From the jam town
Words: Tom Reed
Images: Barnton AFC
A smash of glass and the rumble of boots
An electric train and a ripped up phone booth
Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat
Lights going out and a kick in the balls
Football and music have always gone hand in hand and you can chart British subcultures by those that trod the terraces and the gig circuit.
Bob Marley was a keen footballer and you don’t get much cooler than that.
Yet, there’s few football clubs that have truly plugged in to the connection between the round ball and the revolving record, bar a few tentative stadium playlists and concerts to make a bit of dough.
That is till now and Barnton AFC in the village just outside the Cheshire town of Northwich.
The club that could soon be rightly known as “Music FC”.
In many ways, the musical link was written years ago when the richer types looked down on the residents of Barnton, calling the place Jam Town as all they were said to eat was jam and bread.
There’s even a rather terrifying carving in the village of a boy eating his jam butty, which the locals have done well to preserve.
It’s all lost in the mists of time how it all came about but needless to say that there’s an active fan group called the Jam Town Revolution and Paul Weller’s seminal punk-mod band “The Jam” are writ large in this footy and music centred place.
Barnton’s Paul Bazley aka Baz has helped put together some standout match-day programmes based on iconic The Jam single covers and has plans to make Barnton the go-to club for those that like music with terrace culture authenticity.
Not that Barton are limited to mod tunes and they celebrate various rhythms that have got footy fans moving over the years.
A charity kit reveal was done with the backing track of Ska anthem “The Liquidator” by Harry J All Stars.
Meanwhile, the club have taken inspiration from Northwich’s Tudor buildings and gone with a “Black and White Town” moniker, which just so happens to be a top track from Doves.
The band’s drummer Jezz Williams DJ’d in town and the club produced a one off Doves special shirt for various charities including the fabulous Mind, Body and Sole mental health initiative.
Barnton are a club committed to doing things right and donated half of last Saturday’s gate receipts to St Luke’s Hospice in memory of Mark Craig, a Barnton Juniors coach who sadly passed away.
Whereas many teams at a higher level treat fan culture as an afterthought, Barnton of the North West Counties League, Division 1 South are able to weave it into their fabric moving forwards.
With various events being planned this Summer and beyond, there really is only one outfit you should be checking out if you are into music, terrace culture and fashion and it’s in a village in Cheshire with sticky fingers and plenty of Duerr’s in the cupboard.
That’s Entertainment.
You can find Barton AFC on Twitter: @barntonfc
The Jam Town Revolution are jamming out on Twitter: @barntonfans
Tom Reed is on Twitter: @tomreedwriting
The Barnton AFC charity kit from the article is still available here.
