Peter Pawlett Baby!

 

 

Long-suffering Aberdeen fans have been having something of a banner year this season. Picking up their first trophy in 19 years with the Scottish League Cup, sitting second in the league, and Scottish Cup semi-finalists: it’s been the Dons’ best season since the Fergie days. Another achievement is success in the charts.

 

The Human League’s 1981 hit Don’t You Want Me made it into the top 20 UK Singles Chart, as well as number four in the iTunes download chart, after a campaign by fans.

 

Richard Albiston, 38, started the campaign: ‘It was all started as a bit of fun, but it gathered momentum really fast - 1200 Facebook Likes within three days!’

 

Albiston, from the Aberdeenshire coastal village of Gourdon, has been surprised with the coverage it received: ‘I mean, to make it onto the Uefa website was crazy! Also, Sports Illustrated USA, Sky Sports Italia, Soccer AM, and it even got a mention on Lorraine Kelly.

‘Plus, to have Steve Wright sing Peter Pawlett Baby on BBC Radio 2 was madness! The feedback has been great.’

 

The Human League have also been positive about the use of their song. Albiston, a postman who claims to be ‘red till I’m dead’, was contacted by the band’s management: ‘I have had an email from the Human League’s manager saying thank you. Also, he gave me tickets to see them in Glasgow.’

 

There has since been talk of the band travelling to Aberdeen to play Pittodrie. Vocalist Joanne Catherall said: ‘This has all come out of the blue. I have watched all the YouTube videos of Aberdeen fans singing the song. It’s a massive shock and I am stunned by the Aberdeen FC story.’

 

Tens of thousands of Aberdeen fans adorned Union Street the following Sunday after winning the final to see their team parade the trophy. The chants of Peter Pawlett Baby rang loud as the bus went down the city centre, and the popular nightclub Espionage pumped the Human League original out their window onto the street as the fans celebrated the victory.