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Mike Brady's performance of unofficial AFL anthem Up There Cazaly has been a fixture of the big day for decades. But it almost did not happen in 2026.
Legendary singer-songwriter Mike Brady has revealed he nearly missed performing his football ballad Up There Cazaly at this year's AFL grand final. Brady says he wants to perform the unofficial football anthem at the next two grand finals, taking it to the song's 50th anniversary and his own 80th birthday.
While teams change, pre-game acts change and even the rules themselves change, Mike Brady's performance of unofficial AFL anthem Up There Cazaly has been a fixture of the big day for decades. In January, the 78-year-old suffered a horrific fall during a routine evening walk near his Great Ocean Road home. Brady described the horror of having to twist his ankle back into place before dragging himself to a nearby fire station, "leaving a trail of blood and mud".
With his doctor telling him not to push himself and that it was unlikely he would be able to walk anytime soon, his grand final call-up nine months later was all but certainly out of the picture. When the AFL asked if he would still be up to performing, he vowed to be there even if he had to crawl on stage.
A self-described "outdoors person" who relishes being active, Brady is the first to admit that even he doubted he would make it during parts of the nine-month journey that followed.
"I was put in a palliative care place, and that was tough because I felt like I shouldn't be there. "He slowly transitioned to crutches, and now mostly gets around using a walking stick. But Brady defied all expectations and ditched the walking stick to walk out on stage on September 26.
"At the beginning of the song, I'm singing it kind of normally, but then I thought, 'I've got this, I'm going to be able to sing it! '"One hundred thousand people reacted, and the roar — I've never heard anything like it. Musician vows to perform for years to comeBrady says he is not one to dwell on the past and spent much of his recovery writing new poetry and music.
As an English immigrant, Brady moved to Melbourne at the age of 11. The musician and jingle-maker had never even been to a full AFL game when he was asked to create a tune to market the Victorian Football League.
Recalling the day he first performed Up There Cazaly at the 1979 VFL grand final, introduced by his friend John Farnham, Brady said it was the first time he felt truly at home in the country he had lived in for nearly two decades.
"I'd never felt that before. But hearing men and women in the crowd shouting, 'Good on ya, Mike', I really felt the warmth.
" Mike Brady says the 1979 VFL grand final, which featured Carlton legend Alex Jesaulenko , was a key moment in his Up Their Cazaly journey. "I often say the smile on my face when I sing it is actually me chuckling at the irony," he said. "I love the irony of being a Pommy immigrant that was taken to heart by so many Australian people, and if that's not a great honour, I don't know what is.
" While the honour of performing the track has been handed to other performers over the years, he wants to perform for the next two years, taking it to the song's 50-year anniversary and his own 80th birthday. In fact, Brady was more determined than ever to take to the stage this year, fearing the AFL might not ask him back if he did not.
One Day In September Jingles Falls Fall Prevention Old Age Up There Cazaly Afl Grand Final Footy Theme Song
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