Newcastle United – Give us a song

I am a massive fan of popular music, from the classic crooners, all the way right through to the rock / pop genre.

What I have decided to do here, is a list of songs that particular hold my affections, because they remind me of certain periods and events in my own evolution as a Newcastle United fan.

So in no particular order…

After the takeover in 2021 I suggested The Farm’s ‘Altogether Now’ as a fine song to help us all galvanise and fight off the very real and possibly terminal threat of relegation that existed at St James’ Park.

I had previously been inspired by this song in the early 1990s and remember encouraging my mates to join in with me as hundreds casually followed Sir John Hall and Lady Mae to London Road on the streets of Peterborough in 1992.

I had to watch the 1974 FA Cup Final at Wor Susan’s wedding reception in The Foxhunters in Hillheads. I had a very sad day along with all the male members of the family who weren’t at Wembley.

One song that always cheered me up though during 1974 was Alan Price’s Jarrow Song’. Pity Pricey supports the mackems.

Third up is the Sham 69 ultra punk anthem ‘If the Kids are United’.

It was very good in the 1970s when I was a young budding Newcastle United foot soldier and it was still good enough too in the 1990s as me, my brothers and my mates pogo-ed, with me Da, in The Percy after another Kevin Keegan inspired victory.

The words in Sinatra’s ‘I’ve got you under my Skin’ always resonate.

‘I’ve got you under my skin,

I’ve got you deep in the heart of me.

So deep in my heart that you’re really a part of me,

I’ve got you under my skin’

The feeling is mutual for most of us I’m sure, when it comes to Newcastle United.

‘Nothing’s gonna stop us Now’ was a UK Number 1 hit for Starship in May 1987.

This was when along with a few hundred other lunatics, yours truly and a few of my mates decided to venture to Roker Park to take in the thrill of Sunderland getting sent packing into the Third Division by the mighty Gillingham.

The rozzers gave us our own section and one labelled us as ‘The Gloaters’. The name has stuck and some of us still regularly meet up to reminisce and remember our late ‘Gloater in Chief’ Simon Jones.

The Beatles ‘Hey Jude’ has been a terrace anthem for decades at Gallowgate. ‘Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na… Geordies’. Simple but very effective and you can sing it forever, just like the Fab Four did.

When the Messiah returned to Newcastle United for a third coming in January 2008 I was still a married man.

I had the malt and the vinyl out when I heard the news of my hero’s return and the last song that me and the wife listened to before hopping off to bed was Paul Young’s ‘Come back and Stay (For good this time)’.

Eight months later and my heart was broken again.

Last but not by any means least is Canned Heat’s ‘Lets work Together’.

“Together we’ll stand, divided we’ll fall,

Come on now people lets get on the ball, and work together.

These words are relevant to all of us after some recent disappointments in the Champions League, Carabao Cup and certain League games.