Football and Music

After yesterday’s item about Hearts it only seems natural to follow it up with…

Once again I went on another journey and found more music and information I never knew before.

This particular discovery was started thanks to Duncan McKay replying to my appeal for other Hector Nicol fitba songs.

Again thanks to Duncan for sending the track and for the tips to more music associated with Hibernian F.C than I thought there was. Much much more.

I want to save some of the things I found for another day, but I want to give a mention how many times that Hibs have turned up in books, films and on television.

Most famously because of a one famous fan - one Irvine Welsh in which Wikipedia says;

“The works of author Irvine Welsh, particularly Trainspotting, contain several references to Hibernian. The team is often mentioned in casual conversation and is the team many of his characters support. Visual references to Hibs are noticeable in Danny Boyle’s film adaption of Trainspotting. Begbie wears a Hibs shirt while he plays five-a-side football. During the famous baby-on-the-ceiling/detox scene, many posters and pictures of Hibernian can be seen on the walls of Mark Renton’s bedroom.

In the final short story of the trilogy The Acid House, Coco Bryce, a boy from the “Hibs firm”, is struck by lightning while under the influence of LSD in a Pilton park. His soul is transferred to the body of an unborn child from one of the more affluent areas of Edinburgh. The final scene of the film adaptation of Welsh’s work shows Coco in the baby’s body strapped to his mother’s back with a Hibs top in the pub chanting “Oo to, oo to be, oo to be a Hibee”.

(This gives me a pisspoor excuse to post music from the Trainspotting soundtracks at a future time.)

Not just Welsh’s books though. Inspector Rebus too:

“Hibernian are frequently referred to in the Inspector Rebus series of detective novels by Ian Rankin. Rebus himself is a Raith Rovers fan in the books, but in the later books, his colleague DS Siobhan Clarke is a season ticket holder at Easter Road. In the 2006 television adaptation of the series, Rebus is a Hibs fan. Ironically the part of Rebus in the 2006 adaptation is played by Ken Stott, who is a Hearts fan.”

I discovered that The Hearts Song and this next track might have actually been released as a double A-sided single.

» Hector Nicol - Glory Glory To The Hibees

This post doesn’t end with this though.

There’s even more and if you are reading this from the front page you will have to click to continue on…> Read the rest of this entry »

This is a post in the Scotia themed series. Previous posting here.

Are you sitting comfortably ? Good then I’ll begin.

This seemingly never ending story started in 2005 when the then going deeply into debt Hearts were romanced by a Romanov, but this wasn’t a decedent of that famous family, this was a businessman from Lithuania who fell in love with Scotia fitba and wanted to be a part of it.

Despite the fans concerns about this shifty character the shareholders saw dollars and thus began what is possibly the first proto-meglomania-type football club owner…

…Actually I’d better stop myself there. I’ve heard and I don’t know if it’s still true that Vlad the Impaler is very litigious.

Suffice to say anyone who watched the goings on will know of the initial dizzying highs, the lows. The questionable hirings and then firings up at the Heart Of Midlothian club.

To read more of the ongoing saga start here at Wikipedia and then follow the links at the bottom of the page there too.

I’m going to go in a different direction and pay tribute to a legendary Scottish comedian and who wrote some songs not just for Hearts, but for other clubs too.

Sadly there isn’t more information about Hector Nicol, a comedian and singer who influenced Billy Connelly amongst others.

In his singing career Wikipedia says that… he wrote The Hearts Song for Heart of Midlothian FC and Glory, Glory to the Hibees for Hibernian FC . He also wrote the The Terrors of Tannadice for Dundee United FC and Dark Blue Of Dundee for Dundee FC however, he supported St Mirren FC.

Then is an IMDB page with a mini-bio which says:

“Hector Nichol was a great Edinburgh comedian, notoriously blue and with a penchant for dressing up in outrageous female costumes during his act. He recorded a classic anthem for Hibernian, but his other lasting legacy, as well as a spate of video releases of his stand up routines, is in a very different vein. In 1979 he took on the role of a dying gangster in the shocking Peter McDougall drama Just a Boy’s Game for the BBC. His performance was a remarkable study of stubborn, hollow disregard for life around him, and despite a few tell-tale signs of his comic skill in his perfectly timed insults, this was a brilliant transformation. Sadly his potential career as a straight actor was cut short by his death in the early eighties.”

You can find some CD’s of his comedy stand up routines on the Music In Scotland website.

As mentioned above he did a song for Hearts which I don’t have, but I do have a couple of versions including one done by a Hearts squad that includes a snippet Hector singing the original version in the middle of the song.

But before that one - a discovery of a folk version covered by Craig Herbertson »

» Craig Herbertson and Ed Westerdale - The Hearts Song

…and the one done by the squad »

» The Hearts Squad - The Hearts Song

I hope to find the other songs Hector wrote and post them here. If you have any of them please contact me.

This is a post in the Scotia themed series. Previous posting here.

So when I set out to post something I do some research beforehand and I end up on journey of discovery and sometimes wonderment on what I find. This has happened with this next one when looking up some information about today’s team: The Ayrshire Killie.

Photo of a Killie pie at Kilmarnock from Robbie’s poity_uk’s photostream on Flickr

I began with the usual suspect. An unknown artist using an assumed name to record a song about the club.
In this case to a traditional tune which has been used by many a team - Glory Glory Hallelujah :

» The Chosen - Glory Glory Ayrshire Killie

But wait - there's more....

Right so think of a famous entertainer that you would associate with Kilmarnock, one that would probably record a song for the team.

Whoever said Jimmy Krankie go and wash your head out with soap.

What if I said Rolf Harris. Yes that’s right the bearded Aussie himself.

There is a supporters society known as The Killie Trust and last season when they reached the Scottish League Cup Final they somehow got Rolf to do a special recording of a song of his to help them celebrate this achievement.

The full story is a long one and can be read on a website especially created for this one song: www.fineday.co.uk.

- Because the song is still available to purchase online and because the proceeds go to a good cause I am only streaming this and not making available for download.

This journey doesn’t end there though. It takes another unexpected turn which involves a country tune as done by a member of a very famous Mormon family.

- I spotted a mentioned of this on their Wikipedia page and try as I might I couldn’t find a reason why.

I have another Stoke City/Delilah mystery on my hands so I’m putting out another appeal to ask anyone that knows:

Why do the supporters of Kilmarnock F.C sing Paper Roses ?

» Marie Osmond - Paper Roses

Apparently it started out in the ’70’s but more importantly since I’m not there so I also have to ask - are they still singing it ?

Fortuitous timing…

You know I was just thinking the other day that apart from Aberdeen, the amount of music featuring Scottish clubs is sadly lacking. Then JC from The Vinyl Villain (one of the sites I regularly read via Netvibes) mailed me with a suggestion for a song which would be a perfect introduction to a Scotia fitba & music themed week (or weeks depending on how long it takes me to post them).

He sez:

“Have you picked up on ‘The Highland League’ by I, Ludicrous.

Outstanding footy song that roll-calls all 15 clubs in the UK’s most northerly senior league…”

I did a bit of investigating and found the Too Much Apple Pie blog who talk further about the song:

…You know how every now and then a song comes along that you just can’t stop listening to? Something you have to keep playing again and again because of its sheer, ineffable wondrousness? Well one such instant classic has entered my consciousness in the past 24 hours - a song which I’m certain is going to remain a favourite of mine for, well, until such time as I pop my clogs, really.

It has everything the discerning comedy pop fan could want: a rousing, singalong chorus; some poorly impersonated Scottish accents (and one real one); bits of a classified Pools check; and even a mention of curling! What more could you possibly ask for? …

So have a listen below and don’t skip out on it. Stay to the end:

» I,Ludicrous - The Highland League

Don’t forget to visit the Official I, Ludicrous Homepage. The text on their site is footie themed, plus they have many other wonderfully named songs. Plus go and buy some of their merchandise.

» Whilst I’m here I’d like to take this opportunity to make an appeal for any more Scottish fitba related music. I’ve got a handful here but if you have something there, be it about a team or by a team or about a player or by a player, then please send it to me. Cheers.

- This is a follow-up to last week’s post about Argentina in 1978.

Previously it was the whole tournament and the music associated with it, today we are looking at the Scotland team, who at the time had a few world class players amongst them.

But unfortunately apart from one brief moment they didn’t perform up to their potential and went home after the first round.

I’m sure the Scotia fans don’t want me to go over it here, but if you do want to be reminded of the events then click here.

The music before they were sent off to South America was obviously very upbeat and celebratory. Especially since they beat England before this and they weren’t going.

There were a couple of acts who got in on this cup fever, the first one was a comedian:

» Andy Cameron - Andy’s Tartan Army

Sample lyrics: “We’re on the march wi’ Ally’s Army, We’re going tae the Argentine, And we’ll really shake them up, When we win the World Cup, ‘Cos Scotland is the greatest football team.

We’re representing Britain, And we’re gaunny do or die, England cannae dae it, ‘Cos they didnae qualify!”

Then like Tottenham with Chas n’ Dave there’s a musical artist always associated with Scotland who’s seemingly always there when they need a song. This time old Rod the mod went with a samba:

» Rod Stewart - Ole Ola (MulheraBrasileira)

Sample lyrics: “Ole ola, Ole ola
We’re gonna bring that World Cup back from over thar, Ole ola, Ole ola, We’re gonna bring that World Cup back from over thar…”