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It’s that age old story: boy meets girl, boy happens to be a Premiership centre-forward, girl leaves boy for the club’s new signing amidst a flurry of tabloid speculation.
Match of the Day** was recorded at home on a cheap computer, but has sound quality that most studios would happily charge a few hundred quid for; and packaged in a football-shirt-shaped card sleeve with a b-side called Theme for a sitcom about a northern family struggling to make ends meet, it’s two-up before play is even pressed.
Musically the easiest comparison would be Billy Bragg for the London tones and quirky lyrics, but for me the feel-good factor and subtle wit suggest an English Dr Frank (MTX). And what could be more English than a song about football that includes the line You’re the only one who didn’t mind the smell of my deep heat?
This limited edition single is a lesson in not only the extended metaphor, but also in writing a love song without resorting to worn-out cliché or suspect rhymes. Add to the above the gift of taking a simple tune with basic instrumentation and allowing it to take squatters’ rights inside your head from now until matchday, and Phil has mastered the art of writing a glorious and memorable pop song. A definite championship contender.
Phil plays all the instruments himself, recorded it himself and is putting it out himself via his website
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9Rob Dix's Score
