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Up There Cazaly

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"Up There Cazaly"
Song
B-side"The Winner's March (Instrumental)"

"Up There Cazaly" is 1979 song by Mike Brady, written to promote Channel Seven's coverage of the Victorian Football League. It has since become an unofficial anthem of Australian rules football.

The title references early 20th century ruckman Roy Cazaly. Known for his prodigious leap, Cazaly formed a famous ruck combination with South Melbourne teammates Fred "Skeeter" Fleiter and Mark "Napper" Tandy. It was ruck rover Fleiter who was the first to call "Up there, Cazaly!" when the ruckman flew for the ball. The catchcry was soon adopted by South Melbourne supporters and eventually entered the Australian lexicon as a common phrase of encouragement.

Released independently on Fable Records, Brady's recording of the song became the largest-selling Australian single ever released up to that time with over 250,000 copies sold. The song has been performed at many VFL/AFL Grand Finals, often by Brady himself.

The song's tune has an unusual key scheme: the verses are in D major, and the chorus is in F major, which is a fairly distant, unrelated key, especially for a popular song; and its final repetition is in G major, in which key the song ends.

Background

Left to right: Mark Tandy, Fred Fleiter and Roy Cazaly.

"Up there, Cazaly!" was used as a battle cry by Australian troops during World War II.[1] It has been noted that Cazaly's distinctive surname most likely contributed to the phrase's enduring popularity. As one journalist noted, "'Up there, McKinnon' might not have taken off".[2]

Australian dramatist Ray Lawler included the phrase in his 1955 play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll when he had heroine Nancy use it on several occasions, most notably in a telegram with marked dramatic effect: "Up there, Cazaly. Lots of Love. Nance."[3]

Track listing

Side A "Up There Cazaly" (Seven's Footy Theme)(2:40)
Side B "The Winner's March" (Instrumental)(2:54)

When the South Melbourne Football Club relocated to Sydney as the rebranded Sydney Swans in 1982, the club changed its song to a rewritten verison of "Up There Cazaly" entitled "Up There for Sydney". The song was poorly received and the club soon reverted to its original song, "Cheer, Cheer the Red and the White".[4]

In 1991, Collingwood great Lou Richards released a hip hop version of "Up There Cazaly" under his nickname Louie the Lip. On his 2007 album The World's Most Popular Pianist Plays Down Under Favorites, French pianist Richard Clayderman included a medley composed of "Up There Cazaly", "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" and "A Pub With No Beer".

"Up There Cazaly" is featured in the 1980 film adaptation of David Williamson's play The Club.[5]

In 1981, Ian Turner and Leonie Sandercock published a history of the VFL titled Up Where, Cazaly?: The Great Australian Game.

In an episode of the 1997 documentary series Race Around the World, "Up There Cazaly" is played over footage of John Safran streaking through Jerusalem in St Kilda colours.[6]

You Am I vocalist Tim Rogers performed the song on a 2001 episode of The Footy Show. "Up There Calisi" is a satirical song released by TISM bassist Jock Cheese on his 2002 solo album Platter. Australian Idol finalist Shannon Noll gave his own rendition of the song at the 2011 Grand Final Breakfast.

In 2014, Andrew Hansen of the comedy group The Chaser wrote a new version of "Up There Cazaly" for Fox Footy.[7]

In 2016, Australia Post launched a television advertising campaign set to a cover version of "Up There Cazaly", sung by people from different backgrounds in their own cultural style. It was affiliated with the AFL's Multicultural Round.[8]

Reception

When asked which Australian song he would most like to cover, Spiderbait member Kram chose "Up There Cazaly", "because it's the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' of footy songs".[9]

In an essay on her love–hate relationship with Australian football, comedian Catherine Deveny considers "Up There Cazaly" to be "schmaltzy" and "formulaic", but also gives it reluctant praise: "The cloying lyrics and emotionally manipulative music would invoke involuntary goosebumps, teary eyes and a subsequent feeling of embarrassment. The rousing chord progressions, choirs in full flight, strings in octaves and timpani created a confected majesty that tapped into our animal brains."[10]

The song ranked 4th in the 20 to 1 episode "Greatest Sporting Anthems".[11]

Use outside Australian football

In 1982, "Up There Cazaly" was rewritten and released as "Up There Old England" by Cliff Portwood. Brady flew to England to help Portwood record the song but it was never released, due to the B side having a portion of "Land of Hope and Glory" on it, creating a licensing issue just as it was getting major airtime on the radio.

The song is used as the walkout tune for Tonbridge Angels soccer club in the United Kingdom. It is also used as a fan chant for Derby County F.C. supporters with the name of Steve Bloomer's Watchin.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Program One: Patriotism And The Australian Way Of Life". Radio National. 23 April 2005.
  2. ^ Lemon, Geoff (4 November 2014). [Up There Cazaly by Mike Brady – an AFL anthem that isn't awful"], The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  3. ^ Hornadge, Bill. The Australian Slanguage: A look at what we say and how we say it. Cassell Australia, 1980. ISBN 0-7269-3733-9, p. 241
  4. ^ Davies, Bridget (19 April 2016). "History behind every AFL club theme song", Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  5. ^ Collins, Simon (28 August 2009). "The Best and Worst AFL Footy Songs". The West Australian. Retrieved 12 November 2016 – via thewest.com.au.
  6. ^ Enough Rope with Andrew Denton - episode 16: John Safran (30/06/2003), abc.net.au. Retrieved on 14 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Fox Footy Recreates 'Up There Cazaly', Bandt. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  8. ^ Crisp, Ainsleigh (7 July 2016). "Aus Post uses multicultural version of anthem Up There Cazaly for new AFL ad", Mumbrella. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  9. ^ Lackmann, Monica (12 May 2004). "Aussie Rockers Talk AboutTheir Top Tunes", FasterLouder. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  10. ^ Deveny, Catherine (2008). "There Was a Voice?". In Hayes, Nicole; Sometimes, Alicia (ed.). From the Outer: Footy Like You've Never Heard It. Black Inc.. pp.. ISBN 9781863958288.
  11. ^ Greatest Sporting Anthems - 20 to 1, channelnine.ninemsn.com.au. Retrieved on 9 July 2012.
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