2009 UEFA Champions League final

The 2009 UEFA Champions League final was played on 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match determined the winners of the 2008–09 season of the UEFA Champions League, a tournament for the top football clubs in Europe. The match was won by Barcelona of Spain, who beat England's Manchester United 2–0. Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and Lionel Messi added another goal 20 minutes from the end to earn Barcelona a historic treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, a feat never before achieved by a Spanish club. The match was refereed by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca.

This was Barcelona's third victory in the competition, 17 years after they first won the European Cup in 1992. Manchester United went into the match as the competition's defending champions, the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997. Manchester United also sought to be the first team to retain the European Cup since A.C. Milan in 1990. It was the fifth year in a row in which the final involved at least one English team. The Stadio Olimpico had hosted three previous Champions League finals, in 1977, 1984 and 1996.

As winners of the 2008–09 Champions League, Barcelona later played against 2008–09 UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, and they represented UEFA at the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup. For winning the final, Barcelona won €7 million in prize money, and Manchester United received €4 million as runners-up.

## Background

Barcelona and Manchester United had previously faced each other nine times in European competitions: three times in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and six times in the UEFA Champions League. Of those nine matches, Manchester United had recorded three wins to Barcelona's two, with the remaining four matches finishing in draws. The only time that the two teams met in a final came in 1991, when they contested the 1991 Cup Winners' Cup final. The first meeting between the two sides came in the third round of the 1983–84 Cup Winners' Cup; Barcelona won the first leg at the Camp Nou 2–0, but Manchester United won the return leg 3–0 at Old Trafford to reach the semi-finals. That result marked Manchester United's biggest win over Barcelona; Barcelona's biggest win was a 4–0 home victory in the group stage of the 1994–95 Champions League. The most recent meeting between the teams came in the semi-finals of the 2007–08 Champions League, when United held Barcelona to a 0–0 draw at the Camp Nou before beating them 1–0 at Old Trafford. Despite their record against Manchester United, Barcelona had an overall winning record against English clubs, having won 20 and lost 15 of their 52 matches against English opposition. Manchester United, on the other hand, had a losing record against Spanish teams; they had lost 11 and won 10 of their 37 matches.

Both teams had won the UEFA Champions League before; Manchester United had three titles, while Barcelona had two. The most recent of these had come only the season before, when Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. They won the first of their European Cups in 1968, beating Benfica 4–1 at Wembley Stadium, while their second was achieved in 1999 with a 2–1 win over Bayern Munich at Barcelona's home ground, the Camp Nou, in which they overturned a 1–0 Bayern lead with two goals in second-half injury time. Barcelona's first European Cup was won as recently as 1992, when they beat Sampdoria 1–0 after extra time at Wembley; their only other title came in 2006 with a 2–1 win over another English side, Arsenal. Prior to 2009, unlike Barcelona, Manchester United had never lost a European Cup final; Barcelona had lost three – in 1961, 1986 and 1994, to Benfica, Steaua București and A.C. Milan respectively.

Both teams went into the match as the champions of their respective countries – the first time that the final had been contested by domestic champions since 1999 – both winning with games to spare. Manchester United won their 11th Premier League title with a 0–0 draw at home to Arsenal on 16 May, while Barcelona were confirmed as La Liga champions for the first time in three years when Real Madrid lost to Villarreal on the same day. Both Manchester United and Barcelona were also looking for another Champions League title to cap a season in which they had won multiple trophies: Manchester United had already won four out of a possible seven trophies in 2008–09 and were playing for the possibility of becoming the third team to retain the European double (the domestic league and the European Cup) and win a treble along with the Football League Cup, while Barcelona were aiming to become the first Spanish club to win the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.

## Road to Rome

### Barcelona

By virtue of their third-place finish in the 2007–08 La Liga, Barcelona entered the 2008–09 Champions League at the third qualifying round. Based on their UEFA coefficient, Barcelona were seeded for the third qualifying round draw, and drawn against Polish champions Wisła Kraków. A 4–0 win in the first leg at the Camp Nou made defeat in the second leg immaterial and Barcelona were entered into the group stage draw.

Barcelona's UEFA coefficient placed them in the top eight seeds for the draw, meaning that they would avoid having to play against Inter Milan, Liverpool, Chelsea or holders and their semi-final opponents from 2007–08, Manchester United. However, they could still draw Bayern Munich, Roma or Juventus. In the end, Barcelona were drawn into Group C against Sporting CP, Basel and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Four wins and a draw at home to Basel placed Barcelona on top of their group with a game to spare, and despite defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk on Matchday 6, they still had the third-best record amongst the qualifiers for the first knockout round. As group winners, Barcelona would avoid being drawn with other group winners, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus and Bayern Munich, but they could still be drawn against runners-up such as Chelsea, Inter and Arsenal. The draw eventually paired them with Lyon and, as group winners, they would play the second leg at home.

In the first leg in Lyon, Barcelona fell behind to a seventh-minute free kick from Juninho, only for Thierry Henry to equalise halfway through the second half, giving Barcelona an away goal to take back to the Camp Nou. They needed a win or a no-score draw to guarantee passage, but a 4–1 half-time lead set the stage for a convincing 5–2 win. Two first-half goals from Henry and one each from Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o were followed by goals from Jean Makoun and Juninho either side of the interval to reduce Lyon's deficit. However, a goal from Seydou Keita in the fifth minute of injury time secured a 6–3 aggregate win and passage to the next round.

In the quarter-finals, Barcelona were drawn against their fellow leading-scorers in the competition, Bayern Munich, who had beaten Barcelona's group stage opposition, Sporting CP, 12–1 on aggregate in the previous round. However, despite Bayern's impressive scoring record, goals from Messi and Eto'o gave Barcelona a 2–0 lead within the first 12 minutes. Messi and Henry also scored to seal a 4–0 home victory before half-time. The lack of an away goal meant Bayern Munich would have to win by five clear goals to qualify for the semi-finals. After a goalless first half, they took the lead through Franck Ribéry in the 47th minute, but it was not enough for Bayern as Keita equalised in the 73rd minute to clinch a 5–1 aggregate win for the Spanish side.

The quarter-final draw also determined the teams' routes to the final, with Barcelona facing the prospect of meeting either Chelsea or Liverpool in the semi-finals. After a 3–1 win at Anfield, Chelsea qualified for the semi-finals with a 4–4 draw at Stamford Bridge. The semi-final first leg was played at the Camp Nou; although Barcelona enjoyed the majority of the possession, Chelsea's defence was resolute and they became the first side to keep a clean sheet in Barcelona in this season's competition, coming away with a goalless draw. Barcelona needed to avoid defeat to reach the final, but they found themselves a goal down within 10 minutes; after they failed to clear Frank Lampard's pass into the penalty area, Michael Essien fired a left-footed volley past Víctor Valdés into the roof of the net. The rest of the match continued much the same as the first leg, with Barcelona retaining most of the possession. Despite this, they found themselves guilty of several fouls, while Chelsea made four unsuccessful penalty appeals during the match. Meanwhile, Dani Alves received his third yellow card of the knockout phase, ruling him out of Barcelona's next match, and Eric Abidal was given a straight red card for a foul on Nicolas Anelka as the French forward was through on goal. However, television replays after the incident showed that there was little contact between Abidal and Anelka. Norwegian referee Tom Henning Øvrebø allowed a minimum of four minutes of injury time at the end of the second half; in the third of those four minutes – just when it looked like Chelsea were about to secure a repeat of the 2008 final – Messi played the ball across the edge of the penalty area to Andrés Iniesta, who shot just past Petr Čech's outstretched hand for the away goal that would send Barcelona to the final.

### Manchester United

As the reigning champions of the UEFA Champions League, Manchester United began their title defence at the group stage, for which they were given the top seed. This position amongst the top eight European clubs meant that they would avoid drawing former European champions Barcelona, Inter and Real Madrid until at least the first knockout round, although they were faced with the prospect of drawing Bayern Munich or Roma. Nevertheless, United ended up being drawn into Group E with two teams they had played against before: Villarreal (whom they had drawn in 2005–06) and Celtic (2006–07); and one they had not: Aalborg BK.

Two victories – away to Aalborg and at home to Celtic – and four draws were enough to secure passage to the knockout phase of the competition. Following a Celtic victory over Villarreal in the final group match, United went through as group winners. This meant that they would avoid Roma, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Porto and Juventus in the first knockout round; however, their potential opposition still included Inter, Lyon and Real Madrid. The draw paired Manchester United with José Mourinho's Inter, but since United had won their group, they were rewarded by having the second leg at home.

United started the first leg the better of the two sides, and although Inter improved in the second half, neither side was able to find the net during the match, and United took a 0–0 draw back to Old Trafford. The draw was also United's 20th match since their last defeat in the UEFA Champions League, breaking Ajax's 19-match record that had stood for 13 years. The lack of an away goal at the San Siro meant that United could not afford to concede a goal in the event of a draw. A fourth-minute headed goal from Nemanja Vidić, however, got the home side off to a good start, and Cristiano Ronaldo doubled United's lead four minutes into the second half. Shots from both Zlatan Ibrahimović and Adriano hit the frame of the Manchester United goal in either half of the match, but they were unable to find the back of the net, and the 2–0 result sent the English champions through to the next stage of the competition.

The draw for the quarter-finals paired United with Porto, against whom they had played in the first knockout round of the 2003–04 competition. The draw also determined the semi-final pairings, with United or Porto drawn to play against Arsenal or Villarreal. The first leg of the quarter-final was played at Old Trafford, giving Porto the chance to put the pressure on Manchester United with an away goal. That away goal came in the fourth minute of the game, but Wayne Rooney equalised 10 minutes later and Carlos Tevez gave United the lead in the 85th minute. However, with only one minute left in the game, United suffered a defensive lapse, allowing Mariano González to score Porto's second away goal. Those away goals meant that United travelled to the Estádio do Dragão in Porto needing a win or a score-draw of 2–2 or higher to remain in the competition. A 40-yard goal from Ronaldo in the sixth minute put United into the lead, and although both sides pressed for another goal, it proved to be the only one of the game, making Manchester United the first English side to win in Porto.

Meanwhile, a 1–1 draw in Villarreal and a 3–0 win at the Emirates Stadium secured Arsenal's status as United's semi-final opponents. The draw had determined that United would play the first leg at home, and after Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo had early chances, John O'Shea opened the scoring, firing home a Michael Carrick cross after Arsenal had failed to clear a corner. United continued to make chances throughout the game, but despite Arsenal making a couple of chances themselves, the match finished at 1–0 and United travelled to the Emirates Stadium a week later needing only to avoid defeat to become the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997. Although Arsenal only needed to overturn a one-goal deficit, their chances of victory were drastically reduced within the first 11 minutes of the match; Park Ji-sung took advantage of a slip by Kieran Gibbs to double United's aggregate lead in the eighth minute, before Ronaldo fired home a 41-yard free kick in the 11th minute. With two away goals on the United scoreboard, Arsenal now had to score four goals to reach the final. However, it was United who scored the next goal, as they hit Arsenal on the break and Ronaldo scored within 15 seconds of Arsenal losing the ball at the other end of the pitch. 15 minutes from time, Arsenal were awarded a penalty kick after Darren Fletcher brought Cesc Fàbregas down in the penalty area, a foul for which Fletcher was sent off – although replays showed that Fletcher knocked the ball away from Fàbregas immediately before bringing him down, resulting in some controversy as to whether Fletcher deserved a red card for the foul. Robin van Persie scored the penalty to make the score 3–1, but it was not enough to prevent United from reaching the final unbeaten for the fourth time in their history.

## Pre-match

### Venue

The Stadio Olimpico in Rome was selected as the venue for the 2009 UEFA Champions League final at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 4 October 2006. The committee – who decided the venue for the 2008 final and the 2008 and 2009 UEFA Cup finals at the same meeting – based their decision on a number of factors, including stadium capacity, safety and security facilities, and accessibility.

The Stadio Olimpico had hosted three European Cup finals before 2009: the 1977 and 1984 finals, both of which were won by Liverpool – Liverpool beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 in 1977 before beating home side Roma 4–2 on penalties after the match finished 1–1 after extra time; the most recent final to be held at the Stadio Olimpico was the 1996 final, which Juventus also won 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw with Ajax.

The construction of the stadium was commissioned by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in the mid-1930s as the centrepiece of a new sports complex in the city, to be named Foro Mussolini. After World War II, the complex was renamed Foro Italico and the stadium was radically redesigned as a 54,000-capacity arena for the 1960 Summer Olympics. After hosting the 1987 World Athletics Championships, the stadium was redeveloped in time for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, at which West Germany's 1–0 win over Argentina in the final was played there. The stadium's most recent renovation, in 2008, brought the capacity to 72,689.

Since 1999, the UEFA Champions League final has been given a unique visual identity in order to increase the marketing appeal of the event. Designed by London-based design and branding agency Radiant, the theme for the 2009 final was revealed on 25 October 2008, and it incorporated several typically Roman images; the logo was centred around an outline of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, upon which was written "MMIX" – "2009" in Roman numerals; around the base of the trophy was a stylised laurel wreath, and in the background was a simplified image of the interior of the Colosseum. An alternative logo consisting of the UEFA Champions League logo surrounded by a laurel wreath was also released. The entire theme was based on a colour scheme of deep red and silver-white.

A trophy handover ceremony was held in Rome on 21 April 2009, at which Ole Gunnar Solskjær, representing Manchester United as the previous season's champions, returned the trophy to UEFA president Michel Platini. Platini then presented the trophy to Gianni Alemanno, the Mayor of Rome, that it might be put on display in and around the city until the day of the final. Also present at the ceremony were the president and vice-president of the Italian Football Federation, Giancarlo Abete and Demetrio Albertini, the ambassador for the final, Bruno Conti, and Emilio Di Toro on behalf of the Italian National Olympic Committee.

### Ticketing

Although the usual capacity of the Stadio Olimpico is over 72,000, this was reduced to approximately 67,000 for the 2009 UEFA Champions League final. Approximately 10,000 tickets were made available to the general public, with recipients determined by a random ballot following an application period that ran from 2 to 16 March 2009. Each club was also allocated approximately 20,000 tickets for distribution to fans. Manchester United chose to limit ticket applications to season ticket holders, with preference given to those who had attended more of the club's Champions League away fixtures that season. Barcelona, meanwhile, allotted 80% of their ticket allocation to fans, with the remaining 20% going to the club's corporate sponsors. Unlike United, however, Barcelona opened ticket applications to all 150,000 of their members. The remaining 17,000 tickets were retained by UEFA for the "European football family", which comprises UEFA itself, the local organising committee, UEFA's member associations and its commercial partners.

Tickets for the 2009 final were similar to ATM cards, with an integrated chip storing the ticket holder's personal information in order to ensure that the ticket is being presented by its legitimate owner. As further security, tickets also had to be presented with an adequate form of photographic identification. However, despite these security measures, counterfeit tickets were still produced, forcing UEFA to issue a statement warning people against buying tickets from touts.

Despite only receiving 20,000 tickets for fans, it was expected that around 30,000 Manchester United fans would be travelling to Rome for the final, leading to police warning ticketless fans not to travel amidst fears of potential hooligans making the trip. Fans were also warned to avoid certain areas of the city that are known to be frequented by members of Rome's Ultra fan groups. Despite Rome's reputation as a hotbed for knife-related crime, dubbed "Stab City" by some, UEFA was confident that the 2009 final would pass without incident, but on the morning of the final, there were reports that a Manchester United fan had been stabbed in the leg the previous evening. It was also expected that a similar number of Barcelona fans would be arriving in Rome in the lead-up to the match. After the match, UEFA president Michel Platini praised the Rome police for their arrangement of security for the final.

More than 3,000 Manchester United fans congregated just outside the city in a field that came to be known as "Fergie's Field". The venue provided ticketless fans with the opportunity to watch the match on a giant screen, and kept them away from the streets of Rome's city centre, although the alcohol ban that came into effect in the city at 17:00 (Central European Summer Time) on 26 May was still in force.

### Match ball

The official match ball for the 2009 Champions League final was the adidas Finale Rome. Based on the "Starball" design that has been used for the Champions League final since 2001 and become synonymous with the UEFA Champions League, the Finale Rome was unveiled on 16 March 2009. The colour scheme was a traditional Roman burgundy with a gold border around the stars. The ball used the same panel configuration as the Adidas Europass and the Adidas Teamgeist before it, and the same thermal bonding process was used to adhere the panels to each other, while the surface of the ball featured the same "PSC-Texture" as was debuted with the Europass; the surface of the ball was covered with thousands of tiny pimples, which was designed to improve the grip between boot and ball.

### Officials

The referee for the 2009 UEFA Champions League final was Massimo Busacca, representing the Swiss Football Association. Having been on FIFA's list of internationally accredited referees since 1999, Busacca had experience of officiating 32 UEFA Champions League matches, six of them during the 2008–09 season, and most recently the second leg of Manchester United's quarter-final against Porto on 15 April 2009. He also took charge of the first leg of the semi-final between Manchester United and Barcelona in the 2007–08 competition. Busacca also refereed at both the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008, and took charge of the 2007 UEFA Cup Final between Espanyol and Sevilla at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on 16 May 2007.

As usual, the referee was supported by assistant referees and a fourth official from the same country; in the 2009 final, Massimo Busacca was assisted by Matthias Arnet and Francesco Buragina, with Claudio Circhetta as the fourth official.

### Kits

Having been designated as the official "home" team, Barcelona were given the first choice of kits for the final and opted to wear their traditional red and blue shirts in a halved design. Since the Barcelona home kit clashed with both Manchester United's home and European away kits, the Red Devils wore their white domestic away kit for the first time in a European Cup final. They wore blue for their first European Cup final against Benfica in 1968, but wore red for both of their most recent finals in 1999 and 2008. Manchester United had previously worn white against Barcelona in five matches, losing just one of them – a 2–0 defeat in 1984 – while the only win in white came in the 1991 Cup Winners' Cup Final. The other three matches finished in draws: two 3–3 and one 0–0. Barcelona, on the other hand, had won two of their five European Cup finals – they wore orange for their win over Sampdoria in 1992 but wore their usual blue and red stripes for their most recent win in 2006 against Arsenal. However, two of their European Cup final defeats came against teams wearing white – against Steaua București in 1986 and against A.C. Milan in 1994.

### Opening ceremony

The 2009 UEFA Champions League final officially opened with the opening of the UEFA Champions Festival at Rome's Arco di Costantino and the Parco di Colle Oppio above the Colosseum. The Champions Festival was opened by former Italy international goalkeeper Luca Marchegiani on 23 May 2009 and ran until the afternoon on the day of the final, culminating with a football match between a European side coached by former Netherlands international Ruud Gullit and an all-Italian team featuring Milan one-club man Alessandro Costacurta and final ambassador Bruno Conti. Other attractions at the Champions Festival included appearances by representatives from both clubs (Bryan Robson and Ole Gunnar Solskjær for Manchester United and Hristo Stoichkov for Barcelona), exhibitions featuring memorabilia from past UEFA Champions League tournaments and the European Champion Clubs' Cup on display.

Immediately prior to the match itself came the opening ceremony for the final. The ceremony began with 64 members of the Rustavi Ensemble dance group performing a choreographed routine to a variation of the UEFA Champions League Anthem. At the culmination of the routine, the players emerged from the tunnel, accompanied by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli singing Il Gladiatore – a song based on Earth from the soundtrack to the film Gladiator – before Bocelli sang supporting vocals to the UEFA Champions League Anthem. Before they emerged from their dressing room, manager Pep Guardiola played the Barcelona team a specially commissioned seven-minute film showing their best moments from the season interspersed with clips from the film Gladiator. The film culminated with the late Luciano Pavarotti's version of Nessun Dorma, and it left several of the players in tears. With his players motivated for the game, Guardiola said nothing as they emerged into the tunnel.

## Match

### Team selection

Two Barcelona players missed the final through suspension: right-back Dani Alves, who picked up his third yellow card of the tournament in Barcelona's semi-final second leg against Chelsea on 6 May 2009; and left-back Eric Abidal, who was sent off in the same game for a professional foul on Nicolas Anelka. Defender Rafael Márquez also missed the match after he picked up a knee injury in the first leg of the semi-final, ruling him out for the rest of the season. Forward Thierry Henry and semi-final-winning midfielder Andrés Iniesta were also doubts for the final; Henry damaged his right posterior cruciate ligament in Barcelona's 6–2 league win over Real Madrid on 2 May 2009, while Iniesta was discovered to have suffered a tear in his right thigh following Barça's 3–3 draw with Villarreal on 10 May. Both Henry and Iniesta returned to light training on 22 May, but they had not yet resumed training with the main squad and remained doubts for the final. Carles Puyol, however, was available for selection after he served a one-match suspension in the semi-final second leg.

Manchester United's starting right-winger from the 2008 final, Owen Hargreaves, missed the match as he was still in rehabilitation after a double knee operation to cure his tendinitis problems that had seen him play little part in the 2008–09 Champions League campaign. It had been expected that defender Wes Brown would also miss the match after suffering a recurrence of a foot injury, but he returned to training quicker than expected and was involved in United's match against Hull City on 24 May, although he picked up a slight knock during the game. Rio Ferdinand was also a doubt following a calf injury that has kept him out of the United side since the semi-final second leg against Arsenal; Alex Ferguson had said that Ferdinand might not start in Rome if he was not fit to play against Hull, but he later admitted that Ferdinand was on course to recover in time to play in the match. Second-choice goalkeeper Ben Foster also missed the match after requiring surgery to repair a ruptured ligament in his right thumb in May 2009. On the other hand, following John O'Shea's winning goal in Manchester United's semi-final first leg victory over Arsenal, United manager Alex Ferguson suggested that the Irish utility player would be guaranteed a place in the starting line-up were United to reach the final. O'Shea's place in the team was confirmed at Manchester United's media day the week before the final. South Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung was also promised a place in the team after he missed the 2008 final, finally making him the first Asian to appear in a European Cup final. Cristiano Ronaldo suffered a slight injury scare in training the night before the final, requiring a bandage on his lower right leg, but he was eventually fit enough to play in the match.

Meanwhile, midfielder Darren Fletcher was forced to miss the final after picking up a red card in the second leg of the semi-final. While replays showed that Fletcher played the ball before felling Cesc Fàbregas in the penalty area, the UEFA appeals process only allows for cards to be rescinded in the case of mistaken identity. Despite this, an appeal was submitted by Manchester United on "compassionate" grounds. Barcelona decided to appeal against the suspensions of Abidal and Alves after United lodged an appeal against Fletcher's red card. Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola came out in support of overturning all three players' suspensions. The appeals were declared unsuccessful on 11 May, with UEFA saying in a statement that the appeals were not submitted within the required 24-hour deadline of the matches and that even if they had been submitted on time then "they would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referees' original decisions." By upholding the suspensions, UEFA made Abidal, Alves and Fletcher the first players to miss a Champions League final through suspension since Juventus' Pavel Nedvěd sat out the 2003 final at Old Trafford.

### Summary

#### First half

Barcelona kicked the match off, but Manchester United showed their intent from the outset, forcing goalkeeper Víctor Valdés to concede a throw-in after just 10 seconds. Further pressure on the attack resulted in Yaya Touré fouling Anderson within Cristiano Ronaldo's shooting range. Ronaldo fired the free kick directly at Valdés, but the Spanish goalkeeper could only parry the ball and Gerard Piqué did well to divert Park Ji-sung's follow-up effort over the bar. The resulting corner was cleared, but only as far as Wayne Rooney, whose snap-shot was wayward and went out for a goal kick.

Both teams struggled to put a flowing move together in the opening exchanges, but it was United who had the better chances, both falling to Ronaldo. The first came in the seventh minute: having been played the ball by Michael Carrick, Ronaldo turned away from Piqué on the edge of the centre circle, before hitting a shot just wide from almost 40 yards; the second saw the ball break to Ronaldo after Anderson and Patrice Evra had linked up well down the left flank. The Portuguese winger controlled the ball on the chest before hitting the ball just past the far post.

Despite United's early pressure, it was Barcelona who scored the first goal of the match. Edwin van der Sar cleared the ball downfield for Manchester United, but it was headed away by Barcelona's midfield anchor Sergio Busquets. Carrick was first to the ball for Manchester United, but he could only head it as far as Xavi, who passed to Andrés Iniesta. The Manchester United defence backed away from the Spaniard, who – after exchanging passes with Lionel Messi – played the ball into the path of Samuel Eto'o in the Manchester United penalty area. Nemanja Vidić attempted to shepherd the Cameroonian striker towards the goal line, but Eto'o easily stepped inside him and toe-poked the ball past Van der Sar to make it 1–0 to Barcelona inside 10 minutes.

The goal shifted the balance of the game in Barcelona's favour, as United had been on top in terms of shots and possession up to that point. Almost immediately after the restart, Vidić gave away an unnecessary corner. In a rehearsed corner move, Xavi played the ball back to the edge of the penalty area towards Messi, but the tournament's top scorer was unable to make a proper connection. Nevertheless, Barça retained possession through some sharp inter-passing involving Xavi and Iniesta. When United did manage to regain the ball, however, it was quickly given away by a poor pass from Carrick, while Anderson mis-timed a kick and completely missed the ball. It was now Barcelona's turn to pressurise the United players, forcing them into backward passes or long, hopeful balls forward.

The quality of the teams' passing remained the main difference between them; however, in the 16th minute, Barcelona lost the ball and Ryan Giggs sent a long ball forward to Ronaldo. Ronaldo's first touch took him inside Piqué before going back outside the former Manchester United defender, who cynically blocked Ronaldo's run, earning himself the first yellow card of the match. Ronaldo shaped to take the free kick himself, but it was Giggs who shot for goal, only to curl the ball just over the bar.

Barcelona responded quickly, as Carles Puyol found Eto'o with a long throw-in down the right wing. The Cameroonian then found Messi, who cut inside and hit a curling 35-yard shot that just shaved the top of the crossbar. A quick-passing move from United followed, culminating with a through-ball to Park in the inside right channel, only for Valdés to cut out the pass, taking out the South Korean in the process. The resulting throw-in eventually broke to Ronaldo, whose 30-yard shot went just wide. Valdés' clash with Park, however, left him requiring treatment, and although the injury was not sufficient to necessitate a substitution, Valdés chose to leave his next few goal kicks to Piqué.

In the 22nd minute, a lofted through-pass from Carrick found Rooney on the left wing, but the Liverpudlian's cross was blocked by Touré and went out for a corner kick. The corner, taken by Giggs, found Ronaldo, but the Portuguese got too far under the ball and headed over. Precise passing from the Barcelona midfield got the Catalans moving upfield until a shoulder charge from Anderson sent Iniesta stumbling to the ground in the inside-left channel 30 yards from goal. The consequent free kick was taken by Xavi, who sent the ball just wide of the near post. Another free kick followed, as Messi was bundled over by a double-challenge from Vidić and Carrick, but it came to nothing.

With ten minutes left until half-time, the Manchester United defence effectively switched off and allowed Touré to dribble unopposed to within 15 yards of their penalty area before slipping the ball out wide to Puyol, whose low cross was diverted behind by Vidić. The corner kick was taken short and the eventual cross was headed behind for another corner on the opposite side by Evra. The second corner was crossed in towards Piqué, but he was unable to make contact with the ball.

With half-time fast approaching, Barcelona's confidence began to show: first, Messi attempted to flick a pass over the top of the United defence to Thierry Henry, which Rio Ferdinand intercepted; Iniesta then tried an ambitious back-heel that Van der Sar collected; and finally Messi sped through three Manchester United defenders towards the by-line, only for his cut-back cross to be pounced upon by Van der Sar and then cleared by Vidić. On the stroke of half-time, Iniesta himself then attempted to flick the ball through to Henry, but it was just too high for the French striker, and referee Massimo Busacca took that cue to blow the whistle for the interval.

#### Second half

After bringing on Carlos Tevez in place of Anderson at half time, Manchester United kicked off the second half in a different formation, with Tevez joining Ronaldo up front in a familiar 4–4–2. Both teams attempted to settle into their customary passing rhythms, but – unlike the first half – it was Barcelona who settled first; Manchester United's passes in their attacking third of the field failed to find their targets, and Iniesta eventually came away with the ball before flicking a pass through to Xavi, who played a through-ball to Henry on the left wing. The French forward turned Ferdinand inside-out, but his shot from a narrow angle was straight at Van der Sar and ended up going out for a throw-in. Xavi then again passed the ball out to the left flank, where Henry nonchalantly left it for the on-rushing Sylvinho; the Brazilian full-back whipped in a cross for Eto'o, but it was caught on the edge of the six-yard box by Van der Sar.

Pressure high up the pitch from Barcelona kept Manchester United in their own half, forcing them into attempting long balls downfield. A scrappy few moments in and around the centre circle followed, but Manchester United eventually came away with the ball. However, a lapse in communication between Giggs and Evra on the left wing allowed Eto'o to steal in and advance on the Manchester United goal. He cut in from the right wing and played a through-ball just out of reach of Messi, who went to ground after O'Shea had put his hand on Messi's shoulder. A period of sustained pressure from Barcelona followed, culminating with a run from Iniesta, who could only be stopped by a foul from Tevez on the edge of the Manchester United penalty area. The consequent free kick was taken by Xavi, who curled the ball around the defensive wall and onto the post with Van der Sar beaten.

United responded with their first extended period of possession of the half, working the ball into wide areas to be crossed into the middle, but Rooney's first couple of attempted centres were well cleared by Piqué. At the third attempt, though, Rooney's cross evaded the Barcelona defence as Touré kicked at thin air; however, it also failed to find a Manchester United player in the penalty area, both Ronaldo and Park going close. After Ronaldo was called offside in the 59th minute – despite appearing to be level with the last defender – Giggs stole the ball mid-way inside the Barcelona half before playing the ball to Ronaldo on the left wing. The Portuguese forward stepped over the ball several times in an attempt to wrong-foot Puyol, before cutting inside and playing the ball across the edge of the area towards Carrick. A sliding challenge from Busquets prevented a shot, only for the English midfielder to slide the ball out for a Barcelona goal kick while attempting to play Rooney through. Rooney was again played down the right wing a few moments later, but his low cross was diverted behind by Piqué, and the resulting corner came to nothing. A left-wing attack from Ronaldo followed, but after cutting inside, he gave the ball away cheaply. Barcelona immediately went on the attack down the other end, but Henry was unable to get past O'Shea and his shot was well saved by Van der Sar low at the near post.

In the 66th minute, Alex Ferguson completed his attacking quartet by bringing Dimitar Berbatov on in place of Park. Ronaldo was penalised for a high elbow when challenging for a header with Puyol a minute later, before Rooney forced another corner off Piqué in the 69th minute. However, United's numbers up front in search of another goal left them wanting in defence; a weak clearance from Van der Sar was cut out by Puyol who played the ball to Eto'o on the right side of the penalty area. The ball broke to Xavi on the edge of the area, who crossed for Messi to send a looping header over the United goalkeeper and into the far side of the goal for a two-goal lead. Immediately after the goal, Henry was replaced by Seydou Keita, allowing Barcelona to adopt a more defensive stance.

United responded to the goal immediately, as Giggs made a surging run through the Barcelona defence before playing the ball to Berbatov in the inside-right channel. The Bulgarian forward's low cross found Giggs in the centre, and the United captain's shot was deflected to Ronaldo on the far side of the goal, only for the Portuguese's shot to be blocked by Valdés. The resulting corner reached Berbatov on the far side of the goal, but it was deemed to have crossed the goal line first and Barcelona were awarded a goal kick, from which they launched another attack. Messi played a through-ball to Puyol on the right flank, but as the Barcelona captain reached the goal line, he was fouled by Ronaldo, who – despite going in two-footed – escaped the referee's book. Puyol himself rose to head Xavi's free kick towards goal, but it was directly at Van der Sar, who claimed the ball easily.

Manchester United used their third and final substitute in the 75th minute, replacing Giggs with Paul Scholes, who took over as team captain. Ronaldo and Scholes each received yellow cards in the 78th and 80th minutes, respectively; Ronaldo's yellow card was awarded for a robust shoulder-charge on Puyol as the Barcelona right back shepherded the ball out for a goal kick, while Scholes was booked for a late challenge on Busquets. While the referee played advantage after Scholes' foul, Iniesta cut inside from the left wing and hit a shot that was saved above the head of Van der Sar. An extended spell of Barcelona possession followed, as they strung a series of around 20 passes together, culminating with Puyol attempting to clip the ball over the onrushing Van der Sar, who blocked the shot. Both players went for the follow-up, but the Dutch goalkeeper was first to the ball and sent Puyol sprawling.

In the 85th minute, Scholes clipped the ball over the top of the Barcelona defensive line to Rooney, who chested the ball down for Tevez, only to be given offside. Scholes then found Rooney again on the left wing with a raking ball from deep inside his own half, but Rooney's first touch was heavy, allowing Puyol to get back and put the ball out for a corner. Rooney took the corner short to Tevez, whose cross was just beyond the reach of Berbatov and diverted behind again by Puyol. Rooney also took the second corner, which was met by Berbatov, but he put the ball high over the crossbar.

As the match entered its closing stages, the referee allotted a minimum of three minutes of injury time. The first of these saw Van der Sar make a poor pass after the ball was played back to him by Ferdinand, allowing Iniesta to steal in and play the ball towards Messi in the United penalty area, only for Vidić to get there ahead of the Argentine and knock the ball out for a corner. Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola brought Pedro on for Iniesta in the second minute of added time, before Vidić was immediately shown a yellow card for a clash of heads with Messi when going for a header. That was to be the final act of the match, as referee Massimo Busacca blew for full-time as soon as Xavi took the free kick.

#### Trophy presentation

At the final whistle, Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola offered his commiserations to each of Manchester United's players, while former Manchester United defender Gerard Piqué talked with his erstwhile teammates. Both teams then retreated to either end of the stadium to applaud their fans.

While match referee Massimo Busacca and his assistants collected their mementoes of the final, the Barcelona team formed a guard of honour for the Manchester United players, just as the English side had done for Chelsea in 2008. Led by their manager, Alex Ferguson, and team captain, Ryan Giggs, the Manchester United team then ascended the specially constructed rostrum to collect their runners-up medals from UEFA president Michel Platini and secretary David Taylor. Other dignitaries present included Manchester United chief executive David Gill; The Football Association's president Prince William, and chairman Lord Triesman; Barcelona president Joan Laporta; Juan Carlos I of Spain; Royal Spanish Football Federation president Ángel María Villar; and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Ferguson also collected a commemorative plaque from Platini, but immediately handed it to Giggs.

After offering his commiserations to Manchester United's players, Joan Laporta then joined the Barcelona team to lead them up the podium, closely followed by manager Guardiola. Laporta himself collected Barcelona's commemorative plaque before accepting a medal from Platini. Once the entire Barcelona team had collected their medals, Platini made his way to the front of the podium to present Carles Puyol with the European Champion Clubs' Cup. The Barcelona captain promptly held the trophy aloft with accompaniment from the UEFA Champions League Anthem and explosions of golden confetti, before leading his team on a lap of honour.

### Details

### Statistics

## Reaction

During the match, UEFA.com users were able to vote for their man of the match; the public vote went to the scorer of Barcelona's second goal, Lionel Messi. The UEFA Technical Study Group, however, chose the man who provided the cross for Messi's goal, Xavi, as their man of the match, citing his control of the tempo of the match as the reason for their decision. Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola took the time to give special praise to Messi, whom he said he moved back into the midfield in order to increase the team's effectiveness when in possession of the ball. Messi had been withdrawn from his usual right-wing role into a more central position, while Samuel Eto'o, who had started the match as Barcelona's lone centre-forward, was moved out to the right. Guardiola also lauded the bravery of his entire team, stating that he believed that his team's victory hinged on their hard work and propensity for taking risks in attack, but he admitted that although his side had had the best season in the history of the club, they were not yet the best Barcelona team.

In the Manchester United camp, manager Alex Ferguson admitted that his team had been beaten by the better side and that the game was all but lost after the first goal. United forward Cristiano Ronaldo, however, criticised his team's tactics, saying that "everything went wrong". Ferguson paid tribute to Messi and the midfield partnership of Xavi and Iniesta, while Wayne Rooney lauded Iniesta as "the best player in the world". Ferguson also expressed his regret at the unavailability of midfielder Darren Fletcher, who was suspended for the match, and lamented at his side's "shoddy" defending and ineffectiveness when in possession. Nevertheless, Ferguson paid tribute to Guardiola's achievement of winning the treble in his first season of management. Barcelona's victory also made Guardiola only the sixth man to win the competition as both a player and a manager, following in the footsteps of Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti and, most recently, Frank Rijkaard, who also won the Champions League as Barcelona manager.

The match turned out to be the last for Carlos Tevez as a Manchester United player, as he chose not to make his loan spell with the club permanent and joined their local rivals, Manchester City. After announcing his intention to leave Manchester United, Tevez criticised Ferguson's team selection for the 2009 Champions League final, saying that Ferguson should have included him in the starting line-up, with the rationale that the match was the only final that Manchester United had lost in his time at the club.

The match was also Ronaldo's last game at Manchester United for over twelve years, as he completed a world record £80 million transfer to Real Madrid on 1 July. He would later go on to rejoin United in August 2021, and departing once more in November 2022.

Television audiences for the final reached more than 10 million in both Spain and the United Kingdom. 11.3 million people watched the match on Spain's Antena 3 network – the largest viewing figures for that station in the past year – while another 600,000 watched on Canal+ Spain. In the United Kingdom, however, although the match received the highest ratings of any programme that evening, viewing figures were down by 1.5 million on the previous year's final, with just 9.6 million watching on ITV1, although an additional 1.79 million watched on Sky Sports 1. Despite there being no Italian or French representative in the final, the figures were much the same in those two countries as they were in Spain and the United Kingdom, with Italy's Rai Uno garnering an average viewership of 9.63 million and France's TF1 receiving 8.25 million. Only 6.55 million people watched the match on Germany's Sat.1 channel. According to a survey, global viewing figures for the match averaged 109 million; this put the UEFA Champions League final above the Super Bowl (106 million viewers in 2009) as the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. Total figures, which included viewers who watched only part of the match, put the Champions League final even further ahead of the Super Bowl, with 206 million viewers compared to 162 million.

In the United Kingdom, bookmakers made a profit from bets on a Manchester United victory. William Hill reported two bets of around £20,000 placed on Manchester United, while Paddy Power received one of £5,500 and Ladbrokes one of £3,000. Ladbrokes also took a bet of £10,000 on a Barcelona win, but bookmakers reported that most of the money was put on Manchester United. Extrabet.com paid out £12,000 to a £3,000 bet on Samuel Eto'o to score the first goal at odds of 4–1.

## Rewards

Both teams received significant financial rewards; for winning the final, Barcelona won €7 million in prize money, and Manchester United received €4 million as runners-up. Despite losing the match, Manchester United earned the most money overall from their 2008–09 Champions League campaign, receiving €38.281 million compared to Barcelona's €30.968 million, due to their share of the market pool, based on the value of the television market in their home countries.

As winners of the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona competed in the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, in which they beat 2008–09 UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk 1–0 at Stade Louis II in Monaco on 28 August 2009, and in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, where they beat Estudiantes of Argentina in the final.

## See also

- 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup final – contested between same teams
- 2009 UEFA Cup final
- 2009 UEFA Super Cup
- 2009 FIFA Club World Cup
- 2011 UEFA Champions League final – contested between same teams
- FC Barcelona in international football competitions
- Manchester United F.C. in European football
- Messi–Ronaldo rivalry

Final of the 2008–09 edition of the UEFA Champions League

International club association football competitions hosted by Italy


Bringing Up Baby

Bringing Up Baby is a 1938 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. It was released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film tells the story of a paleontologist in a number of predicaments involving a scatterbrained heiress and a leopard named Baby. The screenplay was adapted by Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde from a short story by Wilde which originally appeared in Collier's Weekly magazine on April 10, 1937.

The script was written specifically for Hepburn, and tailored to her personality. Filming began in September 1937 and wrapped in January 1938, over schedule and over budget. Production was frequently delayed by Hepburn and Grant's uncontrollable laughing fits. Hepburn struggled with her comedic performance and was coached by another cast member, vaudeville veteran Walter Catlett. A tame leopard was used during the shooting; its trainer stood off-screen with a whip for all of its scenes.

Bringing Up Baby was a commercial flop upon its release, although it eventually made a small profit after its re-release in the early 1940s. Shortly after the film's premiere, Hepburn was one of a group of actors labeled as "box office poison" by the Independent Theatre Owners of America. Her career would not recover until The Philadelphia Story two years later. The film's reputation began to grow during the 1950s when it was shown on television.

Since then, the film has gained acclaim from both critics and audiences for its zany antics and pratfalls, absurd situations and misunderstandings, perfect sense of comic timing, completely screwball cast, series of lunatic and hare-brained misadventures, disasters, light-hearted surprises and romantic comedy.

In 1990, Bringing Up Baby was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," and it has appeared on a number of greatest-films lists, ranking 88th on the American Film Institute's 100 greatest American films of all time list.

## Plot

David Huxley is a mild-mannered paleontologist. For the past four years, he has been trying to assemble the skeleton of a Brontosaurus but is missing one bone: the "intercostal clavicle." Adding to his stress is his impending marriage to Alice Swallow and the need to impress Elizabeth Random, who is considering a million-dollar donation to his museum.

The day before his wedding, David meets Susan Vance by chance on a golf course. She plays his ball, but refuses to accept that she has made a mistake. She is a free-spirited, somewhat scatterbrained, young lady, unfettered by logic. These qualities soon embroil David in several frustrating incidents.

Susan's brother Mark has sent her a tame leopard named Baby (Nissa) from Brazil. Its tameness is helped by hearing the song "I Can't Give You Anything But Love". Susan thinks David is a zoologist, and manipulates him into accompanying her in taking Baby to her farm in Connecticut. Complications arise when Susan falls in love with him, and she tries to keep him at her house as long as possible, even hiding his clothes, to prevent his imminent marriage.

David's prized intercostal clavicle is delivered, but Susan's aunt's dog George takes it and buries it somewhere. When Susan's aunt arrives, she discovers David in a negligee. To David's dismay, she turns out to be Elizabeth Random. A second message from Mark makes clear the leopard is for Elizabeth, as she always wanted one. Baby and George run off. The zoo is called to help capture Baby. Susan and David race to find Baby before the zoo and, mistaking a dangerous leopard (also portrayed by Nissa) from a nearby circus for Baby, they let it out of its cage.

David and Susan are jailed by a befuddled town policeman, Constable Slocum, for acting strangely at the house of Dr. Fritz Lehman, where they have cornered the circus leopard, thinking it is Baby. When Slocum does not believe their story, Susan tells him they are members of the "Leopard Gang"; she calls herself "Swingin' Door Susie," and David "Jerry the Nipper." Eventually, Alexander Peabody shows up to verify everyone's identity. Susan, who escapes out of a window during a police interview, unwittingly drags the highly irritated circus leopard into the jail. David saves her, using a chair to shoo the big cat into a cell.

Some time later, Susan finds David, who has been jilted by Alice because of her, on a high platform working on his Brontosaurus reconstruction at the museum. After showing him the missing bone which she found by trailing George for three days, Susan, against his warnings, climbs a tall ladder next to the dinosaur to be closer to him. She tells David that her aunt has given her the million dollars, and she wants to donate it to the museum, but David is more interested in telling her that the day spent with her was the best day of his life. They declare their love for each other, and Susan, distracted by the moment, unconsciously swings the ladder from side to side. As they talk, and the ladder sways more and more with each swing, Susan and David finally notice that Susan is in danger. Frightened, she climbs onto the skeleton, eventually causing it to collapse. David grabs her hand before she falls, lifts her onto the platform, and halfheartedly complains about the loss of his years of work on his Brontosaurus as she talks him into forgiving her. Resigning himself to a future of chaos, David embraces and kisses Susan.

## Cast

- Katharine Hepburn as Susan Vance
- Cary Grant as Dr. David Huxley (alias Mr. Bone)
- May Robson as Elizabeth Carlton Random, Susan's aunt
- Charles Ruggles as Major Horace Applegate, a big-game hunter
- Walter Catlett as Constable Slocum
- Barry Fitzgerald as Aloysius Gogarty, Mrs. Random's gardener
- Fritz Feld as Dr. Fritz Lehman, an affluent psychiatrist
- Virginia Walker as Alice Swallow, David's fiancée
- George Irving as Alexander Peabody, Mrs. Random's lawyer
- Leona Roberts as Hannah Gogarty, Aloysius's wife and Mrs. Random's servant
- Tala Birell as Mrs. Lehman, Dr. Lehman's wife
- John Kelly as Elmer, Constable Slocum's assistant

Uncredited

- D'Arcy Corrigan as Professor LaTouche
- Billy Bevan as Tom, the barkeeper
- Billy Franey as the butcher
- Billy Benedict as David's caddy
- Dick Lane as the circus manager
- Ward Bond as a motorcycle policeman
- Jack Carson as a circus roustabout

Animals

- Skippy as George, Mrs. Random's dog
- Nissa as Baby and the circus leopard

## Production

### Development and writing

In March 1937, Howard Hawks signed a contract at RKO for an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Gunga Din, which had been in pre-production since the previous fall. When RKO was unable to borrow Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Franchot Tone from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for the film and the adaptation of Gunga Din was delayed, Hawks began looking for a new project. In April 1937, he read a short story by Hagar Wilde in Collier's magazine called "Bringing Up Baby" and immediately wanted to make a film from it, remembering that it made him laugh out loud. RKO bought the screen rights in June for \$1,004, and Hawks worked briefly with Wilde on the film's treatment. Wilde's short story differed significantly from the film: David and Susan are engaged, he is not a scientist and there is no dinosaur, intercostal clavicle or museum. However, Susan gets a pet panther from her brother Mark to give to their Aunt Elizabeth; David and Susan must capture the panther in the Connecticut wilderness with the help of Baby's favorite song, "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby".

Hawks then hired screenwriter Dudley Nichols, best known for his work with director John Ford, for the script. Wilde would develop the characters and comedic elements of the script, while Nichols would take care of the story and structure. Hawks worked with the two writers during summer 1937, and they came up with a 202-page script. Wilde and Nichols wrote several drafts together, beginning a romantic relationship and co-authoring the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Carefree a few months later. The Bringing Up Baby script underwent several changes, and at one point there was an elaborate pie fight, inspired by Mack Sennett films. Major Applegate had an assistant and food taster named Ali (which was intended to be played by Mischa Auer), but this character was replaced with Aloysius Gogarty. The script's final draft had several scenes in the middle of the film in which David and Susan declare their love for each other which Hawks cut during production.

Nichols was instructed to write the film for Hepburn, with whom he had worked on John Ford's Mary of Scotland (1936). Barbara Leaming alleged that Ford had an affair with Hepburn, and claims that many of the characteristics of Susan and David were based on Hepburn and Ford. Nichols was in touch with Ford during the screenwriting, and the film included such members of the John Ford Stock Company as Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, D'Arcy Corrigan and associate producer Cliff Reid. John Ford was a friend of Hawks, and visited the set. The round glasses Grant wears in the film are reminiscent of Harold Lloyd and of Ford.

Filming was scheduled to begin on September 1, 1937 and wrap on October 31, but was delayed for several reasons. Production had to wait until mid-September to clear the rights for "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" for \$1,000. In August, Hawks hired gag writers Robert McGowan and Gertrude Purcell for uncredited script rewrites, and McGowan added a scene inspired by the comic strip Professor Dinglehoofer and his Dog in which a dog buries a rare dinosaur bone. RKO paid King Features \$1,000 to use the idea for the film on September 21.

#### Unscripted ad-lib by Grant

It has been debated whether Bringing Up Baby is the first fictional work (apart from pornography) to use the word gay in a homosexual context. In one scene, Cary Grant's character is wearing a woman's marabou-trimmed négligée; when asked why, he replies exasperatedly "Because I just went gay all of a sudden!" (leaping into the air at the word gay). As the term gay was not familiar to the general public until the Stonewall riots in 1969, it is questioned whether the word is used by Grant in its original sense (meaning "happy") or is an intentional, joking reference to homosexuality.

The line in the film was an ad-lib by Grant, and was not in the script. According to Vito Russo in The Celluloid Closet (1981, revised 1987), the script originally had Grant's character say "I...I suppose you think it's odd, my wearing this. I realize it looks odd...I don't usually...I mean, I don't own one of these". Russo suggests that this indicates that people in Hollywood (at least in Grant's circles) were familiar with the slang connotations of the word; however, neither Grant nor anyone involved in the film suggested this.

The 1933 film My Weakness had previously used the word "gay" as an overt descriptor of homosexuality; one of two men pining away for the same woman suddenly suggests a solution to their mutual problem: "Let's be gay!" However, the Studio Relations Committee censors decreed that the line was too risqué and had to be muffled. The film This Side of Heaven (1934) included a scene in which a fussy, gossipy interior decorator tries to sell a floral fabric pattern to a customer, who knowingly replies, "It strikes me as a bit too gay."

### Casting

After briefly considering Hawks' cousin Carole Lombard for the role of Susan Vance, producers chose Katharine Hepburn to play the wealthy New Englander because of her background and similarities to the character. RKO agreed to the casting, but had reservations because of Hepburn's salary and lack of box-office success for several years. Producer Lou Lusty said, "You couldn't even break even, if a Hepburn show cost eight hundred grand." At first, Hawks and producer Pandro S. Berman could not agree on whom to cast in the role of David Huxley. Hawks initially wanted silent-film comedian Harold Lloyd; Berman rejected Lloyd and Ronald Colman, offering the role to Robert Montgomery, Fredric March and Ray Milland (all of whom turned it down).

Hawks' friend Howard Hughes finally suggested Cary Grant for the role. Grant had just finished shooting his breakthrough romantic comedy The Awful Truth (1937), and Hawks may have seen a rough cut of the unreleased film. Grant then had a non-exclusive, four-picture deal with RKO for \$50,000 per film, and Grant's manager used his casting in the film to renegotiate his contract, earning him \$75,000 plus the bonuses Hepburn was receiving. Grant was concerned about being able to play an intellectual character and took two weeks to accept the role, despite the new contract. Hawks built Grant's confidence by promising to coach him throughout the film, instructing him to watch Harold Lloyd films for inspiration. Grant met with Howard Hughes throughout the film to discuss his character, which he said helped his performance.

Hawks obtained character actors Charlie Ruggles on loan from Paramount Pictures for Major Horace Applegate and Barry Fitzgerald on loan from The Mary Pickford Corporation to play gardener Aloysius Gogarty. Hawks cast Virginia Walker as Alice Swallow, David's fiancée; Walker was under contract to him and later married his brother William Hawks. As Hawks could not find a panther that would work for the film, Baby was changed to a leopard so they could cast the trained leopard Nissa, who had worked in films for eight years, making several B-movies.

### Filming

Shooting began September 23, 1937, and was scheduled to end November 20, 1937, on a budget of \$767,676. Filming began in-studio with the scenes in Susan's apartment, moving to the Bel Air Country Club in early October for the golf-course scenes. The production had a difficult start due to Hepburn's struggles with her character and her comedic abilities. She frequently overacted, trying too hard to be funny, and Hawks asked vaudeville veteran Walter Catlett to help coach her. Catlett acted out scenes with Grant for Hepburn, showing her that he was funnier when he was serious. Hepburn understood, acted naturally and played herself for the rest of the shoot; she was so impressed by Catlett's talent and coaching ability that she insisted he play Constable Slocum in the film.

Most shooting was done at the Arthur Ranch in the San Fernando Valley, which was used as Aunt Elizabeth's estate for interior and exterior scenes. Beginning at the Arthur Ranch shoot, Grant and Hepburn often ad-libbed their dialogue and frequently delayed production by making each other laugh. The scene where Grant frantically asks Hepburn where his bone is was shot from 10 am until well after 4 pm because of the stars' laughing fits. After one month of shooting Hawks was seven days behind schedule. During the filming, Hawks would refer to four different versions of the film's script and make frequent changes to scenes and dialogue. His leisurely attitude on set and shutting down production to see a horse race contributed to the lost time. He took twelve days to shoot the Westlake jail scene instead of the scheduled five. Hawks later facetiously blamed the setbacks on his two stars' laughing fits and having to work with two animal actors.

The terrier George was played by Skippy, known as Asta in The Thin Man film series and co-starring with Grant (as Mr. Smith) in The Awful Truth. The tame leopard Baby and the escaped circus leopard were both played by a trained leopard, Nissa; Nissa was supervised by its trainer, Olga Celeste, who stood by with a whip during shooting. At one point, when Hepburn spun around (causing her skirt to twirl) Nissa lunged at her and was subdued when Celeste cracked her whip. Hepburn wore heavy perfume to keep Nissa calm and was unafraid of the leopard, but Grant was terrified; most scenes of the two interacting are done in close-up with a stand-in. Hepburn played upon his fear by throwing a toy leopard through the roof of Grant's dressing room during production. There were several news reports about Hawks' difficulty filming the live leopard, and the potential danger to highly valuable actors, so some scenes required rear-screen projection, while several others were shot using traveling mattes. In a scene where Grant has Baby on a leash, it is quite obvious that the leash was hand painted on film because it proved impossible to make the two parts of the leash join in the traveling matte.

Hawks and Hepburn had a confrontation one day during shooting. While Hepburn was chatting with a crew member, Hawks yelled "Quiet!" until the only person still talking was Hepburn. When Hepburn paused and realized that everyone was looking at her, she asked what was the matter. Hawks asked her if she was finished imitating a parrot. Hepburn took Hawks aside, telling him never to talk to her like that again since she was old friends with most of the crew. When Hawks (an even older friend of the crew) asked a lighting tech whom he would rather drop a light on, Hepburn agreed to behave on set. A variation of this scene, with Grant yelling "Quiet!", was incorporated into the film.

The Westlake Street set was shot at 20th Century Fox Studios. Filming was eventually completed on January 6, 1938 with the scenes outside Mr. Peabody's house. RKO producers expressed concern about the film's delays and expense, coming in 40 days over schedule and \$330,000 over budget, and also disliked Grant's glasses and Hepburn's hair. The film's final cost was \$1,096,796.23, primarily due to overtime clauses in Hawks', Grant's and Hepburn's contracts. The film's cost for sets and props was only \$5,000 over budget, but all actors (including Nissa and Skippy) were paid approximately double their initial salaries. Hepburn's salary rose from \$72,500 to \$122,000, Grant's from \$75,000 to \$123,000 and Hawks's from \$88,000 to \$203,000; Hawks received an additional \$40,000 to terminate his RKO contract on March 21, 1938.

### Post-production and previews

Hawks' editor, George Hively, cut the film during production and the final prints were made a few days after shooting ended. The first cut of the film (10,150 feet long) was sent to the Hayes Office in mid-January. Despite several double entendres and sexual references it passed the film, overlooking Grant saying he "went gay" or Hepburn's reference to George urinating. The censor's only objections were to the scene where Hepburn's dress is torn, and references to politicians (such as Al Smith and Jim Farley).

Like all Hawks' comedies, the film is fast paced (despite being filmed primarily in long medium shots, with little cross-cutting). Hawks told Peter Bogdanovich, "You get more pace if you pace the actors quickly within the frame rather than cross cutting fast".

By February 18, the film had been cut to 9,204 feet. It had two advance previews in January 1938, where it received either As or A-pluses on audience-feedback cards. Producer Pandro S. Berman wanted to cut five more minutes, but relented when Hawks, Grant and Cliff Reid objected. At the film's second preview, the film received rave reviews and RKO expected a hit. The film's musical score is minimal, primarily Grant and Hepburn singing "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby". There is incidental music in the Ritz scene, and an arrangement of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby" during the opening and closing credits by musical director Roy Webb.

## Reception

### Critical response

The film received good advance reviews, with Otis Ferguson of The New Republic writing the film was very funny, and praising Hawks' direction. Variety also praised the film, singling out Hawks' pacing and direction, calling Hepburn's performance "one of her most invigorating screen characterizations" and saying Grant "performs his role to the hilt"; their only criticism was the length of the jail scene. Film Daily called it "literally [sic] a riot from beginning to end, with the laugh total heavy and the action fast." Harrison's Reports called the film "An excellent farce" with "many situations that provoke hearty laughter," and John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote that both stars "manage to be funny" and that Hepburn had never "seemed so good-natured." However, Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times disliked the film, considering it derivative and cliché-ridden, a rehash of dozens of other screwball comedies of the period. He labeled Hepburn's performance "breathless, senseless, and terribly, terribly fatiguing", and added, "If you've never been to the movies, Bringing Up Baby will be new to you – a zany-ridden product of the goofy-farce school. But who hasn't been to the movies?"

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "With Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant at their effervescent best, Bringing Up Baby is a seamlessly assembled comedy with enduring appeal." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 91 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

### Box office

Despite Bringing Up Babys reputation as a flop, it was successful in some parts of the U.S. The film premiered on February 16, 1938 at the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco (where it was a hit), and was also successful in Los Angeles, Portland, Denver, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C. However, it was a financial disappointment in the Midwest, as well as most other cities in the country, including NYC; to RKO's chagrin, the film's premiere in New York on March 3, 1938 at Radio City Music Hall made only \$70,000 and it was pulled after one week in favor of Jezebel with Bette Davis.

During its first run, Bringing Up Baby made \$715,000 in the U.S. and \$394,000 in foreign markets for a total of \$1,109,000; its reissue in 1940 and 1941 made an additional \$95,000 in the US and \$55,000 in foreign markets. Following its second run, the film made a profit of \$163,000. Due to its perceived failure, Hawks was released early from his two-film contract with RKO and Gunga Din was eventually directed by George Stevens. Hawks later said the film "had a great fault and I learned an awful lot from that. There were no normal people in it. Everyone you met was a screwball and since that time I learned my lesson and don't intend ever again to make everybody crazy." The director went on to work with RKO on three films over the next decade. Long before Bringing Up Babys release, Hepburn had been branded "box office poison" by Harry Brandt (president of the Independent Theatre Owners of America) and thus was allowed to buy out her RKO contract for \$22,000. However, many critics marveled at her new skill at low comedy; Life magazine called her "the surprise of the picture". Hepburn's former boyfriend Howard Hughes bought RKO in 1948, and sold it in 1955; when he sold the company, Hughes retained the copyright to six films (including Bringing Up Baby).

## Legacy

Bringing Up Baby was the second of four films starring Grant and Hepburn; the others were Sylvia Scarlett (1935), Holiday (1938) and The Philadelphia Story (1940). The film's concept was described by philosopher Stanley Cavell as a "definitive achievement in the history of the art of film." Cavell noted that Bringing Up Baby was made in a tradition of romantic comedy with inspiration from ancient Rome and Shakespeare. Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It have been cited in particular as influences on the film and the screwball comedy in general, with their "haughty, self-sufficient men, strong women and fierce combat of words and wit." Hepburn's character has been cited as an early example of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl film archetype.

The popularity of Bringing Up Baby has increased since it was shown on television during the 1950s, and by the 1960s film analysts (including the writers at Cahiers du Cinéma in France) affirmed the film's quality. In a rebuttal of fellow New York Times critic Nugent's scathing review of the film at the time of release, A. O. Scott has said that you'll "find yourself amazed at its freshness, its vigor, and its brilliance-qualities undiminished after sixty-five years, and likely to withstand repeated viewings." Leonard Maltin stated that it is now "considered the definitive screwball comedy, and one of the fastest, funniest films ever made; grand performances by all."

Bringing Up Baby has been adapted several times. Hawks recycled the nightclub scene in which Hepburn's dress is torn and Grant walks behind her in the comedy Man's Favorite Sport (1964). Peter Bogdanovich's film What's Up, Doc? (1972), starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal, was intended as an homage to the film, and has contributed to its reputation. In the commentary track for Bringing Up Baby, Bogdanovich discusses how the coat-ripping scene in What's Up, Doc? was based on the scene in which Grant's coat and Hepburn's dress are torn in Bringing Up Baby.

The French film Une Femme ou Deux (English: One Woman or Two; 1985), starring Gérard Depardieu, Sigourney Weaver, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer, is a rework of Bringing Up Baby. The film Who's That Girl? (1987), starring Madonna, is also loosely based on Bringing Up Baby.

In 1990 (the registry's second year), Bringing Up Baby was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Entertainment Weekly voted the film 24th on its list of greatest films. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted it the 47th-greatest comedy film of all time. Premiere ranked Cary Grant's performance as Dr. David Huxley 68th on its list of 100 all-time greatest performances, and ranked Susan Vance 21st on its list of 100 all-time greatest movie characters.

The National Society of Film Critics also included Bringing Up Baby in their "100 Essential Films", considering it to be arguably the director's best film.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

- 1998: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – \#97
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – \#14
- 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – \#51
- 2005: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
  - Dr. David Huxley: "It isn't that I don't like you, Susan, because after all, in moments of quiet, I'm strangely drawn toward you; but, well, there haven't been any quiet moments!" – Nominated
- 2007: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – \#88
- 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
  - Nominated Romantic Comedy Film

## See also

- List of films featuring dinosaurs

1938 film by Howard Hawks

Films with screenplays by Dudley Nichols

United States National Film Registry films


Editors (band)

Editors are an English rock band, formed in 2002 in Birmingham. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band currently consists of Tom Smith (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Russell Leetch (bass guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals), Ed Lay (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Justin Lockey (lead guitar), Elliott Williams (keys, synthesizers, guitars, and backing vocals), and Benjamin John Power (composer and producer).

Editors have so far released two platinum studio albums, and seven in total, with several million combined sales. Their debut album The Back Room was released in 2005. It contained the hits "Munich" and "Blood" and the following year received a Mercury Prize nomination.

Their follow-up album An End Has a Start went to number 1 in the UK Album Chart in June 2007 and earned the band a Brit Awards nomination for best British Band. It also spawned another Top 10 hit single, "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors". The band's third album, In This Light and on This Evening, was released in October 2009 and went straight to number 1 in the UK Album Chart. The band released their fourth studio album, The Weight of Your Love, in July 2013, followed by self-produced In Dream in October 2015. In 2018, the band released their sixth album Violence. Their seventh album, EBM, was released in September 2022.

Alongside their critical acclaim and strong success in the UK Singles Chart, they consistently enjoyed sold-out tours and numerous headlining festival slots. Their brand of dark indie rock is commonly compared to the sound of bands such as Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, Interpol, The Chameleons and U2.

## History

### Formation (2002–2004)

The band met while studying Music Technology at Staffordshire University, but living in Birmingham and playing at venues such as the Jug of Ale and the Flapper & Firkin. In an interview in 2015, Tom Smith said, "Birmingham is very important. Looking back further it was where we all lived together in the early years, played all those Flapper and Jug of Ale shows, and then got our record deal. We've always said although only one of us was brought up there, Birmingham was the band's home".

The band was initially known as Pilot and played its first show under this name in 2002. While in college, the band constructed a marketing strategy which involved placing hundreds of promotional stickers across the walls of Stafford asking "Who's the Pilot?". However, they realized the name was already taken by a 1970s Scottish pop group, so they changed their name to The Pride.

They made a promo under this name with the tracks "Come Share the View" and "Forest Fire" and made the songs available on BBC Radio 1's Onemusic Unsigned. A review of the songs reads, "The Pride keep things subliminally lo-fi. Refreshingly simple and restrained, 'Come Share The View' is a lesson in welding hypnotic soundscapes with white noise while showing allegiance to the school of slo-mo on "Forest Fire"". The band then took its music offline to encourage more "A&R" representatives to see them perform.

Ed Lay replaced drummer Geraint Owen, who began to focus on his Welsh band The Heights. Under this lineup they became known as Snowfield. They played their debut gig under this name at the request of Fused Magazine in March 2003. The following summer the band self-released a demo six-track EP, of which all six songs went on to become future Editors songs. In the autumn of 2003, after graduation, the band relocated to Birmingham, the home of their management and the nearest big city.

For the next year, the band members worked part-time jobs along in addition to working in the band. After regular gigging around the Midlands, it was not long until word of mouth helped them become a popular unsigned band. They sent out a one-track demo of "Bullets". This demo attracted the interest of several British labels, including thirty A&R reps who came to see them play in Birmingham. In October 2004, the group signed to Newcastle-based indie label Kitchenware Records. At that point they changed their band name to Editors.

### The Back Room (2005–2006)

After supporting bands such as Puressence and Oceansize, Editors released debut single "Bullets", which was recorded with producer Gavin Monaghan, as a limited edition of 1000 copies on Kitchenware Records on 24 January 2005. The song had previously been played by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1, where it was 'Single of the Week'. The limited run sold out on the day of its release, with copies selling later the same week for more than £30 on eBay.

The release of "Munich" followed in April of that year and gave the band their first Top 25 hit, a sold out UK tour and a place on MTV's Spanking New Music show in Manchester. At this point, due to the band's increasing popularity, Editors and Kitchenware signed an exclusive distribution deal with Sony BMG. "Blood" was released two months later, reaching number 18 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week, selling 5,286 copies. With these releases their fanbase continued to grow and on 25 July 2005 their debut album The Back Room was released to critical acclaim and commercial success. In its first week, the album entered the charts at number 13, selling 17,627 copies. After re-issuing "Bullets" and achieving another Top 30 hit, Editors gained a high-profile support slot, supporting Franz Ferdinand in arenas across the UK and Europe.

Editors then re-issued "Munich" in January 2006, selling one and half thousand more copies than the last time it was released. The song gave Editors their first Top 10 single and an appearance on Top of the Pops. With the single release, The Back Room also rose back up the album charts, peaking at number 2. It sold an additional 40,000 copies in the week of "Munich"'s release and went platinum in the process. A joint North American tour with Stellastarr\* coincided with the American release of The Back Room in March 2006. It was released by Fader label and sold 35,000 albums after 20 weeks. The band went on to play influential American festivals in 2006 such as Coachella and Lollapalooza. Editors proceeded to perform "Munich" on the American television show Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

At the end of March, Editors released "All Sparks" as a single in the United Kingdom, achieving a position of 21 in the singles chart. After a European tour which included three successive nights at Brixton Academy, Editors re-issued a limited edition of "Blood". It entered the Top 40, pushing the album up the chart 45 places. Shortly after this, The Back Room hit the million mark in sales worldwide and was also nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize. After a string of high-profile festival shows across Europe, including slots on T in the Park, V 2006 and the Isle of Wight Festival, Editors began work on their second album.

### An End Has a Start (2007–2008)

Editors recorded their second album An End Has a Start with producer Jacknife Lee in Grouse Lodge, Ireland over a two-month period beginning in late November 2006. It was released on 25 June 2007 and went straight to number 1 in the UK album charts, selling 59,405 copies in its first week. The album was preceded by the Top 10 single "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" on the 18th. The song was Editors' highest-charting single, reaching number 7. It also earned its own Making the Video episode on MTV.

Just after the album's release, Editors played at the Glastonbury Festival with a second from top slot on The Other Stage. They also played many other festivals such as Oxegen, Lowlands and Pukkelpop over the following weeks, as well as playing their first ever tour dates in Australia and New Zealand. They then released the album's title track "An End Has a Start" in September to coincide with their North American tour. Editors went on to play the song live on American television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Upon returning to the UK, the band contributed a cover of the Cure's "Lullaby" to the Radio 1 Established 1967 compilation, again working with producer Gavin Monaghan, which was released on 1 October 2007. Shortly after this, Editors played a 75-minute set for the BBC Electric Proms at KOKO in London with backing from a classical string quartet. In November, they released "The Racing Rats" as the third single off the album. Editors played it live on 'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross' and it helped the song reach number 26 in the UK Charts. It also reached number 12 in the Dutch Top 40, the band's highest ever single charting outside of the UK at that point.

For the first two months of 2008, Editors played 30 shows on a tour across America and Canada. During the tour Editors were nominated for a Brit Award, in the Best British Group Category. Also as a result of the nomination, one of the North American tour dates had to be cancelled, as the band had to return to London to attend the prize ceremony. A month later, Editors announced "Push Your Head Towards the Air" to be the fourth single from An End Has a Start. This release was a limited special edition which was ineligible to chart. Along with this release Editors engaged in their biggest and most extensive British tour to date. They played arenas such as the 12,000 capacity National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and two sold out dates in London's Alexandra Palace.

In June, they released "Bones" as a download only single in Continental Europe to coincide with the summer festival season, the video of which was directed by the band's bassist Russell Leetch. Shortly afterwards, Editors played at the Glastonbury Festival, playing on the pyramid stage for the first time. The band then played their second major support slot of their history supporting R.E.M. on a 16 date summer tour across Europe alongside their festival dates which included the headlining of the Lowlands Festival in August.

### In This Light and on This Evening (2009–2010)

Lead singer Smith revealed that the band will explore a new direction on their next album, pursuing a new, rawer sound. Before January 2009, Editors had written around eighteen new songs for the new album and they have been described as some of the most synthetic, raw and anthemic songs they have written to date. In October the band went to the studio to record some demos. The band spent the first week of April recording the album and on 8 April, they released a short video with information about the recording process. It announced that Mark 'Flood' Ellis would be the producer for the album. Earlier on in the year, the sound of the album was said to have a very electric feel; the band often using the Terminator theme song as a reference.

On 2 June 2009, it was announced that the new album title would be In This Light and on This Evening and that they would be the first band to play at the new O2 Academy Birmingham. Through producer Flood's heavy usage of synthesisers, the album provided a synthpop and post-punk sound to Editors' production.

The album was released on 12 October and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. Alongside the album, the band released lead single "Papillon" and it led them to their first taste of number one success outside the UK, with the song hitting the top position in Belgium and being certified Gold in the process. After releasing singles "You Don't Know Love", "Last Day" and "Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool" to limited chart success, it was announced that their unreleased song "No Sound But the Wind" would appear on the New Moon soundtrack. A live version of the song was later released in continental Europe in September 2010 and again achieved the same success as "Papillon" in Belgium, going to number 1 and being certified Gold.

In November 2010 it was confirmed that a boxset called Unedited compiling the first 3 albums, as well as b-sides and previously unreleased songs on 7 12" records, 7 CDs and 7 MP3 albums, alongside a book of photos and words, would be released in early 2011. The boxset included the full band version of "No Sound But The Wind", demos of "Camera" and "These Streets Are Still Home To Me", and an unreleased version of "The Weight of the World", called "Every Little Piece".

### The Weight of Your Love and Urbanowicz's departure (2011–2014)

On 26 November 2010 Smith announced on the band's website that they had started work on a new album, that it would again be produced by Flood, and that they were recording "in stages over 2011", and that first rehearsals started in "a matter of days".

On 26 March 2011, Editors performed their first tour date of the year at the Royal Albert Hall as the headline act for the penultimate show in the 2011 Teenage Cancer Trust, during which they showcased two new songs, "Two Hearted Spider" and "The Sting". In October 2011, Editors played their first shows ever in Latin America with two dates in Mexico City.

In October 2011, Smith spoke to Q Radio about the new album. "It's still going to be fairly electronic, I think, compared to our earlier records. So far it feels quite muscular with a bit of swagger and a bit more of a groove. The last record was liberating in lots of different ways and I think we just need to, kind of, build on that..... with a nod to our past as well. It's our fourth record and we don't want to feel like we're doing the same thing again."

On 22 November 2011, Russell Leetch, the band's bassist posted on the band's official site saying they have seven songs ready to record and some more ideas "floating around" and that the album "will be with you next year."

On 16 April 2012, it was announced that Chris Urbanowicz had left the group due to a difference in musical direction.

Following Urbanowicz's departure the band played their first shows as a five piece with new members Justin Lockey and Elliott Williams in Birmingham, UK on 26 and 27 June 2012. On 29 June, they played at Main Square Festival in Arras, France, and on 30 June they headlined Rock Werchter festival in Belgium. At the shows they played new versions of "Two Hearted Spider" and "The Sting" as well as two new songs, "Sugar" and "Nothing".

On 8 April 2013 Tom Smith stated, via his official Twitter account, that "the record is being mastered today. it's finished. done."

On 6 May 2013 Zane Lowe stated, via his official Twitter account, that the new Editors record would be entitled The Weight of Your Love. The first single for this album is "A Ton of Love". In February 2014 the band released their fourth single, "Sugar".

During 2014, Elliott Williams left the band for a period of touring to work on his own music project YdotOdotU, supporting The 1975. The band continued to tour with musician Nicholas Willes.

### In Dream (2014–2018)

In October 2014, the band reconvened in Scotland to work on their fifth album. During a session supporting Andy Burrows on Jo Wiley's Radio 2 show, Tom Smith confirmed the album's songs had been written.

On 20 April 2015, the band released a new song entitled 'No Harm' for free download. The song later became available through retailers, and on 11 May, its official video was posted on their YouTube channel. On 18 June, they released a video for the album's lead single, 'Marching Orders'. The video, directed by Rahi Rezvani (as was 'No Harm'), was filmed in the Western Highlands of Scotland. The song was released on 19 June for digital download, and a limited run of 300 12" vinyl test pressings were distributed randomly throughout Oxfam stores.

On 15 July 2015 the band announced the album In Dream via Facebook. It is the first Editors record to feature a duet. The third single and video 'Life is a Fear' got its first play on Zane Lowe's Apple Music Beats1 radio show on 11 August 2015. Its video, again directed by Rahi Rezvani, was uploaded to YouTube on the same day. On 22 September, Editors shared 'The Law', an album track which features Rachel Goswell of Slowdive.

The fifth album In Dream, produced by Editors themselves and mixed by Alan Moulder, was released on 2 October 2015. It marks the band's collaboration with the Iranian born Dutch photographer, film and music video director Rahi Rezvani who also directed the video for 'Ocean of Night', released on 24 November. In October 2015, Editors together with Brussels Beer Project has released their own beer 'Salvation', named after a track on their album In Dream.

In support of the album the band embarked on a 42-date tour, playing throughout October, November and December in the UK, Ireland and Europe. Editors supported Manic Street Preachers across the UK on the 20th anniversary tour of the album Everything Must Go. They also performed at Glastonbury, Bråvalla, Rock Werchter, Bilbao BBK Live 2016 and more than 20 festivals.

### Violence (2018–2019)

Editors released their sixth album, Violence, on 9 March 2018. The lead single, 'Magazine', premiered on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 2 show on 15 January 2018. The second single "Hallelujah (So Low)" premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 21 February 2018.

### Black Gold (2019–2022)

In 2019, the band released their first compilation album, Black Gold, featuring 13 tracks from across their career along with three new songs: "Black Gold", "Frankenstein" and "Upside Down", which were produced by Jacknife Lee. The deluxe edition of the release featured eight stripped-down acoustic versions of previously released material under the title Distance: The Acoustic Recordings. The release was followed by a 2020 best of tour.

### EBM (2022–present)

On 20 April 2022 the band released the single "Heart Attack", and announced the addition of Benjamin John Power, who had previously worked with the band on the Violence album, as an official band member. On 22 September 2022, the band released their seventh album, EBM.

## Musical style

Editors' own variation of dark indie guitar rock draws on influences from both older and contemporary bands. Their influences include Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, the Strokes, the Walkmen, Elbow, and R.E.M. The band draw their musical style particularly from the latter two bands' debut albums Asleep in the Back and Murmur. Smith has commented that "we're dark and moody so yeah we build on the sound of the likes of Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Chameleons... Obviously we were too young when these bands came out, so it's only more recently that we discovered them." Upon Editors' first appearances in the British music scene, they were also heavily compared to American indie band Interpol.

Editors' first album, The Back Room, was described as having a wiry and raw sound, which led it to being famously dubbed 'dark disco' by the NME. This sound was created by the use of synthesisers, catchy guitar riffs and simple, ambiguous lyrics. An End Has a Start showed progression to a new 'bigger' sound. This new sound was created by adding more textured layers to the songs as well as incorporating new forms of music into them. These include the adding of a choir in "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" and the inclusion of the sounds of the band playing Hide-and-seek in the song "Spiders".

Lead singer Smith announced that the band would explore a new direction on their next album, pursuing a new, rawer sound. The new sound materialised itself on the third album through the use of traditional synthesisers instead of the band's previous use of guitars. The producer of In This Light and on This Evening, Flood also increased the importance of "vibe" in the music's sound, making it darker than the previous two albums, while also attempting to make the album sound as if it had been recorded live.

While Smith tends to write the lyrics and chords, song writing overall is a collaborative effort. The song writing starts with Smith on the piano or acoustic guitar where he records them and sends them to the other band members where the song is turned into a full 'Editors song'. Smith has said that he purposely makes the lyrics ambiguous so people can draw their own conclusions.

"To us, it's interesting if it has a darkness," said Smith in 2015. "Whatever that is. On the lyric side of things, if I was singing about dancefloors or happier or rosier things, it wouldn't ring true for me. I don't know why that is. People quite often say, 'oh, you write these sad lyrics but you're not a sad person' - and I'm not... I don't think you need to be sad to write a sad song, everybody has a dark side."

## Members

Current members

- Tom Smith – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano (2002–present)
- Russell Leetch – bass guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals (2002–present)
- Ed Lay – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2003–present)
- Justin Lockey – lead guitar (2012–present)
- Elliott Williams – keyboards, synthesizers, additional guitars, backing vocals (2012–present)
- Benjamin John Power – keyboards, synthesizers, electronics (2022–present)

Current touring musicians

- Nicholas Willes – additional guitars, keyboards, synthesizers (2014–present)

Former members

- Geraint Owen – drums (2002–2003)
- Chris Urbanowicz – lead guitar (2002–2012)

## Discography

Studio albums

- The Back Room (2005)
- An End Has a Start (2007)
- In This Light and on This Evening (2009)
- The Weight of Your Love (2013)
- In Dream (2015)
- Violence (2018)
- EBM (2022)

English rock band

Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands