Meet the man behind 'Super Fab' – a new song for Brighton & Hove Albion fans - video Dailymotion

SussexWorld

Meet the man behind 'Super Fab' – a new song for Brighton & Hove Albion fans

Transcript

00:00So I'm Sam Morton, reporter for Sussex World, and I'm delighted to be joined by lifelong

00:06Albion fan John Campbell, who has released a spirited new song called Superfab, celebrating

00:11Brighton & Hove Albion's manager, Fabian Herzela. John, who has been a fan of Brighton & Hove

00:15Albion for 71 years, was moved to write the lyrics for Superfab after watching Fabian

00:20Herzela's first press conference. So it's a pleasure to have you on the show, John.

00:23What can you tell us about the new song?

00:25Oh, it's a pleasure to be here, Sam. It's lovely. First of all, it was a very joyful

00:32experience because I'd never done anything like that before, you know. And I think I

00:39watched Fabian's first press conference after he'd been unveiled to the press, and I remember

00:46being absolutely blown away by his maturity, his sense of humility, his brilliant, brilliant

00:56command of English was great. But it was just something about him, you know. And I came off,

01:04and then suddenly all these words started to come into me. And I thought, well, I'll write

01:07these down. So I wrote them all down. And I thought, yeah, this would be great. I'm a positive

01:16energy coach, really, that's what I do. And I know that positive songs have an uplifting

01:22effect on everybody, you know. Yeah. So I thought, well, I'm certainly not a musician,

01:27never have been. But just by asking, and I was led and guided to two lovely guys in Holland,

01:36and they're musicians who had made a similar song for Max Verstappen, obviously being Dutch.

01:44And what's interesting is the parallel. You see, they made this song for Max a week after he won

01:51his first Grand Prix, which was the Spanish Grand Prix. And he was only 17 years of age, I think.

01:58Or maybe he was 17 when he raced his first Formula One. But anyway, he was only very,

02:03very young when it was the first win he'd had in the Grand Prix. And they made this

02:09a song called Super Max. And it went bang, Max went bang, you know. And it was very similar,

02:17you know, everybody was lauding him because he was the youngest ever person ever to

02:22make his debut in Formula One at 17, and all these similarities. And I thought, wow, this is

02:27interesting. And then the person who led me to these people was a guy who came to work for my

02:37wife and I as a workaway in Spain. He used to be a member of this group. And then he had a big

02:43change in his life. He left the group and I contacted him. I said, listen, young guy, are

02:47you still friends with him? He said, yeah. I said, look, I've just got these words that just happened

02:52to come to me. I'd like to make a song to welcome this guy because I think he's a special guy. I

02:58think he really has got some, you know, real power about him. So he sent me the lyrics and I sent

03:05them to him. And he came back and said, yeah, they'd love to do it. And that's when it all

03:10started. And making it was fun because I've never been involved in that. And, you know, my part was

03:16filmed by my wife alongside the Farmer Pond and they did their bit. And the way they put it all

03:23together was fascinating how they did it. Yeah. But the point is, it's not about me. It's really

03:28them. They're the guys who sang it. I just mind it. But the words intrigued me because I didn't

03:38think about it consciously. But one of the lines is, oh, here we go right to the top. You know,

03:44and then I thought, wow, that came out months before they played their first, even their

03:51friendly game. But anyway, after the first two matches, they were top. So, yeah, it's a bit of

03:58fun. And hopefully it'll give a lot of people some joy. That's fantastic. I mean, what it was

04:03like being involved in the production of a music video, you say it's very new to you. So what was

04:07that experience like? And you even had a cameo appearance as a commentator in it as well,

04:10didn't you? Yeah, well, it was quite challenging because, you know, I thought, well, I have to

04:17mime this. And they said, no, don't mime it. No, no, you mustn't mime it. So what happened was

04:22I had my AirPods in. I had these crazy blue wigs on, which they insisted that we had.

04:29Then my wife had the tripod with my phone, which they told me how to set it up. You know,

04:37I didn't know anything about 4K, 30 and all this. So they showed me how to do all that.

04:42And then my wife had the, because they'd already made the song by this time, they'd made the audio

04:46clip. So I had to listen in my AirPods to my wife's phone playing that into my ears. And I

04:57had to sing. I actually had to sing the words because he said to me, Rob said to me, don't

05:02mime it because it'll be terrible when we try to put it on. He said, you sing the words, you know.

05:07And of course, in my head I'm thinking, but I've got such a lousy voice. But of course, that doesn't

05:12matter because that's all cut out and that's just superimposed. And of course, there we were at the

05:17Thelma Pond and we had all, because we used to live right beside the Thelma Pond. And all these

05:24locals were going past watching me with this blue wig on. They thought I was crazy. So yeah, it

05:30went far wrong. Well, that's fantastic. It was a lot of fun. Yeah, I bet it was. I bet it was a

05:34lot of fun to do. And as you say, it's such a positive song, isn't it? It's really catchy.

05:39And I guess it would really kind of be a brilliant song to hear at the Amex. So

05:42is there any expectation or likelihood of it potentially being played at the Amex one day?

05:47Well, yeah, I'd love it. But again, it's not about me. It's about getting people to understand

05:53the power of energy. I mean, I'm a metaphysician in a way. So that means metaphysicians beyond

06:01the physical, you know, the understanding of the power of words and songs. I mean,

06:08it's fascinating when you get into this stuff. It really is. And how that can manifest things,

06:12you know. So yeah, I mean, I'd love it to be played. I mean, the time to play it would be just

06:18when the players are warming up, you know. So lift everybody, lift the crowd. And if you have,

06:22you know, my old mate, I call him my old mate because he's one of my greatest teachers,

06:26was Albert Einstein. I loved Einstein. I loved how he came into all these theories and that.

06:33But you know, he said all those years ago, everything is energy. And if everything is

06:38just energy, everything is possible. So if it's energy, it has a vibration. And you know,

06:43if you think about it, how often do you use the term, oh, I get good vibes from this person,

06:48I get good vibes from that restaurant or from whatever. And what's vibes mean? It's short for

06:53vibration. So everything is vibrating, everything is vibrating. And the higher the vibration,

07:01the more positive the outcome of the situation. So if you're in fear, your vibration drops.

07:07If you're in joy, your vibration raises. So that was the whole idea is to get people up,

07:12you know, because I love this club. And I mean, I think it's so well run these days. You know,

07:17they're amazing people, the Bloom family who I've been fortunate to know for what, 67 years now,

07:23I was at school with Ray Bloom. That's Tony's uncle. And you're talking about real football

07:31people, real Brighton fans, both of them, you know. And that's why the club is in such good

07:37hands with Paul Barber there. So I put their names in as well. I was just a bit disappointed,

07:42I wanted to get David Weir's name in as well. But I couldn't fit it in anyway, because

07:46they're a team, you know, it's like everything. There's not just one man.

07:50But I think, yeah, I'm very excited about Super Fab. I think he's, I really think he's got

07:56something, just like Super Max. Yeah, well, exactly that. And that's what I was going to

08:01say. I mean, what we made at the start of the season under Hazard, obviously, brilliant wins

08:06at Everton, Manchester United, and then obviously a really creditable draw as well away at Arsenal.

08:11Absolutely. I mean, you know, Everton is a tough place to go to. And they, you know,

08:15everybody thinks of them being in the doldrums at the moment, but they had a pretty good run

08:20to last season. And, you know, they whack us 5-1 at home, I think, last season.

08:26But that was a really tough place to go. It's not the nicest of stadiums, you know,

08:30the crowd's very close to the pitch. And one of those old-fashioned, good old-fashioned

08:34English stadiums, they're last year there. And then Man United, I mean, that was wild,

08:41you know, to score the winner in the last minute. It's always the best way, isn't it?

08:45And then, of course, at Arsenal as well, you know. So, we've got two home games now after

08:49the initial international break. And, yeah, we win those two. And, you know, it's not a bad

08:56haul of points. I think that's the time. I think that's what will happen is every time there's a

09:01great result, we pump the song out and give it some willy.

09:04Yeah, absolutely. I mean, Hazard has certainly been backed in the transfer market, hasn't he?

09:09I mean, what have you made of the signings that have come in during the summer?

09:12Incredible. Incredible. I mean, if ever there was a statement, what Tony Bloom's focused on,

09:17you know, he's a very positive guy. And, no, fantastic. I mean, Minte, who I'd never heard

09:25of, to be honest with you, because, I mean, he never played for Newcastle. He went straight

09:29out on loan when they bought him. And he went out to, what was it, the Danish club, I think.

09:34It was the final, wasn't it? He was final. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's it. But, my,

09:40when I saw him the first time, he's like grease lightning. I think he's going to scare a few,

09:44you know. And, yeah, they've all been wonderful signings. Just fantastic. And, you know, we've

09:51got players coming back, like Evan Ferguson, you know, who was out injured, and Pervis Estepinhan.

09:57And, you know, it's fantastic. Anyway, I've got them down. I've bet them heavily for the league.

10:05And that's the other thing. The other words which came to me was, the trophy we've longed for

10:10is now in the box. I am convinced, absolutely convinced, we're going to win a trophy this season.

10:16That's fantastic. Brilliant. I mean, what are your best memories of supporting Brighton over

10:20the years? I mean, in recent years, it's kind of probably the best success they've had. But,

10:25I mean, over the years, there must be some amazing memories you've got.

10:27Yeah. It's really funny, because when I used to go to the grammar school with Ray Bloom,

10:32and every school report I had, it said, John tries hard, but he's pampered by a poor memory.

10:38What they didn't realise, I wasn't interested in what they wanted me to remember, because

10:42I could go right back, Sam, and I'm not boasting, it's just a day when something clicked within me,

10:48and I became more than just a spectator. It was, we played Charlton at home. We'd just been

10:54promoted into the second division for the first time in their history. And we'd just bought a

10:58guy called Johnny Shepard from Millwall, and we drew the game, I think, 2-2. But the thing that

11:04stuck in my mind was Johnny Shepard was smashed off the pitch and went careering into the perimeter

11:11wall. They used to have concrete wall all around. And he got up, and he had all this red all over

11:15his shirt. I remember thinking, oh, my God, he split his head open. And of course, it wasn't.

11:19It was the red dry, you know, the track around the thing. But, yeah, many memories, you know.

11:27Obviously, the promotion, you know, from the old third division South, it was in those days,

11:33that was a 6-0 victory on an evening game. And Ray and I, we had to rush from the grammar school down

11:40to get there in the front. And we won 6-0, and five of the goals were scored by one of our old

11:46grammarians. He was also at the grammar school a little bit before Ray and I, a guy called Adrian

11:50Thorne. That was a great day. And obviously, the cup final in 83 was amazing. And the promotions,

11:57and there are so many wonderful memories. And, you know, people say to me, you know,

12:04who got you off your seat? And I mean, I literally, I literally got off my seat automatically.

12:12Every time the ball reached Peter Ward, he was one. And later after him, much more recently,

12:19was Vicente, the guy that Gus Poit brought in from Valencia. Every time the ball reached him,

12:27I, you know, there was such a level of expectation. And, yeah, they're great. Some great,

12:33and there's some great characters as well in those days, you know. There was some pressure around

12:38them. That's fantastic. Brilliant, brilliant stuff. And just going back to the song,

12:44I mean, how can, how can people listen to it? What's the best way of streaming it?

12:48Well, it's on Spotify. It's on Spotify, and the music video is available on the music channel.

12:56Yeah, and it's, yeah, I mean, it is so catchy. And one of the greatest things I heard was a

13:02very good friend of ours called up and said she was in the car with her 92-year-old mum,

13:08and her mum, her 92-year-old mum couldn't stop singing the song. That was a great validation.

13:14That's brilliant.

13:16It's a bit of fun, you know. There's a lot of miserable things happening at times. It's nice

13:21to have a bit of fun and lift people's spirits and what have you, and not take life too seriously.

Meet the man behind 'Super Fab' – a new song for Brighton & Hove Albion fans

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