Let your heart beat strong: A top buzz at Birmingham City

Words: Tom Reed

Images: Tom Reed

You can catch a train to Bordesley Station on match-days, from there it’s just a five minute hop to St Andrew’s, home of Birmingham City FC.

But why would you, at a club of delayed gratification? When you can stroll from New Street, taking in much of what makes the blue football club one from the city and of the city.

You’ll walk through Digbeth and the warehouses and venues which held dance events in the 80’s and 90’s like Pandemonium Andromeda, where acts like Top Buzz had ravers change their perception of what was day and night.

Cut across canal bridges and you’ll get a sense of Birmingham’s industrial heritage, which went hand in hand with its sporting pride.

There’s a final climb to St Andrew’s, and although the church which gives the ground its name has gone, the spire of Bordesley Village Primary school acts as a pin to centre it all.

You can feel match day grow at Birmingham City, from the young lads mooching up the road with their Aquascutum and Adidas, to the elderly season-ticket holders sitting outside the “Happy Abode” bar, drinking in the first drops of January sun they’ve had for a while.

You can sit in the yard there and watch the posh cars turn up for the VIP with personalised number-plates reading KRO and in the distance the Birmingham sky-scrapers glisten with the sunlight.

The Guinness has gone awry, sending geysers of foam up the plastic glass and refusing to settle, but no-one seems to mind.

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Casual style. Birmingham City.

“I drink it myself, it takes a while but it shouldn’t take this long” sighs the barman, contemplating what to do.

“They’ll be crying over that in Dublin”.

A black supporter walks in with a bodywarmer, Rockports and a vintage Burberry scarf, looking the business and calling everyone “Bab”.

There’s a definite sense of inclusion at Birmingham City that you don’t get at some other clubs, it feels like if ‘you’re alright” and you love the Blues, you’ll be accepted, whatever your life story.

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Birmingham City FC.

You’ll see a huge mural for bone-fide Blues legend Jude Bellingham, who canes opposition defenders on the regular at Real Madrid.

He’d left St Andrew’s by 17 though and you’d struggle to find too many big name heroes, which signifies where the club has been. You’ll get as good a conversation about the likes of John Gayle, Ian Clarkson and John Frain as you will Bellingham at a club with few airs and graces.

Over at the Royal George, an online review says “Football pub, avoid on match-days” which couldn’t be further from the truth. Inside the DJ plays ska, the bar is full and the conversation fat with talk of the new gaffer Tony Mowbray.

Outside, some deaf Blues sign away animatedly having the exact same conversations as everyone else. “Have you seen the starting line-up? How do you think we will get on today?”.

Blues lads using sign language. Royal George pub.

Being deaf doesn’t stop them from enjoying the game which is about a good example of Birmingham being a community club as you’ll get.

Fans spill out on the street and cars honk their horns after going down roads that you’d never want to on a Saturday.

The queuing fans are king here, which you don’t get at bowl stadia and the wait time to get through the turnstiles is directly linked to how good the team is doing.

Blues are up against Swansea City with both teams boasting new bosses so there is hopefulness among the fans, climbing the stairs onto the concourse in the Tilton Road End.

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Birmingham City vs Swansea City. England.

The back of the stand is like a themed zone from TV show the Crystal Maze and for a second you can imagine the dank Digbeth nitespots where 90’s Blues began to stop bouncing on their toes at New Street waiting for away fans and start bouncing to that emerging rave sound.

There’s no rush to get to your seat or the safe-standing section at the front for there’s those peep-show entrances which go from dark panels to a glimpse of the green playing surface, the floodlight glare through the haze of too many Morettis and not enough Guinness.

It was apt that Blues notched a late equaliser, as Jordan James arrowed in from distance to make it 2-2 as City came twice from behind to get the point.

They’ve been called “sleeping giants” with new investment from a consortium including NFL legend Tom Brady but that is to miss the point.

Birmingham City’s road will always be longer than most, like that walk to the ground, uphill, pulse-quickening and testing your resilience but the destination is sweet, at the end.

A match at St Andrew’s remains a top buzz at a proper football club.

Though the way be long, let your heart beat strong…