How Mike Brady battled an English football club for Up There Cazaly

Loved by footy fans, Up There Cazaly is a September fixture in Melbourne, but legendary singer Mike Brady has revealed he had to fight an English soccer team over rights to the catchy song.

The voice of a footy anthem that will light up the MCG on Grand Final day has spoken of a long-running battle with an English soccer team over rights to his song.

Mike Brady released Up There Cazaly in 1979 and the catchy tune has been a footy banger since, loved by fans and a September fixture in Melbourne.

But the tune is so catchy, EFL Championship club Derby County decided to borrow heavily from the song by changing the words but ripping off the tune to play before home games.

Brady said the “pretty daggy’’ song the soccer team made from his own called “Steve Bloomer’s Watching’’ upset him at first and sparked “a meaningful exchange by letter’’ before lawyers were brought in.

“I’m not a bad bush lawyer these days and I protect my song’s rights because it’s all I’ve got to live on,’’ he said.

“So I went after them with a lawyer, the publisher paid for it and they came to a friendly settlement.

“It wasn’t a huge amount, it was token but they do pay a bit for playing it at the stadium every time.’’

Legendary music artist Mike Brady released Up There Cazaly in 1979. Picture: Linda Higginson

Brady will stick to the original script when he plays his hit before Katy Perry and the national anthem at this year’s premiership decider.

When he first heard his song used to rally a soccer crowd he said: “I just thought it sounded very ordinary, it sounded really amateur.

“But it’s probably what they want.

“They probably wanted something of the people and maybe Up There Cazaly is not very slick either but it is polished.’’

Brady, who owns the copyright for the song which is managed by a publishing house, was hired by the AFL to sing it at the grand final.

He said the anthem being used without his permission initially caught him off guard.

“They used to say ‘original composer unknown’ and my publishers weren’t very happy about that as you can imagine,’’ he said.

“So they went after them and they paid.

“I see a little bit on my royalties, a few dollars here and there. A few little Shekels that amble in after a long time.

“I haven’t told anybody else this but it’s pretty daggy the version they play, that has become a bit of a tradition to them.’’

Brady will stick to the original script when he plays his anthem before Katy Perry and the national anthem at this year’s premiership decider. Picture: Getty Images

Brady said “a huge amount’’ had initially been sought but he decided “to be quite magnanimous” and settle for “seven figures’’.

“Sometimes you just sort of look back and laugh,’’ he said.

“You can’t sue everyone.’’

He even offered to fly to the UK to play the reworked version live if Derby County were promoted to the English premier League again.

“They said ‘oh that’s very nice but you would have to pay your own and we couldn’t pay you anything if you came to sing’.

“I thought wow – that’s the big league over there that makes the AFL look like a piss ant little organisation and they couldn’t pay.

“So lack of budget is a universal thing.’’

When he first heard his song used to rally a soccer crowd Brady said he thought it sounded ordinary. Picture: Getty Images

Brady, who grew up in Port Melbourne, said copyright was “an interesting thing’’ and “people don’t realise how complicated it is or how often it is infringed’’,

But he was amazed how crowds responded to his anthem, suggesting he could “feel the heat like electricity’’ when he burst into the chorus.

“It’s always a big thrill, it’s a tradition now,’’ he said.

“For me, it’s almost like coming home — I really love it.

“There will be a day when I’m not there, either I cark it or they give me the flick or whatever.

“But I’ve had a fantastic run.’’