Welcome back to ‘Stadium DJ Of The Week’, where in each issue we put 10 serious and not so serious quick-fire questions to a stadium DJ from the world of sport! This week we sat down for a chat with West Ham United’s Russ Budden.
- Name: Russ Budden
- Occupation: Matchday DJ
- Club: West Ham
- Club Website
- Stadium: London Stadium
- Capacity: 62,500
The Interview
SM: When did you take over as DJ’ing at West Ham?
RB: I’ve been the matchday DJ for 23 seasons now.
SM: How did you initially get into the role?
RB: Basically, I approached the announcer at the time for some career advice as I was at university, and we had just built a new stand at Upton Park – so he asked whether I would like to help out and I’m still here now!
SM: Can you remember your first football match/stadium experience?
RB: I remember my first West Ham game like it was yesterday – the smells of the dodgy burgers and onions, the cut grass, stale beer and horse manure! It was against Oxford United and they scored after 30 seconds from kick-off – I remember my grandad turning to me and saying ‘get used to this, you’ve got a lifetime of misery to look forward to!’
SM: Would you say your first experience of live football and the memories of that day were motivation for taking on your role?
RB: I always wanted to be involved with the club. I remember writing to the chairman when I was little to ask to be a ballboy as West Ham didn’t seem to have them.
SM: In your time with the Hammers, who’s the best player you’ve seen wear the famous claret & blue?
RB: The best player would be Paolo Di Canio – although not the best technical player, that would have been Dimitri Payet. But Di Canio had the skill, he had the theatricals, he had the passion, the connection with the fan base – and he also had the song. It was like a soap opera every time he played.
SM: Who is your favourite artist/band of all time?
RB: I have quite an eclectic taste in music, I like a bit of everything and I go through phases – always been a big fan of guitar based bands such as the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Queen – and of course, Iron Maiden.
SM: Which piece of music do you think is the ultimate track for motivating a footballing side?
RB: It’s about generating an atmosphere – the fans are always up from it at the beginning and it’s the team’s job to match that to ensure the atmosphere continues. When 60,000 fans are singing ‘I’m forever blowing bubbles’ at the top of their lungs – it still makes hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
SM: Do you have an all-time favourite track that you play at West Ham?
RB: There’s only one – ‘I’m forever blowing bubbles’.
SM: What are the main songs you use week in, week out at the ground?
RB: We tend to have a relative open playlist up until 10 minutes or so until kick off – it’s like a calling card for people to get to their seats. We always play ‘Bubbles’ as the teams come out and we always play ‘Battle Without Honor’ when the first XI is read out just before kick off. Then if we win, it’s ‘Bubbles’ again, following by ‘Twist and Shout’ and then ‘Sweet Caroline’.
SM: On a final note, are there any funny mishaps/cock-ups that have taken place that come to mind when you think about your career so far?
RB: Plenty! We’ve had equipment short out just before kick off or signals drop just when there’s something really important. I remember once a fair few years ago, we had been beaten by Man City quite comprehensively and when we lose I tend to put a bit of ‘generic rock’ on… unfortunately my song of choice was an Oasis track – I just didn’t think, so got plenty of stick for that. I remember once, we’d lost another game and my ‘generic rock’ song was ‘Changingman’ by Paul Weller and one of the journos picked up on it and put something like ‘even the DJ thinks it’s time to change the man in the dugout’…
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