Celebrate the Magpies’ promotion with Goin’ Up..
WE can all breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Newcastle United and Rafa Benitez are back in the Premier League. Hallelujah!
It hasn’t all been pretty this season - but they’ve done it.
To celebrate the Toon’s return to the top flight, we’ve dug out a Geordie musical gem, Goin’ Up - courtesy of the late, great singer-songwriter Ronnie Lambert.
We’ll all be familiar with Ronnie’s classic anthem, Home Newcastle, which he recorded under the name Busker in 1981.
Ronnie’s widow Hazel kindly gave us permission to use the song recently and the video was watched by tens of thousands of people.
Now, we’re happy to give a run-out to another of Ronnie’s rip-roaring songs, Goin’ Up, which he recorded during the 1983-84 football season.
It’s full of references to 1980s Newcastle United who, spearheaded by Kevin Keegan, Chris Waddle and Peter Beardsley, earned promotion as they roared back to the old First Division.
Ronnie sadly passed away in his sleep in May, 2009, aged 58.
Hundreds of mourners flocked to his funeral at Birtley Crematorium in Gateshead.
We reported how: “Some dressed in the black and white of Newcastle United and others wore the T-shirts of North East bands, reflecting their friend’s great loves.
“Mourners embraced as the coffin, draped in white flowers, passed them by on Ronnie’s final journey.
“They spilled from the chapel and into the grounds as the small building was swamped by well-wishers.”
Born, in Gateshead, Ronnie, also known as ‘Busker’, grew up in what he described as “a rat-infested hovel called 17, Wylam Street”, at the spot where Gateshead Metro Station now stands, before moving to Leam Lane estate.
His love of music was discovered in local pubs and clubs like the Ship Inn, and the Felling Welfare, where Ronnie and pals would catch the local bands of the day.
Ronnie wrote his most famous anthem, Home Newcastle, when he was in his late-20s, while working away as a bricklayer.
Today, Ronnie’s widow, Hazel, says his songs still fill her with immense pride.
“People mention Home Newcastle all the time,” she said, “and our children, Ronnie Jnr and Ashleigh, are so proud of it.”
She added: “Although Home Newcastle is his most famous song, he recorded lots of other music, and wrote Newcastle United songs about Kevin Keegan and David Ginola, as well as Goin’ Up, of course.”
So, for now, as the black and whites head back to where they belong, enjoy Ronnie Lambert’s stomping Goin’ Up in our special video.
We’ve dug out some great old Toon images, and some brilliant pictures from this season taken by the Chronicle’s Lewis Arnold.
Enjoy your own promotion celebrations. Thanks again to Hazel Lambert.
Howay the Lads! ■■Watch Goin’ Up at www. chroniclelive.co.uk