Rap fans of Crystal Palace resurrect the FA Cup song

In the 26 years since Crystal Palace last appeared in the FA Cup final football has changed dramatically. But Palace supporters have made a concerted effort to turn back the clock, by resurrecting the concept of the cup final song ahead of their FA Cup final showdown with Manchester United at Wembley tomorrow.

From the 1970s to the 1990s the cup final song was something of an institution. It served to puncture the pride of the players heading to Wembley who were forced to take part in a usually cringeworthy singalong with their team-mates and then mug for the cameras on Top of the Pops and other TV shows in the weeks leading up to the final.

The genre spawned a few classics, among them Palace's 1990 effort Glad All Over, a cover of the Dave Clark Five song.

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Such tomfoolery fell out of favour in the 1990s, a victim of football's new-found self-importance in the Premier League era and the excesses of Baddiel and Skinner, whose Three Lions behemoth effectively killed off the genre.

But perenially unfashionable Palace are unconcerned by footballing convention and rapper, comedian and Eagles fan Doc Brown with help from fellow MC Verb T may have recorded the best football song since Black Grape's gloriously unhinged Euro 96 anthem, England's Irie.

The track, Glad All Over Again, celebrates Palace's ability to beat teams with just "25 per cent possession" and the achievements of Andy Gray ("not him, the cool black one"). [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95136","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

It's an "absolute tune", according to The Sun's DreamTeam website and also gets the thumbs-up from broadcaster Talksport.

But Doc Brown is not alone. Not to be outdone, the cousin of Palace winger Yannick Bolasie, rapper Fearless, has also released a song – Red'n'Blue Army – representing what The Guardian calls "a more contemporary sound".

But how do the two modern Palace songs match up against some of the 20th century classics?

Crystal Palace – Glad All Oer, 1990 [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95137","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

Spurs and Chas & Dave – Ossie's Dream, 1981 [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95138","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

Liverpool – Anfield Rap, 1998 [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95139","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

England World Cup squad and New Order – World in Motion, 1990 [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95140","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

Black Grape, Joe Strummer and Keith Allen – England's Irie, 1996[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"95141","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]