Gene: For the Dead

Track of the Week - 15 August 2021

Watching Swindon Town's football team was a huge part of my life from 1983 to about 1996 (give or take a year or so, I can't remember.) Since then, not so much.

If you're local or follow wider league football stories you'll know that the club was in somewhat of a crisis over the last few months and only saved from administration or worse by a takeover. Because of the amazing experiences I'd had following the team I felt it was important that the club survived so more people could get those same emotions that come from supporting their local team.

With that in mind I thought that putting money into the club by going to games would be useful. It turns out my friend Colin was having similar thoughts so after a quick discussion it was a simple case of buying tickets and going to the first home game of the season against Carlisle United.

One of the pre-first game of the season rituals is recognising the club's fans who have died since the conclusion of the last campaign. When read out this list seemed very long covering, I guess, two seasons and the various waves of the Covid pandemic. Mention was also made of former player, coach and head of the club's Academy Alan McLoughlin who died in May and was honoured with the Town End of the County Ground being named after him.

So as Britpop band Gene might have said, "this one's for the dead."

This was their debut single which peaked at number 86 in 1984. A re-issue two years later saw it into the top twenty. I like it, it's a bit Smiths-y but contains themes of suicide if you'd rather avoid that.