How the Voice of Anfield is gearing up for tonight

Having presided over many European semi-finals in his four decades as Liverpool’s stadium announcer, George Sephton is gearing up for another big one.

Ahead of this evening’s last-four, second-leg clash with the Spanish outfit, Sephton is putting in every effort to ensure the 12th man raise the decibel levels using old tricks of the trade.

Ahead of the game, he spoke to Liverpoolfc.com about how he intends to do so, also providing a sneak peek of what the 45,000 spectators can expect from him.

"On European nights I like to pump up the volume a little bit," Sephton admitted. "I like to play a lot of upbeat stuff.

"I play probably more rock than I normally do. If the crowd are in the mood - and hopefully they are - they will be singing along and making a lot more noise to drown me out and that's the whole idea. They subconsciously move up a gear.

"The crowd get in a lot later than they normally do so you've got to do it quickly. Dortmund was fantastic because everybody was so wound up for it.

"They started singing along with Bob Marley and Pete Wylie - they haven't done that for a long time, singing along with the PA.

"Obviously I will be playing Three Little Birds by Bob Marley again because people have said they love it, [along with] Ring of Fire [and] Rockin' All Over the World by Status Quo - I haven't played that for a while and that was the big song in the run up the Istanbul.

"I always play Beatles stuff and Villarreal are known as the Yellow Submarine so there's a brilliant excuse for me to play that. I've got a couple of new songs from local bands and I'll have to drag something Spanish out for the visiting supporters."

Relive the YNWA against Borussia Dortmund for free above

Sephton, 70, is part of the furniture of Anfield, having landed his role for matchdays in 1971.

Over the years, he's seen many special European nights at the famous cauldron and noticed the apparent changes to them.

"I do look forward to them on the pitch but the preamble is so complicated,” he continued.

“We won the UEFA Cup twice - in '73 and '76. In those days it was a two-legged affair and one UEFA delegate would turn up at the match, watch proceedings, take a few notes, have something to eat and drink and then go away again.

"Nowadays, the whole ground is taken over for a week. There are so many things you've got to look out for.

“They don't tell me which music to play, which is good - the only thing I am timed with is 'You'll Never Walk Alone' and either the Champions League or Europa League music that has to be played at a certain time.”

In regards to the requirement to play the competition’s theme song, one former Villarreal player used to be a thorn in the side of Sephton.

“I was told years and years ago by a UEFA delegate that I should play the music as soon as the last player is lined up standing to attention towards the Main Stand,” Sephton said.

"That's more or less what I stick to nowadays, you just hope the players come out on time.

“My biggest pain over the years was Pepe Reina.

"He always used to jog out last and would never appear to be in any hurry! He'd be waving to his family and stuff like that. I used to quite often say up there 'Pepe, get a move on for goodness' sake.'

"But once the match has kicked off that's when I really kick in to start enjoying it and, just for a while, be a fan."

These occasions on the European stage are nothing without the incredible renditions of the club's anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' and the scenes resulting from it.

Sephton has the pleasure of pressing play on the record and adapting it to the audience when he deems it fitting - which was apparent in the meeting with Borussia Dortmund last month.

He added: "To this day, every time that music comes on the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Sometimes you just let the thing go.

"Dortmund was brilliant because I had so many people telling me to fade it out. I always take a judgement every game.

“If the crowd are drowning out 'You'll Never Walk Alone' then I'll fade it out and just leave the crowd to it.

"That night in particular, they took over good style and I turned it off completely - it did the trick because the atmosphere was supercharged from the word go."

While George is often on the receiving end of requests from supporters, the tables have turned and he now has one himself.

"I would like to see a rerun of the Dortmund atmosphere. The fans that night were fantastic, they really were. It was just like the good old days," he insisted.

“Do what you did last time, get behind the team, be loud, frighten the Spaniards and we'll go off and get our Swiss currency.”

George’s Villarreal playlist - in no particular order

Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive

Anfield Collective - The Fields Of Anfield Road

LFC Squad (70s) - We Can Do It

AC/DC - Thunderstruck

Boney M. - Brown Girl In The Ring

Dario G - Ring of Fire

Sweet F.A. - Stand Up

The Hummingbirds - Emma

Kids On Bridges - Something In The Water

The Beatles - Yellow Submarine

Bob Marley - Three Little Birds

Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire

Status Quo - Rockin' All Over The World

Neil Young - Rockin’ In The Free World

Pete Wylie - Heart As Big As Liverpool

The Beatles - All You Need Is Love

Gerry Marsden - You'll Never Walk Alone

Karmer - Invictus

Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth

The Christians - Big Red Sky

Nathan Carter - Liverpool

Up & Running - Boom

Ron Sexsmith - Secret Heart

Billy Idol - Rebel Yell

The Beatles - Hey Jude

The Jam - Going Underground

Elvis Costello - Pump It Up