THE VOICE OF THE TERRACES
- Liverpoolfestivalen
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Supporter singers as we know them today are a fascinating amalgamation of church choirs, British pubs and the pop revolution of the 60s.
Hand in hand!
Today, all-singing is a completely natural part of supporter culture and it is almost unthinkable to enter The Kop at Anfield without joining in one of the countless supporter songs that have emerged over the years. If you are in Liverpool on match day, it won't take you long to find a red pub with a troubadour who has been hired to set the mood.
This is also how it is at the Liverpool Festival. For us, it is unthinkable not to bring over some of the very best LFC musicians to create an atmosphere. Football and music go hand in hand, but it hasn't always been easy.
From brass band to hymn singing
When football was organized at the end of the 19th century, the soundscape in English stadiums was characterized by simple shouts, bells, rattles and sporadic applause. In football's infancy, music was primarily something you listened to, rather than something you created yourself. The British stands were largely characterized by professional brass bands who entertained before the start of the match and during the break.
Nevertheless, there was a bud for sing-alongs. In order for as many people as possible to participate, singers were taken from a source most people had at home: the hymn book. Already from the mid-1920s, hymns such as "Abide With Me" became a regular part of the match experience on several English grounds. However, this restrained culture was faced with a drastic change, driven forward by the working class' strong traditions of sing-alongs in both churches and pubs
When Liverpool conquered the charts
The real watershed came in the 1960s, and it was in Liverpool that it narrowed. While the stands elsewhere in England were still relatively quiet, Anfield was transformed into a boiling cauldron of sound. As the pop capital of the world at this time – with names like The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black at the top of the charts – Liverpool had quite a lot of musical confidence.
The stadium speaker at Anfield always played the top ten songs on the charts before kick-off, and at the legendary The Kop the songs were picked up by thousands of throats. As the songs gradually fell off the charts, the fans refused to let them go; they continued to sing them anyway. This is how pop songs were adopted as regular club songs. The most famous of them all, "You'll Never Walk Alone", still lives on and stands out today stronger than ever as a symbol of unity and strength.
Scouse humor as a trademark
Beyond the 70s and 80s, the song culture developed to become more creative and characterized by sharp, local humor. Supporters began dictating the lyrics of well-known songs to pay tribute to their own heroes, psych out the opponent or taunt rival supporters. This "scouse" humor became a trademark of Liverpool fans. The ability to be rapping and musical at the same time gave them a reputation as perhaps the loudest audience in the world. As Liverpool legend Ian St John so aptly put it:
There is no noise like the Anfield noise and there is no shouting like the Anfield shouting. Ian St John - Liverpool legend
Although both the reds and the blues from Merseyside were pioneers, this culture quickly spread throughout England and later to the continent. What started in the narrow streets around Anfield has today become a global standard. We now hear versions of English supporters' songs in everything from the German Bundesliga to the Japanese J-League, while tunes from Italy and Spain have found their way back to the British Isles and have been adopted as Liverpool fans' own.
Take ownership of the club
In today's modern football world, where commercialization is increasing and the distance between club and supporters sometimes feels greater, the song remains one of the few authentic elements from the "old football". In a time when players often have greater loyalty to the checkbook than to the kit, it is the gjennom song the fans take ownership of their club. It is here, through the vocal cords, that the passion lives on - regardless of the result on the pitch
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