These ditties were a form of predecessor to the terrace chants that became popular many years later. In the Park School team there was a fair-haired lad named W. Billy J. The painting had become well-known to the public as it was used to advertise Pears Soap which was popular at the time and for many years afterwards. Bubbles Murray was such a good footballer that he managed to hold his place in the senior team although being some two years younger than the average age of his team-mates.
A famous former pupil of Park School had been Syd Puddefoot, who became a Hammers legend between and , before his transfer to Falkirk. Then, after the end of the First World War another pupil was "Big Jim" Barrett who likewise became a similar hero at Upton Park between to Jim Barrett scored the second goal for his team with a shot from 20 yards out to put them back in front after Liverpool had equalised.
A great Liverpool rally saw them score twice in two minutes to end worthy winners. So Mr. Beal's ditties were often heard at Upton Park whenever "Bubbles" and his team-mates were playing there either for the Park School side or the District team. Although the two friends, Corney Beal and Charlie Paynter, were instrumental in Jim Barrett signing for the Hammers as a professional at the age of 16 in , after he was capped as a schoolboy international two years earlier, Billy Murray did not join him in the ranks at the Boleyn Ground.
So, although the association of the "Bubbles" song with schools' football gradually faded away, the words and music doubtless still lingered in the minds of Hammers fans. The memories were also enhanced as was stated in a letter to the local Beckton Gas Works "Pensioners' Bulletin" magazine during by a former employer who recalled that for a period of time around the s to s presumably the Company Band "were engaged by the West Ham United Football Club to play for 20 minutes before the kick-off and 10 minutes at the interval.
If we did not play "Bubbles" the crowd would sing it - so we always played it just before the kick-off. After a goalless draw away at Vetch Field the two teams met at Upton Park only to share two goals in the replay which resulted in a further replay at Ashton Gate, Bristol, which the Welshmen won by a solitary goal.
After such a marathon it is perhaps not surprising that a number of Hammers fans remembered the distinctive refrains and took the words as their own, if indeed the song had been sung by the opposing supporters. To perhaps add some substance to that theory, David Farmer in his history of Swansea Town FC does state, when recounting the period between to , that in match reports "Bubbles" was sung at all home games.
In one particular newspaper report of a match versus Bury on 8th January the comment is made : "At 2. It was several years later that West Ham took a hold of the song and made it their own, albeit by a circuitous route involving Billy J.
The headmaster was a close friend of West Ham manager Charlie Paynter and knew several of the West Ham players through schoolboy football.
Over the years, it has taken different forms. The song has made bubbles an unusual part of the matchday experience when watching West Ham, with the tradition taken to unusual extremes on May 16, , when nearly 24, fans blew bubbles for a minute to set a new world record.
How Bubbles came to be associated with West Ham has been the subject of many a debate over the years. The popular theory is that the singing of this song came together with the unlikely ingredients of a soap advert and a young curly headed footballer.
In Sir John Millais painted a portrait of his grandson watching a soap bubble he had just blown through a clay pipe. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy. Later the Pears Soap Works used the painting as an advertisement and displayed posters throughout the East End of London. As the soap works was situated in Canning Town the West Ham supporters would have been familiar with the posters.
Brian Belton, the author of a number of books on the history of the club, has put forward another interesting theory in that during World War Two Bubbles was sung as crowds gathered during air raids in shelters and underground stations especially in blitz torn east London.
This led to a rise in communal singing both in the Forces and the general public to raise morale. This could explain how Bubbles became the song of East End football. The song was heard at the League War Cup final and this may mark the real beginning of the song being the West Ham theme. The West Ham Boys team often played their home games at Upton Park in front of huge crowds and one of their team, Will Murray, having fair curly hair resembled the boy in the advert.
He soon gained the nickname 'Bubbles' Murray and whenever he played the crowd would sing I'm Forever Blowing Bubble's, this being the popular song of the day. Although the song became popular all around the ground there was particular affinity with the fans who stood in what was known as the Chicken Run. It was an encouraging sight to the team as the supporters sang Bubbles and swayed from side to side. Happiness, you seem so near me, Happiness, come forth and cheer me.
It was at one time believed that Bubbles was sung at the FA Cup final when the Hammers met Bolton Wanderers, but this was not the case as a souvenir leaflet issued on the day had words to be sung by the Hammers fans to the tune of Till We Meet Again.
Another theory of how Bubbles originated was the connection with Swansea Town.
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