Is ‘We are England’ to be the first notable England football ‘anthem’ in twenty years?

Shaun Ryder – joined by Kermit from Black Grape – produced by Paul Oakenfold and Goldie – have debuted the England anthem in preparation for the tournament kick off on Friday 10 June.

Entitled ‘We are England’, it is said to have that unique inspiring sound from the 90s and aims to be an anthem that rivals the success of ‘Three Lions’ by Baddiel and Skinner, and Ian Broudie twenty years ago in 1996.

Ten years ago Embrace released the 2006 ‘World at Your Feet’. The Football Association has not commissioned an official song since then.

Prior to this, the England squad were joined by New Order for their massive anthem ‘World in Motion’ featuring the rap by John Barnes for the Italia 90 World Cup.

After ‘Three Lions’ the only near rival to an anthem was ‘Vindaloo’ by Fat Les for the France 98 World Cup.

So, not a bad line up of bands in the recent history of English football anthems: Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder (not forgetting Black Grape), Embrace, The Lightening Seeds (Ian Broudie), and New Order.

Big names are now joined by Manic Street Preachers who have performed their song ‘Together Stronger (C’mon Wales)’ for the Welsh squad (see our article here).

So why has the music industry had to wait twenty years for a notable England anthem? David Baddiel has an answer as he informed the BBC News:

“I can tell you why there isn’t one, and why there hasn’t been one for a while.

And that’s because Three Lions killed off the football anthem quite conclusively. There were a few attempts after 1996 but no-one managed it.

And that’s because it is the best football anthem of all time.

I know I shouldn’t say that, but I’m pretty sure it is. It has been voted that several times.

But I think that’s a shame. It’s a shame it’s been killed off.”

We will leave it for music fans to decide on their favourite England football anthem of all time. Let’s hope ‘We are England’ inspires a future anthem for the 2018 World Cup.