September 10, 2024

If you haven’t watched the video for Champions in Blue yet, here you go! Clubs working with artists to come up with songs is not a new phenomenon. When you think of club, and you think of song, your mind immediately goes to “You’ll Never Walk Alone“. It is perhaps the most famous example of an anthem being sung aloud by fans before games. That song is tied to Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, and Celtic, among others, and I don’t know about you, even though I don’t support any of those clubs, hearing it sung out loud does send chills down my spine. In fact, that song is so tied to Liverpool’s identity that those very words of the title are written in wrought iron on the gates of Anfield Stadium. A Song Written Specifically For a Club However, of course, that song was written as a tune from a musical on Broadway, and so it wasn’t birthed as a football song. It wasn’t until Gerry and the Pacemakers (a Merseyside band) did a cover version in the 1960s that it became adopted by Liverpool as their anthem. So are there examples of songs written specifically for a club? Sure, there are. Let’s start right at home (and with a dash of Japan). Hougang Hools recorded “Hougang Sampai Mati“ (Malay for “Hougang Til’ I Die“) and the song has a lot of edge, with a super catchy chorus. Composed and performed by the fans, it combines rock, emotion, and a dash of humour. It is played during Hougang home games at the final whistle. Geylang International FC have “We Are the Mighty Eagles“. This was also performed by a fan called Remy, who describes himself as a new fan of the club. It is catchy in parts and just like Hougang Sampai Mati, you will hear it over the speakers at GIFC games. And then now on to Japan – Albirex Niigata have my personal favourite, “Believe”. I like the song so much I even left this comment there sometime back – Oops, please don’t lynch me, but it’s a proper rock track with anime vibes, mixed in with crowd chants to really give it that stadium feel. Albirex in Singapore of course use this song as well, playing it at their home games to get the atmosphere going. It’s fair to say that music has long had that power to get the crowd excited and hyped up for a game. It can also be a tremendous bonding tool, uniting a bunch of strangers in song. The Crew had thus long thought about writing a song, but we were short on inspiration. If you ever meet me in person, I’d be happy to show you some early drafts we came up with, which pale in comparison to “Champions in Blue“. So how did this song come about? Let me tell the story from my POV. A Long Long Time Ago – There Was Brandon Khoo The title is not a dig at Brandon Khoo’s age. Though facts are facts, he is old. But this is an important section of the article. You’ll see. Before I talk about how the club approached me to discuss possibly getting a song done, I have to introduce yall to Brandon Khoo. Who is Brandon Khoo, you ask? Well click the link and find out! He’s basically Singapore’s best drummer la huh. When I first saw Brandon Khoo in the stands of a Sailors game sometime back, I remember thinking to myself that he looked really familiar. But I just couldn’t place his face. This would happen a few times. One day, I was scrolling through my tiktok feed when I came across a drumming livestream. This big ol’ dude was taking requests from people and providing drumming accompaniment to those requests. I would have scrolled past, but he hung a Lion City Sailors scarf on the wall, so I stayed. He would then also talk a bit about the song, chat a bit with his followers, etc. I found it very fascinating. It was like listening to a radio show, except the DJ not only put in the tunes, he would also drum along. Amazing. I spoke to him in the stands a few more times when I saw him at games. And all this time, I didn’t figure out the mystery of why he looked so familiar. Then one day it clicked – he used to be the drummer for Shirlyn + The UnXpected, a famous local band that did a lot of gigs around the pubs of Singapore. As a teenager that enjoyed listening to live music, I saw him around several times. It was so obvious yet it escaped me for so long. Brandon also was the drummer for many of the Mandopop tunes I grew up with. Brandon and I would get to know each other a lot better, and would bond over shared music taste. He called me an “old soul”, I didn’t reply because I felt it would be rude to point out it wasn’t just his soul that was old. We got along musically, and footballingly, and that’s all that matters. The stage was set for the next development. The Approach from the Club So after the abortive attempts at writing a song for the Crew, the club approached me 2 months ago (yes, all this was done in 2months). “Champions in Blue” did not exist 2 months ago. Let that sink in. A certain Brandon Khoo was in attendance as well. The club wanted a song that all Sailors fans could be proud of, something to rally us all. I’m not a songwriter and had previously only written one song before, so Brandon’s presence was obviously crucial. The club wanted Brandon to lead the project because not only is he a good musician, he is also a true fan, which makes it more meaningful. That, and also because of his extensive contacts from all across the