New Order with comedian Keith Allen and footballer John Barnes, 1990 (Photo by Kevin Cummins/Getty Images)
On the eve of the first kick off in Moscow, and as we continue to ponder how much we’ll get beaten by France on Saturday, ILYOS looks at some World Cup anthems from over the years – the good, the bad, and the ‘what the hell were they thinking there?’.
There's this great playlist on Spotify, and below we take a deeper dive into some of these tracks...
New Order “World In Motion” (1990)
1990 finally saw the World Cup get a bit of indie cred, although it has to be said that the developing laddish culture in England at the time meant there were more musicians vocal about football than there had been in earlier days. It was funny though to see the former members of morose Mancunian band Joy Division get into a bit of flag waving, with help from England and Liverpool legend John Barnes, who rapped in the middle of the tune.
Santana & Wyclef feat. Avicii & Alexandre Pires – “Dar um Jeito (We Will Find a Way)”
The Official FIFA World Cup Anthem for Brazil 2014 featured a good cross-generational and geographical selection of artists and styles, and even an actual Brazilian in the form of local pop star Alexandre Pires. The late Swedish DJ and producer Avicii, fresh from his monster hit “Wake Me Up”, was also involved but doesn’t seem to be in the video – although we’re not sure since our eyeballs were so drawn to Carlos Santana’s shirt.
Shakira – “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)”
We guess Shakira– a Columbian – got the gig for South Africa 2010 because there were no locals of suitable profile, which was a real shame. But it paid off for those involved: "Waka Waka" is the best-selling World Cup anthem of all time, and Shakira got to marry Spanish international Gerard Pique who she met on the video shoot. That’s what we call getting into the World Game spirit! It’s cool to see two of the best ever, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, appear in the video.
Il Divo & Toni Braxton – “The Time of Our Lives”
A very solemn entry for Germany2006, with not a whiff of Krautrock or Oompa Music to be had unfortunately. The Germans obviously didn’t one anyone to party at their party; and with that basso profundo kicking in at 1:30, we’re not entirely convinced they weren’t hoping opposing players and fans would have to change their pants before the game started. We reckon it messed with Zinedine Zidane’s head too.
Spice Girls feat. England United – “How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World”
Not the “Official Song of the World Cup” but the "official song of the England national football team" for France 1998. It was credited to "England United" a supergroup consisting of members of Echo and the Bunnymen and Ocean Colour Scene, and of course the Spice Girls. Despite the presence of David Beckham’s future wife (Posh & Becks would marry the following year), the track was clearly overshadowed by the real anthem of 1998, sung by young Ricky Martin...
Ricky Martin - "The Cup of Life" (1998)
Certainly the biggest and most enduring Official World Cup songs, “The Cup Of Life” was a number one hit in the US for young Ricky (sadly the US came number four in their group), and the Latin/dance crossover style has been popular with FIFA ever since.
Daryl Hall "Gloryland" (1994)
Of course with America it was ALL ABOUT THEM, and while France 1998 gave us a young Puerto Rican singer, and Italy 2002 gave us Italian operatic, USA 1994 gave us half a hit American duo from the ‘80s. With the States not even qualifying this year one wonders will anyone there even be watching, but let’s hear it anyway - "USA! USA! USA!"
Lonnie Donegan “World Cup Willy” (1966)
England 1966. Swinging London is at its peak, and they’re hosting the World Cup. The Beatles or the Stones are surely doing the Official Song. No? What about the Yardbirds? No? Dusty Springfield? No? How about Shirley Bassey –she’s recently done a great Bond theme? No? Okay, let’s give it to Lonnie Donegan. His old man’s a dustman after all.... Lonnie was Britain’s biggest rock-era artist before the Beatles, but he hadn’t had a hit since ’62. And guess what, he wasn’t about to have one now... Oh, but England did win the cup, for the first and only time. So Lonnie and his Willy might’ve been onto something.
Los Ramblers - "El Rock del Mundial" (1962)
Reputedly the first ever World Cup song, this piece of primal rock’n’roll was cut by Chilean combo Los Ramblers and timed to capitalise on the World Cup finals in Chile in 1962. With a chorus of “Take it! Get in! Complete it! GOOOOAAAAL, goal for Chile!,” it certainly got the blood pumping, although GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL! may have been a bit more representative of the memorable South American commentary style. If and when Australia gets to host the Cup, we’ll be pushing for Ol’55 to record a rewrite of this for our official song.
Check out this website titled ‘Music In Motion: World Cup Football Through The Years’. The site includes information on every World Cup since 1966, as well as key music releases, cultural moments and historic events from the corresponding year.
- Dave Laing
