the Ulrika beating, car park dogging, coke sniffing, depression suffering and then suicide attempting ex-England international…. well three appearances….but no goals… finally found some focus – after a bit of a stutter when he was in the tabloids for his antics in Cannock Chase – with a career in the media.

For now we seem to have forgotten, if not forgiven his past misdeeds. But as I demonstrated we still remember when reminded and he knows that even a minor slip would put him back in the dog house.
Or car park at least.

- During his two seasons at Liverpool somebody decided to produce a (weak) song :

[See post to listen to audio]
» The Red Karaoke – My Friend Stan

Dudek

Webbie - Footie And Music — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:51:00 +0000

- I got an email from Don in which he told me a song done about a legendary Dundee United ‘keeper, which once I find I’ll post, but for now I have this one lined up about another goalie who will possibly also be seen as a legend in years to come because of his impression/tribute/parody {delete where applicable} to another legendary shot stopper at the same club years before.

May 25th 2005. Liverpool had somehow come from being 3-1 behind to draw it 3-3 and take it into extra time.

Thanks to some stunning saves by Jerzy Dudek in extra time, he kept a tiring Liverpool side in it and then eventually the match had to be settled with something every England team are never very good at. The penalty shoot-out.

Serginho for AC Milan was the first one to take and when he looked up to the goal he saw Dudek doing his version of Brucie’s spaghetti legs. It was enough to put him off and the shot was blasted way over the bar.

He saved a second shot too. This time from Pirlo, before finally on Milan’s last shot he stopped a straight down the middle effort from future Chelski bench sitter Shevchenko.
Even though Dudek had gone to the right, he somehow managed to get his hand behind his leg and knock the ball away.

Rafa rewarded these heroics the following season by signing Pepe Reina.

After this he made only made 12 more appearances until he made a dream move to Real Madrid where he now… sits on the bench.

Some fans who witnessed his antics from that night recreated his moves. You too can “Du the Dudek“:

Some others went into the recording studio as well:

[See post to listen to audio]
» The Trophy Boyz – Du The Dudek

- Lyrics

CHORUS:

Come on and do the Dudek
Do the Jerzy Dudek
Shake it, shake it, move it
Jump up and wave your gloves!

We’re the one and only
Euro Campione
Who get to keep the trophy
The rest aint good enough!

One night in Turkey
Some lads from the Mersey
They never gave up the fight
We went bananas
Sons and their fathers
As they set the city alight

Oh-oh-eeay-oh…eeay-oh
Carragher’s brilliant advice
Oh-oh-eeay-oh…eay-oh
Eeeay-oh-oh-oh

CHORUS

At 3-nil we were stuffed
We thought it was all over
But come the second half
We played them off the park!

Stevie…Steve Gerrard
Ee-zey…He’s in command

Oh-oh-eeay-oh…eay-oh
Grobbelaar’s come back to life
Oh-oh-eeay-oh…eay-oh
Eeeay-oh-oh-oh

CHORUS

When we scored three in six
The Mersey boyz were laughing
Then Jerzey’s double save
And we’re back from the grave!

Eu-ro…Cam-pio-ne!!
Heroes…of the Mersey
CHORUS…out

- There’s a video too.