"Up There Cazaly" is an Australian sporting catchphrase inspired by former St Kilda and South Melbourne great Roy Cazaly ("Up there Cazaly" was "a phrase that would be shouted by team mate Fred "Skeeter" Fleiter when he wanted Cazaly to go for a mark"[1]). The expression later became the basis of a song recorded and composed by The Two Man Band (Mike Brady & Peter Sullivan).
The song was recorded in 1979, intended as a promotion for Channel Seven's Australian Rules Football (VFL) coverage, and the following year, it was used in the film version of David Williamson's The Club. The single, released on the independent Fable Records label, sold over 250,000 copies and became the largest-selling Australian single ever released up to that time.
Since then it has entered Australian folklore as a song synonymous with the sport of Australian Rules Football, and has been a feature as part of the pre/post-match entertainment of many VFL/AFL Grand Finals.
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.
Cazaly was a champion footballer of the early 20th Century noted for his high-flying marks in a time when Australia was involved in war.
"Up There Cazaly" was also a cry used by Australian troops during World War II.
The song is also used as the walkout tune for Tonbridge Angels in the United Kingdom.
In 1982 "Up There Cazaly" was rewritten and released as "Up There Old England" by Cliff Portwood and "Members of the 1966 World Cup Team", such as Bobby Moore, Alan Ball, Gordon Banks, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst etc. Cliff Portwood was a long-time friend of Mike Brady and had permission to use this song along with Peter Sullivan, Cliff's pianist in Australia for the World Cup in 1982. Mike flew to England to help Cliff record the song, but unfortunately it was never released, due to the B side of the song having a portion of "Land of Hope and Glory" on it, creating a minor licensing issue just as it was getting major airtime on the radio.
In the 1997 documentary series Race Around the World, "Up There Cazaly" was played over footage of John Safran streaking through Jerusalem in St Kilda colours.[2] You Am I vocalist Tim Rogers covered part of the song on a 2001 episode of The Footy Show.