I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles – Where did West Ham’s iconic anthem originate?
West Ham are famed for their famous bubbles before every home match.
Despite not having the greatest start to the Premier League season at the London Stadium, with West Ham losing 5-1 against Chelsea, tradition has remained on show in E20.
Even with all the criticism that gets aimed towards David Sullivan, with West Ham fans handing him a vote of no confidence, there are certain things he wouldn’t dare mess with.
One of those things is the iconic bubbles that take over the pitch in East London and make for many excellent images on a matchday.
With that being said, West Ham Zone have delved deep into where this anthem and tradition came from, which continues to be seen as Graham Potter leads out his men in claret and blue.
Why is ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ associated with West Ham?
It is totally bizarre to imagine, but the anthem played and sung before every Irons home game actually comes from a 1918 Broadway musical called The Passing Show.
The question is, how did a song from a show in America become entangled with the Hammers?
It actually comes from Park School in 1920, where a student called Billy J. Murray went by the nickname “Bubbles” due to his resemblance to a figure in a famous Millais painting by the same name that was featured in an advert for Pears Soap.
Murray played for the school football team, and on occasions where the side did well, headteacher Cornelius Beal would sing I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles in celebration.
It just to happened that Beal was friends with West Ham boss Charlie Paynter and many members of the squad, resulting in the song sticking with the Hammers ever since.
When did West Ham start using bubble machines?
Funnily enough, bubbles on the pitch in East London are a much newer tradition, with Mick Bowen starting this in 2010, picking up his own nickname of “Micky Bubbles”.
Having worked in special effects and pyrotechnics while also being a Hammers season ticket holder, he was afforded the chance to sort pre-match entertainment at Upton Park.
This saw bubble machines be used around the Boleyn Ground for five or six matches a season before Sullivan and David Gold came in as co-chairmen.
The duo wanted more excitement ahead of home games, sparking Bowen to invest in 25 bubble machines to spread around the pitch in E20.
This has seen the tradition of bubbles on the pitch follow West Ham to the London Stadium, with technology much improved at the new arena.
Their use of bubbles did come under threat during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Irons ultimately won the battle against stadium rules and have continued their use of them ever since.
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