Glastonbury festival kicks off this weekend with headliners such as Olivia Rodrigo and Neil Young set to take to the stage.
Football and music have also gone hand-in-hand, none more so than in our latest release, which features Oasis as the cover stars, as the Manchester-based band prepare to get back together for a huge run of shows across the next year.
This story involving Aston Villa runs a little deeper, and brings together a former player and a record label, which now results in a headline slot at Worthy Farm.
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How are The 1975 and Aston Villa linked?
Catchy hits such as ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Somebody Else’ will be belted back by hundreds of thousands on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday, and their label ‘Dirty Hit’ was co-founded by a now deceased ex-Villa star.
Started back in 2010, the player in question, alongside Jamie Oborne and Brian Smith, got involved in the idea of a music label, with their operations having now expanded to Los Angeles and boasting other huge names such as Pale Waves and beabadoobee as signed artists.
Ugo Ehiogu, who sadly passed away back in 2017, aged just 44, was working for Tottenham Hotspur at the time as a coach, but had other interests that included the music industry.
He told the Daily Mail of his additional venture back in 2013, and since then has had a lasting connection with this weekend’s Glastonbury headliners.
“Away from football I have an interest in a record label called Dirty Hit,” he began. “There are three of us involved, me, my advisor and a friend of his. I’ve always loved the way music can touch individuals, be it through hip hop, dance, pop, jazz, whatever. The label has many promising musicians, including The 1975.
“My involvement has got slightly less as other things have come up. I enjoy attending meetings and looking at the books and going to the gigs. When you meet the young guys in these bands, you see how hard they work. I liken it to being an apprentice in football, back in the day.
“They manage their own sets, moving all their instruments, there are no roadies and they are on the road every night for weeks in a Ford Transit van or people carriers, not exactly rock n roll. It’s unglamorous, hard work and the endeavour that I like.
“In the beginning there are similarities between young bands and footballers, but if and when they do make it, then their lives go in different directions. Listening to the 1975 single Chocolate, it’s apparent that this song is special, which is why they have been tipped to do great things. I am looking forward to their album coming out in September, and the guys enjoying their American experience soon after.”
Ugo’s infectious personality touched various aspects of the game, and in his mid-40s, he was taken far too early. Working as an Under-23 coach at Tottenham at the time, the former Middlesbrough man would have no doubt gone on to make a brilliant manager.
His love for music shines through like others, and his words from 2013 resonate with most of us, that football, music and other aspects of life are all similar, it is how you interpret them that makes them so special and everlasting.
