Tags: Three Lions, Baddiel and Skinner, World Cup, Euros,
With Euro 2024 fever almost in full effect, that means one thing, a seasonal climb up the music charts for Baddiel and Skinner’s infamous song ‘Three Lions’. The song with ‘The Lightning Seeds’ has had ten re-entries back into the ‘Official Charts Top 100’ since it was released on May 20th, 1996. Entirely synonymous with England playing in major tournaments, the radios will be blasting the classic all summer as England compete at Euro 2024 in Germany.
The masters behind the masterpiece
Since the song has become completely synonymous with Football and England, the makers of this classic are becoming lesser and lesser known as it filters down through the generations.
Comedy double act David Baddiel and Frank Skinner became household names during the nineties. They both presented the popular television show “Fantasy Football League”. The show debuted in 1994 and was a massive hit during the mid-nineties and early 2000’s with football fans combining comedy, football commentary and celebrity guests. The show became influential and was praised for its unique blend of comedy and sport analysis.
The Lightning Seeds were a well-established Britpop band formed in 1989 by frontman Ian Broudie. They had already had a fair share of success prior to ‘Three Lions’. Their popular songs such as ‘Pure’, ‘The Life of Riley’, ‘Lucky You’ and ‘Change’ had all dabbled in some chart success. The England anthem did catapult them to further prominence and really did cement their place in a quintessentially British hall of fame.
The genius of such two worlds colliding created a football song like no other. Football anthems can often be championing teams too early or even relishing on success that hasn’t even been achieved yet. ‘Three Lions’ plays on the misery and despair that comes with supporting England. Lyrics about small resolutions and simplistic moments allow us to become perfectly cynical of our nation in a light-hearted catchy way. Restoring a blind hope to those who no matter how bad it gets will always stick by England.
The beauty of this hit’s success is somewhat of a musical masterpiece. “It’s coming home” is what some people know the song as these days with it being sung on the streets, in pubs and in the stadiums during these major tournaments. Getting technical with it, the song actually has two hooks that can sit on top of one another which not only help it being catchy but also means that it is perfect for chanting as the chorus’ both overlap in such a way that makes it unclear when the song should end.
The principle of a Britpop band teaming up with a comedy duo to create a football song was always appealing to the masses, yet the legacy it has left is one that not many could have imagined. A football anthem can be a hard task and is often one that fails more times than not.
“Lyrics about small resolutions and simplistic moments allow us to become perfectly cynical of our nation in a light-hearted catchy way.”
The back of the cabinet
‘Three Lions’ has set unrealistic expectations regarding tournament songs for England’s football team; here are some valiant efforts which I’m sure you will have forgotten about.
- ‘We’re On the Ball’ by Ant and Dec: England’s two favourite Geordies released the official England song in 2002 ahead of the World Cup. The repeated chorus of “we’re on the ball” had nowhere near the same ring that “it’s coming home” had and in turn never achieved any significant success in the charts or with the fans.
- ‘Proud’ by JLS: this was commissioned as the official England song for England’s 2012 Euros campaign. Despite being one of the leading groups in UK music during this period, JLS opted for a more mainstream route which did not gain much success in the charts and also detached it from football. The only link it really had to football was the music video being filmed in Wembley which is no surprise as to why people do not remember it.
- ‘Vindaloo’ by Fat Les: Not as much of a flop as the others, however was still miles off the works of Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds. The humorous anthem was released for the 1998 World Cup in France. It featured comedian Keith Allen alongside members of Blur and other musicians. The song didn’t completely miss and did gain attention amongst fans however was seen more for its comedic value rather than something timelessly tied to the England Football team.
The songs will always come and go, just like the players do. Yet, similar to the immortals of the 1966 squad, who really did bring football home, the anthem that is ‘Three Lions’ will live on through many more ‘thirty years of hurt.’