The compilers of Bend It ‘92 attributed this 1972 anthem in praise of Blackpool Football Club to The Nolans - or as Peel referred to them early Riot grrrls - but while it’s true that the sisters, who would go on to enjoy major mainstream pop success in the late 1970s/early 1980s, did sing on the track, they did so as part of a larger 10-strong family group called The Singing Nolans together with their parents, brothers and pre-pubescent younger sisters. The Singing Nolans were a fixture of the Lancashire music scene ever since the family moved to Blackpool from Ireland in 1962.
With its rousing chorus and catchy oom-pah brass sound, Blackpool (or Blackpool! Blackpool! as Bend It ‘92’s sleevenotes had it, like the place was New York or something) has plenty of charm to spare. Lyrically, it harks back to the club’s glorious past with mentions of Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen and their win in the 1953 FA Cup Final. This was perhaps understandable given that, when the single was released, Blackpool had been recently relegated from the top-flight of English football and were in the early stages of a 39 year journey to get back there.
According to Wikipedia, the song is still played at Blackpool’s home matches today. I’d love to be able to verify this myself through witness testimony, but I have to wait for my own team to get their shit together and get into the same division as Blackpool. I really hope it’s still the case that the Singing Nolans get an airing over the Bloomfield Road public address system every other week. Despite how much football has changed over the last half a century, it’s still reassuring to know of clubs who’ve resisted the temptation to play more generic music like I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas when teams enter the field of play, and stick with incongruously dated pieces of music, which nevertheless define their club and make any visit to that ground complete once you’ve heard it aired. This includes tunes as diverse as the theme from Z-Cars at Watford and Everton, Post Horn Gallop (A Hunting We Will Go) at Leicester City and my personal favourite, The Red Red Robin at Charlton Athletic.
Video courtesy of amstephinlondon
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