Coventry City’s now-firmly established pre-match anthem ‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’ reached new heights this weekend, providing an emotional, hairs on the back of your neck moment for the 36,000-strong Sky Blue Army ahead of their incredible FA Cup comeback against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium.
The Enemy’s 2007 hit from the same-named album has gradually become part of the pre-kick-off ritual in recent seasons, but it has really taken on a life of its own during the current 2023/24 campaign, providing the club with its very own identity from the Coventry band in the build-up to matches, serving to whip up the atmosphere, expectant crowd, and fire up the players.
But, how did it all begin? Here we speak with matchday DJ Stuart Court, who has played a key role in City’s spectacular game build-up.
“The first time I remember playing it was the last home game at St Andrew’s against Sunderland, which turned out to be our last ‘home’ game before Covid,” said the 36-year-old Holbrooks resident and lifelong City fan.
“I played it and received some involvement, and I also played Pump It Up, which was clearly a significant part of that season.
“And then I played it a few times after the games in the first season at the CBS Arena, and it seemed to go over well, so a few folks on Twitter/X suggested I try it before kickoff. So I spent the entire season trying to get the spectators to sing it before the game, as well as trying to get the time right because we’re not permitted to play music once the game starts.
“It gradually got up and took on a life of its own this season, which has been fantastic. The best one last year was definitely against the Blues near the end of the season because there was such a large crowd in the stadium and everything matched up so nicely. But this season has been wild, and Sunday was incredible.”
Watch the Sky Blue Army singing it at Wembley below
Being a hometown band, it was an obvious and natural fit, especially because the band members are also City supporters.
“When The Enemy play it live, it’s always the Sky Blue Army that join in,” remarked Stu, who works in a bookie.
“It just feels like a Cov song because all of the Cov fans sing it at the shows. A couple individuals I talk to on social media are begging me to keep playing it because they all sit in Singers’ Corner and keep singing it, and it’s just taken off. It probably took about 15 games to really nail it last season, and this year has been ridiculous.”
He remarked of Sunday’s sight among the sea of sky blue flags at Wembley Stadium: “I was there, and it was really, really cool.” When we beat Leeds and Leicester, it was funny because 2/3,000 people refused to leave, so I played it then, but it will be difficult to top Sunday.
“Lots of fan bases have commented on it on social media, the guys from The Anfield Wrap said, can you imagine being the person who wrote the song.”
Plenty of clubs have their own pre-match traditions, none greater than Liverpool fans’ spine-tingling rendition of Gerry and the Pacemakers’ ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at Anfield.
“It just brings everyone together, which can only benefit the players,” added Stuart, who works alongside Royston Dooley and Paul Savva as matchday scoreboard techs.
“It is significant and cool because The Enemy is a Cov band, and no one else will have possession of it. Obviously, Liverpool has ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and West Ham has ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’, but Spurs, Southampton, and Stoke all have the same song with different lyrics. However, no one else will duplicate ‘We’ll Live and Die…’ with its connection to the city.
“So it’s really cool and it will be really cool when it’s played in front of a Premier League crowd in a few years!”
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