Sky Sports' Johnny Phillips: Let’s take a spin down Tannoy’s memory lane

By coincidence, Will Grigg was in the Sunderland starting line-up preparing to enter the arena. His own links to that commercial dance music genre were immortalised in song during his days at Wigan Athletic when supporters sang Will Grigg’s On Fire, a re-working of Gala’s Freed From Desire which, back in 1997, was competing at the top of the dance charts with Bellisima.

Living in Leeds during this era, it instantly transported one back to midweek nights down at discerning venues such as Club Uropa and Majestyks. With flags being raised pitchside and a general sense of bonhomie after the recent takeover and a 0-0 draw at Oxford United the previous Tuesday, the Bolton Tannoy operator appeared to have hit the right tone.

I say “Tannoy”, but as one colleague in the press ranks was quick to point out, if Alan Partridge taught us anything it is that “Tannoy is a brand name”, so better to stick to PA announcer. The role of the PA announcer in football cannot be underestimated. It is essentially a blank canvas to broadcast to an audience of thousands, often tens of thousands, whether they want to listen or not.

Music is the staple of this and it can be varied in its output. Manchester United, predictably, have an official music partner enabling fans to download an app and listen to each fixture’s Old Trafford playlist.

Wolves even experimented with a live music mix on occasions last season, with Kiss FM’s Justin Wilkes brought in to produce the pre-match set alongside a light and fireworks show.

In keeping with the 1990s theme, Energy 52’s Café Del Mar was a mainstay of the set. Other clubs have a more fluid approach to their offerings, especially lower down the league ladder where supporters’ requests are not uncommon.

Surely it is only a matter of time before Half Man Half Biscuit’s Swerving The Checkatrade gets an airing at an EFL Trophy group fixture. There seems to be a consensus as to the most commonly-played tunes, if the accuracy of a poll of my Sunday League team is anything to go by.

Sandstorm’s Darude is the most ubiquitous track at football grounds across the UK, with others such as Fatboy Slim’s Right Here Right Now, Faithless’ Insomnia and The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army never far from the decks.

Forays into the world of classical music are not always appropriate. It can be a touch incongruous when ‘O Fortuna’ from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana echoes around a largely empty stadium ahead of an end-of-season mid-table League Two encounter.

Then there are the player-themed songs. A Fulham fan recalls the time he went to a match at Leicester and the playlist was made up of several Elvis Presley hits in homage to Foxes’ midfielder Elvis Hammond. The point was laboured at half-time when an Elvis impersonator competition was staged.

But the role of the PA operator is so much more than spinning a few tunes.

The actual announcements can leave an indelible mark on their audience. In the pre-mobile phone days there would be the occasional request for an unsuspecting fan to: “Please return home as your wife has gone into labour”.

There would be cause for more sinister announcements back in the 1980s, too. Whether or not this falls into the category of urban folklore, who knows, but Colchester United’s former Layer Road ground was situated near an army barracks.

The story goes that one fan parked his car at the entrance to the barracks during an age when the IRA were active on mainland Britain and the army was on high alert for anything suspicious.

It led to the following announcement: “Please return to your vehicle, otherwise it will be blown up.”

A couple of seasons ago Rochdale’s man on the mic, Dave Sweetmore, had to request a person return to their car as the headlights had been left on. The car belonged to Dale midfielder Callum Camps, who was on the pitch at the time.

“I was listening because the ball was out of play, and as soon as I heard the reg I was thinking that was my number plate,” he said, when interviewed after the match.

“I looked over to Kevin Gibbins [Dale’s head of sports science who was sat in the dugout] and said, ‘My car’s just been read out, can you sort it out?’” The PA intrusion did not affect Camps’ performance, as he went on to score in a 1-1 draw with Gillingham.

During a Premier League match between Spurs and Huddersfield at Wembley last year, the announcer asked for a qualified official to come forward after referee Mike Jones pulled his calf in the warm-up, leaving the men in black one short. With Kevin Friend promoted to referee, the game kicked off without a fourth official, by which time a volunteer had come forward from the crowd. But Jones eventually hobbled out from the tunnel and pulled up a chair on the touchline to carry out his duties, sparing the spectator from the spotlight.

Given such powers over the masses it is perhaps unsurprising that at times hubris or worse will creep into the role. Last season Manchester City were forced to apologise to Chelsea for the music that rang out around the Etihad Stadium after the hosts’ 6-0 victory.

Madness’ One Step Beyond, a favourite at Stamford Bridge, was played over the PA to the fury of the travelling Chelsea supporters. A City official swiftly contacted the member of staff in charge of the music when they heard the song and it was replaced by City’s anthem, Blue Moon.

But football’s PA controversies were upstaged by cricket in January 2016, when New Zealand were obliged to apologise after a Wellington stadium announcer played the sound of a cash register opening when Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir ran in to bowl.

Amir was returning from a five-year ban for his part in a spot-fixing scandal. Humour treads a fine line, especially in the realm of PA announcements.

So, wherever you are watching football today, keep an ear out for the game’s true powerbrokers.