From phrase, to jingle, to song – The history of Up There Cazaly

Up there Cazaly was a hit song for Mike Brady in 1979.  It became synonymous with Australian Rules Football and now, even  40 years later we cannot imagine it not being a part of the AFL’s Grand Final entertainment.

But Roy Cazaly’s playing career finished 92 years ago in 1927.  To remember seeing him play in a game you’d have to be 100 years old.

It was over a quarter of a century after Cazaly’s VFL career finished that Mike Brady arrived from England with his family and it was another quarter of a century later that Mike wrote a song about him.

Why did Mike Brady write a song about Roy Cazaly 50 years after he finished playing?
Is it true that it was never intended to be a full song?
Who was the radio announcer friend of Mike Brady’s who nagged him to make it happen?
What did the Cazaly family think of the song?

Please listen here to the definitive story of Up There Cazaly as we piece together interviews from 1979 with singer songwriter, Mike Brady, radio announcer Keith McGowan, record label owner Ron Tudor, television host Peter Landy, and the son of Roy Cazaly, Roy Cazaly Junior.