Back of the net: If you weren't able to catch The Podrophenia World Cup Special live - the action replay is now available here with special guest John Devlin of True Colours Kits author of 'International Football Kits : The Illustrated Guide' talking international kits, Admiral inventiveness and strange sponsors and fabric patterns. In the closing stages of the game John spins in some musical faves.. in between we play tributes to George Best, football based tunes local talent from Bavard and Michael Giller - and a World Cup anthem by Piley Senior..
Sport of all/any sort is the theme we'll be kicking around on Radio Podrophenia tonight. Joining us in the commentary box straight from the sportsdesk is our resident expert @marmite boy
We're playing 4 a-side (tunes that is) from Piley, Marmite and myself - pitching in a couple pop quizzes with chatabouts that may include..sport in unlikely places, have you won a medal in any event and how does Hadleigh in Essex, one of the UK's flattest counties - become the arena for the Olympic mountain biking event
Kick off is at 9 tonight - join us for a ringside seat at Chance Radio
You can lend an ear to last weeks fixture here (or on iTunes), fitted around the theme of Food
I hadn’t planned to start a run of football posts - just chip in with a couple to capture the rush and buzz of the World Cup kick off. But now I'm semi-obsessed with it, weighing up the heavy-hitters and competive form, working out possible options and placings. Even the vuvuzelas ongoing drone has begun to sound hypnotically exotic. If you’re up on events you may want to skip the next bit. If you’re not up on events.
England have to win tonight (Algeria) and next Wednesday (Slovenia)
Finishing second place in their group (C) simply won’t do. Second place means meeting Germany in the next round. That’s us pitched against a great white shark of a squad - prowling and playing a sharp, sleek and lethal form of football.
Forget the soft soap, stoicism and stiff upper lips. If England can gun it and go, hitting their fixtures with the sweaty energy of the MC5, we could breeze it to the next rounds.
Before my single season (90/91) of enthusing and actively supporting Southend United, there had been an earlier run (1976 - 78) of total football craziness. Although mostly, it was peripheral bits - sticker books, Shoot magazine, facts and fashion - that had me hooked rather than the game itself.
Facts: The bottom-feeding fortunes and shifting positions of underdog clubs, Workington, Grimsby and similar were followed like a weekly soap opera. If asked (not often) I could rattle off the home grounds, away colours and club nicknames of any English league team.
Fashion:76 - 78 were the seasons when Admiral become the Kings of Club Kits. Sweeping aside the regulation ringer shirts, or pre-war style plain tops for futuristic, space-age designs: flared tracksuits, sleeve stripes, inverted chest stripes, multi-coloured collars all snappily badged and branded with the Admiral logo. For me the absolute cracker in the catalogue was the sky blue Coventry tram line design (or egg timer as some call it). Genius! Available in four colour variations - blue (home) red, yellow (away)and the legendary brown outfit (2nd away).
It's no understatement to say I was entirely obsessed by the Coventry kit (sky blue variant) and other tramline variations - Wales, Dundee, Saudi Arabia. As 'soccer' began to break in the States Admiral's magic could be spotted dressing dynamically named US clubs: San Francisco Fog, Detroit Express, Philadelphia FuryL.A. Aztecs (I found an Aztecs shirt in charity shop in '91, but binned it eventually. Worth a fortune now)
Footballing ledge George Best spent two years with the Aztecs, and provides the source material for today's musical motif.
I've always been slightly agnostic about football. I have tried to see the light - even signing up for a year's membership with Southend United in the early 90s. Although lower-league hoofing and thumping, 8-0 maulings (Crystal Palace) and mid-week aways to Swansea and suchlike would test the faith of a saint.
The World Cup though, is literally a different game. Italia '90 was the tournament that reeled me in with it’s internationally tall tales: Cameroonian stories of snake oil leg-rubs and voodoo doings. Colombia with the fantastically be-afroed Carlos Valderrama and that scorpion kicking-keeper. Eastern European units snapping and nipping about like terriers. Alien dangers unknown in our domestic setting: altitude, heat and humidity - the need to neck down salt tablets?
Don’t worry if you're already suffering from football fatigue, I won't be grinding on about it too much. But as England go up against the USA (formerly Team America if I remember - who I'm sure briefly appeared on TV in the 70s) for perhaps their most public set-to since the Boston Tea Party, I couldn't let the occasion go unblogged could I? For balance I'll fire up something tasty from both nations.
A Manchester band with an instrumental for our national drink and Little Milton's corner shop conundrum (what are grits BTW?)
And perhaps a combo of UK Sports theme teamed with Motorcity Soul - you can catch Mark Vidler's notes (exclusive to this blog) on his football booty right here
Hurrah! Things seem to be moving to a better, brighter and more manageable position, so I'm in the mood for getting back on the good foot(y) and giving two formations of Young Scene (The Big Match theme) a run-out. Keith Mansfield's original versh and a sprightly, sporty refit from The Graham Walker Sound
Think of this fixture as a pre-season friendly for Friday's post
Anarchy comes to Maine Road:the programme pictured atop this page features one of the earliest outings for Jamie Reid's Anarchy graphics - you can catch a clip of the match below
Axe Victim says 1973 is the summer of summers. But for me, the top pop year will always be 1977. It's an overlooked classic - and the year sound and vision went Concorde shaped and Skylab sounding - Bowie released 'Low', 'Heroes' (and clonked out 'Lust For Life' and 'Idiot' as hobby projects), Giorgio and Donna gave us deep space disco, there's Space - 'Magic Fly', Meco - 'Star Wars' and JMJ 'Oxygene' - see what I mean? And then you've got Close Encounters, 'Calling Occupants', Bond's Lotus Esprit, Saturday Night Fever, Star Wars, Punk wars, the deaths of Marc Bolan and Elvis - you just don't get designs, dynamics and dramatics like that in many other years.
My personal obsessions during the summer of 77 were...
Sharks (I saw Jaws 5 times). Skateboards (Fibreflex boards and Kryptonic wheels were the kiddies, Skudas were cool and affordable, but Surf Flyers? That's a no-no ) Starsky and Hutch. Admiral football togs.(the Coventry kit being my fave) Lord Anthony clobber (but never had a Parka) Dayvilles Ice Cream Parlours(32 flavours) Krazy Comic
And as I started to make the move from pick 'n' mix singles to adult size albums the record I wanted, really wanted - and got for Christmas was K-Tel's blistering 'Disco Fever'. You can enjoy the full track list here, and for MOR eye popping madness have peep at the cozy cardie coloured charts from 31 years ago - both of which are almost entirely untroubled by any punky doings.
Elvis 'Way Down' ( Alt take with added piano at the coda)
If you fancy a few more sounds from the summer of 77 hop on over to...
Track Lister for Giorgio Moroder - 'From Here To Eternity' (single version) Davey H for Donna Summer - 'I Feel Love' (12" version)
My selection for Book Of The year 1977 - Man Eating Sharks Always wanted one of these G and S Fibreflex boards (and a trip to Skate City or the South Bank), but never managed to get either.
How badly do I want of these T Shirts? Enough to spend more hours than I really should scanning and scouring eBay for variations on the “Admiral ringer tee shirt” theme. I’d have to favour the sky blue flavour out of the three though.
And how about a manbag to go with it? - Perfect
So get your ringers on, have a quick freshen up with this - then it’s off here to shake a leg to tunes like…
