Three times Crewe was mentioned in popular music

By Alex Greensmith

9th Oct 2022 | Local News

For this week's timed newsletter exclusive, we thought we'd introduce you to three pieces of music that mention our town.

Here is three times Crewe was mentioned in popular music.

Yard Act

Leeds post-punk band Yard Act have referenced Crewe twice in a year. (Image - James Smith of Yard Act)

The most recent entry on the list, Leeds band Yard Act released a UK No. 2 album earlier this year with a track that mentions Crewe.

Tall Poppies explores the lost potential of a man who grew up and thrived in a village, but could have lived up to a more fulfilling life in less of a small bubble.

This sentiment is echoed by the character having "A scout from Crewe Alexandra came to watch him once, and they said that they were gonna be in touch".

However, they never were. The song is a 6 minute emotional rollercoaster, and can be listened to at the top of this article or by clicking here.

Yard Act's lead singer wears a Crewe Business Park Westmere Drive company Boldon James-sponsored shirt in a promotional video for their song 'The Overlaod'. One of two times the band has referenced Crewe. (Image - Yard Act)

It is not the only time the Yorkshire fivepiece have released media referencing our town's football club.

In 2021, when the band had a track of there's confirmed for the video game FIFA 22, their lead singer James Smith starred in a promotional video where he showed off his skills against a bunch of kids, wearing a 1990s Crewe Alex kit.

You can watch the video of the Crewe-clad singer here.

It is unsure why the post-punk band are obsessed with The Railwaymen. None of the band are from Crewe.

Crewe Nub News have reached out to the band for comment. 

The Pogues

The Shane MacGowan sung track 'Boat Train' mentions Crewe, and is from their 1989 album 'Peace and Love'. The album hit No. 5 in the charts.

Most might know them for Fairytale of New York, but The Pogues have a deep back catalog spanning seven albums.

Given that - contrary to popular belief - the majority of their members are English it was only a matter of time before some English place names cropped up in their work.

And in what may come as no surprise to some, Crewe in popular culture is often associated with our reputation of the railway town, and it is the same with this track.

Boat Train features the lyrics "Started playing poker, but the booze ran out at Crewe." Have a listen to the 1989 track clicking here.

Tom Robinson Band

(Image - CC 2.0 Bryan Ledgard Unchanged bit.ly/3V6hkUO)

The final and oldest entry on today's list, you may know Tom Robinson as a DJ on BBC Radio 6 Music today, but he made his start in public life as a musician and has released 14 albums.

One of his earliest works was the song Waiting for a Train, which again gives our town's train connections a shoutout in song.

Another song about a character, Martin tells the story of a characters brother who "hitched from Clapham to Crewe."

Crewe: You can listen to the track here.

And that is it! Which is your favourite of the trio?

Did we miss any tracks? Join in the conversation on our social media.

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