The world of musical theatre seemed a very long way from Anfield Football Stadium in Liverpool. So how did a big, wonderful song from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s show Carousel (1945) end up as a football anthem? You’ll Never Walk Alone began life on Broadway, used in Carousel to comfort and encourage a suffering character.
First released in 1945, Gerry and the Pacemakers adapted YNWA in 1963 to a song of their own, which has since taken on a life much bigger than the band could have ever imagined. Today it is the most special supporters’ anthem in the game. It is belted out at the home ground by c40,000 fans before every home game in a powerful spectacle.
The song was an instant hit; its message of triumph in hard times spoke to the wartime crowds of Ap 1945, just before WW2 ended. It remained popular throughout the ’50s and then in 1963, a version of the song was performed by Liverpool’s musician Gerry Marsden, lead singer of Gerry and the Pacemakers. The recording by this Merseybeat band brought the song to Liverpool FC! Thus the thrilling song has been sung at the games at Anfield since 1963. Apart from Marsden being a huge Liverpool fan himself, there are some other reasons why the song appealed.
Jerry and the Pacemakers turned the song into a single that entered the charts across the UK in Oct 1963. It stayed there for some months, topping the charts for 4 weeks and was a huge hit with Liverpool fans.
Marsden gave famous Liverpool manager Bill Shankly a copy of the song during Liverpool’s tour of the U.S in 1964. After the band and Liverpool FC all appeared on the Ed Sullivan show to sing You Never Walk Alone, Shankly was excited by the song’s power. He decided to make it Liverpool’s formal club anthem. Given it so suited the spirit of Liverpool FC and its fans, it became much more than a song!
Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium was one of the first footy grounds to have a PA system and a DJ in the grounds. In Liverpool’s musical prime, the DJ played the Top 10 UK hits over the sound system. This was when Liverpool bands like The Beatles and The Merseybeats dominated the charts, so the fans re-heard their beloved groups. You’ll Never Walk Alone/YNWA stayed at #1 in the charts for 4 weeks in 1963, by which time it became Liverpool FC’s signature tune.
With music being such a pivotal part of Liverpool’s culture, the music was played over the public address system at Anfield with the Kop/fans’ grandstand singing along. In the weeks that their anthem was at #1, the Kop wanted it played as the players ran out. Fittingly Liverpool won the League’s 1963-64 season and their song was carved into football history forever.
Players, staff and fans of Liverpool were suffering through very tough times, on and off the field! Clearly the motivating effect of all those fans singing YNWA together gave the players hope in grim times. This small act of defiance in front of adversity galvanised the Liverpool team, and they managed to win unexpected matches. When asked which club had the most avid fans, even foreigners said Liverpool fans. When they sing a song they come together in unity.
The song absorbed a much more tragic meaning after the Hillsborough Disaster 1989, when a human crush at the stadium in Sheffield left 96 fans dead and hundreds more were injured. After the Hillsborough tragedy, 13,000 people assembled at Liverpool’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, in the church and outside. You’ll Never Walk Alone was sung by a lone choir boy, offering comfort to the city in mourning.
Following the Hillsborough disaster, Liverpool’s club anthem took on a whole new significance. It has become the soundtrack of hope for the club, its fans and for Liverpool City through extremely tough times. It signified Liverpool’s fight for justice for their fans and it supported the families of those killed at Hillsborough that they’d never be alone.
The lyrics eventually found a permanent home at Anfield, fixed in wrought iron above the gates of the Anfield Stadium - a permanent reminder to fans that football was not just sport; it was family.
Alongside Liverpool, Celtic and Borussia Dortmund are the two clubs famous for using YNWA as the club anthem. It was after Liverpool’s clash against Celtic in the 1966 European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals that led to the Scottish side adopting it as their own amazing song. For Borussia Dortmund, the use of YNWA pre match originates from the band Pur Harmony, who did a cover version of Gerry and the Pacemakers. Much later YNWA was heard in Liverpool when they hosted Borussia Dortmund at Anfield in the Europa League. Fans all raised their scarves in the air, with the Anfield crowd then taking over the song as the music was cut from the speakers, leaving just the two sets of voices.
Although undoubtedly not the reason for YNWA’s initial popularity across football grounds, it is fitting for a club like Liverpool, with the city’s resilience after the tragic Hillsborough disaster, that the song’s message was one of unity and determination. So I think this anthem will always truly belong to Liverpool Football Club. I remember every word, even today.
Thank you to Ben Marsden in FourFourTwo and Joe Prince-Wright in nbcsports. And to Youtube for the music.
When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky
And the sweet, silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Alhough your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
.png)
.jpg)
.JPG)
2 comments:
It certainly is a beautiful song and I remember it well from wayback.
The lyrics can be used for a few occasions.
I grew up in Sydney in the 1960s when we played rugby. But I can never remember hearing men singing in public... Just screaming at opponents and refs.
Post a Comment