World in Motion

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This article is about the New Order single. For the Jackson Browne album, see World in Motion (album).

“World in Motion”

Single by New Order

B-side

"The B-side" (1990)
"Such a Good Thing" (2002)

Released

21 May 1990

Format

CD, cassette, 12", 7"

Recorded

The Mill, Buckinghamshire, March 1990

Genre

Alternative, House

Length

4:30

Label

Factory - FAC 293

Producer

New Order, Stephen Hague

New Order singles chronology

"Run 2"
(1989)

"World in Motion"
(1990)

"Regret"
(1993)

"World in Motion" is a song by the British musical group New Order. It is New Order's first and only single to reach number one in the UK Top 40. The song was released under the name Englandneworder, and was produced for the England football team's 1990 World Cup campaign. As a result it features several members of the 1990 English team, as well as comedian Keith Allen, who co-wrote the lyrics. Originally it was going to be called E for England but the FA, worried by the reference to the drug ecstasy, vetoed that title.

The backing track for the chorus of World in Motion bore some striking (and controversial) similarities to the instrumental theme tune for the DEF II current-affairs show, Reportage.^[1] This had been written for the show by Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, also of New Order (and who would later be known as The Other Two). The song was produced by Stephen Hague, who had also produced one of the group's earlier hits, "True Faith".

The single's B-side, in reality an early version of the A-side, was cleverly titled "The B-Side", extending the football theme of the release, and was produced by former Swans member Roli Mosimann. The single was released in May 1990 with the catalogue number FAC 293. It was New Order's last release on Factory Records.

The track is often mistitled "The John Barnes Rap", after the rap performed by Jamaican-born England player John Barnes towards the end of the track. In addition to Barnes, Paul Gascoigne also provides vocals. The entire squad sing as a choir at the end of the track. It is claimed that the apparent quotes from other England players on "The B-Side" were faked by Keith Allen as he didn't believe that the players could sing well enough^{[citation needed]}.

In 1996, a remixed version appeared on a various artists album called The Beautiful Game, released to tie in with Euro 96.

The single was re-released for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, this time with the track "Such a Good Thing" replacing "The B-Side". It failed to enter the UK Top 40. It was remixed for another single release on 29th May 2006.

The track has regularly topped polls to decide the best football songs ever. It is often seen as the Gold Standard of Football songs. This is possibly down to its relative timelessness, and the fact that the lyrics are not entirely about football - the theme of the song is that "Love's got the world in motion", and the rest of the lyrics, whilst clearly about football, are open to interpretation, leaving the song able to stand on its own removed from the tournament.

The legendary "They Think It's All Over" quotation uttered by Football Commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme at the end of the 1966 World Cup Final between England and West Germany is utilised at the beginning and end of the track (though not the original; Wolstenholme re-recorded his famous phrase especially for the producers), and somewhat less known samples, such as "A beauty scored by Bobby Charlton" and "We Want Goals" are taken from Goal!, the official documentary film on the 1966 tournament; the voice in question used here is actor Nigel Patrick.