The Lion of Vienna Suite Interview: Giles Ramirez

Back in September 1997, a new era was embarked upon at Bolton Wanderers.

Our glorious club had left its humble yet historic Burnden Park for the shiny and modern surroundings of the Reebok Stadium.

We had swapped a 20,000-odd seater crumbling old stadium with its charming wooden floors, decades of memories and town-centre location for a 27,000-odd seater concrete behemoth in the Horwich emptiness.

The club embarked on a program of 'Wanderersisation' of the new ground, bringing in cheerleaders, bringing in modern technologies such as the big screen or the concourse televisions - they also decided to commission a new anthem for the club.

The man who received this honour was Gibraltar-based singer-songwriter Giles Ramirez, and this is the result of his endeavours, which was played before the first home game against Everton:

We approached Giles with a view to having a chat about his career and regarding how the job came about. I hope you find it as interesting as I did:

1) Your song The Wanderers Anthem was featured prominently at the club's newly-opened Reebok Stadium back in 1997. How did the deal to record and release the song come about?

Who contacted you, and what was the remit given to you by the club?

Well I was informed by a former member of a band I  used to sing in called  GHOST.

The man in question is  Steve Reid, who told me that he had managed to come in contact with one of the  club's representatives and was asked if he could come up with an anthem which would mark the inauguration of The Reebok Stadium and Steve did not hesitate in getting in touch with me to do this.

The club gave Steve carte blanche in as far as lyrics and music went and I soon flew over to Burnley where steve resides, and recorded the song in a day's session.

The club loved it due to its rocky edge yet anthemic chorus and the deal was done. We signed the song to Facet Records and managed to secure a publishing contract with none other than Dick Leahy Music Ltd. (George Michael, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd etc).

The single was released on the date of the inauguration and the video was also shown on the screens around the stadium.

2) Did you write the song on your own? What did you use for inspiration when putting in the lyrics?

The song was co-written by Steve Reid and myself and the inspiration behind it is simply to follow your dreams because dreams do come true.

3) Have you ever been to the stadium to watch a match?

The only time I have visited the Reebok was during the inauguration match which Bolton played against Everton on the 1^st September 1997 but I am certainly after so long, looking forward to visiting the stadium soon.

4) Did you know anything about Bolton Wanderers before the song?

Obviously being a football lover I knew of the club but never followed its course or knew much about it but I have grown to love the team and try to always follow them on TV when they play.

5) Since the song was written and recorded have you had any contact with the club or fans? It's often posted on twitter with fans trying to get the club to play it again.

I am so proud to have been given the privilege to undertake this venture but unfortunately due to geographical distance, I have not been in touch with the club since.

I was quite surprised to be honest to come across fans on twitter who still remember the song and who would love for it to be played again.

I cannot thank you all enough.

6) And Finally, what have you been up to since the song was released back in 1997?

WOW it's a very big question cos I have not stopped making music since, but I have been signed to major label RCA/BMG with whom my band REACH released an album with the same name and with which we managed to enter the Spanish charts at 36.

After endless tours, recordings, festivals, TV appearances etc etc. we have reformed this year only to share the Gibraltar Music Festival bill with Kings of Leon, Duran Duran, Paloma Faith, Madness, Kaiser Chiefs, James Bay, Ella Henderson, etc.

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You can find and follow Giles on Twitter at @GilesRamirez. He's a very engaging chap. I highly recommend following him.