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The Angel (North London Forever)

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"The Angel (North London Forever)"
Single by Louis Dunford
from the EP The Popham
Released25 February 2022 (2022-02-25)
Length3:58
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)Louis Dunford

"The Angel (North London Forever)" is a song by English singer-songwriter Louis Dunford. It was released on 25 February 2022 by RCA Records as the second single from his second EP, The Popham.[1][2]

Background

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Dunford wrote the song as a love letter to his hometown of Islington, North London,[3] as well as his family and friends living in the borough.[1][2][3]

It is also dedicated to Premier League football club Arsenal, which based in Islington as the artist is a life-long supporter of the team.[3][4]

Music video

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The official music video was directed by Oscar J. Ryan and released on 25 February 2022 through Dunford's own YouTube channel.[5]

Arsenal connection

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Two months after its release, the song gained traction by getting noticed and shared by fellow Arsenal supporters on social media.[4] It eventually got to the attention of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's manager, who wanted to capture a club spirit, and invited Dunford to visit the club's training ground and meet the players.[6]

On 8 May 2022, Dunford was invited by Arsenal's board as a special guest, together with his family and his friends, at the Emirates Stadium, in order to watch the Premier League match against Leeds United: while the players were warming up on the pitch, thousands of fans across the stadium started singing the chorus of "The Angel".[4][7][8] In his post-match interview, Mikel Arteta described the emotional impact the song had on his team, saying quote:

It was really emotional, you know? I think there is a link with the way the team started because they were making comments in the dressing room, hearing the song with the spirit and the emotion that they did, it was unique. I have never experienced that here, it was the first time and I really enjoyed it and I hope that the fans enjoyed it too.[6]

Since then, the song has been regarded as Arsenal's anthem, and gets played before every home game at the Emirates Stadium.[9][10][11]

Following the success of his song, Dunford was featured in the final episode of the Amazon Original sports docuseries, All or Nothing: Arsenal, which followed the club's coaching staff and players behind the scenes, both on and off the field, throughout their 2021–22 season.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "'The Angel' the new single from Louis Dunford". totalntertainment.com. TotalNtertainment. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Louis Dunford's Affectionate Love Letter To His Beloved London Hometown: 'The Angel'…". musicrepublicmagazine.com. Music Republic Magazine. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c King, Jack (9 May 2022). "Louis Dunford is a North Londoner, forever". gq-magazine.co.uk. GQ. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Lawrence, Amy (9 May 2022). "'North London forever' – the goosebumps moment that captured the spirit of Arsenal past, present and future". theathletic.com. The Athletic. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  5. ^ Louis Dunford – The Angel (North London Forever). 25 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ a b James, Josh (8 May 2022). "Arteta – It was emotional". arsenal.com. Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  7. ^ Watts, Charles (10 May 2022). "'My love letter to where I was born' – How 'The Angel' became Arsenal's new anthem". goal.com. Goal. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  8. ^ Davison, Chris (8 May 2022). "Arsenal trial new anthem 'The Angel' at the Emirates Stadium ahead of Leeds United clash". football.london. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  9. ^ Graham, Michael (22 January 2023). "Why is The Angel by Louis Dunford an Arsenal Anthem?". 90min.com. 90min. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  10. ^ Smith, Rory; Quinton, Ben (7 October 2022). "How Arsenal Found Its Voice". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  11. ^ Allnutt, Tom (8 October 2022). "How the Emirates Stadium has finally found its voice after 16 years". thetimes.co.uk. The Times. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  12. ^ Collings, Simon (16 August 2022). "Arsenal training ground fight, Arteta's lightbulb and more: What we learned from final 'All or Nothing' episodes". standard.co.uk. Evening Standard. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
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