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I’m shamelessly borrowing the format of Desert Island Discs.
Most people know the format. Famous castaways choose eight records, a book and a luxury item to take with them if stranded on a desert island. My version comes with a red-and-white twist.
These aren’t necessarily my eight favourite songs. They’re the tracks that have become woven into my life as a Sunderland supporter. Some are linked to players, some to famous matches, and some simply capture what it feels like to follow a football club that specialises in hope, heartbreak and the occasional miracle.
Football isn’t just about results. It’s about memories. Songs have a habit of attaching themselves to those memories and, before you know it, a three-minute track can transport you back decades.
So, if I found myself washed ashore somewhere between Roker Beach and a tropical paradise, these would be my choices.
I’d love to hear yours too. Add them in the comments and I’ll pull together a Spotify playlist to share for us all to enjoy.
Track 1: Origins
Sunderland All The Way – Bobby Knoxall (1973)
Every Desert Island Discs list needs a starting point.
For me, it begins here.
I bought this in 1973. A single, as we used to call them. A 7-inch RCA label. A small vinyl disc etched full of magic. More than fifty years later, it still transports me straight back to one of the greatest chapters in Sunderland’s history. Funny how music does that.
Local club entertainer Bobby Knoxall’s song captured the spirit of Bob Stokoe’s remarkable FA Cup-winning side. Nobody gave Second Division Sunderland much chance against the giants of the First Division, did they? Yet somehow they overcame Manchester City, Arsenal and finally the mighty – and dirty – Leeds United to lift the trophy at Wembley.
Every Sunderland supporter knows the images.
Ian Porterfield scoring the winner.
Jim Montgomery producing perhaps the greatest save in FA Cup Final history.
Bob Stokoe sprinting across the Wembley turf in his trilby hat to embrace Monty.
Captain Bobby Kerr hoisting the silverware skywards.
The song itself is wonderfully of its era. Honest, optimistic and utterly unpretentious. Much like the supporters who adopted it. Like many Sunderland supporters of my generation, I can probably still recite large chunks of it without needing the record.
I also still own the commentary LP of the 1973 FA Cup Final. Kenneth Wolstenholme – the voice of football at the time. Long before YouTube, Sky and endless replays, it was a way of reliving that glorious afternoon again and again. For younger supporters, imagine having to put a record on just to hear the commentary of a famous match.
Mind you, if the match in question is Sunderland 1 Leeds United 0, that’s no hardship.
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Track 2: Heritage
Dance of the Knights – Sergei Prokofiev (1935)
Let’s continue where every home game begins.
Composed as part of Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet, Dance of the Knights wasn’t written with football in mind. Yet since the opening of the Stadium of Light in 1997, it has become inseparable from Sunderland AFC.
Club folklore has it that Bob Murray chose it ahead of the Star Wars theme when looking for music worthy of Sunderland’s new home. If true, it was one of his better decisions.
I was living in Chester-le-Street at the time and spent many a Sunday watching the Stadium of Light emerge from the old Monkwearmouth Colliery with my daughter. A cathedral of football rising from the coalfield.
Hearing it for the first time, its thunderous opening bars felt less like music and more like a call to arms.
While Prokofiev was writing his masterpiece, Sunderland were preparing for the 1935/36 season, in which they would become champions of England for the sixth time. Raich Carter, Bobby Gurney and Patsy Gallacher led a side that scored 109 goals and remains one of the finest in the club’s history.
Many people now associate the piece with The Apprentice. Sunderland supporters know better. We were marching out to Prokofiev long before Lord Sugar started firing people.
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Track 3: Hope
Things Can Only Get Better – D:Ream (1993)
No song better captures the Sunderland supporter’s state of mind.
Released in 1993, it became an anthem of optimism across Britain. The band’s keyboard player, Brian Cox, would later become a celebrated physicist, proving that somebody involved understood the science behind impossible dreams.
At Sunderland, things weren’t quite getting better. Malcolm Crosby departed, Terry Butcher arrived and left, and Mick Buxton eventually took the reins. Stability was in short supply.
Yet there was talent in the squad. Kevin Ball was already becoming a future club legend. Gary Bennett provided leadership and consistency. Tony Norman remained a dependable presence in goal, while Don Goodman, Craig Russell and Phil Gray carried the attacking threat.
There was emerging home-grown talent too, with a teenage Michael Gray beginning to make his mark.
The results may not always have reflected it, but there was still hope.
For Sunderland fans, the title has often been less a statement of fact and more a coping mechanism.
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Track 4: Ambition
Ready to Go – Republica (1996)
If Sunderland had an official soundtrack for the mid-1990s, this would be a strong contender.
Republica’s adrenaline-fuelled anthem arrived in 1996, the year Sunderland won the First Division title and returned to the Premier League under Peter Reid. Kevin Ball was leading from the front. Gary Bennett, Richard Ord, Paul Bracewell, Martin Scott et al. After years of frustration, Sunderland finally felt like a club on the move.
The title itself perfectly summed up the mood around Wearside. It still does. It’s a pre-kick-off standard and part and parcel of the match-day experience.
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Track 5: Resilience
Three Little Birds – Bob Marley (1977)
“Don’t worry about a thing.”
Possibly the least realistic instruction ever given to a Sunderland supporter!
Marley’s reassuring classic always reminds me of Wembley. Not 1973 this time, but the play-off victories over Wycombe Wanderers and Sheffield United. Me and my brother David singing loud and proud. Thousands of Sunderland supporters singing together, not worrying about a thing, simply celebrating.
Football has a habit of convincing us every setback is the end of the world. Most of the time, it isn’t. Sunderland supporters have always been remarkably good at turning survival into celebration.
Perhaps that’s why this song endures. Sunderland supporters understand better than most that resilience isn’t about avoiding disappointment. It’s about coming back for more.
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Track 6: Connection
Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond (1969)
For me, and for many Sunderland supporters, this song no longer belongs to Neil Diamond. It belongs to Luke O’Nien.
Written about Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK, and released in 1969, the song enjoys a remarkable second life as one of football’s great singalongs. Back in 1969, Sunderland were striving for a return to the top flight. Club legends such as Charlie Hurley – still rightly known as The King – had helped establish a culture built on resilience, loyalty and connection with supporters.
Mr Sunderland himself, our own Luke O’Nien, fits perfectly into that tradition.
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Track 7: Renewal
Glad All Over – Dave Clark Five (1963)
One of the very few records ever to knock The Beatles off the top of the charts. For me, it now belongs to Captain Fantastic, Granit Xhaka.
His arrival at Sunderland represented far more than a high-profile signing. Here was a player with Premier League titles, Champions League experience and more than 130 international appearances choosing Sunderland as the next chapter in his career.
It felt like a statement.
For years, Sunderland had been trying to persuade players that Wearside was worth the journey. Suddenly Sunderland had something modern footballers increasingly value – a project. A clear strategy. Ambition. Direction.
Like Niall Quinn arriving in 1996. Like Jermain Defoe in 2015. Like Super Kevin Phillips. Xhaka’s signing felt like proof that Sunderland has become a destination once again.
And after qualifying for Europe, didn’t we feel glad all over because we’ve got Granit Xhaka!
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Track 8: Belonging
Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley (1961)
If Dance of the Knights is the overture, this is the closing hymn. I suspect this would make every Sunderland supporter’s shortlist.
Originally recorded for Blue Hawaii in 1961, Elvis could hardly have imagined thousands of Sunderland supporters singing his song in full voice at a football stadium in North-East England.
Yet here we are.
Few sounds in football are more moving than hearing the crowd sing it before kick-off and especially after a memorable victory.
The song feels especially relevant today. Sunderland’s growing profile in the United States, the summer tour there, and now commercial links involving the Presley estate have created a modern connection between Wearside and The King himself.
When this track was released, Sunderland were still regarded as one of English football’s traditional heavyweights. Brian Clough had recently worn the red and white stripes and the club remained one of the biggest names in the country.
More than sixty years later, Elvis and Sunderland remain strangely perfect companions.
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My Book
There were several contenders.
Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations came close. In truth, it may be the unofficial autobiography of every Sunderland supporter.
The Mackem Cookbook was also tempting.
In the end, I’ve chosen Sunderland AFC: The Official History 1879-2000 by Rob Mason.
If I’m stranded for years, I want access to the whole story. The league championships, the cup triumphs, the promotions, the relegations, the heroes, the villains and all the wonderfully ridiculous moments in between.
Supporting Sunderland isn’t merely following a football club.
It’s joining a story that began in 1879 and somehow continues to surprise us.
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My Luxury Item
This was even harder.
A crate of Vaux Double Maxim was tempting.
An endless supply of pink slices came close.
The complete Ha’way The Podcast archive also deserved serious consideration.
But my choice is a sketch pad and a set of drawing pencils.
Partly because I enjoy drawing.
Partly because every Sunderland supporter is a collector of memories.
And partly because I’d like to spend my evenings sketching Raich Carter lifting trophies, Charlie Hurley towering over centre-forwards, Jim Montgomery’s save, Kevin Phillips celebrating goals, Niall Quinn leading the line, Jermain Defoe wheeling away at St James’ Park, Luke O’Nien launching himself into another challenge, maybe Granit lifting the Europa League trophy!
A crate of beer eventually runs dry.
The memories never do.
Besides, after more than fifty-five years of supporting Sunderland, I’ve learned that emotional baggage doesn’t count towards your luggage allowance.
Looking back, I realised these eight tracks aren’t really about music at all. They’re about origins, heritage, hope, ambition, resilience, connection, renewal and belonging. They’re about The Lads. Bobby Kerr and Charlie Hurley. Kevin Ball and Niall Quinn. Kevin Phillips, Jermain Defoe, Luke O’Nien and countless others who have helped shape what Sunderland AFC means to us.
In other words, they’re about being a Sunderland supporter.
And, just like Sunderland itself, I wouldn’t swap them for anything.
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