List of England football team songs

This is a list of songs released with the approval of the Football Association to coincide with the England national football team's participation in the finals of the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship.

The tradition of World Cup songs began in 1966[1] and continued till 2006 when Top of the Pops was axed from television, apart from other tournaments for which England failed to qualify (1974, 1976, 1978, 1984, 1994 and 2008). Some of the later official songs were eclipsed by unofficial songs released around the same time;[2] at least 15 World Cup-themed singles were released for the 2002 finals,[1] and 30 for 2006.[3] Despite England qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, the FA already announced there would be no official song but one unofficial cover song for the 2010 finals or for the 2012 finals.[2]

Tournament Year Song Chart Writers Performers Notes
World Cup 1966 "World Cup Willie" Unknown Lonnie Donegan Lonnie Donegan Song about the 1966 football world cup mascot.
World Cup 1970 "Back Home" 1 Bill Martin, Phil Coulter England squad [4] The tune was reused in the 1990s for Fantasy Football League, on which Jeff Astle, who sang poorly on the original, often appeared and sang.
World Cup 1982 "This time (we’ll get it right)" 2[5] Chris Norman, Pete Spencer England squad [4] Norman & Spencer, of Smokie, had written "Head Over Heels in Love" for Kevin Keegan in 1979.
World Cup 1986 "We've Got the Whole World at Our Feet" 66[1] Tony Hiller, Stan James, Bobby James[6] England squad The same team co-wrote Scotland's World Cup song, "Big trip to Mexico".[6]
Euro 1988 "All The Way" 64[7] Stock, Aitken and Waterman England squad Unknown
World Cup 1990 "All Together Now" Unknown Peter Hooton, Steve Grimes The Farm Unknown
World Cup 1990 "World in Motion" 1 New Order[2] and Keith Allen[4] Englandneworder (England squad and New Order) Featuring a rap from John Barnes[4]
Euro 1996 "Three Lions" 1 David Baddiel, Frank Skinner et al The Lightning Seeds/Baddiel & Skinner [4] Rereleased for the 1998 World Cup. "We're In This Together" by Simply Red was also the official song of the tournament, which England hosted but "We're In This Together" by Simply Red was unknown to the charts anyway.[8]
World Cup 1998 "Vindaloo" 2[1] Fat Les Fat Les Unknown
World Cup 1998 "(How Does it Feel to Be) on Top of the World?" 9[1] Ian McCulloch[2] England United (Echo and the Bunnymen, Space, Spice Girls, Simon Fowler) Overshadowed by the unofficial anthems "Three Lions '98" and "Vindaloo".[9]
Euro 2000 "Jerusalem" 10[7] William Blake, Sir Hubert Parry, Alex James, Keith Allen, Damien Hirst Fat Les Endorsed, but not originally commissioned, by the FA.
World Cup 2002 "We're On The Ball" 3 Ant & Dec Ant & Dec[2] Unknown
Euro 2004 "All Together Now 2004" 5 Peter Hooton, Steve Grimes The Farm featuring the SFX Boys' Choir, Liverpool[7] Originally released in 1990, the 2004 version was edited by DJ Spoony[7]
World Cup 2006 "World at Your Feet" 3 Embrace Embrace [2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "World Cup Special: Anything is passable". Official Charts Lowdown. Official UK Charts Company. 2002. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/lowdown/worldcup/index.html. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f "'No World Cup song', FA confirms". BBC News (BBC). 15 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8461433.stm. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  3. ^ "Anthems vie for World Cup glory". BBC News. BBC. 5 June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5038892.stm. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  4. ^ a b c d e Cooper, Rachel (13 October 2009). "Top 10 England World Cup songs". Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/6175232/Top-10-England-World-Cup-songs.html. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  5. ^ "'Lost' World Cup song unearthed". BBC News. BBC. 7 June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5056970.stm. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  6. ^ a b Holman, John. "Tony Hiller ultimate discography/jukebox". Tony Hiller official website. http://www.tonyhiller.com/photo6.html. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  7. ^ a b c d "England's Euro 2004 song revealed". BBC News. BBC. 7 May 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/3692909.stm. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  8. ^ Perrone, Pierre (22 May 1998). "Music: Rocking all over the World Cup". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/music-rocking-all-over-the-world-cup-1157973.html. Retrieved 18 January 2010. 
  9. ^ Leggett, Chris (28 March 2006). "Game on for World Cup anthems". BBC News. BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4852264.stm. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 

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