St Kilda 150th anniversary: Acoustic theme song performance slammed as ‘awful’

A quirky rendition of the St Kilda theme song, which was performed by Aussie musicians for the club’s 150th anniversary, has been slammed online.

A quirky rendition of the St Kilda theme song has been slammed online.

A quirky rendition of the St Kilda theme song, performed by Aussie musicians for the club’s 150th anniversary, has been slammed online as “awful”.

The acoustic version of the song was performed by award-winning artists Dan Sultan, Alex Lahey, Ella Hooper and the Melbourne Gospel Choir and also featured a trumpet solo.

Many commented “hard watch” under the video posted by the AFL.

Alex Lahey performed with Dan Sultan and Ella Hooper.

Others suggested in the comment section the performance was an April Fools prank and lamented how they had “taken a cracking theme song and absolutely murdered it”.

“Had 150 years to prepare this?” one man commented.

“Banger? I think you mean banging my head into the wall.”

The pregame entertainment was commemorating St Kilda’s 150th year, with the team joined by special guests and St Kilda greats including Tony Lockett, Ian Stewart, Ross Smith, Barry Breen and Nicky Winmar.

The song was described as a banger by the AFL’s Instagram page – but many disagreed.

Former players and footy stars Leigh Montagna and Nick Dal Santo were also inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame as part of the celebrations.

Despite the unpopular rendition of the theme song at the start, the team ultimately stole a victory for their anniversary game, beating Essendon 92-74 at the MCG and proving Ross Lyon’s side were up for handling the pressure that comes with a big game.

A five-goal burst from the Saints sealed their win after the Bombers had begun creeping back to level out the score – leaving the Saints with their strongest start to a season in more than a decade.

The Saints running through the banner during the round three AFL match. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

It’s been 13 years since the Saints last started a season with a 3-0 track record, which was also the year the team came close enough to taste the premiership.

The famous Saints-Pies grand final saw the teams draw at the last siren, settling for a rematch the following week where St Kilda eventually let the flag slip through their fingers.