Diving into the relationship between music and football and how those shared passions are represented in jersey culture, George Cochran speaks with the teams of Dua Lipa and Fred Again, Man United, Barcelona, Man City, shirt producer Full Kit, and Mary Jane Dunphe to find out more.
At their core, football and music are tribal cultures, and it's no surprise that they make natural bedfellows. As more musicians launch own brand football shirts and clubs continue referencing musical culture for kit launches and merch drops, I went about investigating the strength of the relationship between football and music in 2024 and the parallels between both cultures.
Friday night of Glastonbury festival 2023. British DJ, producer, and songwriting sensation Fred Gibson, AKA Fred Again, is playing to an adoring crowd – one of the largest of the festival, on the site’s ‘Other Stage’. As he often does, Fred’s right-hand man and on-stage collaborator Tony Friend is wearing a box-fresh football shirt for the gig. On closer inspection, it’s clear that the shirt in question is a special edition Fred Again top.
Fred is one of a growing number of musicians releasing their own, football-themed merchandise and global pop behemoth Dua Lipa, indie darlings Future Islands, and dance icon Romy have all done their own shirts recently. Romy also launched her current collaborative single with Sampha, I’m on your team, with a bespoke Wales Bonner shirt, which is also the basis for that track’s artwork.
Musician’s football shirts are often inspired by classic kits, with Dua Lipa’s ‘Training Season’ top and Future Islands’ blue piece paying homage to classic AC Milan and Napoli strips respectively. For Lipa, an artist with a fiercely loyal following, creating her shirt speaks to the idea of team spirit, often associated with football but something she sees within her fanbase. Her manager Dukagjin Lipa explains: “Football shirts aren’t just uniforms, they are symbols of passion, hard work, and team spirit. They bring that passion (of fans) to life.”
Future Islands football shirt
Artists’ increasing willingness to look to football for access to new audiences relates to both culture’s shared sense of identity and belonging – something loyal supporters of musicians and football teams are searching for within their fandom.
“Football and music fans are both super tribal. A football shirt is the ultimate uniform. It represents so much more than a piece of clothing” says Lucy Hickling, known professionally as LOOSE – a Creative Director currently making waves for her work with Fred, as well as Berwyn and Joy Crookes. Hickling was also directly involved in the decision to commission the special tops seen at Glastonbury last year.
Calvin Harris in his Miracle shirt
New York City-based creative Robbie Laing is one of the co-founders of Full Kit – a leading producer of bespoke football kits for musicians. Based in the US, the company is responsible for making one-of-a-kind shirts for Romy, Calvin Harris, Miso Extra, and Oneohtrix Point Never, as well as the Fred Again tops. While one might assume that the collaboration between football and music culture is most prominent in the UK, where football is embedded in everyday life, Robbie is keen to point out that lots of Full Kit’s commissions and collaborations come from American acts.
“In terms of artists we've collaborated with, it's a pretty 50/50 split between the UK and the US. Our most recent release for Mary Jane Dunphe, our Oneohtrix Point Never shirt, and our work with Spiritual Cramp, Bad Tuner, and Le Keep were all for US-based artists. For our upcoming projects, it's also a pretty even split between the US, the UK and beyond.”
Oneohtrix Point Never shirt
Laing also notes that while people wearing football shirts in the UK tend to have more loyalty to a particular team, the relative newness of football as mainstream entertainment in the US means that American fans are less concerned with wearing their team on their chest and are more willing to experiment and consume football shirts purely as fashion statements. “People are picking out our jerseys simply for the design or fit, rather than for an allegiance to a team. It's almost a novelty over here – something new and eye-catching. Most people in the US didn't grow up with football on TV, whereas in the UK and Europe, it's more commonplace.”
Barny Fletcher x Umbro
Loyle Carner x Umbro
Is this increased collaboration between football and music simply a fad, destined to be short-lived and forgotten about, or is it something more permanent? With leading football clubs increasingly launching as many as four new kits a season, their need to lean on cultural references and particularly music to help sell products is only likely to grow.
This season, Manchester City’s number one celebrity fan and Oasis legend Noel Gallagher designed the official club font for the team’s shirts, with his handwriting featuring on the back of the team’s tops in all Champions League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup matches, but not the Premier League, where official, uniform fonts are required to be worn by all clubs.
Access to the top tier of the game that teams like City have through their participation in European competition provides further opportunities to market new products. This season’s special edition, ‘Definitely City’ fourth shirt is a case in point, as the shirt, also designed by Gallagher and marking 30 years of Oasis’ seminal debut album, ‘Definitely Maybe’, is only worn in European games.
For City and Manchester United alike, tapping into the 90s nostalgia machine makes obvious sense, both from a cultural and a commercial standpoint and earlier this year United launched a collaborative collection with The Stone Roses – featuring a promo film, including cameos from Courteeners’ Liam Fray and Happy Mondays’ singer Rowetta. Both clubs understand the important role that music culture plays within their respective identities, as well as that of Manchester itself.
Speaking about City’s considerations when designing new shirts, Serena Gosling, Director of Retail and Licensing at City Football Group, says: "At Manchester City, we try to explore influences and ideas that resonate with the people of Manchester, our fanbase and beyond. It’s about connecting with that spirit of the city in different ways and of course, music is a huge part of that.”
For United, authenticity is the key to ensuring football and music crossover works well for them, as Michael Gibson, Head Of Corporate Communications and Advocacy explains: “As long as there are musicians and bands with a clear link to a club’s history and culture, then there will always be opportunities for music to influence and shape certain kit or product drops.”
The cultural collaboration between football and music is also happening across Europe. For FC Barcelona, their continued association with Spotify provides an opportunity to partner with some of the world’s leading artists for special edition shirts, including Coldplay, The Rolling Stones and Drake. The club also places significant importance on promoting the world’s foremost female artists, as Sergi Rigart, FC Barcelona’s Chief Commercial Officer explains: “Music has the ability and the power to generate positive changes in our society. Two of the artists chosen for our recent shirt collaborations, Rosalia and Karol G, are a reference for female empowerment, in the same way that the FC Barcelona women's football team transcend football to inspire millions of girls all over the world.”
If the defining moments in many people’s lives are associated with football or music, then being able to display one’s fandom through a visual signifier – a football shirt or a band t-shirt is what brings the two cultures together so perfectly – a true sense of connection and shared experience. US indie artist Mary Jane Dunphee adds: “When I was younger, if you saw someone walking down the street in a niche band t-shirt like Rudimentary Peni or Youth of Today, you knew immediately that you had something in common and would have each other's back. Football is also like that.”
For Hickling, seeing the Fred Again football shirts being worn across festival sites last summer was a timely reminder of the shared sense of community among both sets of fans. “It was always a really nice feeling seeing people wearing the football shirts. They represent an era and a moment.” Clearly, the cultural collaboration between football and music shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, as fans continue to display their passion through what they wear. “We all need something to care about,” says Hickling. “It’s about identity and people like to wear their identity on their chest – literally.”
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