“It’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life.” I doubt football was the inspiration for Richard Ashcroft when he penned the lyrics to that 90s classic, but if the Puma King boots fit….
For Luton fans of a younger vintage, this is the song that used to lead you into the adverts for the ITV England coverage. Ask yer dad!
But the past week alone has been the very definition of bittersweet, one that has arguably ignored John Still’s mantra of “never too high, never too low” in favour of near Oasis levels of excess on both.
Last week, Luton Town’s detailed plans for their 25,000-seat Power Court stadium were revealed, to near universal acclaim. Rightly so. More than that just football, the plans are transformational for the town. Our town.
After all the changes to the original plans – some from outside forces and others the pay-off for a season in the Premier League – the continued inclusion of a 1,800-capacity music venue is you-know-what to my ears, with my involvement in Vandalism Begins at Home Records.
For a town of Luton’s size, which does have The Bear Club – saved from extinction by the Hatters – and The Castle regularly keeping small-sized concerts alive, it’s criminal that there’s been nothing bigger in my child-of-the-90s lifetime.
But BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend this summer showed that our town is capable of hosting huge music events, so I’ll have none of this nonsense that I occasionally hear with the stadium from those in the ‘they’ll never fill it’ camp. This year alone has shown that Luton is ready for the big time in both music and, with the Premier League spell, in football.
With the former, it probably helps that Town director Rob Stringer is the CEO of Sony Music and that Harry Styles has already paid Kenilworth Road a visit. Perhaps he could be destined for an opening night show at the new Power Court, which has three big summer concerts per year as part of the plans.
But, of course, football will be the new HQ’s bread and butter come 2027. It’s just the start of this 2024/25 Championship campaign that we’re struggling to get a tune out of.
Just when it seemed the Hatters were starting to play some of the right notes, though not necessarily always in the right order, with two victories on the spin, came two out of tune performances in Plymouth and at home to Oxford.
They’re matches I’ve discussed on the now award-nominated Luton Town Supporters’ Trust Podcast, so you can listen or watch the discussion on those. And while you’re at it, I’d really appreciate your vote to help us win the Best Football League Podcast at the Football Content Awards. You can cast it here: www.footballcontentawards.com/voting/
It’s clear that on the pitch in this last week, but arguably longer, Town’s confidence has been low so let’s hope the can start to play with much more verve, where the results are far less bitter and much more sweet.
This column first appeared in the Luton v Oxford match programme and has been slightly adapted for publication on The Lutonian to account for the outcome of that match
