Hit’s coming home... for Christmas
TWIST ON FOOTIE CLASSIC
IT’S definitely Coming Home for Christmas, perhaps not the World Cup itself but Three Lions at least.
David Baddiel, Frank Skinner & The Lightning Seeds have recorded a new festive version of their iconic football anthem Three Lions (re-christened It’s Coming Home for Christmas) and it’s out today in time for the kick off on Sunday.
I caught up with Ian Broudie, who penned the song 26 years ago, who told me: “There are great Christmas records but I’ve never done one. But there’s never been a World Cup at Christmas, so I think rather than just doing a football record there is a strong case for doing a Christmas football record with it being the World Cup.”
Long wait
Pals Baddiel and Skinner have updated the song’s lyrics to not only include a fair bit of Christmas chintz, but also to reflect the success England’s Lionesses delivered at the Euros this summer.
Now the tune goes: “Three Lions on a sleigh, with She-Lion’s Inspiration, Santa says let’s play, the Christmas tree formation.”
For the comedians it’s as if all their Christmases have come at once. Baddiel quipped: “At last it’s between me and Mariah Carey for who really is the voice of Christmas.”
Skinner added: “We just had to do it. Christmas World Cup songs are not like buses. If we’d let this opportunity pull away, it would have been a very long wait for the next one.”
Naturally there’s a new video to go with it, featuring Sir Geoff Hurst swapping his England kit for a Santa Suit; plus appearances by Lioness heroes Jess Carter and Beth England. Three Lions has become England’s unofficial national anthem, but incredibly in 1996 the English FA was not keen and didn’t want Baddiel and Skinner involved.
Broudie told me: “I remember watching Fantasy Football and I remember thinking, ‘These two guys should sing it.’ We talked about making a record that was not about the team but was about the fans.
“When the FA heard it they really didn’t like it, which is understandable because it’s criticising the team. So they were like, ‘We can’t have this, you need to re-write it and we want you to call it The Beautiful Game and get rid of those two fellas singing it.’”
Fortunately Broudie stuck to his guns and the rest is history.
“Back then I never expected decades later to still be talking about it, but I’m very thrilled that it’s the case, it’s kind of a never-ending lovely thing.”
Perhaps embittered by many years of hurt, for a while Broudie avoided Three Lions, but he found new love for it when Gareth Southgate’s England started doing well.
“I have a comfortable relationship with Three Lions now. It’s been through the mill a bit.
“All bands tend to say about their most successful song, ‘We don’t want to play that one live.’ But I’m very comfortable with it since it came back a few years ago with all the memes. Now whenever I play it, it brings a smile to my face and everyone. It’s a lovely thing.”
Yes he’s excited for the World Cup but being a Liverpool fan Broudie is also a little nervous: “It’s really gonna mess up the season for all the teams in the Premiership. Hopefully it’s a one off, but maybe it will be great fun.”