We Lose Every Week: A History of Football Chanting

It's the end of the nineteenth century and in Norwich a song is being penned which will mark the beginning of a phenomenon that will change the way we enjoy football forever. A few hundred miles away and similar moves are being made by a famed British composer, in Wolverhampton, following a Wolves victory over Stoke City. Supportive or critical of their team, critical of the opposition, hostile, crude, humorous, and on occasion seemingly pointless, football chants are now a firm fixture on terraces around the world. From Victorian Britain to broken wheelbarrows, via Cilla Black, Italian earthquakes and backheeled bananas, this is the story of how and why tens of thousands of people come together in unison in football grounds, pubs and town squares to sing, and the impact that can have on the game, on the humans involved and on society more broadly. We all have a favourite. Who are ya? Who are we?