I'm interested In DL's thoughts on our ground entry music. Does the two-song theme we have - ie Hells Bells/ Sandman (or whatever) leading into Grand Old Flag - work for you in creating the maximum theatre and atmosphere for players and spectators alike? Personally, I don't think it does for two main reasons. Firstly, no "inspirational" music seems to blend seamlessly into Grand Old Flag. Secondly, there is nothing original in what we are doing - nothing uniquely MFC, which i believe is important. With the musicians, producers and wannabe songwriters we have on DL, surely, we can create something so much better. So I am interested in DL's thoughts and ideas on this subject. Is it time for a change, or are you happy with the current situation, or perhaps it is of no concern either way? I know tradition will be a big factor in this - and change is always difficult to accept at MFC. And I certainly don't wish to be aligned with the poster of a couple of seasons ago who wanted us all to sing "Walk on" or whatever it was. I would like something uniquely ours, without losing our historic identity - which to me is the lyrics to Grand Old Flag - definitely not the tune. I have sent an email to the Club on this issue which expresses my reasonings and thoughts on this issue - as well as a sample of what I believe could be done. Extracts from that email and my sample are contained below: "The MFC has/is undergoing great recent change, and I'd like to respectfully suggest that we also need to review our player ground-entry music, because in my opinion it's not working to create the atmosphere that is intended - for players and spectators alike. Seems very minor when compared to the new coach, new CEO etc, but I think it is an important one to address crowd participation and atmosphere. We have had many years of player entry music like Hells Bells and Sandman. While they are mood inspiring, they don't naturally flow into our theme song, Grand Old Flag (GOF). Nothing seems to flow into GOF due to the age of the tune and its ebullient nature (as one supporter described it). As you are probably aware, GOF was taken from the 1906 song "You're a Grand Old Flag" written by George M. Cohen. In 1912 the MFC rewrote the lyrics to suit its own purpose, but retained the original music. So our theme song is 113 years old. Our words are partially original, but the music is not - which was written by Cohen to show pride in the American flag. My idea is that instead of trying to blend two songs for our player entry - which we know is not successful - why not try modifying the GOF music (not the lyrics) so that one song provides the atmosphere and crowd participation that we want. To me, the lyrics are sacrosanct, and should not be changed - but I have no problem with modernising the music somewhat to suit its purpose. The aim in changing GOF musically would be to have an initial build up (resulting in crowd participation), leading smoothly into the players entering the field; followed by a verse where the supporter base becomes fully involved. I've had a go at modifying GOF (see attached), as an example of what could be done. I've purposefully used a slow introduction, then a first verse to build atmosphere and crowd involvement; then a guitar bridge that signals the players to enter the field and approach the banner; followed by a repeat of the first verse where, hopefully, all supporters would be joining in. I believe the use of one song - our song, not someone else's- rather than two is the way to go to provide seamless entry theatre. Our original words are retained, but the American tune is changed into our own unique version. It doesn't have to be this version - I'm sure we'd have supporters more talented than me that could come up with an improved version. And it only needs to be played at player entry. The old version could still be retained for all other purposes if required / wanted."
Grand Old Flag (1).mp3