Football Poets

What Did We Do Before 5 Live? (1994-2019)

how did we manage how did we get by
how did we exist as fans you and I
how did we do it how did we survive
what did we do …before 5 live ?*

twenty five years ago right across the land
what was it like for the loyal football fan?
premier league barely two years old
5 live brought fans in from the cold
information highway still breaking through
5 live connected injected me and you
the past was a wasteland of ev’rything before
5 live took off in Nineteen Ninety Four

21st Century news for the nation
5 live gave us all a World Cup station
there without England in the USA
there when Ireland nearly had their day
there when the drama began to unfold
there when Escobar was killed for a goal
there when Maradona got caught for dope
there in South Africa when blacks got the vote
even when reception got a little bit rough
5 live was there for the nail-biting stuff

there when the Chunnel became reality
there when Blur were playing Glaston’bry
there when Mandela became president
there after Christmas to tell us what we spent
there through the horrors of Rwanda’s genocide
there when Kurt Cabain took his own life
there when Milan won the Champions League
there when human beings made history
there on the pitch when United did the double
there in a flash on the outbreak of trouble

there with the phone-ins helping people cope
there in the earthquakes the pain and the hope
there in the darkest hours of 9/11
there in the horror times of July 7
there on the dial or the touch of a screen
5 live somewhere always on the scene

there at the game ev’ry roar ev’ry cheer
taking it for granted like it’s always been here
there when the snow brings the country to a halt
there when the leaders claim it isn’t their fault
there like a friend and the only safe bet
there in the second when the ball hits the net
there with the people who have nothing left at all
there with the rumours however big or small
early in the morning or later on Drive
phone-ins and moan-ins all on 5 live

there in the afternoon chatting to a band
there with the updates when you’re stuck in some jam
there in Afghanistan there in Iraq
there when your team wins games back to back
there at Wembley …Wimbledon too
there at the Olympics and the Para ones too
cutting to the chase like a dagger or a knife
quality radio here on 5 live

catch it in the car maybe catch it on your phone
there at a première or war torn zone
listen on your headphones if ya lyin’ in your bed
texting in your feelings on something they said
listen while you’re cookin’ or soaking in a bath
even if your club are a joke or a laugh
even if your team are playing in Peru
5 live’ll be there to get the news through

always on the spot like a ship in ev’ry port
UK flagship for live news and sport
home or away when it goes to extra time
medium long-wave or digital online
tuning in together on six nine three
life on the airwaves for you and for me
there when you’re losing and you’re heading for the exit
there when it drags like a groundhog Brexit
twenty four seven three six five
news views and comment’ry ..live on 5

so how did we manage how did we get by
how did we exist as fans you and I?
how did we do it how did we survive
what did we do before 5 live ?

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