Despite it being a scorching over the last few days, thousands of West Ham’s decided to spend their weekend talking about The Arsenal.
For some reason that I am not too sure about, Louis Dunford’s The Angel has upset the boys from Essex.
A video of Arsenal fans signing it before the Man U game went viral last week, and Hammers fans jumped on it. They were joined by their close friends Tottenham.
Before (and often after) games for the last two seasons Dunford’s chorus has been played:
North London forever
Whatever the weather, these streets are our own
And my heart will leave you, never
My blood will forever, run through the stone.
But The Angel is not a song about The Arsenal. It is a song about Islington.
Louis’ lyrics talks about life in the London Borough of his birth. From The Cally to The Cross and every shithole in between – for those who do know Islington, he is singing about The Caledonian Road Estate and Kings Cross.
He also mentions Highbury Fields, Angel Station, Arthur’s Cafe that used to be on Kingsland Road (which is actually in Hackney!) and The Thornhill Arms and The Hemingford Arms, both on The Cally.
The Morland and Popham Estates, where Dunford, who is the son of Birds of Feather actress Linda Robson (side note: my mum went to school with her), grew up also gets a mention.
One of my favourite lines in the song is “see the brasses from the brothel that pretends to be a sauna”. Anyone that goes to The Arsenal from the Holloway Road side will know exactly where he is talking about!
The song only mentions football twice: “every time I watch the football” and “’neath the stadiums of stone”.
Nowhere in the song is Arsenal, or the Emirates, mentioned.
It was not written as a football anthem, and was adopted by the club at the request of hundreds of fans. It’s popularity grew naturally as the song became shared in WhatsApp groups and on social media.
If West Ham and Tottenham fans actually listen to the song, they will recognise the scene that Dunford narrates, because it is not just about Islington.
He sings about how the landscape of the Borough is changing. How developers are ripping up the cobbles, and tearing down our childhood homes. About architecture changing, watch the history disappear. And the skyline rearranging into towers of veneer.
Whether you are Islington, Waltham Forest, Harringay, Enfield, Newham, Barking or Romford, you will recognise the scene Dunford is describing. The estates we grew up on are gone. The shops we went to are now chains.
The Angel is London’s story, not just Islington’s.
Even the people Louis describes can be found beyond the Islington borders.
The old school talk[ing] about the good old days, market stall holders selling clobber and dealer shooting bags. The single mothers juggling a baby and a job and the little fuckers causing trouble.
The songs final verse is the manor might be changing, but the people always last. That could be sung about West Ham or Tottenham.
It baffles me why West Ham fans are criticising a song which could so easily have been written about Newham. So easily written about Haringey or Enfield.
Because you see, The Angel is not about The Arsenal. It is about Islington. And the story it tells is a story about any borough in London. Anywhere in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and more. It is a story about how these major cities are changing, and not for the good.
I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles is an American song written in 1918. It was sang at Swansea City before West Ham began using it.M
And City’s anthem ‘Blue Moon’ was originally sung by Crewe Alexander. Another American song, it was only adopted by Man City this century.
Finally, You’ll Never Walk Alone (yet another song whose origins lie in the States). It only became a Liverpool anthem over 20 years after its release following Merseyside band Gerry and the Pacemakers released a cover in the 60s. Celtic are one of many clubs that also sing it.
With The Angel, we have a song that is about our manor, written by a lad from the manor. It is a song that no other clubs fans sing.
We will continue to sing North London Forever before games. Just like West Ham will keep singing about their bubbles bursting.
Have a good Monday.
No matter which team you are a fan of, I believe you sincerely hope that the team will get better and better. As a fan, you can use the image of your favorite player or the logo of the club you support to make some Custom Keyrings. It is small and portable, and the material is also available for you to choose. You can use it to decorate your daily life. When others see you, they will know that you are a football fan at first sight, which can quickly bring you closer and start your first topic.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
Brilliant article, I can concur with the gentrification of Islington. I was brought up in Archway (born in the Whittington hospital), and our old council property was demolished to make way for development. It’s a shame they don’t play every verse of the song anymore, but I guess to supercharge the atmosphere in the ground it needs to get straight to the chorus lyrics. And boy does it work. Look at the number of videos out of the Angel on YT or Twitter/X. It really riles fans of other clubs too, I don’t get why they should even be bothered, apart from the Spuds who like to dig anything to do with us not originating from North London.
Fans who aren’t from North London get goosebumps listening to it, saying how they one day want to experience it in the stadium. That’s a sign of how a song has transcended beyond Highbury Fields/Islington in general.
LikeLike
The whole song is not played due to it not being family friendly (talking about brasses, drug dealers, etc)
The club did speak to Louis about possibily re-writing some of the lyrics but it was instead agreed just to blast out the chorus!
LikeLike
A very well considered and excellent article. Just a small thing, mentioning Enfield as a Spuds area is wrong. I am from Enfield and I know they now train there but I know many Arsenal fans from Enfield. It is a very mixed area when it comes to supporting football teams, normally people are Arsenal or Spurs possibly West Ham. It is only a short trip from Oakwood/Cockfosters on the Piccadilly Line so Arsenal draw a lot of support from the area.
LikeLike
Thanks for writing this up, great article and interesting read.
LikeLike
Just read this for the first time after we battered West Ham 6-0 today. Declan Rice even got on the sheet agaisnt them. They’ll not soon run out of things to cry about. Up the Arse
LikeLike
I wasn’t sure about the song at first. I went to the Palace game at home and now I love it.
LikeLike
what a load of nonsense, the second line is
Upon the baron fields of Highbury ‘neath the stadiums of stone
literally references Highbury
LikeLike
Understand the blog that I am looking beyond the actual lyrics. The scene he is setting (with how things are changing in Islington) is happening in every working class area in London and beyond.
LikeLike