FC St Pauli: how it became the football team of punk and techno

Musicians are queuing up to show support to the Hamburg football club thanks to its politically engaged fans and entrenched activist ethos

Hamburg’s FC St Pauli occupies a distinctive position in world football. A bastion of leftwing activism and DIY arts, its supporters, particularly the legendary “Ultras”, are one of the western world’s most politically and culturally engaged fanbases, and the club is particularly beloved of punk and underground music fans. “St Pauli is unlike any other club,” says Tim McIlrath, frontman of American melodic hardcore band, Rise Against. “We went to their stadium, and to see ‘No Football for Fascists’ painted across the stand, to see them encouraging more girls playing football – it’s fascinating. I was looking for a club that transcends sport – St Pauli is a model of that.”

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