Rising Dough off the menu

ATHLETIC will no longer run out on the Boundary Park pitch to the strains of Mouldy Old Dough, which has been their theme tune for much of the last 30 years.

The club has pulled the plug on the pre-match anthem after being hit by a staggering hike of almost 600-per-cent in fees charged by the Performing Rights Society.

Managing director Simon Corney says Athletic won’t be held to ransom after seeing their bill rise from £700 to £3,900 per year. He described the increase as “extortionate.”

And in is bid to ensure that silence isn’t golden, club officials are appealing to fans to help them find copyright-permissible music.

Chief executive Alan Hardy explained the reason for the steep increase in costs.

He said: “The Performing Rights Society argue that the entrance music – which is played when the teams come out on to the pitch – and goal celebration music are an integral part of match-day entertainment.

“They classify it differently to general background music. If we simply pay for that, the figure will revert to £700 per year which we are happy to pay.

“At a time when we are looking at ways to save money, we cannot justify paying that amount.”

Athletic, who will also no longer be able to play The Specials’ Guns of Navarone as their goal-celebration music, believe the solution is to find copyright-permissible music, which is why they have issued an appeal to fans for help.

“It’s a great opportunity for fans to show us what they can do as we will certainly not be held to ransom by the Performing Rights Society,” explained Mr Corney.

Fans can send their musical contributions to:

stuart.vose@oldhamathletic.co.uk