When we found out that Frank Finlayson once wrote for a football fanzine back in the early 90s, and an Inverness Thistle one at that, we thought it only right, or wrong as we knew about his rebellious views back then, to let him review the Toby Michaels Rolling Damned single with Inverness Caledonian Thistle…..
There is a checklist that must be ticked off for any self-respecting football team appearing in a cup final and this just has to include a cup final single. Taking up the challenge for Inverness Caledonian Thistle is Toby Michaels Rolling Damned who have penned their challenge for silverware come Sunday.
Firstly, it’s never easy to slip a name like Inverness Caledonian Thistle into a chorus, so, thankfully ICT (#ICTEEEEE -Ed.) runs just that little better of the tongue of Mr Michaels, and the assembled group of players providing backing vocals. Yes, players providing backing vocals. It wouldn’t be an authentic cup final song without that touch. But that is the fun of a football record. You don’t pick the players with the best voices, well I hope they haven’t, you put players in to give that feeling of togetherness; cup final spirit you could say.
Overall the song captures that bygone era which precedes the clubs age, a time when football songs took you through the side giving you a tale of the team and their achievements. The Rolling Damned give it a contemporary feel with a theatrical Darknessesque gloss to glam it up.
As a football song it ticks the boxes. You know that the Inverness fans will love it, and equally the County fans will hate/mock it. Football is like that. All that is needed is for their 7500+ die hard fans who will be at the cup final to purchase it and who knows how close chart success could be?
So is ICT the inspiration that the club need to put them on the path to glory? Recent form with two 5-0 reverses suggest that it could be tough, but the tide was stemmed when a tricky encounter with the returning Terry Butcher’s Hibs brought about a goalless draw. At least that provided a welcome clean sheet. Aberdeen are arguably the form team in the league at the moment, but this a cup final, and the form book they say does go out of the window even if the bookies odds favour the Dons.
If Inverness put in the effort and energy to the cup final that Toby Michael’s puts into a live performance they will, at least, leave the park drained and with no regrets, whatever the outcome.
Frank Finlayson (ex-Black and Red All Over, 18 Hours From Rotterdam).
You can see Toby Michaels Rolling Damned live at Rock n Wrestle 2 on the 21st of March and of course buy the single via itunes.
