Song of the Week #29
Apologies in advance Al, pull a few Christmas crackers and have a gin to settle down.
Anything to do with my beloved Leeds United tends to boil my business partner’s blood. Unfortunately for him, we get to fly the flag for local bands from our sunny end of Yorkshire, even those named after early 2000s footballing heroes who have donned that gleaming white kit. Happy Christmas Eve all, I hope you’re making up for last year’s lack of festive period and spending some quality time with your families and friends, drinking and handing out gifts of Sinner’s Gin (because it would be rude not to).
I am not the biggest fan of Christmas (I never truly have been, and those who know me well can bear witness), but the festive period for me is still a special one, almost wholly because those pure hearted people over at Sky Sports, BT Sports and the FA decide to work a lucky set of 92 professional football teams to near-exhaustion and put on a hell of a lot of televised games for the baying public. For Alex, that will mean heading out with some of his family to the ‘rustic’ Oakwell stadium in Barnsley to watch his beloved Super Reds. For myself, it means a Narnia-esque walk through glorious Holbeck to reach Elland Road for the festive home games.
Before every match, as is the case for many teams across the football pyramid, songs are boomed out over the speakers pre-match as the team take to the pitch. It gets the supporters in the mood, and allows them to get behind the team (not to mention it reminds people to leave the bar and actually come watch football). No, I’m not talking about THAT one, but instead for this Song of the Week, it relates back to a set of local lads who named their commercially successful band after Leeds captain Lucas Radebe. Before Leeds United start to walk out onto the pitch, the Kaiser Chief’s I Predict A Riot booms out every matchday. Surprisingly though, this isn’t the song I’m using this week, but it is from 2005’s Employment, which is a great record, and worth a revisit. Instead for a bit of a throwback I’ve chosen Modern Way.
Enjoy, have a great Christmas, get drunk and I’ll see you all on New Year’s Eve!