a job pauro could have had

[max power]

Football's first chant Laureate sings when he's winning
11/05/2004 - 07:06:52

A 37-year-old Birmingham City follower has landed the football fan’s dream job – he has become England’s first Chant Laureate.

Jonny Hurst, from Wanstead, north London, will be paid £10,000 (€14,964) a year to tour Premiership stadiums and compose chants on the 2004/5 football season.

He was picked after a six-month search, which attracted 1,500 entries, for the post of Barclaycard Chant Laureate.

Poet Laureate Andrew Motion chaired the panel of judges which selected Mr Hurst, a self-employed solicitor, for the job.

Entries ranged from the poetic to the obscene and included 415 applications from Liverpool fans alone.

Motion, who as Poet Laureate is paid only half the amount the Chant Laureate will get for his role, described Mr Hurst as a “real find”.

He said: The Barclaycard Chant Laureate competition provoked a terrific response: a large number of entries, and an impressive variety of chants - ranging from the brisk and simple, through the comic and curious, to the elaborate and heartfelt.

“In the end, the judges were unanimous in thinking that Jonny Hurst stood out above the rest.

“His chants have the wit and energy to make them eminently chantable, but they also have a distinctive ingenuity. He’s a real find.”

Despite being a Birmingham City fan, Mr Hurst’s winning chant, a version of Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, was written for Juan Pablo Angel of local rivals Aston Villa.

Mr Hurst said: “I am delighted and honoured to win this prestigious competition.

“I have always enjoyed singing and composing football chants for Birmingham City because it’s such a massive part of the game.

“I’ll even admit to thinking about words and tunes for other clubs, so it’s brilliant to be given the responsibility for writing chants across all the clubs in the Barclaycard Premiership.”

This is the winning chant Mr Hurst submitted, based on Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, and written for Aston Villa.

His name is Angel

And he’s a show boy

An Alice Band keeps up his hair

Juan Pablo from Col-om-bi-air



He came to Villa

To be a winner

He succeeded overnight

Our very own Angel Delight

Just hear the Villa roar

With each Juan Pablo score

We’ve got him on a four-year deal

But we still want more



At the Villa, at Aston Villa

The greatest club west of Manila

At the Villa, at Aston Vi-lla

Football and passion

All ranges of fashion

At the Villa, we have it all

La-la, Aston Vil-la-la

Aston Vil-la-la-la

Vil-la-la-la

[Pauro 76]

Didnt notice this thread.... jeez seen your man on Sky Sports.. he's not even a Villa fan! Hes a Brum fan. Annoying tosser too.... But even then his chant was a lot better than mine.. and thats saying a lot about my chants!