Creating a Rangers matchday, Steven Gerrard's lockdown request and Ryan Jack's goal music - Ibrox announcer Michael Smith interview

Michael Smith has been the Rangers announcer since 2017 and is every inch the boy who is living the dream.

He gave us an insight into life behind the microphone.

Can you tell us how you became the Rangers announcer?

They got me on a Bosman!

It was 2017, that was when I got a phone call from the marketing department at Rangers. They were looking to change the matchday experience and my name had popped up because I had worked in radio in Glasgow for a good few years so they knew of my name.

Big Bomber Brown was working at Rangers at the time who knew my dad so he said, “I know his dad so I have a contact for you.”

Rangers called me, it was a guy called Hector who is no longer there, but he was a great guy.

He said, “Come in, we’ll give you a tour of Ibrox.”

I’ve done several tours of Ibrox over the years but Bomber took me around the stadium, showed me what it was all about, which I kind of knew anyway, but it was good to see it again.

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I got offered a three-game trial and if that was successful then they would keep me on and, so be it, it was successful.

My first game was against Dunfermline in the League Cup. The stadium would’ve been a wee bit quieter so it was a good game to break in and get rid of the nerves because it was quite a big deal working at Ibrox and working for a team that you’ve supported all your days.

I did that and then another couple of games and thankfully got invited back so here I am, five seasons on.

Have you been going to Ibrox since you were a young boy?

Yeah, my dad took me to my first game in 1992, we played St Mirren and it was the game that secured the league that year. I just remember what a buzz it was. The atmosphere in the stadium, I was like, “I want more of this!”

Ever since then I was going regularly. There was maybe a wee lull in later years, you meet your partner and get married so there’s not always many opportunities at that time to get to games but I went to a lot throughout the seasons and I absolutely loved it. It’s great to get back there to actually work at the games and be part of that matchday atmosphere.

Were there any nerves when you took charge of the microphone for the first time?

Absolutely and I think anybody who does that line of work, if they say, “I’m not nervous,” then I think it’s a bit of a lie. You’re excited, you’re not wanting to make a mess of things and you obviously want to make an impression because, whether you like it or not, you’re a new voice to that stadium. You are going to be heavily judged so you want to, at least, get through it smoothly without making any big mistakes so the nerves are there but once you open that microphone up and say your first link, whether it’s welcoming the fans to Ibrox, mentioning the sponsor or teams or whatever, the nerves are there.

Now, I wouldn’t call it nerves but I would just call it adrenalin. The minute you’re throwing that microphone up ready to say something, it’s just sheer energy and it’s such a buzz.

It was some feeling just to be in control of the mic and music and try to feed the fans some energy to get them going, it’s been brilliant.

What does your typical day look like?

I’ve worked at most home games, I think I’ve missed one or two. One of them was due to me getting married so I don’t think I would’ve been allowed to do a game that day!

I’ll go into the stadium two hours before kick-off and I’ll be given a running order that I’ll go through and write sometimes a bit where I want to say something or add things on or shuffle things about, but the guys at Ibrox are brilliant.

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It’s all organised, it’s there for me, what’s happening, where and when.

Times may vary, something can happen on a matchday that wasn’t expected and you maybe need to do something else but there’s a great group of guys around me.

You’ve got the IT guys, guys who work the screens, guys who work the advertising boards, the guys who are in charge of the sound system so there’s a good team that we’ve got in our wee PA booth.

There are guys who send me promotional songs as well so I’ll go through their playlist and pick what ones I want to take off it to play pre-match and then it’s just about waiting for the fans to come in.

About an hour before kick-off I’ll get the team sheets and the first thing I do is go through the away team and make sure I know all the names which I normally do.

I do my research before I go to Ibrox but just in case there’s a spanner in the works, I make sure I know how to pronounce them and then you familiarise yourself with the Rangers team so you’re comfortable with that when it comes to announcing them in front of the fans.

The majority of the fans are probably in half an hour to 15 minutes before kick-off so it quickly gains momentum with the energy and the music.

What is the thought process that goes into choosing what music to play?

15 minutes before kick-off it’s Rangers songs so I’ll play the stuff off the classic album; Follow, Follow, Every Other Saturday, Blue Sea of Ibrox but we’ve had some recent additions like Four Lads Had a Dream which just goes down brilliant, Every Saturday We Follow is, personally, my favourite at the moment so I’ll play them as close to kick-off as possible because they’re the tunes that are going to get the biggest reaction.

Over the years you’ve had the likes of Penny Arcade, that’s maybe getting a wee rest at the moment. Some songs I’ll rest so the fans don’t get annoyed hearing it all the time and there are other certainties that you play like the big I’m Feeling It tune right now from the Sunset Brothers.

At the time when we won 55 and when we played Celtic at the start of this season, we played it at full time and the place just erupted. I’m not going to take full credit for that, I said to Alan, who I work with in the PA booth, “what are you thinking about for full time?”

I was going to go with Live It Up but we played that in previous Old Firms and Alan said, “I’m Feeling It,” and I thought, “brilliant!”

I’ve never seen the stadium like it, the place was shaking. That’s a song that I still like to introduce pre-match as well, mostly the songs pre-match within half an hour to kick-off are taken care of so you’ve got the likes of Ryan Kent’s song, you’ve got Fashion Sakala’s song, the fans are singing to the tune of Super Trooper so if I play those kinds of songs it’s going to get them singing.

Just before the big build, I’ll just be picking chart songs, uplifting songs. I’ve got a company who send me new releases so I’ll throw some of them in there and try and introduce the fans to some new songs as well but half an hour to 15 minutes before kick-off, its songs that fans know, songs they can react to and it’s songs that get them going.

How does the goal music get selected, do the players have any input?

At first, when I got there I’d asked my boss if he could go round the players and see what song they would like when they scored. Kenny Miller was still there at the time and he’d asked for a Foo Fighters song and I’ve still not found this song to this day!

I don’t think he scored so I didn’t have to play it anyway.

Ryan Jack had asked for a song called Jack which was from a dance music production duo called Breach and I played it once or twice for him.

Mostly nowadays, the fans come up with a lot of the songs like Whigfield Saturday Night for Scotty Arfield so I just listen out for what the fans are singing for the player and then I’ll think I’ll grab that as it could be a good goal song.

Not every player’s got a goal song, it was a joy to play Helander’s ABBA goal song because it’s not one that you play often and it was even better to play it in an Old Firm as well which was just brilliant, again the fans went mental.

We've got generic goal songs like the Scooter Maria song, I think I heard that at a German stadium and I just thought that would be brilliant and something the fans could sing back to you. 

The same with the Dutch anthem that I was playing when Giovanni came. I’d actually been playing it since the summer and then everyone thought I had an insight into Giovanni coming to Ibrox but it was sheer coincidence, I’m not going to lie! But it was brilliant that he came so I’ve started playing that regularly as a goal song and from the impression I get I think the fans like it. There’ll always be one or two who’ll moan but I think the majority enjoy it so it’s good.

The club’s in a very different place to when you joined in 2017, what have you made of the change?

Unbelievable! It’s frightening actually from what it was like when I was there when results weren’t always going our way, you could just feel that with the fans, with the staff around you because we’re Rangers fans.

You could feel it was still a difficult time, it wasn’t the most difficult of times as to where they had been before I got there but it was still in the process. I think it was Graeme Murty and Pedro Caixinha who had come in and then Steven Gerrard so even that process with Pedro and then onto Gerrard you could sense how quick it was beginning to change when he came in and what a job he did.

From the beginning when I got there to now, the difference in the energy in the stadium through that time has just gone up and up and up and it’s great days to be around the club at the moment.

Michael performs the halftime draw alongisde Rangers legend Paul Gascoigne

You’ve met some Rangers legends, the likes of Paul Gascoigne, how much do you enjoy that?

It’s great. The half time draw stuff is brilliant, it’s been a bit disappointing during Covid, we’ve not been allowed out onto the park to do the draw so we need to do it inside. There’s still a Rangers legend that draws it but I don’t get to interview them.

Gazza, what a character! I felt like giving him a cuddle that day, he was so taken back with the response he got from the fans, he started tearing up and he said it was just great to be there and he's always a laugh, always looking to crack a joke so the interview took care of itself.

It’s only a short time that you get to spend with them because you’ve got to do the draw and there are other things happening before the players are back out for the second half. He’s a standout but even the likes of Ian Durrant, he was brilliant, he was good with the fans who love and even guys before my time like the Barca 72’ boys.

It’s just fantastic to get to meet all these different people and fingers crossed we’re back out on the pitch soon and doing it again because it’s great for the fans as well. Fans love listening to what happened in years gone by and just reminiscing of great times, winning trophies and things like that so it’s always good to catch up with a Rangers legend.

How challenging was it to work in an empty Ibrox last season?

It was strange I must admit. First of all, I was delighted to have a gig because I DJ in nightclubs and pubs all over Scotland and all that was gone.

It was just great to get back to football but it was very strange that there were no fans in, you’re saying things and you’re getting no reaction back it’s very bizarre so you’re announcing the team to nobody.

One of the main influences was Steven Gerrard. He said, “I want this to be as close to a matchday as possible.”

Part of that job is having me there playing music, shouting and making the stadium nice and loud when there are goals and things.

I don’t think it was entirely his decision but it was obviously a good word put in to get us back because there were people messaging me when they were watching their telly, saying, “What’s the need for you at Ibrox?”

So my reply was, “Steven Gerrard wanted me there!”

I really felt for the fans but it was great to be there and be involved on a matchday when hundreds of thousands couldn’t get to games.

Michael celebrates with Rangers skipper James Tavernier after winning the league title

You had the stadium in an uproar recently when Ianis Hagi was named Man of the Match against Dundee United, what was that like?

It’s the sponsors who pick the Man of the Match and sometimes I’m quite happy to tell the stadium it’s the sponsors when it’s someone you don’t agree with.

That was a particular day that I didn’t agree with and I think 50,000 agreed as well. Hagi had tried a rabona in the 85th minute and the ball goes out the park so we’re decking ourselves when the Man of the Match comes through, literally seconds just after that and we’re like, “aw naw!” but it gave us a good laugh and actually when I announced it the stadium laughed.

It’s a shame on Ianis because he’s a fantastic player and I absolutely love him but I don’t think there would’ve been many other players that we would’ve picked that day anyway, it wasn’t our best performance but it was quite funny hearing the stadium laugh.

Have you had any gaffes?

There’s maybe the odd mistake now and again, just a natural mistake or whatever which the fans would probably point out but I’m my own worst critic so I do see things but there’s one time that stands out for me.

We were playing FK Shkupi in a Europa League qualifier so I’m in the booth and reading the foreign players can be difficult.

Sometimes we get someone in to help me with the team names and things which can be a massive help but in this game I felt I would be fine on my own, I thought the names didn’t look that bad.

It was a substitution so I’ve announced the guy who’s coming off and when I’ve announced the guy who’s coming on, it was a normal name but I’ve made it sound more foreign than what it was and just got it totally wrong. I heard a wee snigger beside me in the PA booth and then he set someone off beside them so I heard them starting to laugh and then I’ve chuckled as well on the back of announcing this name but I’ve not got the microphone down in time so the whole stadium has heard me bursting out laughing.

There’s maybe about a half-second to a second delay between the microphone and the speakers for the sound coming out and I’ve literally just heard 50,000 folk laugh back at me!

I was mortified, I had a few messages on Twitter that night but I hold my hands up, maybe it was a wee bit unprofessional but it gave most of us a laugh, it was a genuine mistake but it gave us a wee chuckle.

Have you had any strange requests?

The fans are brilliant. If they’ve got a birthday, anniversary or their first game at Ibrox I'm more than happy to give them a shoutout.

For the game against Stirling Albion, that was a game where families like to bring their younger ones, it’s a more family-oriented game, it’s not going to be a sell-out so you get a better chance to bring your kids along so that particular game there was a lot of kids getting announcements for their first time at Ibrox and then there are the more sad ones of people that we’ve lost.

It’s good to put a smile on people’s faces by getting a shoutout so they always seem to go well.

On the park, how do you see the season ending, do you think Rangers can retain the title?

Definitely! They’ve got a great squad. Joe Aribo’s done brilliant for his country but it’s good to see him back. If we stay, mostly injury-free, we’ve got great players in that squad and I can see them delivering 56 no bother.

It’s football, there’ll maybe be the wee odd hiccup along the way but there are other teams in the league that’ll have hiccups as well. I think we’ll probably have fewer of them.