Guardian: From terrace anthem to touching tribute

Forty-nine years after it first entered the charts, You'll Never Walk Alone is now back at No 12 thanks to a campaign by Liverpool FC supporters.

After the Hillsborough report, it is a fitting message of solidarity to those who have suffered.

It lasts for two minutes and 41 seconds, has roots in musical theatre and first made the US charts in a version by Frank Sinatra. Yet more than anything, You'll Never Walk Alone feels rooted in the ethos of Liverpool Football Club and - as last week proved - linked to the avoidable death of 96 supporters.

The version of the song sung by Gerry and the Pacemakers entered the charts at No 12 on Sunday having first reached the top spot 49 years ago. The re-entry came about through an online campaign led by Liverpool fans - which saw it hit No 1 in the download charts - to mark Wednesday's release of the independent report into the Hillsborough disaster. What better time to remind those who have suffered that "at the end of a storm is a golden sky" and through the wind and rain they will never be alone?

It is a little jarring to remember that it originally featured in Carousel, the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical dealing with the turbulent relationship between carousel barker Billy Bigelow and millworker Julie Jordan. But following Merseybeat band the Pacemakers' No 1 hit with the song in October 1963, the DJ at Anfield would regularly spin it prior to kick-off. When that practice stopped, those in the Kop continued to belt it out.

As a supporter of the club for more than 23 years, you learn quickly that You'll Never Walk Alone is a song you are required to study, learn and cherish. Fans at home games sing it before kick-off and, should victory be achieved, close to the final whistle, something that is also the case during away matches, in this country and abroad.

For me, its most memorable uses have come in response to momentous wins, such as the epic night at Anfield in May 2005 when Liverpool overcame Chelsea to reach their first European Cup final in 20 years. Amid the bedlam of joy and hysteria that met the final whistle, Gerry Marsden's version was replayed over the PA system, only adding to the sense that this was indeed one of the most special nights of our lives.

At the final itself, held in Istanbul, You'll Never Walk Alone was infused with even more power and emotion after fans decided to sing it during half-time. Liverpool were 3-0 down, blitzed by a purring Milan side and, while fans of other teams might have fallen into a crumbled, depressed heap, the bulk of those in red and white stayed standing and released the club's anthem into the warm, Turkish air. The message was simple, and indeed the one that characterises the song itself: our team may have been staring into darkness but we would not abandon them. The reward for such defiant loyalty was the greatest comeback in European Cup history - Liverpool scored three goals in six second-half minutes, won on penalties and once again sent their followers into delirium.

It should be noted that Liverpool fans are not the only ones who have an affinity with You'll Never Walk Alone - it has also been adopted by followers of Dutch clubs Feyenoord and FC Twente, as well as Hibernian and Celtic in Scotland. But no club cherishes the song like Liverpool. Now more than ever, You'll Never Walk Alone is the soaring soundtrack to the long, inspiring fight for truth and justice.

As a supporter of the club for more than 23 years, you learn quickly that You'll Never Walk Alone is a song you are required to study, learn and cherish. Fans at home games sing it before kick-off and, should victory be achieved, close to the final whistle, something that is also the case during away matches, in this country and abroad.

For me, its most memorable uses have come in response to momentous wins, such as the epic night at Anfield in May 2005 when Liverpool overcame Chelsea to reach their first European Cup final in 20 years. Amid the bedlam of joy and hysteria that met the final whistle, Gerry Marsden's version was replayed over the PA system, only adding to the sense that this was indeed one of the most special nights of our lives.

At the final itself, held in Istanbul, You'll Never Walk Alone was infused with even more power and emotion after fans decided to sing it during half-time. Liverpool were 3-0 down, blitzed by a purring Milan side and, while fans of other teams might have fallen into a crumbled, depressed heap, the bulk of those in red and white stayed standing and released the club's anthem into the warm, Turkish air. The message was simple, and indeed the one that characterises the song itself: our team may have been staring into darkness but we would not abandon them. The reward for such defiant loyalty was the greatest comeback in European Cup history - Liverpool scored three goals in six second-half minutes, won on penalties and once again sent their followers into delirium.

It should be noted that Liverpool fans are not the only ones who have an affinity with You'll Never Walk Alone - it has also been adopted by followers of Dutch clubs Feyenoord and FC Twente, as well as Hibernian and Celtic in Scotland. But no club cherishes the song like Liverpool. Now more than ever, You'll Never Walk Alone is the soaring soundtrack to the long, inspiring fight for truth and justice.

Source: The Guardian