Barlinnie Nine was started in 1998 and finished in late 1999. Räihälä took part in a composers' workshop with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Norway and wrote this 13 minutes long composition for the occasion. After some misinformation by the organizers, the piece was not finished until only after the workshop's programme was chosen and thus the composition remained unperformed. The newly organized first performance was given by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in April 2005, under the baton of conductor Sakari Oramo.
Barlinnie Nine is a tribute to the Everton striker Duncan Ferguson and Räihälä describes the work as "an apotheosis for under-achieving". Several promising motifs are started but never fulfilled. These include some direct quotations (the Z-Cars theme and Abide With Me) but also "supporter chants" that are written by Räihälä himself.