in September 1988, Perry Digweed was involved in one of the most horrific injuries ever sustained at the Goldstone Ground. Steve Gatting’s weak backpass allowed West Bromwich Albion’s John Paskin to fire at goal. The Baggies striker’s shot hit the post but his boot collided with a very vulnerable part of Digweed body, right between the legs.
Kevin Bremner took over in goal but let in a nightmare goal when Robert Isaac deflected a shot tamely into the near post in the 1-0 defeat. Memorably, Bremner redeemed himself with a heroic save at the feet of Robert Hopkins later on.
Here are the the 12″ and 7″ versions of Brighton’s 1983 FA Cup Final song, with ‘The Goldstone Rap’ as the B-Side, released on Energy Records:
With superb attention to detail, the front and back covers had lavish designs that helped to soften the blow to club sponsors British Caledonian Airways, whose name would not feature on the players’ shirts on Cup Final day, due to TV regulations at the time:
Back row: Michael Robinson, Steve Gatting, Gordon Smith, Graham Moseley, Perry Digweed, Gary Stevens, Steve Foster, Jimmy Case;
Middle row: Sammy Nelson, Giles Stille, Neil Smillie, Tony Grealish, Graham Pearce, Gary Howlett, Gerry Ryan;
Front row: Terry Connor, Chris Ramsey.
I originally bought the 12″ from one of the second hand record shops on Trafalgar Road, Brighton. Not sure how much it cost me, but it was considerably less than the £50 forked out by one of The Seagulls Love Review fanzine lads, Stefan, at a BHACHS auction at Withdean about five years ago!
You can see a dance performance to this song here:
The song can be heard in its entirety below:
In case you want to have a sing-a-long, the rather corny lyrics are:
Chorus
come on you seagulls, we’ll follow you
come on you seagulls, we’ll see you through
come on you seagulls, we’ll follow you
the boys in the old Brighton blue
verse 1
we are the boys in the white and the blue
football’s our game, Brighton’s our name
we are the team who’ll be out there for you
the boys in the old brighton blue
verse 2
here we are on the road to wembley way
fighting hard for our place on that day
for the pride of our town down by the sea
we’ll do our best to bring them victory
verse 3
cause we are the boys in the white and the blue
football’s our game, Brighton’s our name
follow the flag we’ll be flying for you
the boys in the old Brighton blue
reprise chorus
verse 4
as we go on our way to meet the best
once again we’ll be put to the test
but we’ll play like we always try to do
we won’t give up until the game is through
verse 5
we are the boys in the white and the blue
football’s our game, Brighton’s our name
follow the flag we’ll be flying for you
the boys in the old brighton blue
verse 6
follow the boys in the white and the blue
football’s our game, Brighton’s our name
follow the flag we’ll be flying for you
the boys in the old Brighton blue (twice)
reprise chorus with last line sang twice
I have been told that the lyrics of Albion’s FA Cup final song were reproduced on an A4 sheet which was distributed over the counter at the Seagulls Shop.
In the end, the song reached number 65 in the UK singles chart. Not a bad achievement considering the song wasn’t all that good!
Here’s Michael Robinson out-jumping Southampton’s Dave Watson at The Dell in September 1980:
Despite Alan Mullery’s Brighton drawing 1-1 at Southampton on the opening day of the Division Two campaign in 1977/78, by the time both clubs were in the top flight, The Dell provided a much more challenging hunting ground. The Seagulls capitulated 5-1 in 1979/80 owing to some shocking defending. A season later, new signings Michael Robinson (above) and Gordon Smith (below) could not prevent their side going down 3-1:
Fast forward to 1981/82 and Alan Mullery was gone. The open, attacking approach favoured by his sides was also gone, to be replaced by the tighter, more defensive approach of ex-Charlton boss Mike Bailey. The clash at the Dell on 8th December 1981 proved a triumph for the methodology of Bailey’s tactics against the flairniacs across the South Coast. The Seagulls won 2-0. Here’s how Steve Curry reported it in the Daily Express:
Brighton breezed into Southampton last night like a gang of gate crashers. But for a team hoping to stage an exclusive party, the Saints left the door invitingly open for intruders.
The victory that would have put Saints proudly on top of the First Division for the first time in their history never seemed a remote possibility, the occasion proving more inhibiting than inspirational.
The style and the skill that brought them victory over Manchester United last Saturday seemed like a dim and distant dream on this disappointing night.
Brighton, of course, were a different proposition to United, first frustrating Saints with the depth and meanness of their defensive football and then breaking out to steal the vital goals in the second half.
Even so, one did not expect players with the experience of Chris Nicholl, Alan Ball, Mike Channon and Kevin Keegan to buckle under the significance of the night.
Manager Lawrie McMenemy said: “If it had been the FA Cup Final, I would have blamed the occasion. But it was just a disappointing night at the club for everyone.”
But Brighton manager Mike Bailey pointed out: “People tend to underrate us a bit. I think the fact it was a local derby motivated us and I thought we played very well.”
A hardening pitch on a sub-zero night and the inconsistencies of Oxford referee Dennis Hodges are hardly adequate excuses for Southampton’s failure.
A side chasing the championship should have shown more imagination and inventiveness when it was so obvious that the long high ball into the middle was courting frustration.
For centre-half Steve Foster, increasingly an international candidate, picking off the centres like a kid raiding apples from an orchard.
Perhaps Brighton are sometimes excessive in their handling of opposition forward lines but an away record this season of only two defeats underlines the effectiveness of their policy.
Last night they had three players cautioned – Foster, Gordon Smith and Sammy Nelson – and if Foster is to make the grade at the highest level he must not prod referees in the chest with an outstretched finger when the book comes out.
In a goalie’s first half both sides had a scoring chance. Southampton’s Steve Moran and Brighton’s Gerry Ryan both being denied by good saves.
But in the 63rd minute Brighton took the lead from Andy Ritchie, only in the side because of injury to Michael Robinson.
Three minutes later Brighton put the game beyond Southampton’s grasp. Mike Thomas crossed from the left and when Foster’s header rebounded of a defender Steve Gatting prodded the ball home.
In denying Saints their moment in history, Brighton made history themselves by moving up to sixth place in the First Division – the highest they have achieved.
The result actually put Albion in their second highest ever League position, having occupied fifth spot in Division One in August that season, when an Andy Ritchie goal put Wolves to the sword. While one place off, sixth was a welcome place to be and gave rise to the hope of securing a UEFA Cup spot.
In January 1983, Brighton followed on from their FA Cup replay victory at Newcastle by demolishing Manchester City 4-0 at the Goldstone in the Fourth Round. In his autobiography ‘Big Joe’, Joe Corrigan, the City keeper, revealed unrest within the City camp prior to the tie:
In the previous road we’d seen off Sunderland after a replay but a Sunday morning training session at Maine Road prior to the game showed how badly things had deteriorated at the club and should have made events after the game at Brighton not quite so surprising. As we trained, Nicky Reid and John Bond had an argument that threatened to get out of hand, and that resulted in a nasty half hour of action with some players intent on hurting one another.
Brighton hammered us 4-0 in the cup tie. It was a dreadful day and an awful, disjointed performance by all of us. As we left the pitch Alex Williams walked over to console me and I said, ‘It’s yours now, kid. I won’t be here for much longer.’
‘What do you mean by that?’ he asked. I explained that the cup exit would mean cost-cutting exercises and I’d be one of them. I assured him I would be on my way before long and, within three months, that’s exactly what happened.
It was all smiles from the Brighton perspective, however. Here’s how John Vinicombe reported the match in the Evening Argus at the time:
The 217th FA Cup-tie in Albion’s 82-year-old history will long be remembered for the majestic manner in which Manchester City were despatched.
Thus an equally famous occasion 58 years ago at the Goldstone was averaged. Then, in a third-round tie, Third Division Albion were crushed 5-1 after previously performing the prodigious feat of knocking out Everton.
No doubt the degree of satisfaction warmed the cockles of any old-timer’s heart to see the record put straight, for it ever a side were comprehensively beaten it was Manchester City.
I doubt if John Bond, who departed in utter misery, contemplated for one moment the total destruction of his team.
On the day, i thought, they sold him short and, seeing no way past Albion, an air of surrender was discernible.
There was the misfortune of losing skipper Paul Power with damaged knee ligaments at the half-hour after a tackle with the uncompromising Chris Ramsey, but that alone could not explain City’s astonishing collapse.
Peter Bodak, the sub, caused one or two problems with his crosses, but at no time were Albion in danger after taking such a firm grip.
Had a goal at 57 minutes been allowed, then Mike Robinson would have scored a hat-trick and Albion finished even more convincing than 4-0 winners.
Surprised
The revelation was Steve Gatting, playing only the third game of his League career at left-back.
I think Gatting had two games at No.3 in his first season at Arsenal. Having been omitted lately, and then moved to say that he didn’t fancy staying unless he is in the team, maybe Gatting will have a re-think. Apart from Pearce, and among defenders, Gatting is the only natural left-sided player in the squad, and I must say he surprised me with the quality of his play.
In my book, the star was Jimmy Case on a day when there were so many stellar performances. Since Melia took over and got on the Merseyspeak wavelength with Case, his involvement has become greater with every match.
He ripped the heart out of City’s experienced midfield together with Tony Grealish. At training, Grealish is the first player the five-a-side skippers automatically ask for.
To be so highly esteemed by colleagues has to be earned, and never let it be forgotten that it was Grealish who set such a sterling example by his leadership at Newcastle.
He won ball after ball against City, and exhibited fine control in setting up the third goal for Robinson with just over 20 minutes remaining.
By then City were skint, and Robinson finished them off rather as a matador puts the bull out of its misery.
The eighth-minute opener by Case that deflected off Kevin Reeves was a piece of overdue luck and Neil Smillie’s continuing improvement was signalled by his first goal for the club before the break.
Worried
Just before, Steve Foster suffered a painful dead leg. At first, there were fears it might be a pulled hamstring, but it was nonetheless worrying. It might have slowed him a pace or two, but his attitude remained unchanged.
City vainly tried to unsettle him: an elbow in the eye was the prime example, but nothing worried Foster, and certainly nothing diverted Gary Stevens from that much admired elegance that made City’s England candidate, Tommy Caton, look so average.
As the physical element was introduced by despairing City, so they derived no change from Ramsey.
Gordon Smith used his incisive eye for an opening to set up a rich assortment of passes, while Andy Ritchie and Robinson created havoc in the box.
The one dodgy moment came early into the second half when Steve Kinsey hit a post. Had it gone in, Albion’s lead would have been cut to 2-1.
When it did not, the white flags were fluttering, and it might have been appropriate had Bond tossed in the towel as well.
Gatting, ex-Arsenal midfielder, in conversation with Ryan
The Arsenal hoodoo was well and truly broken. Having been the Gunners’ whipping boys in the time that Brighton had been a First Division club, the Seagulls achieved a second successive victory over their more distinguished opponents. On Tuesday 7th September 1982, following away thrashings at West Brom (0-5) and Nottingham Forest (0-4), Mike Bailey’s men showed that Goldstone was still a fortress with a superb win.
Here is the match report from the Daily Express:
Arsenal’s £1 million ticket to ride to the League title is already being declared null and void by the rest of soccer.
They have invested heavily in strikers Tony Woodcock and Lee Chapman to provide the finishing touches to a team renowned for outstanding organisation and resilience.
But the Highbury horror story is that Arsenal have managed only one point from their opening four matches.
In fact, after tonight’ fixtures, the club which has never known the ignominy of relegation could be bottom of the First Division [not true. Arsenal were relegated from Division One in 1903-04].
Woodcock has begun his Highbury career with a little more style and panache than his unhappy partner, Lee Chapman.
A goal for Chapman, signed from Stoke, would provide a massive boost for his flagging confidence and he was unlucky not to get one last night with a fine header in the 33rd minute that was hacked off the line by Tony Grealish.
On the hour Chapman tried again from a John Hollins corner but his firm header thudded into the chest of goalkeeper Perry Digweed.
Brighton emerged as victors with a display of guts and determination, following the crisis meeting of all the staff with chairman Mike Bamber on Monday morning.
Internationals Steve Foster and Mike Robinson, who have both been seeking to leave the club, were both left out of the team, along with midfield player Neil McNab.
Gerry Ryan, in for Robinson, scored the all-important goal in the 32nd minute – a firm, incisive finish from close range after clever creative work by Giles Stille and Gary Stevens.
The considerable influence of injured full-back Kenny Sansom and striker Alan Sunderland was missed by Arsenal who are surely capable of much better than this when those two are available for selection again.
The Gunners were hardly helped by the loss of midfield player Brian Talbot at half-time. He had spent most of the opening 45 minutes in obvious pain after a juddering collision with Jimmy Case.
This sweet victory calmed the nerves at the Goldstone, taking Albion out of the relegation zone into 16th position. As for Arsenal, they fell to 21st place by the time the following evening’s games were concluded.
Mike Bailey, who had made a brave team selection, was very happy with outcome:
‘Following our disappointing results at West Bromwich and Nottingham Forest I was delighted with the performance against Arsenal here at the Goldstone on Tuesday. After things went so very wrong at the City Ground we were looking, on Tuesday, for 100 per cent commitment from everyone, and I was very pleased that the lads gave just that against Arsenal.
What had gone wrong was that some of the players had allowed off the field problems, not associated with football, to go onto the field with them and affect their game. As a result some players weren’t able to produce their best form, this shouldn’t have happened, but as a result I had to make changes and it clearly had the desired effect.’
Neil Smillie, Peter Ward, Steve Gatting, Chris Ramsey, and especially that japester Andy Ritchie (!), are all smiles following the surprise replay victory at St James’ Park on 6th January 1983. The result sets Albion’s historic FA Cup run on its way…
An article from The Sun newspaper in the 1981/82 season:
If Mrs Vera Gatting had assessed her sons correctly, young Steve would be sweating it out in India and mighty Mike would be the talk of the Goldstone Ground.
The mother of England’s muscular middle order batsman and Brighton’s emerging First Division defender had no doubts that both would be sporting successes.
She said: ‘It’s just that Mike was always the aggressive one and still is, for that matter. I thought football would give him the chance to use that aggression. Stephen was quieter and more suited to cricket.
‘And Don Bennett, the Middlesex coach, once told Steve that if he ever gave up football he would be welcomed with open arms at Lords.’
Steve, at 22, is two years younger than Mike, moved to the South Coast this season from Arsenal, the club he joined as a schoolboy.
He said: ‘Mike and I were lucky because our parents worked behind the bar at a sports club at weekends. We used to spend all our time out in the open.
‘I am still a big cricket fan, playing as often as I can. But these days I only get the chance to watch Mike when Test matches are on TV.
‘I think he will mature into a fine Test player, but he needs a big score for England to build his confidence.
‘I remember, though, that he took a long time to get his first 100 for Middlesex and once he had broken through the barrier he went on to get quite a few.’
If Mike bags his elusive Test ton in India this winter, it would be the excuse for a double celebration in the Gatting’s North London home.
Brighton manager Mike Bailey has been comparing Steve’s recent performances to those of ex-England captain, Bobby Moore.
‘Sure the lads have given me a lot of stick about that’, grins Steve, ‘They are all going around calling me Mooro’.
‘I don’t mind the leg pulling, though, I am quite delighted the boss said it because it does me credit.’
Nobody is more delighted at Steve’s success with Brighton than his elder brother Mike.
‘Moving to Brighton was the best thing Steve ever did’, said Mike. ‘He wasn’t being given a chance at Arsenal. He only got a game when somebody else was injured and they stuck him in any old position.
‘It didn’t matter how well he played, he always seemed to be out again as soon as the other bloke was fit.
‘Mike Bailey at Brighton seems to have given him the chance to be a key player and he is playing the best football of his life.’
The Gatting boys have played cricket and soccer together all their lives. In fact, when they were very young it almost looked as if Mike would turn out to be the footballer and Steve the cricketer.
‘I played soccer for Watford juniors as a full back and Steve, who is a wicket-keeper and bats a bit as well, has played for Middlesex second team’, said Mike.
‘We have played cricket together for Brondesbury Cricket Club who are in the Middlesex League, and Steve still plays for them.
‘But Steve’s build suited him better to soccer than mine. He is tall and thin and he is very fast. But I am short and stocky. I can still get about a bit but my physique is better suited to cricket.
‘He is always pulling my leg about me taking to cricket because I could see that he was going to be a better footballer than me. That’s not quite true and at least I’ve been lucky enough to make it into the England team.
‘What I would really like now is for Steve to go all the way and play soccer for England. I could be wrong but I think the last pair of brothers to do that were the Comptons… and Dennis played for Middlesex.’
Unfortunately, Steve did not make the step up to international duties for England, despite his stylish and consistent performances for Brighton in the First Division.
Decades later, Steve’s son, Joe Gatting (left) followed in his father’s footsteps, playing for the Brighton first team in 2006 before being released in October 2008. Joe now plays cricket for Sussex.
Poor FKS. They once dominated the ’70s football sticker scene with fabulously grandiose album titles such as ‘The Wonderful World of Soccer Stars Gala Collection.’ Which suitably sideburned and flared young kid wouldn’t want to be in on that? By 1983/84, probably due to the intense competition from Panini, FKS had reached the end of the line with the rather dubious ‘Soccer 83-84’ series. Following on from their ‘Soccer 82′, it appears that they were trying to cover two seasons’ worth of top flight soccer with this inept collection. Here are the Brighton players:
Graham Moseley
Chris Ramsey
Graham Pearce
A stray ball seems to be trying its darnedest to try to muscle in on the limelight behind Moseley’s shoulder. But is this really true? As you can see, the grass behind Moseley and Ramsey looks suspiciously unnatural in its greenness, especially as the unaltered green on the side of Ramsey’s arm rather gives the game away. The mixture of the head and shoulders shots of these players and the zoom-in on Graham Pearce’s head bestow an untidy look for this collection. No wonder Chris Ramsey looks uncomfortable.
A nice, genuine photo of Jimmy Case, fresh from the barbers, follows another manipulated one of Gary Stevens. And whoa! An intensely dim shot of a young and rather frail-looking Gary Howlett. Suffice to say, if you met him in a dark alleyway, I don’t think you’d be that scared.
Michael Robinson
Gordon Smith
Gerry Ryan
Some more bog-standard and doctored head and shoulders shots of some of Albion’s attackers follow. It’s like FKS were trying very hard to emulate Panini here, whereas some of the action shots that the company had previously used would probably have been more interesting to the young collector.
Neil Smillie
And then the final insult! Sticking in a shot of a player in a Crystal Palace kit on a Brighton page. Yeah, thanks, FKS! A bit like putting a sticker of Mo Johnston in a Celtic shirt within a Rangers sticker double-spread, I don’t think that would have gone down too well on the south coast at the time.
No need to be too resentful to FKS, though, after a stay that had lasted since the late 1960s. The company had introduced new ideas such as actual albums for affixing your stickers, something we take for granted today. Now, though, the game was up.
First Division footballers they may have been, but Brighton’s team of ’82 also made an audacious bid for pop fame and hip-hop credibility.
From left to right, here are the rather earnest-looking Gordon Smith, Steve Gatting, Perry Digweed, Andy Ritchie, Jimmy Case, Gary Williams, Gary Stevens, Gerry Ryan, Michael Robinson and Steve Foster seeking to set the world alight with their dulcet tones and Farah slacks, not to mention their previously unrevealed rapping skills:
In the Brighton v Tottenham match programme from March 1982, it was announced:
Last Wednesday our first team squad had a unique day out when they travelled to recording studios in South London to cut their first record. The record is entitled ‘In Brighton’ and should be available on general sale in early April.
Howard Krugar, who lives in Hove and specialises in organising concerts for some of the world’s biggest stars, is the man behind the idea and he is hopeful of the disc making the charts. In fact it is highly likely that the Albion squad will appear on ‘Top of the Pops’.
Also involved in the record is BBC football commentator Peter Brackley who livens things up with commentary on a memorable Albion goal… which one? Well, for that you’ll have to buy the record.
Thanks to the lads at We Are Brighton, you can hear ‘In Brighton’ here:
Based on the Drifters’ song ‘On Broadway,’ the song received a positive response from John Henty who gave it a spin at Radio Brighton on Sunday 4th April. With dubious lyrics such as ‘Big Fozzie keeps it tight for Brighton’ and the boast of ‘Playin’ at the Goldstone Ground, where good football’s always found’ (sadly, no football of any kind down there now), not to mention even dodgier singing, the song probably did not have much of a fanbase outside of Brighton supporters.
Nevertheless, it was also played by Peter Powell on Radio One. However, as notes that month in the Brighton v Manchester United programme lamented:
Last week Peter Powell played the disc on his Radio One show but allowed his own support of Wolves to colour his comments on the merits of the recording.
The song was also erroneously aired on BBC’s ‘Match of the 80s’ series in the 1990s in its coverage of Brighton’s FA Cup run of 1983, with Danny Baker hesitating about even calling it a ‘song’! And, just in case you are wondering, the Andy Ritchie goal that Brackley acts out a commentary on is almost certainly this swerving free-kick belter from the Brighton v West Bromwich Albion game in February 1982:
The other track on this Double A-side was ‘The Goldstone Rap’, which this very blog you are reading takes its name from. Looking at it now, it’s amazing to think that Brighton & Hove Albion were at the forefront of the UK hip-hop scene in 1982, especially as this was almost certainly the first ever football song to feature rapping.
Unlikely to win any prizes at the MOBO awards, the rap memorably includes such lyrical gems as: ‘When you make that cross you’re gonna cross it fine / Give the ball to the player on the dead ball line.’
Never mind the MOBOs, though. Were you at Busby’s Night Club on Kingswest, Kings Road, in Brighton on the evening of Tuesday 6th April 1982? If you were, you would have been present to the grand launch of the single, as Brighton & Hove Albion’s first team squad belted out their musical masterpieces on stage! Sadly, I have no video footage of this priceless moment.
When released to the general public, the colour sleeve of the 7″ looked splendid, with the players proudly posing in front of the temporary Lego Stand in all its glory:
The price was a bargain £1.20. Buyers of the single from the club shop were also given a chance to enter a great competition to win two tickets to Dallas, Texas, with British Caledonian Airways.
So, was the Brighton release a launchpad to instant chart fame and fortune? Unfortunately, the single sank without trace but it gave Steve Foster (whose vocals also featured on the England 1982 World Cup song ‘This Time’), an opportunity to meet up with proper singer David Soul and wing a copy to the ‘Starsky and Hutch’ star:
Years later, I was wondering about ‘The Goldstone Rap’ and imagining what it would have sounded like if it adopted the electro sound of 1982’s other great hip-hop release, ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. Thanks to the power of the internet, and due to a discussion on North Stand Chat, I got to find out.
Major props to Ian, the DJ who created this ‘Goldstone Message’:
A much enhanced version, I hope you’ll agree. In terms of pushing at the limits of what was possible for music and Brighton & Hove Albion footballers, it was certainly close to the edge.
A quite magnificent cover capturing the joy of a Brighton team scoring at Wembley. Gordon Smith, in the background, gives polite applause. His moment of truth was still to come.
Inside the magazine, Tony Grealish declares, ‘We let United off the hook,’ while the magazine takes the credit for an uncanny prediction the week before:
It will have come as no shock to ‘Match’ readers that Brighton took an early lead against Manchester United. We told you it was on the cards last week in an exclusive guide to the goal power of each side.
This is what we said: ‘Brighton re the faster starters and may well go a goal up inside 15 minutes but United are worth an equaliser on past form.
After the break it could be United’s turn to go ahead, but ‘Seagulls’ fans shouldn’t despair if their team is behind with just fifteen minutes to go, because that’s when the underdogs from the South coast are most likely to hit the net.’
Uncanny! It sounds like the work of clairvoyant Eva Petulengro…
Inside, there is also a glorious colour two-page spread.
The Goldstone Wrap 