Football and Synth-Driven Post-Punk in Don’t Get Lemon’s “Working Man’s Ballet”

Texas trio Don’t Get Lemon pays homage to legendary footballer Alan Hudson with the earnest, anthemic Working Man’s Ballet.

In his youth, Alan Hudson played for Arsenal, Chelsea, Stoke City, and the Seattle Sounders, as well as the England national football team. Hudson was talented but his antics riled the conservative English team, who were unable to handle his flair, flamboyance, and personality. One of his former managers called football “Working Man’s Ballet,” which served as the title of Hudson’s autobiography…and subsequently, this track.

The band intended to write a song that was an earworm that was memorable, using a classic pop format, but with added layered noise texture and fast-paced, rubbery drums. Don’t Get Lemon’s brand of noisy dance shines over sugary melodies, leaving the listener with a sense of sehnsucht: a wistful longing they never knew they carried.

“We think average fans are attracted to things larger than life and filled with character,” says the band. “That’s what makes the release of football on a Saturday so thrilling. It’s an affirmation of life and community away from a soulless existence of harrowing knowledge that your adult life is spent selling your labor for someone else to take advantage of.”

Football is full of sound and fury; a beloved pastime signifying nothing, but paradoxically holding great significance. The band asserts the game is similar to pop music: throwaway entertainment that’s been sold to us and sterilized. Both things, however, can deeply resonate with a person: a pop song and football game can equally change the course of ordinary lives.

“We thought that phrase was so rich and so loaded,” states the band. “The dichotomy of the working-class and extreme wealth, masculinity and femininity, just a silly game and high art… we even joked about making a World Cup song like New Order’s World In Motion for the 2026 World Cup here in the USA.” They’ve instead set their sights on the 2021 Euros.

The accompanying video continues to showcase this disconnect with graceless disco dancing- footballers and supporters boozing up and hitting the dance floor each Friday night before a match. Hooligans, all!

Watch “Working Man’s Ballet” below:

À La Carte Records is releasing Working Man’s Ballet on Flexi Disc.

Preorder Working Man’s Ballet here on DGL’s Bandcamp.

And pre-save it on Spotify here.

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