One of England’s biggest clubs, Liverpool, possess a tradition to match their status. The song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is played out over the PA system moments before kick-off at every home match. Thousands of supporters hold their scarves aloft while singing along, to create an atmosphere capable of sending a chill down your spine.
The Song’s Origin
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel, but started to be sung at the club’s Anfield stadium in the mid-’60s after Liverpudlian Merseybeat group Gerry and the Pacemakers reached No.1 in the singles chart with the hit in 1963. It was already a staple of pub sing-alongs and community get-togethers in the city before the Gerry and the Pacemakers version. However, the song was thrust into the mainstream after reaching No.1.
False Claims
There have been rumors that other clubs’ fans sang the song first, but no historical evidence has backed this up. There was a report that Manchester United fans ushered it into football, while some have claimed that Scottish club Celtic were the first.
The Hillsborough Disaster
But the song is intrinsically linked to Liverpool and was sung at the recent commemoration of the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 people died in a human crush in a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in 1989.
The words “You’ll Never Walk Alone” also feature in the club crest and on the Shankly Gate entrance to Anfield.
The likes of Celtic, Hibernian, Feyenoord, and FC Twente have also adopted the anthem.
