www.roguesmarch.com JOE HURLEY (Under Renovation)
www.Facebook.com/JoeHurleyMusic
London bred, NYC-based singer Joe Hurley wrote & recorded "BLEEDING CLARET & BLUE" for his beloved WEST HAM FC, celebrating their success in reaching the 2006 FA Cup Final. The song pays tribute to the 2006 squad, but underneath the pulse is a lyrical homage to UPTON PARK & the masters, West Ham legends BILLY BONDS, BOBBY MOORE, TREVOR BROOKING, Clyde Best, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Julian Dicks, The Boys of 86, & the Club's greatest ever managers, John Lyall and Ron Greenwood.
"All Our Captains, Bleeding Claret & Blue"
We'll never see the likes of them again.
The song begins in ballad-form, as the life-long love affair with Upton Park first stirs in the heart & builds into a rousing sing-along that celebrates Harewood's semi-final winner, Brooking's goal in the 1980 Final, Billy Bonds Climbing the Royal Steps, The West Ham 'Academy', East East East London, The Boys of '86, Johnny Lyall's Claret & Blue Army, and of course 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles'------
The extended version of the song names the entire 2006 West Ham Squad. (including a local lad teenager named MARK NOBLE, who became Mr West Ham, Club Captain and a WHU legend
JOE HURLEY is a life-long West Ham fan who grew up in London, watching the Hammers.(North Bank, Upton Park) An acclaimed Rec. Artist, with 2 bands, Rogue's March & The Gents, Hurley's recent work with KEITH RICHARDS & JOHNNY DEPP ( 'LIFE' , Richards' memoir, a 20-CD Box Set) received rave reviews , and was an international best seller. Hurley, Richards. & Depp won two APA Audie Awards for their narration including the prestigious "AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR" ( regarded as the OSCAR of The Audiobook World) I, n addition to "BEST AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR' awards from THE GUARDIAN, BBC, ESQUIRE, ROLLING STONE, DAILY MAIL, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, NYTIMES & numerous others
WHU Note- Photos of RICHARDS & HURLEY in the Rec Studio during the making of Keith's new solo album, show a WHUFC BADGE pinned to Hurley's jacket's lapel.
Hurley's many acclaimed CDs include Rogue's March seminal debut 'NEVER FEAR' which was dedicated to BOBBY MOORE. As the idol of a young boy whose turbulent family life has him falling apart, Moore is looked up to for guidance & namechecked in the song 'When You Feel Like Crying'.
Hurley's played over 2200 concerts in The US & Europe, with his West Ham scarf still seen hanging off his mike stand, spreading the good word.
Hurley's 1-man play 'THE KING OF UPTON PARK'' which he wrote & performed in, garnered rave reviews & sold out theatrical runs in both NYC & BOSTON
HURLEY & former WEST HAM Captain, legendary IAN BISHOP, write USA's only WEST HAM column together, for the international weekly THE IRISH ECHO
Hurley's All-Time Hero-BILLY BONDS.
"BLEEDING CLARET & BLUE" LYRICS
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"When we first fell in love, it was a cold Wednesday night
The floodlights wrapped their arms around me.
On a rented beer crate, with silk scarf and best mate
Ah, It felt just like heaven, not Bromley
There's been some sweet years & a fair share of tears
You can break my heart like an old lover
But it still beats in time with that old District line
Upton Park, you're my soul and my brother
I know fortune's always hiding
But sometimes our dreams they come true
Here's to John and Ron and Mooro
All our Captains....Bleeding Claret and blue
Oh,Oh, Oh, The Claret and Blue
We're on our way to the Cup Final
A Hammer Strike, a Harewood smile
The Academy's the place to be for style
I said, we're on our way to the Cup Final
26 years, been quite awhile
So lets all sing a song.. for Johnny Lyall
(Johnny Lyall's Claret & Blue Army
Johnny Lyall's Claret & Blue Army )
We'll all do the Pardew Shuffle
As the gaffer leads us out the tunnel
When Zamora scores, we'll be singing Bubbles
From NYC to Copenhagen
The world's a Cockney... Mr Fagin
There'll be a Knees-Up Mother Brown in every pub & station
---
When The ball hit Trevor on the head
And Wembley sang that West Ham led
We did not need a second invitation
When Bonzo climbed the Royal Steps
And William Hill paid out the bets
The Irons' Roars were heard across the nation
We're on our way to the Cup Final
26 years, it's been a while
I've been dreaming of this day since I was a child
Then we'll all sing a marching tune
Yossi Yossi Benayoun
and Anton does the jig with Reo-Coker
We're on our way to the Cup Final
We'll turn it on East London style
Thank you Pardew... and here's to Johnny Lyall
You'll have to foul us 'cos you cant play us
We are the great entertainers
Yes, we are the famous..... Claret and Blue
And our fortunes always hiding
But sometimes our dreams they come true
Best, Hurst, Peters, and Dicks and the Boys of 86
All the legends in the Claret and Blue
And our fortune's always hiding
But there's one thing my heart knows is true
Here's to John and Ron and Mooro
Watching over...all us Claret and Blue....
(Ext Version- 2006 West Ham Squad are all named in the repeating choruses from Shaka Hislop to Mark Noble)
And the Boys of 64, 65, ...and 66!
And 1975, and 1980.... "
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Words and Music: JOE HURLEY Copyright 2006 ASCAP