Salford City supporters can often be heard belting out Dirty Old Town on matchdays, turning the famous folk song into one of the club’s best-known terrace traditions.
The chant is not a modern football creation. Dirty Old Town was written by Ewan MacColl in 1949, and it is closely linked to Salford, the Greater Manchester city where he grew up.
MacColl originally wrote the song while working on a play, using the industrial landscape around him as inspiration. The lyrics paint a picture of smoke, factories and a tough working environment, which connected strongly with the area’s history and identity.
Over the years, the track became widely known beyond Salford thanks to popular covers, helping it spread across the UK and then into football culture. But for Salford fans, the song’s roots are personal: it reflects the place the club represents.
That is why it has become a regular soundtrack at the Peninsula Stadium, sung with pride as a nod to the city and its past, and as a reminder of where the club comes from.
