Booze and Glory interview: I'm no fan of Thatcher or of hooliganism!

Booze & Glory, a street punk band born in 2009 in London, are visiting Badalona on Nov 11. Lead singer Mark Marlowski, from Polish background, is a big West Ham fan and he spoke to SPORT.

Music, football and drinking. In that order?

I would say music and football are at the same level, drinking sometimes, too.

What do they have in common?

They are all part of having fun, but, I drink a bit less now than before. It's not necessary to drink to enjoy music and football.

Is music a way of having fun, disconnecting, protesting?

Probably a bit of all of them. Music's an enormous part of my life and today it's mainly for fun. I listen to music to enjoy myself. All the protest songs don't attract me any more. Could it be old age? Haha.

And football, is that part of your day to day life?

I am obsessed with football.

Age didn't impact there?

It's gotten worse, I'm more obsessed than ever, hahaha. I think because we couldn't go on tour for nearly two years because of Covid and football was my main distraction.

You didn't sing about football in the last two albums?

Yeah on Bold as Brass and Chapter IV we didn't talk about football but that doesn't mean we have lost interest. We just had other ideas for those records.

Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, Drogba, Rooney, Cole, Scholes, some of the names that appear in your songs, they don't come out looking good... why not?

Because they got paid a huge amount and most of them played for Chelsea or Man United, argh! 

And Messi?

Messi is a genius on the pitch. To be honest, I have not followed him since he left the Spanish league. I'm not a fan of the French league. Is he still at PSG?

Yes. So, you follow Lewandowski now, your compatriot?

Lewandowski is a great striker. I'm convinced that he will socre many golas at Barca, I'm surprised how we'll he's adapted to the club.

The hooligan element of English football seems over, but rivalries are still intense.

Margaret Thatcher stopped hooliganism by changing the laws. Now you can go into a West Ham bar with a Tottenham shirt and the worst you can expect is to be booed. I think it's better like that. No, I'm no fan of Thatcher of course. But nor of hoogliganism.

How are English fans now?

Depends on the club! If you're a West Ham fan you are always annnoyed and thinking, why can't we get in the Champions League with these great players? Haha.

The World Cup is coming, do you like international football?

I'm not a big fan. Sometimes I watch it, sure, but for example I will not watch the Qatar World Cup for obvious reasons.

Has football become a business increasingly distant from the fans?

Yes, I know what you mean, however, even if I don't agree with many things about football, such as excessive salaries, shitty club policies, etc, I still love my club and the game.

On your latest album, 'Hurricane', you also talk about politics, something unusual.

Yes, it is the first time that we write about politics in our songs. Now I live in Poland, since 2016, and the political situation is shameful. The extreme right rules the country, nationalism is totally approved, Poland has the biggest nationalist event in the world, it is completely legal and the Polish president is also involved in it. Poland passed the strictest abortion law in Europe and girls can't even have an abortion even if they know that the child will die after birth... It is really sad to see such a trend throughout Europe. Look at Italy, Hungary, etc. We are living in a sick time. That's why at the time of writing the album those themes came out naturally in the songs.

It is a form of “protest”.

But we are not a political band. We wanted to say some things and we said them. The latest EP, 'Raising The Roof', is once again full of party songs and sing-alongs from 'Booze & Glory'.

What do you love more, watching people sing your songs at a concert or celebrating an important West Ham goal?

They are two different things, two different types of emotions. But if I have to choose, I always get goosebumps when hundreds of people sing the lyrics to the songs I wrote. I love it!

How come you support West Ham, being from Polish origin?

It is the team that I have followed for many years, ever since I moved to England. Upton Park was the first place I visited. The rest is history.

Like the cancer you overcame. Along with being a father, these must have been two momentous moments in your life. How have they changed you?

Completely. Cancer changed my perspective on many things in life. And fatherhood forced me to grow up.

And do you still enjoy being on stage the same, or more?

I always enjoy it. Touring is harder now because I miss my family, but I guess that's part of the game. I'm glad we can play live again now and we have a lot of concerts planned. This fall we already did two weeks in Italy, two in the United States, and now we are starting in Iberia. Then we will play in Poland, Germany... And in January, on tour in Asia.

Barcelona was due. Last time it was canceled due to Covid.

Yeah, the shows got postponed a couple of times, but we're finally there! We love playing in Barcelona!

Any surprises?

Of course, there will be surprises! But I can't tell you anything now. Haha. We will meet again soon! Up the Irons!