A top drag queen has added some Perthshire pride to the “Pride of Perthshire” by penning a League Cup Final song for St Johnstone.
Scarlet Skylar Rae’s “Come On You Saints” has already proved a winner with football fans and the Perth musician says she is delighted to be breaking down boundaries by uniting two worlds which have rarely met in the past.
Having grown up watching St Johnstone from the stands of McDiarmid Park, Scarlet was one of the thousands of Saints supporters who were elated to see the Perth men sweep aside Hibernian in last month’s semi-final at Hampden.
Now, the lifelong fan is delighted to see the Saints reach the final on February 28.
But Scarlet, convinced that “flying” Saints would turn over the Leith club, had got to work early and started writing the catchy ode straight after the club’s penalty shootout-win over Dunfermline in the quarter-finals.
She said: “After the quarter final, I had a hunch that we would do quite well.
“I wanted to do a song for the final and knew it needed to be big, fun and cheesy.
“I got to work on the backing track after the Dunfermline match. The piano, guitar and vocals are all me, and I got a bit experimental.”
‘I’ve had a lot of support from fans’
Harking back to crunch matches in St Johnstone’s cup run and the Hampden heroes who have already written themselves into folklore, Scarlet’s anthem has had tens of thousands of hits and ends by putting a cliched old trope to bed – that Perth is more than just a roundabout.
“It’s going down really well,” she added.
“As a drag queen in the football realm, it’s uncharted territory. I’ve had a lot of support from fans.
“On Drag Race once, somebody wore a Norwich top but I don’t think anyone has done this before in Scottish football.
‘Football is for everyone’
“I’ve always been quite into breaking the mould. I want to show that it doesn’t matter who you are, football is for everyone.
“I grew up going to games with my dad. I call this bringing a bit of Perthshire Pride to the Pride of Perthshire.
“This is an unofficial song. The club are doing a song in Gaelic which I’m really excited to hear.”
Scarlet says she is keen to give a live performance once restrictions allow, but is hopeful that it won’t just be reaching the final that the Fair City faithful can celebrate.
A fine 2-1 victory in last week’s dress rehearsal put a stop to Livingston’s record-breaking unbeaten run, thanks to goals from Scott Tanser and Shaun Rooney.
Just like in her lyrics, Scarlet is willing to “take that bet” that Saints will lift the silverware, confident that Callum Davidson’s men will be able to repeat their performance and result from West Lothian and is predicting another 2-1 win.
This isn’t the first time Scarlet has used her musical prowess to campaign for togetherness and acceptance. Last year, she appeared on Gambian radio to help push for LGBTQ equality in the west African nation.
Scarlet also appeared at Global Pride 2020, a virtual event commemorating the 1969 Stonewall Riots, alongside a host of stars including now-US President Joe Biden.
