‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ has an unusual background. The melody is a reworking of an 18th century love song by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini (1741-1816). What little is known about Martini presents him as a rather odd character: by birth he was Bavarian and was baptized Johann Paul Aegidius Schwarzendorf. He later moved to France and, for some unknown reason, adopted the French version of his first name and changed his surname to the very Italian sounding name of Martini.
‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ is a perfect song for Airdrie, a club that’s also moved and changed its name, as it’s both one of the newest and two of the oldest clubs in the Scottish football league.
Airdrieonians (formerly Airdrie United)
Nickname: The Diamonds
Ground: Excelsior Stadium
Stadium Capacity: 10,170
Song: Can’t Help Falling In Love
It’s one of the newest clubs because it was only formed in 2002. It’s among the oldest because it was formed out of the ashes of two other clubs. It succeeded Airdrieonians, a club based in Airdrie, in Lanarkshire, and Clydebank, a club based in the suburbs of Glasgow.
Airdrieonians had a proud 124-year history. This included a three year period between 1922 and 1925 when the club remained unbeaten at home, a factor which helped it win the Scottish Cup in 1924. But, eighty years later, in 2002, the club was bankrupt after debts spiralled to over £3 million. Airdrieonians was liquidated and the Scottish Football League invited applicants to join the league and replace them.
One of the applicants was Airdrie United, a new club set up to continue Airdrieonians legacy. Despite its link to the town, its bid was unsuccessful, and Gretna in the Scottish Borders was appointed instead. Gretna was the wrong choice.
Despite a meteoric rise from the third division to the SPL in successive seasons, at the end of the 2008 SPL season, Gretna’s owner withdrew his financial support, and with fewer than 500 fans, the club could no longer afford to pay its players or its bills. All of the club’s staff was made redundant and the club was relegated to the Third Division before it resigned its place in the SFL in June 2008 and was formally liquidated on 8 August 2008.
At the same time that Airdrieonians was liquidated in 2002, another Scottish club had severe financial problems. Clydebank was in administration and Airdrie United spotted an opportunity to buy the club, its membership of the Scottish football league and transfer it to Airdrie to start again. With the blessing of the football league, the transfer was a success and Airdrie United (nee Clydebank) started 2002/2003 in the Second division.
So, while Airdrie United have started to build a new history for themselves over the last 12 years, it also continue the history of Airdrieonians and, in its uninterrupted link to the past, Clydebank too.
Many players would be proud to have the name of a band emblazoned across their chest but not Clydebank’s squad. In 1992 it became the first league club in the UK to be sponsored by musicians when local band and ‘Love Is All Around’ chart toppers Wet Wet Wet became its official sponsor. That meant ever week players had to run out with Wet Wet Wet emblazoned across their chests.
We googled Wet Wet Wet and ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ and this is what we found:
With a new Clydebank playing non-league football, Airdrie United has sought to reclaim more of Airdrieonians history. In 2013, to reflect the clubs links to the past Airdrie United officially changed its name back to Airdrieonians.
One of the many traditions that has continued from Airdrieonians to Airdrie United and back again is for the fans to sing ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love With You’, a tradition which started in the pubs around Airdrieonians’ previous ground, Broomfield, in the early 80s.
The lyrics are apt. The words portray a tragic and almost cynical view of love, claiming that happiness is temporary and heartache permanent (which in Airdrieonians case almost turned out to be prophetic when it faced extinction in 2002).
He’s a part-time comedian and in 2014, he supported Eddie Izzard in ‘Please Don’t Go’, Izzard’s show about Scottish independence and worked with BBC Radio Scotland as a weekly guest on Referendum Tonight.
