Ally's Tartan Army

Ally's Tartan Army was a novelty record released by Scottish comedian Andy Cameron on the Klub Records (KRL) label to mark the Scottish football team's qualification for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.^[1][2][3] The "Tartan Army" are Scotland's fans; "Ally" was team manager Ally MacLeod.^[4] The single sold over 360,000 copies and reached #6 in the charts.^[5]

Overview

The tune of the chorus was based on God Save Ireland, an Irish rebel song which had been adopted as a football chant by Celtic F.C. fans, which was in turn adopted from the American Civil War song Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!. The tune has since been recycled by fans of many teams, altering the lyric "We're on the march wi' Ally's Army" as appropriate (for example, "We all follow the Arsenal"). It became "We're all part of Jackie's army" in Put 'Em Under Pressure, a Republic of Ireland song for the 1990 World Cup.

The B-side of Cameron's original record was "Ah want tae be a Punk Rocker", a satire of the then-current punk rock movement written by Peter Nardini.

References

1. ↑ The Filter. "The five best World Cup songs (Three Lions not included)". Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-06-23. 
2. ↑ "Argentina 78: When the nation went mad for Ally's Army". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2014-06-23. 
3. ↑ "Seven deadly sins of football: Pride - Ally MacLeod to Lord Cisse | Football | The Observer". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23. 
4. ↑ "Souness: All that Ally's Army stuff still makes me cringe, even now... | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2014-06-23. 
5. ↑ "Top Ten anthems | Sky Sports | Interactive | Top Tens". Sky Sports. 2011-12-20. Retrieved 2014-06-23. 

External links

• Traditional Scottish Songs - Ally's Tartan Army
• Glesga Songs - Ah want tae be a Punk Rocker