By Ryan Batty
The words ‘Immerse me in your splendour’ would be considered cheesy or forced if it referred to a stadium that did not deserve such a tag. Old Trafford absolutely does. Taken from The Stone Roses’ 1989 album track This Is the One, the lyric refers perfectly to the incredible arena that is Manchester United’s home stadium.
In 2024, and especially prior to high-stakes matches, Manchester United seldom have any sort of pre-match music. Rather, the club relies on ‘The Red Army’, the section above the tunnel and to the left of the famous Stretford End, to stir up an atmosphere that starts at one end and manoeuvres its way around the ground. United’s impressive back catalogue of chants, whether poking fun at rivals Manchester City, Liverpool or Leeds United, is usually the only chorus you hear before kick-off.
That is, except This Is the One.
The band and Manchester United
Gary Neville, Manchester United’s mainstay right-back for nearly twenty years, installed This Is the One when he became the club’s captain in 2005. Previously, the Red Devils had been entering the field to Fanfare for Rocky, which Neville admitted was pretty generic. Neville himself noted, ‘I love Rocky, don’t get me wrong – but he’s from Philadelphia, he isn’t from Manchester. We have to have something that’s authentic.’
It is almost like John Squire and Ian Brown wrote a song for the purpose of walking out to a stadium full of 76,000 supporters. The way the riff starts, alerting the fans of the imminent arrival of their heroes. And then Brown’s soft hush, whispering the opening lines as the excitement begins to stir, a stadium arising. It perfectly matches the cathedral that is Old Trafford as well. To the most extreme football fan, yes, Old Trafford is far from perfect and has required renovation for many years – but to the first-timer, from overseas or from a very young age, it is perhaps the last of Britain’s largest traditional stadiums. Anything in the range of 75,000 seats is brand-new and lacks that same character. The likes of Tottenham Hotspur’s new White Hart Lane is astonishing, but leaves a lot to desire in terms of architectural tradition.
“The Stone Roses is a lot more than just the self-titled debut record. It is a cult of personality to itself.”
Anyway, back to the song. The song reaches a crescendo, with the chorus kicking in as the players emerge from the south-west tunnel and brings supporters to their feet, allowing them back in time to the first moment they saw the Old Trafford hallowed turf. It electrifies the fans of both the club and the band, bringing together one of Manchester’s finest musical exports, and with it, the city’s – and arguably the nation’s – largest football club.
The importance of The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses is a lot more than just the self-titled debut record. It is a cult of personality to itself – the iconic artwork, for example, Squire painted himself. He had been inspired by Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland – and then The Stone Roses’ lemons – used by protesters to protect themselves from tear gas during the 1968 Paris student riots.
The artwork itself was titled ‘Bye Bye Badman’ – another tune from the Roses’ debut record, which itself was the title of a TV documentary about the riots. Both symbols of the band are still mightily prominent today in indie music culture – so much so that Manchester United and adidas partnered up with the band to release a Stone Roses inspired clothing range, with the artwork emblazing a pre-match training top, along with the traditional Manchester United emblem – with ‘This Is the One’ replacing ‘Football Club’ – and the adidas Trefoil logo on the other side.
The future of sport and music?
Could it be considered purely a marketing ploy, intended to capitalise on a new generation’s rediscovery of one of British indie’s most well-loved records? Or are we looking at the future of sport and music crossover, where similar stories in other cities receive the same collaboration? There is a unique bond between a football club and its walk-out music, much as there is in sports where a walk-out song gives the viewer a flavour of what they’re about to witness. In boxing, darts and professional wrestling, you see it every time you turn it on. Are we about to see the same in the world’s game?
There are plenty of examples you could see collaborating. Though bitter rivals on the field, United fans could inspire Leeds United to create a similar range with ‘Marching on Together’. Likewise with Liverpool and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. Everton’s ‘Z-Cars’ is perhaps the most famous walk-on song in football – could that receive similar treatment?
