FC Sankt Pauli - the football club in the red-light district of Hamburg; a trans
vestite chairman; terraces populated by punks, pimps and prostitutes; a club run
by anarchists, united under the skull and crossbones flag. This is the cliche t
hat has been lazily peddled, one which attracts clueless stag parties from the R
eeperbahn to the Millerntor stadium. But it's not the real St Pauli.
In Pirat
es, Punks & Politics author Nick Davidson puts the record straight, interminglin
g the history of FC St. Pauli, and the district it represents, with an account o
f his own involvement with the club. Back in 2007 Davidson travelled with his fa
ther to watch his first game at the Millerntor.
What he found reinforced his
faith in football. This book goes beyond the stereotype to seek out the real St.
Pauli - a club with a passionate, left-wing fan base that has made a stand agai
nst, fascism, racism, sexism and both in football and wider society.
As the a
uthor and countless others have discovered, the Millerntor is also a place which
welcomes with open arms fans seeking an alternative to the rabid commercialisat
ion of football elsewhere, encouraging them to stay for hours after the final wh
istle and immerse themselves in the vibrant fan culture. Read this book and fall
in love with a different kind of football.
