More Than a Game (Chris Doheny song)

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"More Than a Game"
More Than a Game - Chris Doheny.jpg
Single by Chris Doheny
B-side "Footy Show Opener"
Released1994
Studio Sing Sing Studios, Cremorne, Victoria
Genre Rock
Length3:32
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Darren Sanicki
  • John Albert
Producer(s) Darren Sanicki

"More Than a Game" is a song recorded by Australian musician Chris Doheny. The song was written by Darren Sanicki and John Albert as the theme song to the Nine Network's Australian rules football variety program The Footy Show. It was released as a stand-alone single in 1994, and remained the program's theme song until its demise in 2019. The song was also the subject of multiple legal disputes raised by Sanicki over copyright and intellectual property infringement.

Contents

Background and release

The genesis of what would become "More Than a Game" was conceived when Nine Network television producer Harvey Silver approached Doheny about penning a theme song for the pilot of a new football television program (what would become The Footy Show). [1] Silver was a fan of Doheny through his work as front man of Melbourne pop rock band Geisha, and introduced him to both Darren Sanicki and Josh Abrahams, who would end up writing and co-producing the song respectively. [1] Nine then licensed the song from Sanicki annually for a fee of A$10,000, [2] with the agreement beginning on 12 April 1994 and renewing each subsequent year. [3]

The phrase "more than a game" then began to be used frequently in newspaper headlines and captions to highlight the increasing relationship between commercialism and the sport itself. [4] [5] Surpassing football entirely, Reverend Tim Costello used the slogan "it's more than a game" as part of his campaign as a candidate for the Australian Constitutional Convention in November 1997. [6] Costello himself was critical of Footy Show host Eddie McGuire's own ticket as part of the Australian Republic Movement, ultimately linking the phrase and the television program from which it was sourced. [6]

A legal dispute arose in February 1998 over the name of a television special also entitled More Than a Game, which was produced by McGuire's production company McGuire Media and was to be broadcast on successive Thursdays ahead of the return of The Footy Show in March. [2] Nine's Victorian managing director Ian Johnson described the copyright dispute brought upon them by Sanicki's solicitors Roth Warren as "one fight we're going to win". [2] The specials would eventually be broadcast under its intended title. [4]

Doheny performed the theme song live upon McGuire's return to hosting The Footy Show in August 2017 following a 12-year absence. [7] Soon after, the song was once again at the centre of a legal dispute, this time more than two decades after its release. In September 2017, media reports revealed that co-writer Sanicki—a lawyer himself—had issued a writ against the Nine Network seeking compensation for loss and damages for what he described as an "unauthorised use of the song". [3] Sanicki had taken Nine to the Federal Court in the case of Darren Sanicki v. General Television Corporation Pty. Ltd. on 24 July 2017. [8] On 15 December 2017, almost three months after Nine's defence was submitted (which itself prompted a reply from Sanicki a fortnight later), Justice Bernard Murphy gave his final orders that the application for intellectual property infringement had been discontinued. [8]

Critical reception

Described by critics as a driving rock tune in the vein of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger", the song has been praised as one of the best football-related songs in existence. [9] [10]

Commercial performance

The track peaked on the Australian ARIA Charts at number 54 on 2 October 1994. [11]

Cover versions

In September 2010, Australian producer M-Phazes covered the song alongside Muph and Candice Monique for national radio station Triple J's Like a Version segment. [12] [13]

Track listing

  1. "More Than a Game"
  2. "More Than a Game" (Instrumental)
  3. "More Than a Game" ("Bag of Lollies" Club Remix)
  4. "Footy Show Opener"
  1. "More Than a Game" (21st Anniversary Edition) – 2:59

Credits and personnel

Locations

Personnel

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "More Than a Game"
Chart (1994)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)54

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "More than a game 21 years on". Australian Musician . 19 September 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Wilson, Caroline (18 February 1996). "Nine learns it's more than a name". The Age . p. 3.
  3. 1 2 Zervos, Cassie (3 September 2017). "Footy Show theme composer claims theme has been used without permission in court fight" . Herald Sun . Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 Epis, Michael (22 February 1998). "Much more than a game". Sportsweek liftout. The Age . p. 3.
  5. ↑ Brady, Nicole (19 May 1998). "It's hard to kick goals, even for champs". The Age . p. 4.
  6. 1 2 Johnson, Lyall (9 November 1997). "Vote 1: Sweetness, light". The Sunday Age . p. 9.
  7. ↑ Vickery, Colin; Dennehy, Luke (11 August 2017). "Eddie's happy, but more to come". Herald Sun . p. 4.
  8. 1 2 "VID803/2017 – DARREN SANICKI v GENERAL TELEVISION CORPORATION PTY LIMITED – Applications for file". Commonwealth Courts Portal . 15 December 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  9. ↑ Handke, Tobias (26 September 2019). "The best AFL songs to add to your Grand Final playlist". Beat Magazine . Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  10. ↑ Watts, Alex (25 September 2023). "The top 10 football songs of all time". Mixdown Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  11. ↑ Dawe, Grant (24 October 2011). "Every ARIA Top 100 Single in 1994". Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  12. ↑ M-Phazes (24 September 2010). Like a Version: M-Phazes (MP3) (Radio broadcast). Like a Version. Triple J. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "M-Phazes cover Chris Doheny 'More Than a Game' for Like A Version [2010]". Triple J . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
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