In a new episode of our series featuring musicians who support Liverpool, Alex Smith, drummer for local band STONE, talks about how his music career reflects his love of reds.
I’ve been a Liverpool fan since I was born and had all the football gear as a kid. Most had the Gerrard 8 on the back. The funny thing is, as a musician, you might think my first idol was an old rock star, but actually my first idol was Gerard. Of course, the classic moment for everyone is Istanbul 2005.
The way the club led to becoming European champions will forever be remembered in the history books and in the hearts of every young Liverpool fan. I remember Maldini’s goal and the mother who put me to bed.
(I was five and had nightmares when I lost.)After three zeros in the middle I got sad and went back and stood up to see how things were going.
“Gerard… Hello, here we are!”The memories of the celebration, where he waved at the red sea at Atatürk Stadium and said, “Bring it back,” still touch my heart. Then I planted the seeds. It’s Liverpool against the world.
Now there is no need to repeat the whole story. Because this is history. But in 2019, the club found itself in crisis again. Three goals against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final looked like a given, but Liverpool found a way back.
This time it was a total team effort and brilliance from Trent Alexander-Arnold that brought the 19-year-old to his knees. The team finished the season in 6th place and watching the final celebration made me feel five years old again.
The seeds planted in 2005 have sprouted. I did it again. European champion. 2020. The following season we won the Premier League and I, a 20-year-old, felt like I was five years old again.
It was an emotional win for the club amid the ongoing pandemic, but it brought hope and joy to the city in difficult times.These days there is an unbridled mentality about the return of the old Liverpool and I love it.
I am optimistic about this season and beyond. You get the sense that Klopp has built a second team with an individual brilliance to match the industrialism of his squad.
The pressure is back and of course that means we concede a few goals, but we seem to be able to run away with the game thanks to our attacking depth. Please keep up the good work! It will be a good season if we challenge for first place again.
Listen to STONE’s latest single If You Wanna now on all digital streaming platforms.STONE hasn’t always taken the easy way out. As an established group in the security space, we rely on social media to stay ahead. We spent most of our time apart, the four of us exchanging ideas and creating content for the cloud over the Internet.
This time trial won Reading & Leeds Festival 2021. Before filming, I looked at the crowd gathered on the BBC presentation stage and thought, “Ah, that’s it for us.”
I remember thinking.The 30-minute meeting went like a whirlwind, with the group and the audience united in one fist. It started to feel familiar, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I got goosebumps.
Finn took the time to jump into the open arms of the audience, and in the beautiful chaos that followed, I was back to being 21-year-old me and 5-year-old me.
It was when STONE took flight and the feeling of ecstasy was all too familiar., the buzz that comes from making these shows, writing and recording the music, and connecting with the fans is second to none for me. Little did I know that my love for Liverpool Football Club would be combined with my passion for music and the feeling of supporting the team when they perform.
STONE released their second EP, Punkadonk 2, which took us on a trip to the record stores with our friend DMA (minus the football commitment) in December.
We hope our fans love the EP and are as proud of it as we are. We hope that the songs on the EP will bring more ecstatic moments between the band and the fans.
