When United fans sing “We’ve seen it all, we’ve won the lot”, we aren’t kidding – and it doesn’t just apply to football.
Manchester United certainly have won it all in terms of football competitions, but they are also one of the few domestic football teams to have ‘won’ the music charts. By that, I mean they released a song that got to Number 1. And no other English team has managed it before or since.
That song was “Come On You Reds”, released in May 1994. To be fair, United didn’t exactly do it on their own, they had help from a little known band called Status Quo, but still, it’s yet another table that the club have dominated.
Come On You Reds Song Lyrics
If you want to have a sing through for yourself for old time’s sake, you can find the lyrics and the official music video below:
(Look at Sharpy showboating giving it the air guitar!)
Busby Babes they always made me cry
Thinkin’ ’bout the teams of years gone by
Charlton, Edwards, Law and Georgie Best
We’re United, you can keep the rest
Schmeichel, Parker, Pallister
Irwin, Bruce, Sharpe and Ince
Hughes, McClair, Keane and Cantona
Robson, Kanchelskis and Giggs
Come on you reds, come on you reds
Just keep your bottle and use your heads
For ninety minutes we’ll let them know
Who’s Man United, here we go
Come on you reds, come on you reds
Just keep your bottle and use your heads
For ninety minutes we’ll let them know
Who’s Man United, here we go
Glory Glory Man United
Glory Glory Man United
We’ll maintain the status quo
We’re Man United, here we go
So Old Trafford let us hear you loud
Cheer us on and we will do you proud
Fifty thousand voices sing our song
Keep us at the top where we belong
So here’s to Alex Ferguson
He’ll take us all the way
We’re on the road to glory now
Winning at home and away
Come on you reds, come on you reds
Just keep your bottle and use your heads
For ninety minutes we’ll let them know
Who’s Man United, here we go
Come on you reds, come on you reds
Just keep your bottle and use your heads
For ninety minutes we’ll let them know
Who’s Man United, here we go
Glory Glory Man United
Glory Glory Man United
We’ll maintain the status quo
We’re Man United, here we go
Come on you reds , come on you reds
The team that’s able to defend their net
We won the Doubles we’ll let you know
We’re Man United, here we go
Come on you reds, come on you reds
Just keep your bottle and use your heads
For ninety minutes we’ll let them know
Who’s Man United, here we go
Man United, here we go
Man United, here we go
The Story Behind the Song
Come On You Reds was dreamed up to boost excitement in the run up to Manchester United’s 1994 FA Cup final against Chelsea. To say it worked would be an understatement.
Legend has it that Brian McClair came up with the idea, and Status Quo’s manager, David Walker, pitched it to them. The band agreed, wrote the lyrics in one night, and the song was recorded a few days later. All done and dusted within a week.
It wasn’t an original song, which probably saved some time. It was Status Quo’s 1988 hit, Burning Bridges, but with new Manchester United themed lyrics. That’s why the video is literally the United squad reading the words off sheets of paper intercut with game highlights.
Nevertheless, the song surprised everyone and spent 15 weeks in the charts, reaching the Number 1 spot for two of them. Not bad for a last minute idea thrown together in a couple of days.
Chelsea released a song for the occasion as well. It topped out at number 23 in the charts, so it basically got relegated. They lost the FA Cup Final too – United battered them 4-0 with Eric Cantona scoring two identical penalties 6 minutes apart, Mark Hughes killing the game with a third 2 minutes later, and Brian McClair finding the net in injury time just to rub salt in the wound.
Come On You Reds indeed.
The song became a favourite at Old Trafford for a number of years, but it was written for a specific purpose so it doesn’t really work anymore. It’s still played on special occasions or for celebrations though, like cup victories.
Ironically, the Status Quo lads – Rick Parfitt and drummer Jeff Rich supported Tottenham and Francis Rossi was a Crystal Palace fan.