Up There Cazaly
| "Up There Cazaly" | |
|---|---|
| Single by The Two-Man Band | |
| B-side | "The Winner's March (Instrumental)" |
| Released | 1979 |
| Format | 7" |
| Genre | Novelty song, pop rock |
| Length | 2:40 |
| Label | Fable |
| Writer(s) | Mike Brady |
| Producer(s) | Peter Sullivan |
"Up There Cazaly" is 1979 song by Mike Brady, written to promote Channel Seven's coverage of the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was first performed by the Two-Man Band, a duo of Brady and Peter Sullivan, and has since become an unofficial anthem of Australian rules football.
The title references early 20th century ruckman, Roy Cazaly. Known for his prodigious leap, Cazaly formed a famous ruck combination with South Melbourne team mates Fred "Skeeter" Fleiter and Mark "Napper" Tandy. It was ruck rover Fleiter who was the first to call "Up there, Cazaly!" when the ruckman flew for the ball. The catchcry was soon adopted by South Melbourne supporters and eventually entered the Australian lexicon as a common phrase of encouragement.
Released independently on Fable Records, the Two-Man Band's recording of the song became the largest-selling Australian single released up to that time, with over 250,000 copies sold. The song has been performed at many VFL/AFL Grand Finals, often by Brady himself.
The song's tune has an unusual key scheme: the verses are in D major, and the chorus is in F major, which is a fairly distant, unrelated key, especially for a popular song; and its final repetition is in G major, in which key the song ends.
"Up there, Cazaly!" was used as a battle cry by Australian troops during World War II. It has been noted that Cazaly's distinctive surname most likely contributed to the phrase's enduring popularity. As one journalist noted, "'Up there, McKinnon' might not have taken off".
Australian dramatist Ray Lawler included the phrase in his 1955 play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll when he had heroine Nancy use it on several occasions, most notably in a telegram with marked dramatic effect: "Up there, Cazaly. Lots of Love. Nance."
When the South Melbourne Football Club relocated to Sydney as the rebranded Sydney Swans in 1982, the club changed its song to a rewritten verison of "Up There Cazaly" entitled "Up There for Sydney". The song was poorly received and the club soon reverted to its original song, "Cheer, Cheer the Red and the White".
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