From North London Forever to a PA Malfunction: Every Premier League Walk-Out Song, Ranked
Photo: Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
There is a moment, just before kick-off, when the PA system has more influence than the manager. The teams are in the tunnel, the away end is in full voice, and the home club makes its play: a song, a drum track, a bit of local nostalgia. Get it right and the ground rises. Get it wrong and 3,000 people look at each other as if to say, 'what is this?'
With 2026-27 well underway, we have ranked all 20 Premier League walk-out songs on atmosphere, originality and whether the home end actually joins in. No points for volume alone. Deductions for drum loops, sponsorship voiceovers and any song that sounds like a car advert.
The Methodology
Atmosphere is 50 per cent of the score, originality 25 per cent and home-end participation 25 per cent. The rankings are scientific in the way that a pub argument is scientific. A great song played badly can still work; a bad song played loudly is just a bad song with better speakers.
This season's playlist has already seen a few moves. Chelsea's members' vote kept Liquidator by a narrow margin. Spurs have gone brass-heavy on Oh When the Spurs. Arsenal resisted a quiet push to shorten North London Forever for the TV timings. And Manchester City's sound desk is still fighting a losing battle with the low end of Blue Moon.
The Bottom Five: Please Try Harder
20. Manchester City — Blue Moon. A great song, a strangely flat walk-out. The Etihad PA has a habit of turning the intro into mush; by the time the chorus arrives, the moment has gone. You cannot blame the song. You can blame the sound desk.
19. Chelsea — Liquidator. A classic, but it has been played so often it feels like a ringtone. The 2026 members' vote kept it, narrowly, over a switch to a licensed indie track. The home end knows it; the home end just does not need it every week.
18. Bournemouth — Sweet Caroline. Fine at a wedding. At a Premier League ground, it is karaoke with a fixture list. The Vitality does get going, but it is the crowd doing the heavy lifting, not the song.
17. Fulham — The Boys Are Back in Town. Pleasant, mid-tempo, entirely forgettable. Craven Cottage deserves a bit more personality than a pub-rock staple.
16. Brentford — Hey Jude. The 'na na na' bit works. The rest is a long wait for the good bit. Brentford's home end is clever and loud; the walk-out is neither.
The Mid-Table: Fine, But No Danger
15. Burnley — No Nay Never. Proper football song, proper history. But the Turf Moor PA has a habit of playing it at a tempo that suggests the team is already 1-0 down.
14. Wolves — Hi Ho Silver Lining. Shared with Villa, which is never ideal. Wolves fans have made it their own with 'Hi Ho Wolverhampton', but the walk-out itself is a bit of a shrug.
13. Nottingham Forest — Mull of Kintyre. A strange choice that somehow works because the City Ground sings over it. The song is not the atmosphere; the atmosphere is the song.
12. Tottenham — Oh When the Spurs. Spurs have moved away from the generic EDM and gone brass-heavy this season. It is better. It is also still a song about waiting for something to happen, which is very Spurs.
11. Manchester United — This Is the One. The Stone Roses intro is genuinely great. Old Trafford, on a cold Tuesday, does not always rise to it. The song is doing more work than the team.
The European Places: Proper Anthems
10. Aston Villa — Hi Ho Silver Lining. Villa Park loves it, and the Holte End can make it feel like a cup final. It loses points for being the same song as Wolves.
9. Sunderland — Dance of the Knights. Prokofiev in a football ground should not work. It does. The Stadium of Light has had a lot to sing about lately, and this gives it a proper sense of occasion.
8. Brighton — Sussex by the Sea. Local, specific, a bit odd. Brighton fans sing it with real pride, and the Amex feels like it belongs to the town rather than a playlist.
7. Arsenal — North London Forever. A modern anthem that has actually stuck. There was a quiet push this season to shorten it for the TV timings; the backlash was swift. The Emirates sings it, which is not always a given.
6. Leeds — Marching On Together. A proper club song, written for the club, sung by the club. Elland Road would sing it even if the PA broke.
The Top Five: Spine-Tingling
5. Newcastle — Local Hero. Mark Knopfler's instrumental is the most atmospheric walk-out in the league. St James' Park turns it into a warning. It loses points only because the crowd needs the first few bars to get going.
4. Everton — Z-Cars. A weird, brilliant, old-fashioned choice. Goodison has gone, but the new ground has kept the theme, and Evertonians still react to it like a dog hearing a lead.
3. Crystal Palace — Glad All Over. The best pure pop walk-out in the league. Selhurst Park bounces, the Holmesdale sings, and the whole thing feels like a Saturday afternoon should.
2. West Ham — I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles. A song about being a bit sad and carrying on anyway. The London Stadium has had its issues, but when this plays, it is a proper football ground for three minutes.
1. Liverpool — You'll Never Walk Alone. No contest. It is not just a walk-out song; it is the reason some people go. The Kop takes it, the away end watches, and the PA barely needs to be on. Originality: low. Atmosphere: unmatched.
So there it is. If your club is in the bottom five, the good news is that the playlist is easier to fix than the defence. If your club is Liverpool, enjoy it while it lasts. And if your club is Chelsea, please stop playing Liquidator like it is a ringtone on repeat. The home end deserves better.
