Maidenhead United supporters produce charity single to commemorate York Road's 150th anniversary

Gordon Sweeney (left), Alistair Sweeney (6, centre), and Matthew Foster (right).

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A pair of long-time Maidenhead United supporters have teamed up to produce an unofficial charity single to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Magpies’ first football match at York Road.

‘Two For Joy’, by KSG (Matthew Foster) & The Sunshine Man (Gordon Sweeney) reflects on United’s long history at the ground and the triumphs and tribulations they’ve had since 1871. It was digitally released on Tuesday (February 16), 150 years to the day Maidenhead defeated Marlow.

With Foster on vocals and Sweeney on production, the duo hope football fans will give their track a listen with all proceeds set to be donated to the Maidenhead United FC Community Trust.

“It was really fun to make,” said Sweeney. “I think Foz (Foster) had been working on those lyrics since 2012 so he saw the opportunity to build on some of the earlier memories he included in the song with some more recent ones like our promotion, winning the title at Margate, and some of the great FA Cup runs we’ve had under Dev.

“He got in touch with me about six months ago with his plans, so we got to work making it happen. Due to lockdown, he had to chant the lyrics down the phone, send them across, and I had to produce the music from my end.

“I put down an initial backing track that sounded a bit like Aphex Twin mixed with Radiohead. It got a bit of a thumbs down, so I went back to the drawing board. Foz sent me a couple of reference tracks like The Beastie Boys, Goldie Lookin Chain and The Fall as inspiration.

“After listening to those, I messed around with the guitar some more and managed to come up with the backing track. I added his lyrics over the top of it, which he re-recorded a couple of times, and the track was born.”

Sweeney said it was ‘enjoyable’ to work on the track with Foster, someone he has stood next to in the terraces since 1996.

“I’ve known him since I started going in ’96,” he said. “It was the first season I started attending so I was about 15-years-old. He had been going for a good few years with his granddad before then when he was a toddler.

“We stand in the same spot in the Bell Street end so I’ve known him for years and years. “We’ve become good mates on the terraces,” added Sweeney.

‘Two For Joy’ by KSG and The Sunshine Man is available to download and stream from Apple Music, Spotify, and other music platforms.