Thirty Years Of GGMU

Three decades on from the release of 'Glory Glory Man United', Lee Renshaw recalls how he and his father Frank co-wrote the 1983 FA Cup final anthem…

"I remember it like it was yesterday, my dad telling me he’d written a United song. It was after our semi-final win over Arsenal, he’d come up with two verses but couldn’t think of a suitable chorus. I suggested using the fan chant of Glory Glory Man United – and it worked!

"We laid down the track on dad’s four-tracker recorder with just an acoustic guitar and a drum machines, before taking it to producer Peter Tattersall at Strawberry Studios in Stockport. He then played it to the appropriate people at Old Trafford, who couldn’t see it as a football song.

"Thankfully, we convinced EMI to record it properly with an all-singing, all-dancing synthesizer - which created every sound except for the drums and a bit of guitar. And as my dad was overseas, it was down to me, a 16-year-old schoolboy, to produce the track!

"We replayed it to the club and were successful. In fact, Bryan Robson was gobsmacked at the difference in quality and even helped convince the team to sing. They came to the studio and recorded four tracks over the backing, which was an incredible day.

"The sad thing is my name wasn’t put on the record because it was such a quick release, it was just my dad’s name. But it’s not a problem – the fact it’s still played at Old Trafford is good enough for me. It makes me proud, it’s an incredible feeling."