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| 8 |
Newcastle Utd
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The Blaydon Races
The Magpie's famous anthem is different to many other top football anthems in that
it's basically a regional folk song that relates to life in the North East in the
'olden days. Written back in the 1800's by George Ridley, Newcastle fans will argue
that theirs is in fact an older anthem than Norwich's 'On the Ball City'. The song was
made really popular by a local comedian in the early 1900's, becoming almost the
national anthem of the Geordie nation. Rousing and uplifting, it was adopted by the
Toon Army and has been sung in stadiums and pubs all over the world ever since.
The original song has plenty of verses, but what you'll most likely hear belting out
from the Gallowgate End or the Geordie hordes in the away section is the main chorus...
Oh me lads ye should a' seen us gannin',
Passin' the folks upon the road,
Just as they were stannin'
There wes lots o' lads and lasses there,
All wi' smilin' faces,
Gannin' alang the Scotswood Road...
T'see the Blaydon Races.
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| 9 |
Norwich City
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On the Ball City
Ok, so it's not as tribal or tub-thumping as some of the others in our list, but as
it's allegedly the world's oldest football anthem, it deserves it's place here.
Originally sung at local sides Norwich Teachers, Caley's FC, Swifans and CEYMS,
no one can definitely say when it was first sung at Norwich City, but popular opinion seems
to be 1902, immediately after the club was formed, with the song also being mentioned
in the Eastern Daily Press back in 1905.
Whilst the Canaries are often tagged as a bunch of easy-going country bumpkins,
there's no doubting that when Carrow Road is packed to the rafters for a big game
and they're giving
'On the Ball City' 100% it's pretty impressive.
Like Newcastle's Blaydon Races, the original full version of On the Ball City is about 4 or 5 verses,
but the popular chorus most likely to be heard at a game is...
Kick off, throw it in, have a little scrimmage,
Keep it low, a splendid rush, bravo, win or die.
On the ball, City, never mind the danger,
Steady on, now's your chance,
Hurrah! We've scored a goal.
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| 10 |
Wolves
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The Liquidator
Totally different to all the others on our list as it doesn't really have any lyrics.
"That's pants!" you may say, but anyone who's witnessed the sheer ferocity of this
before a Black Country derby or a big cup game will know why it's on the list.
The Liquidator in question is the ska classic by Harry J Allstars and used
to be pumped out over the tannoy before the teams came out. We say 'used to' because
it was eventually banned at the request of the West Midlands Police after they
claimed it was working the home supporters into such a frenzy that it was resulting
in crowd trouble !
When the opening chords first started to crackle out over the loudspeakers, and that
bass kicked in, followed by almost everyone in the ground joining in, it almost
seemed like Molineux's foundations were about to crumble, with the away fans being
given a furious aural beating before the match had even started. Indeed, one reporter
even suggested that some of the home fans were frightened by it. Interestingly, local
rivals West Brom also adopted the same anthem, and it's since been banned from
the Hawthorns as well.
For what it's worth the 'lyrics' (without the swearing) go something like...
[CLAP] [CLAP] [CLAP] [CLAP] "The Wolves"
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Top 10 Fan Anthems (British Clubs) 
