The one where we add a few songs linked to terrace culture and found a link between one of the best-known artists of the past 25 years and a fanzine. Now 102 songs and 6 hours 29 minutes long the playlist can be accessed here.

Let’s Talk about Love

St Mirren used to play at a ground situated on Love Street in Paisley. There was a Doors song called Love Street. In that song there is the line ‘There’s A Store Where the Creatures Meet’ and so in 1988 a fanzine with that title was born. Majestic.

Altered Images

Sadly, I couldn’t squeeze Claire and the gang onto the playlist due to a fanzine so this namecheck will have to do and they go on every playlist I can work them onto (Do You really want to admit this? – Ed). 

The Bee Gees Stayin’ Alive appear courtesy of Tranmere but this is not sarcasm about the club’s plight over the years, it’s because they had a fanzine called Friday Night Fever, an obvious pun as they played on Friday nights.

Squeeze do appear courtesy of Kool For K’s a 1998 Kingstonian fanzine which we believe lent from Cool for Cats.

Perhaps the most inventive of all rejigged lyrics songs must be the Greasy Chip Buttie, (GCB) Sheffield United fanzine and the song they belt out before each half at Bramhall Lane. Cleverly adapted from Annie’s Song by John Denver and referring to the essentials of a night out in Sheffield, a gallon of magnet, a packet of Woodbines, snuff and a greasy chip butty. GCB has only ever been a digital fanzine and the song was originally written by a Rotherham United fan about his team but then adapted by United fans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU0ZATbXy0U

Guantanamera by Jose Fernandez has been mimicked many times on the terraces with various “Anglo Saxon” chants and is mimicked in various fanzine names. Grimsby’s Sing When We’re Fishing and Norwich’s Sing When You’re Ploughing obviously along with Fulham, Lowestoft, Falkirk having fanzines called One F In.

Fame!

The End is a famous fanzine Liverpool/Everton fanzine run by Mr Peter Hooton. No song matching the title, but Peter is still producing music and performing with The Farm so their 80s classic All Together Now (which sounds like a terrace chant) is on the playlist. More about the cover to this single and links to fanzines and Subbuteo in later blogs..yes blogs, I’ve 3 superb editions drafted on Subbuteo (I’ll be the judge of that -Ed)

Pete Doherty is latterly famous for his great tribute band, The Libertines and eating a massive breakfast but it turns out that he also created QPR fanzine All Quiet on the Western Avenue. Only 5 issues were produced and are now highly sought after, going for £50+ if they do come up on eBay. There is picture proof of the veracity of this from WSC so Don’t Look Back Into The Sun makes it onto the list.

Doherty wrote a song which he hopes will be the QPR song recorded for a future appearance in the FA Cup Final. [2]

“My song is a ska number. It goes like this: I’ll be, I’ll be there/And just before I hit the bar/With the ghost of Rodney Marsh in his pre-smug pundit days/ Before he sold Rangers down the Swanee/With Gerry Francis‘s offshore money/ It’s a toss-up between Mick Jones/And a consortium from the Middle Eastern equivalent of Barrett Homes /I’ll be, I’ll be there/With blue and white ticker tape in my hair/Up the Rs/Up the Rs/Up the Rs/What a life on Mars”

There are more stories about this very presentable fanzine in the blog ‘When will I, Will I be famous’ to be published soon and unheard songs leads us to…

Record Removed From The Catalogue

How about Kingstonian fanzine “Weaving in and Out”, named after a 1950’s terrace song which involved fans making an arm motion mimicking a fish swimming singing “Sons of Kingstonian, weaving in and out like this”. I’d love there to be a recording of this but there isn’t..but it is documented in a lovely podcast here https://shows.acast.com/kingstonian-weaving-in-and-out/episodes/ep-5-simon-cooper-ollie-cook-fanzines

“We’re all Going Down Davy Lees” was a favourite song of Ards FC fans and became a club fanzine. Both were named after a Chinese takeaway in the town which a group of fans would frequent after games. The restaurant closed in 2008 after 30 years which ages the fanzine but there is a lovely article about visiting for one last time here. “Unfortunately”, I have been unable to source a copy of the CD that was available to add to the play list. https://scrabopower.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/we-all-went-down-to-davy-lees-for-the-last-time/

Before Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes took over the stadium tannoy 1997 hit Song 2 by Blur looked like it would dominate but Gala is making an all-out assault as we speak on the Stripes classic. (But has unfortunately had to be excluded from the playlist, see blog 1) It all started out so well with Wigan and Northern Ireland fans adapting it to “Will Grigg’s on fire” around 2016..(The fact that Will Grigg is now a Chesterfield FC superstar has nothing to do with this mention – Ed)

Games Without Frontiers

Not directly linked but really must go on any football playlist…

Just Can’t Get Enough by Depeche Mode has been adapted by many many sets of fans Chesterfield, Celtic, Liverpool, Burnley, Villa, Brighton fans to my knowledge and there will be more, I’m sure.

I often wonder how many Arsenal fans realise that when, en masse, they sing their beloved “1-0 to the Arsenal” they’re mimicking the Village People’s Go West, a song which is “an invitation to pursue one’s own dreams and individuality.”

Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division is there because of Ryan Giggs and all the comics that have used it at Elland Road over the years.

Perhaps the most overused though is Sloop John B by The Beach Boys, the tune is still ubiquitous with “I want to go home” being the worst. Sing for your team lads.

Lola by The Kinks has died out quite a bit now but was adopted at various clubs at the time fanzines were popular …think Gianfranco Zola, David Ginola and….Shola Ameobi. Tricky but clever “He walked up to me and he asked me to dance / I asked him his name and in a Geordie voice / He said Shola / Sshh-Sshh-Sshh-Sshh-OHHHH-la.”

Kaiser Chiefs I Predict a Riot has bcome an Elland Road staple and the Leeds squad and supporters singing Marching On Together (reached no 10 in the UK singles chart!!) are there..well, the exhibition is being held in Leeds.

Did you know that Marching on Together was written and arranged by none other than Les Reed after a request from Don Revie. Don’t know who Les Reed was? Well, he co-wrote around sixty fairly well known chart topping songs, “It’s Not Unusual“, “Delilah” (Big Tommy J obvs) “The Last Waltz” (ENGELBERT!) “Kiss Me Goodbye” (Petula Clark) and “There’s a Kind of Hush,” (Herman’s Hermits and of course The Carpenters) Ask your grandparents…

End of Side 3

Before you flip over to side 4, remember to take time to pop into your library and find out more about the many wonderful things they have there, local and family history departments, maps, newspapers, music and of course books, you haven’t read them all yet. Leeds even has a music library so go and ask if they have this on vinyl!

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[2] https://www.nme.com/news/music/babyshambles-322-136729