Welsh pop star Bonnie Tyler, who passed away on July 8 at age 75, left behind a towering musical legacy. In Argentina, however, she will also be remembered for something she likely never imagined: her enduring popularity in Argentine football stadiums.

Singing stadium chants is an essential part of the Argentine match-going experience. You’re expected — and encouraged — to sing, ideally while jumping up and down.

Argentines will often bring instruments — most notably drums and sometimes trumpets — to stadiums, but they seldom rely on original songwriting talent. As a general rule, they’re adaptations of popular songs, hailing from a myriad of origins.

The lyrics almost entirely changed to reflect either the team or the fan’s glory — or how cowardly, ruinous or poor some rival is — but the rhyme and tempo remain unaltered. 

While most clubs have their own songs, or versions of them, some are universal to Argentine football. Few feelings are as common among fans as the frustration over players not quite taking the match seriously enough. And that’s how Bonnie Tyler’s “It’s a Heartache” became a staple of Argentine stadiums.

Written by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe and released in November 1977, the song became one of Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler’s biggest hits. It topped the charts in several countries and reached No. 3 in the U.S. and No. 4 in the UK, so it’s no surprise that Argentines became acutely aware of its pace and rhythm.

Yet in the stands, its........

© Buenos Aires Herald