Following our chat with Manchester City legend Paul Lake, we recently had the chance to speak to another special character from the club’s history – Steve Redmond. City’s youngest ever captain, Steve was a mainstay in the MCFC defence between 1984 and 1992, making over 200 appearances for the club.

Steve also played for the club in a pretty interesting game for the club which we’ve discovered online. In December 1990, City played Spurs at home, just as they’re doing this weekend (check out the video we discovered below of the original game). On this occasion though, thick fog in Manchester meant that the club had to don their maroon away kit just so they could be seen on the Maine Road pitch. A rare appearance of an away shirt being worn by the home side, it proved to be a lucky omen, with City beating Spurs 2-1. Steve Redmond got the first goal on that occasion, a rarity for him, and something he was happy to talk about!

Do you remember that goal Steve?

‘Yeah, it was off my knee I think! Quinny headed the ball to the back-stick, and it came off my knee, and then Clarkey (Wayne Clarke) claimed it! I didn’t score that many, I remember my first for the first team, against Coventry away on Boxing Day. I played in centre midfield and we drew 2-2, and I got both goals. I also got a header against Oxford at Maine Road, and a left-foot free kick against Luton on the plastic pitch, they all stick out.’

What was it like to captain Manchester City at 18 – the club’s youngest ever?

‘It was a bit weird at first, as a youngster I wasn’t the loudest. But when I went to City I moved from centre forward to a centre back, and from there it’s easier to see everything and dictate to people. To be honest, it wasn’t that bad, I didn’t have to give anyone a rollocking in the dressing room or anything like that. We had a good group of lads which helped. I wasn’t a big time Charlie, so hopefully the other players just respected me for who I was. I got a bit of abuse just because I was a Scouser – if anything went missing in the dressing room, I usually got the blame, that kind of thing!

I remember when I was captaining the first team, looking back at the lads in the tunnel and thinking ‘I’m in charge of these guys’. I always remember my mum telling me that her and my dad cried when I lead the team out, that’s something that will always stick with me. But once you’re out on the pitch, it doesn’t’ really matter who the captain is, there should be 11 captains. But as an honour, to do it as an 18 year-old and to progress so quick, it’ll stay with me forever.’

You were also part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup against United. Was that a highlight of your time at the club?

‘I remember that game well – it was a two legger, we drew 1-1 at Old Trafford, Lakey (Paul Lake) scored a penalty, and we got them back to Maine Road and we won 2-0. The 5-1 would have to be the highlight though – the win for the Youth Cup against United was the first – but for a result in the first team it would be have to be the big one at Maine Road. Also, being a Liverpool fan, the first time playing at Anfield always stood out. I’ve still got the video of the 5-1 in the house, once every blue moon I’ll put it on and show my son, ‘look, your dad was a footballer!’ It was just one of those days that I’ll never forget, everything clicked for us and we scored some great goals.’

You played during a great era for English football, who were the best players you played alongside and against?

‘It’s difficult to single one person out to be honest. Players like Keith Curle, Colin Hendry, Mick McCarthy, they all had things that made them great players, they’d run through walls for the team, the ultimate player would be a combination of all three. It’s the same with players you’ve played against – people like Lineker or Ian Rush stood out because they were quick, but then there’s Mark Hughes who was as strong as an ox. Dalglish was very clever, and then someone like Mick Harford who you knew was going to smash you to bits. That’s why it’s hard to pick one, when you’ve played against such a collection of different players.’

It seems like a different era, in terms of defending and what was allowed in the game?

‘You watch games now, and any time an attacking player gets near the box, everyone backs off. It’s going to get to the stage where you won’t be able to make a tackle. In my day, centre forwards knew that in the first two minutes they were going to get smashed, and they just got on with it. Nowadays, every tackle is scrutinised on TV, there’s no chance of just having a moan and getting on with it. I loved a tackle, and it’d lift the crowd almost as much as a goal would. I’d be sent off most weeks if I was playing today!’

Do you still watch City today?

‘I go to watch City when I can, and I always enjoy it. In terms of the current squad, I do like Kompany, I’d have liked to have played alongside him. I wouldn’t fancy facing someone like David Silva though!’

Thanks to Steve for taking the time to speak to us. You can buy the classic Manchester City away shirt that was worn in 1990 for the game against Spurs NOW – it’s on sale at the Umbro website now, alongside the classic home shirt from 1989. Head to Umbro.com for more details.

Did that get your attention??!! Unfortunately, these aren’t a glimpse at future Manchester City kits, but they do show the design talent amongst the club’s younger fans. We recently held a competition with Newall Green Primary School here in Manchester, where Umbro staff do literacy mentoring, asking young City fans to come up with their ideas for a new kit for their club.

The pictures above are the final designs from the winner Ellie Mae Condron, whose prize was the chance to be the club’s mascot for the recent home game vs Newcastle, plus some VIP tickets for her family.

There were also three runners-up, who had their designs turned into professional CADs by the Umbro design team. I think a few of these guys could be working here in the future, judging by the quality of their designs! Here’s their designs:

Football shirts can often come to define certain eras for fans, and that’s certainly the case with a classic Manchester City shirt we’ve just re-released. The club’s 1989 home shirt will always remind fans of a famous 5-1 win over neighbours Manchester United, and it even brings the memories back for some of the players as well! As the author of one of the year’s finest football books, and the man at the centre of that famous derby win, former City captain Paul Lake (pictured above, left, celebrating that win with team-mate Ian Bishop) is certainly a good man to ask about this era – here’s what he had to say about it when we caught up with him recently….

Paul, does that City shirt bring back any memories of a particular season or game?

‘To be honest, whenever I see that shirt, I think of the obvious game. I know it’s a bit clichéd, but because of the history of the club and my link to that, it’d have to be the 5-1. Being a City fan myself just adds that extra sugar on top to a derby game like that. It certainly was a historic occasion, to score so many goals in that shirt, and whenever I see any retro shirts, it always takes me back to certain games. There was the black and red checked shirt that reminds me of a game against Blackpool in the pouring rain for instance. There’s the old burgundy shirt, which is one of my favourites, that takes me back to a pre-season game in Norway, where I was on fire to be honest with you! But the shirt we’re talking about now, it is and always will be the 5-1 shirt.’

When talking about that game, most of the players admit that the result was unexpected…

‘If you speak to any City fans from that time, they were absolutely dreading that game. We hadn’t started the season particularly well, and United had made some big signings that year. Fortunately for us, the spine of their team at the time were all out injured, but we also had our goalkeeper Andy Kibble, our most experienced player Neil McNabb and our million-pound striker Clive Allen all out injured, so it was a very young and inexperienced side that we put out. City fans were praying for a draw to be honest, so it was a real upset.

On the day, people will remember that at the start we let the occasion get to us, and for the first 15 minutes United were on top. It was the United fans that coming onto the pitch from the North Stand forcing the game to stop that calmed us down, and Tony Book that got us back on track. After that we won every second ball, every header, and to go in at half time 3-0 up was testament to that particular team talk.’

What was said in that team talk?

‘He told us to get back together and work as a team – talking to each other, passing players on, hunting in packs, doing together in groups. We did the simple things well, and got the ball out wide early. That sounds pretty basic, but when you do that it gives you confidence to peg the opposition back, put more pressure on the ball and upset their rhythm. Then at half time, it was all about keeping our feet on the ground. At 3-0 up, you think you’ve won, but you’ve still got 45 minutes to play. So it was all about staying professional, keeping those levels up, keeping that focus. After 8 minutes of the second half, Mark Hughes scored a wonder goal to make it 3-1, and we had a bit of a wobble, but we got it back on track and managed to get back on top. Once we got it back to 4-1, it was all over.’

Looking back on the kits you wore during your time at City, do you have a favourite?

‘My favourite was the burgundy kit. I adored it – this is going to sound really sad but I used to wear it with a pair of jeans when I was out with my mates! I used to get some stick off them, saying: “alright, we know you play for City!” but it was never about that, I just loved that shirt. You can see that love for the current City shirts now amongst the fans as well, they’re all so proud to wear them. The other one that stands out for different reasons was the yellow shirt that everyone talks about, which we only wore once. No one’s ever seen those since!’

This was a time when Manchester’s music scene was getting a lot of attention, did you feel part of that side of things as well?

‘It was just the coolest place in the world at that time, with such an eclectic mix of people. The Hacienda was great for a few reasons – the music was great and there was a real mix of people, but as a footballer you were also left alone to enjoy yourself. It was the height of everything – the ‘Cool As F***’ tee shirts, people coming from Sweden, China, everywhere, the atmosphere, everything combined made Manchester the place to be.’

Who were your musical favourites at the time?

‘It’s hard to single any one out, because there’s so many from that time, and I always listened to other stuff as well, my tastes go from The Stone Roses to Orange Juice right up to bands today like Elbow and Bombay Bicycle Club. At the time, you listened to everything, the dance stuff and the indie stuff all came together, it all shared that attitude, that Manchester simian swagger that everyone adapted. That swagger, that’s what Manchester has in abundance. Manchester City has that swagger, not because of the players or whatever, but because of the fans. They carry that with us, and that’ll never go away. Combined with the humour, that self-deprecation, that’s a connection to the city that no other big club has, and it’s something we’re all very proud of.’

Coming right back up to date, were you annoyed that the current squad went one better than you, with a 6-1 derby win?

‘There’s no jealousy, because at the end of the day we played against 11 men, not 10, so that’s my excuse!’

As a City fan, you must be enjoying watching the current team, but who are your favourites?

‘Vincent Kompany epitomises Manchester City for me, he’s an adopted Mancunian, and his attitude and approach is exactly how you would want a City captain to be. David Silva is obviously the player that everyone wants to watch as well, he’s what football all about. If I was playing now, I’d love to play alongside him.’

You’ve been getting plenty of acclaim for your autobiography this year, how are you feeling now about the whole process of writing it?

‘I’m really proud of the book, and shocked at how well it’s done to be honest. Me and my wife wrote it, and it took us two and a half years to put it together. I wanted to move away from your typical football book that says it was all better in my day, I wanted to give people a real understanding of those times and let people make up their own mind. I think it flows really well, we were meticulous about it and we’re really proud of the way it seems to have moved beyond just City fans.’

Finally, if the book was turned into a film, who would you want to play you?‘

‘Probably Curly Watts! I’ve been asked that a couple of times now, and it’s a tough one to answer, I’ve no idea to be honest.’

Thanks to Paul – who is now a Club Ambassador for City In The Community – for taking the time to speak to us. His book I’m Not Really Here is available now.

The classic 1989 Manchester City shirt is on sale now from Umbro.com, and you’ve still got time to get it delivered before Christmas. Take a look here for details.

It’s a tale of two Cities at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow, as the impressive Norwich come to town to play league leaders MCFC. We’ve cornered another one of Manchester finest bands (strange how all the good ones support City isn’t it?) to pick out some of their favourite tracks that they like to listen to before a big game.

Martin Finnigan is the singer and guitarist in The Rainband, an anthemic Manchester band that have spent 2011 supporting the likes of Simple Minds and building up a loyal fanbase, which includes some iconic Mancunian musicians such as Liam Gallagher and Tim Booth. Here, Martin picks out his favourite moments that bring music and City together…

Born of Frustration – James

I had major affiliation with the title growing up as a blue. The line “I don’t need a shrink but an exorcist”, always reminded me of all that talk that Maine Road had a gypsy curse, hence the lack of silverware. James have always been a favourite since I was a kid. We played with them this year, which was jaw dropping.

Acquiesce – Oasis

This song documented a time where the team might not have been world beaters but in the world of music Oasis were. They took the world by storm and were wearing the shirt with pride wherever you looked.
A few years later, I remember hearing this before the Derby in 2002 when United were top and we were along way down the table and thinking “If theyplayed that in the dressing room before the game, we’d beat’em”. We beat United 3-1 when Goater robbed Neville. In an interview with a city fanzine, Goater confirmed Acquiesce was on the dressing room playlist when asked about Oasis.

Lucky Man – The Verve

Ashcroft may be a red but he writes from his soul and for me there is no club with a soul like city. When I think how many lows we’ve took in the old division two and then down to three, it took a certain breed to still believe. This song documented being two nil down to Gillingham in ’99 at Wembley on 90 minutes and still ‘somehow’ winning the game. I remember a guy singing this at the top of his voice after the game and telling anyone who’d listen “Those Reds are finished”….United had just won the treble and we’d scraped out of the third division……but everyone agreed.

Pounding – Doves

This is the City anthem that gets every blue on the balls of their feet every match day. Doves are a band that have massively influenced us and with this track, whenever or wherever I hear it, I think of City.

AKA What A Life – Noel Gallagher

I remember being behind the goal at York away and we went one nil down after one minute. As Nicky Weaver picked the ball out of the net the Man City fans were bouncing singing “We’re not really here”. We sang that on 90 minutes when we beat United at Wembley in the semi. I remember thinking then, “what a life” and shaking my head in disbelief. In one chorus, Noel has summed up the journey of being a blue and so this tune is for whats been before and the high times to come. Come on City!

Thanks to Martin for taking the time to pick out his favourites. The Rainband are performing at City Square before tomorrow’s game against Norwich, and release their new single ‘The Prodigal’ on December 12th. For more information on the band take a look at The Rainband’s website.

Signing for Manchester City this summer, Gaël Clichy has been one of the club’s most impressive players so far this season, providing pace and intelligence on the team’s left flank. Last week Gaël popped into Umbro’s office in Manchester to check out his latest Umbro GT boots, so we took the chance to quiz him on how he’s settling into life in up north.

How are you finding life in Manchester so far Gaël?

GC: ‘I like it, I’m someone who likes to be calm and in a quiet place, so I like it. I think for a footballer, it has advantages to be here rather than in London, as you have less temptation. It’s hard to compare London and Manchester, but so far the people are very nice, and there are some nice shops and restaurants, so I’m very happy. The main thing is that my team is doing well, and you can’t ask for more than that really.’

Sounds like you’re a man who appreciates good food, have you tried many different places here?

‘For now, I’m staying in the middle of Manchester, and we’ve been to Italian ones, Indian ones, you find a way to enjoy life in the city. I like to try different restaurants, different types of food. In London we had so many different choices, but here also there is plenty to choose from and I’m enjoying it.’

What about cooking yourself, do you ever bother? What would you cook to impress your team mates?

‘I do cook at home, I think I’m a good cook! When you cook, you feel at home. If I was going to cook for my team mates, I think I would go for a Caribbean meal, maybe some Jamaican food. My father is from the French West Indies, so I know this very well. I have my own specialty as well, which is prawns with a coconut sauce and rice, that’s really good.

When I first came to England it was difficult for the first six months because I couldn’t cook, but my father came and showed me what to do, and that was a massive change for me, and really helped me to settle down here. I’m think I’m quite good now!’

Obviously people are still talking about the derby – how was it for you?

‘It was a great result, especially for the fans who have been following City for so many years. It was an incredible day, and for us players it’s not every day that you can go to Old Trafford and win a game so convincingly. So we had to enjoy it, we went out the same night for a meal with the squad, but then after that we’ve had to put it out of our heads, as it’s only one result. Those three points are the same as the game before and it’s just three more towards the title. 1-0 would have been perfect, but for the fans the 6-1 will be with them for many years.’

I can’t believe you’ve only ever scored one Premier League goal, is that correct?

‘Yep, just one goal! I think you can see why from the game against Manchester United – I had a clear chance, I went past three or four players, and I was in front of the goal and instead of trying to shoot I passed the ball. Maybe I could be a bit more selfish, but I’m not like that, and if I don’t score any goals in the next four years here at City and we win many trophies, I’ll take that any day. My job is as a defender, and I think my performance against United was enough for me. When you do that job, it’s as good as scoring a goal.’

You mention winning trophies there, but what would you prefer – a Premier League or Champions League medal?

‘It’s not a tough choice for me, I would always go for winning the Premier League. Don’t get me wrong, the Champions League is an amazing trophy and I would love to win it, but if I had to take one I would always choose the Premier League. The Champions League can be decided in one game, whereas the league is over the whole season.’

You’re quite an experienced Premier League player now, but who is the toughest opponent you’ve come up against?

‘There is a few; I’ve played against Ronaldo, Nani, Ashley Young, but one person I was always very impressed by was Shaun Wright Phillips. Even now when he’s at QPR, he’s still one of the best. He’s fast, with quick feet, can put the ball anywhere, crossing was really impressive, and if you ask many left-backs I’m sure they’d agree that he’s one of the hardest to play against. Luckily he’s been playing on the left for QPR at the moment! I knew him as well when I first came to City, and he’s a really nice guy as well, so I can understand why all the City fans like him so much.’

You’ll be playing against Arsenal for the first time in December, how do you think that will feel?

‘It will be weird. I spoke to Thierry a few years ago when he came back with Barcelona, and he said the same. I spent eight years at the club and had a great time there. I arrived there when I was 17, and it was a big part of my life, I still look out for their results and a lot of my friends are still playing for them.’

I read somewhere that you taught yourself to be left-footed when you were younger, is that true?

‘It was when I was very little, I had a cast on my right leg when I was one or two years old. So for it to heal properly, my dad taught me to use my left leg more. I’m very thankful for him doing that, because maybe if I was a right-footed player I wouldn’t have made it as a footballer. People are always looking for left-footed players, so that was a good thing for me. I was lucky in that I was little, it’s like if you speak two languages to a baby they can learn them better, it would have been a lot harder to do if I was 18. And my right foot isn’t too bad either!’

Final question: a 5-a-side match between the French speaking and Spanish speaking players at City – who would win?

‘Wow, that’s tough! So, French speaking would be me, Samir, the Touré brothers and you can bring in Vincent Kompany, so that’s our five. Spanish you would have Silva, Agüero, Zabaleta, Tevez and Denis Suarez. I think we’d have more chance of winning as we’d have three defenders. When you have a strong defence you’re always in a better position. We’d have three at the back, not conceding, and giving the ball to Samir and Yaya, that would work perfectly!

Thanks to Gaël for taking the time to speak to us – next time you see him on the pitch, he’ll be wearing Umbro GT boots, designed for the individual player.

The latest act to pick the songs that soundtrack their Manchester City support are psychedelic adventurers Air Cav, who are shortly set to release their debut album Don’t Look Indoors. Singer and guitarist Chris Nield (pictured above) is the big City fan in the band, and he’s put together today’s playlist, whcih takes a slightly different approach to some of our previous Sounds Of The City collections. We’ll let Chris explain more…

‘Coming from a slightly different angle I’ve picked a selection of songs that, although not all directly related with City, invoke the same emotions in me as watching the Blues has over the years.

It’s easy to pick an Oasis song and have done with it, but to me football and music contain the same emotive elements. There are peaks and troughs, tempo, rhythm and crescendos. It can be breathless and also the most gut-wrenchingly torrid few moments of your life. Either way, you know you’re hooked and will be back for more.

Stop Your Crying – Spiritualized

If you’ve been supporting the Blues for longer than ten years you will be familiar with the agony of relegation. I’ve been watching them since ’92 and lost count of how many times I’ve stood there on the final game of the season, unable to come to terms with the decline of my team, tears streaming. ‘Stop Your Crying’ by Spiritualized takes the hopeless and gradually builds it up into a towering orchestral crescendo from which there is light. Something all us Blues had to do in the darkest days of the late nineties.

She Sells Sanctuary – The Cure

Bit of a guilty pleasure next. I’ve got a playlist on my iTunes of music that I think would sound great as football entrance music and although ‘Right Here Right Now’ does an OK job at the Etihad Stadium on match days, a song that always leaps out at me as being brilliant ‘football music’ is ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ by The Cult. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t be whipped into a frenzy hearing this blast out before a game! Of course, guitarist Billy Duffy is a huge Blue, too!

Three Little Birds – Bob Marley

Now, clearly that we have some of the best and creative supporters in the land when it comes to thinking up new chants and my absolute favourite at the moment has to be ‘City don’t worry’ to the tune of Bob Marley’s ‘Three Little Birds’. Sung mostly at away games, particularly if we concede a goal, it’s such a brilliant way of shrugging it off and getting behind the lads. I would love to see a full South Stand belting this out, of course without us having conceded a goal!

Lovely Allen – Holy F**K

And finally, if ever a piece of music perfectly echoed the elation of celebrating a City goal, it’s ‘Lovely Allen’ by Canadian electro-hotshots Holy F**k. You can almost picture a Balotelli screamer bulging the net in slow-motion with this playing underneath. Powerful stuff!’

Some great tunes from Chris, thanks for putting the playlist together! For more info on Air Cav, you can follow them on Twitter or head over to their website. You can also get a sneak peak of their album with the video teaser below:

Mancunian folksters The Travelling Band have recently shown their support for Manchester City by putting together a playlist of their favourite footy-related tunes, but they’ve also gone one step further by recording the club’s anthem for charity. The band have done their own version of Blue Moon as part of a project to raise money for charity, what do you think of the Travelling Band’s effort?

The Travelling Band – Blue Moon by PhilDaniels-TeamXI

The cover is part of the project called The Phil Daniels Team XI, where eleven bands have rerecorded their football club’s anthems to create a full squad of classy cover versions – click here to listen to the whole collection. The Travelling Band are currently on a mammoth tour around Europe before returning to the UK, take a look at their tour dates here. And here’s a video of The Travelling Band from when they popped into our Dale Street studio last year…

Our latest look at Mancunian musical memories has been created by a man who played an integral part in the city’s musical heritage – Mike Joyce. As the drummer in The Smiths, Mike provided the rhythm to some of the most memorable tunes to come out of Manchester, and he remains a strong supporter of the city’s new music scene through his DJ sets and radio show on East Village Radio.

Ahead of Manchester City’s game against Aston Villa tomorrow, Mike has chosen a few of his favourite tunes that bring back particular memories of supporting MCFC. Here’s his choices…

Al Capone – Prince Buster

After the slum clearance in the 60’s of Chorlton-on-Medlock, my family moved to Fallowfield where you could hear the crowd from Maine Road. I must have been about 9 years of age when my sister Anne took me to my first game. She was a Suedehead and dressed me up in my Crombie, two-tone suit, button-down shirt and brogues bought from the Undergound Market on Market St …not forgetting my all important red socks! This tune was always blastin’ out in our house with the scooter boys outside.

Heroes – David Bowie

In the 70’s I used to go to the match with a mate of mine from School called Foxy. Him and his brothers were all mad Bowie fans and used to really dress the part. We used to say that City fans were mainly into great music and fashion like Bowie and Roxy Music and we’d always have a laugh at the Red’s being into Status Quo and RUSH with their leather jackets and cut off denim!

Champagne Supernova – Oasis

Any Oasis tune has to be a part of Man City’s modern day heritage, but remembering looking across the city of Manchester at Old Trafford from the top level of The Kippax during their gig in 1996 while they were playing Champagne Supernova is the one for me.

Tender – Blur

Wembley 1999. I travelled down with a mate of mine and his son. We got a great deal on some cheap flights (plus a free bar in the executive lounge for £10!) We were on the way out when we heard that cheer, turned around and went back up the steps to be part of probably the most emotional experience I’ve ever had at a football match. The rest is history and when we got to Heathrow to fly back to Manchester a rep’ from the airline came into the Executive lounge (free bar for a tenner folks!) to inform us that unfortunately the flight was delayed…he got a cheer! This Blur tune released in 1999 heralded a new era for the band…Exactly how I felt for The Blues.

Pounding – Doves

I was lucky enough to be in the Umbro box at the F.A Cup final at Wembley 2011 with Andy Williams the drummer from Doves amongst other great Manc luminaries, Kevin Cummins and Mike Pickering. This tune still gets me going every time I hear it at the start of the game.

Thanks to Mike for taking the time to pick out this top selection – you can listen to his radio show over on the East Village Radio site.

They might be playing away in the Champions League tonight, but Manchester City will be wearing their blue home kit for the match against Bayern Munich tonight, due to a clash with the German club’s home kit. That means that the club’s fans will be able to belt out their Blue Moon anthem before, during and after the game, wherever they’re watching it. Liam Gallagher, one of the club’s top fans, shows the way in our video above…

Ahead of Manchester City’s league game against Everton tomorrow, we caught up with another gang of Manchester musicians who follow MCFC home and away. Adam (right) and Mugger (middle) from The Travelling Band are both massive City fans, and have put together this list of songs that have soundtracked some of their favourite MCFC moments. Take it away chaps…

Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) – Green Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnQ8N1KacJc

This was played at at the end of Sky Sports coverage of the 1999 playoff final against Gillingham when we got promoted back up to the 1st Division.. It accompanied scenes of Nicky Weaver running the entire length of the pitch after his penalty save which sealed the deal.. He looked like he was gonna collapse after that.. I remember being at the game and when Paul Dickov scored the goal to equalise in the 95th minute I remember celebrating and then realised I was about 5 row from where i started! A historic day for us…

Sit Down – James

When City played Derby in the 1990-91 season, Tony Coton was sent off for a professional foul in the area.. It being before the days of substitute keepers, Niall Quinn went between the sticks for the following penalty. To the delight of everyone in the ground it was saved by the big man and this song was sung by the City fans in the Kippax at the Derby County supporters.. Another special moment, made even more so by the fact big Niall had already scored a penalty for us at the other end..

Boy for Sale – Lionel Bart (from Oliver!) – James H Reeve, Niall Quinn, David White

I’ve included this as I was lucky enough to play a part in the Junior Blues pantomime at the old social club at Maine Road which was the blue version of Lionel Bart’s Oliver.. James H Reeve played Fagin.. and it Niall Quinn and David White played a part in the pantomime.. Happy memories being in this with the players of the day!

The Masterplan – Oasis

I’ve included this as i was at the a legendary Maine Road concerts that Oasis did at the height of their powers.. A good memory of the old ground for me when it wasn’t being used for City’s games and of course, the Gallagher’s are synonymous with MCFC..

Boys in Blue

Always been played at the end of the game for as long as i can remember.. Cracking cheesy 70s number with the players all singing along.. Listen out for the little guitar lick in it.. 70s genius.. I believe it was written and sung by Godley and Creme from 10cc, although i reckon it’s Mike Summerbee moonlighting on guitar (just a theory)..

Go West – Pet Shop Boys

Two words! UWE ROSLER!!

Thanks to Adam and Mugger for picking their playlist, a fine selection of tracks! The Travelling Band are on tour later this year, check out the dates over at their website – where you can also get a free download of their new single!