1996 single by Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds

Three Lions “, besides referred to as “ It’s Coming Home “ or “ Football’s Coming Home “, is a song by English comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner and the rock set Lightning Seeds. It was released on 20 May 1996 to mark the England football team ‘s participation in that class ‘s UEFA European Championship, which England was hosting. The music was written by Lightning Seeds singer Ian Broudie, while Baddiel and Skinner—presenters of the football comedy show Fantasy Football League —provided the lyrics. All three provided vocals. Unlike other football songs, the lyrics express the disappointment and hope of being a football sports fan. The title comes from the England team emblem.

“ Three Lions ” is one of alone three songs to top the british charts more than once with lyric variants, the others being “ Mambo No. 5 “ ( in versions by Lou Bega and Bob the Builder ) and “ Do They Know It ‘s Christmas ? “ ( by Band Aid, Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 ). It besides regularly reappears in the UK singles chart around major football tournaments involving the England team. The song has been described as the de facto “ hymn ” of English football since 1996. [ 2 ] Its chorus, with the abstain “ It ‘s coming home ”, has become a popular tone for fans at England games. [ 3 ]

Writing [edit ]

The Football Association ( FA ) asked Lightning Seeds songwriter Ian Broudie to compose a birdcall for the 1996 UEFA European Football Championship. [ 4 ] He composed a melody he felt would make a estimable football chant, and asked comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel, presenters of the football drollery express Fantasy Football League, to write the lyrics. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Broudie refused the FA ‘s offer to have football players sing on the song, saying he did not want it to be “ England-istic ” or nationalist. He said it was more about “ being a football fan, which, for 90 % of the time, is losing ”. [ 4 ] According to Skinner ‘s autobiography, the original lyrics included the line “ Butcher ready for war ” rather of “ Bobby belting the ball ”. The early was a address to a ill-famed World Cup qualifier against Sweden in 1989, when defender Terry Butcher played despite his mind bleeding abundantly for a lot of the match. [ 6 ] Baddiel late revealed a handwritten replicate of the lyrics on chitter with “ Terry Butcher at war ” shown as the replace lyric. [ 7 ] The FA requested that this line be changed, thus as to avoid suggestions of vandalism imagination. The “ ready for war ” motif was late used in the 1998 version of the birdcall, attributed to Paul Ince. [ citation needed ] The crowd noise in the presentation of the lead is in fact Brøndby fans recorded by Ian Broudie at Anfield during a UEFA Cup marry in October 1995. [ 8 ]

Themes [edit ]

The song title refers to the three lions on the England team cap. [ 4 ] The choir lyric, “ it ‘s coming base ”, reflected the fact that the Euro 96 competition was the first base football rival England had hosted since the 1966 FIFA World Cup but has evolved to include the concept of the cup returning to the fatherland of the sport. [ 4 ] The sung makes references to several players, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and Gordon Banks, who played in the 1966 World Cup winning team. [ 9 ] Among the references in the song are the follow :
Unlike those of most football songs, the lyrics speak not of boundless optimism for victory but rather of how, since England ‘s victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, every tournament has ended in dart hopes. [ 11 ] however, the failures have not dampened the feeling that England could succeed again ( “ Three lions on a shirt / Jules Rimet calm gleaming / Thirty years of damage / never stopped me dreaming ” ). [ 12 ] Baddiel said the song was “ in truth about charming intend. About assuming we are going to lose, sanely, based on experience, but hoping that somehow we won ’ thyroxine. ” [ 4 ] Despite the failures of the past, each tournament is greeted with bracing hopes that this might be the year they do it again : “ I know that was then, but it could be again ”, and the song ‘s chorus proclaimed that “ It ‘s coming home, it ‘s coming home, it ‘s coming, football ‘s come home ” which refers, like the tournament ‘s motto, “ Football comes home ”, to the invention of the mod game in England. [ 13 ]

music television [edit ]

Pedro Romhanyi directed the music video recording for the original Three Lions. [ 11 ] [ 14 ] Romhanyi said that while Skinner and Baddiel are comedians, they took the record badly, as “ this is not about making a start video ; it ‘s about doing something that ‘s good for football. ” [ 11 ] Baddiel recalled that Romhanyi insisted that the music video feel “ homely ”, opening with Skinner and Baddiel making tea while watching television at home. [ 15 ] The video recording besides features much archival footage and images of the referenced 1966 and late teams featuring for case, Bobby Moore, Nobby Stiles, and Gary Lineker. The contemporary public house picture was filmed at The Queen of the Isle in London, which was demolished in 2004. The public house scenery includes a cameo appearance by 1966 team member, Geoff Hurst .

achiever [edit ]

The Britpop phenomenon was at its extremum in 1996, and the Lightning Seeds were one of its head acts, so their engagement gave the song very wide invoke. It reached total one in the singles chart, and as England progressed to the semi-finals, stadiums around the country echoed to the sound of fans singing the song after english victories over Scotland, the Netherlands and Spain. It was so popular that tied other teams liked it. England faced Germany in the semi-finals, and Jürgen Klinsmann said later that the Germans were singing the sung themselves on the means to the stadium, and the german team and the push sang the song as they paraded the trophy on the Römer balcony in Frankfurt. The unmarried as a resultant role evening made issue 49 on the german Singles Chart. [ 16 ] The song was late sung by Germany fans during their team ‘s beginning appearance at the new Wembley in 2007 [ 17 ] and is still heard frequently on german radio stations. [ citation needed ] Broudie said he was shocked to listen german fans singing the song after beating England at Euro 96. [ 4 ] The original version of the song silent receives regular airplay in England around the time of major external football tournaments. It has been adopted as a terrace chant and is occasionally sung by fans at England international matches nowadays. When it was sung by England fans at the 2006 World Cup after England took the lead against Paraguay, observer John Motson remarked, “ As football songs go, Three Lions is surely the best ”. [ 18 ] The sung has sold 1.6 million copies in the UK as of June 2018. [ 19 ] The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart again in 2018 following England reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, [ 20 ] with the line “ it ‘s coming home ” featuring heavily on sociable media. [ 21 ] [ 22 ] In doing indeed, it became the first song in history to have four separate stints at act one in the UK. [ 20 ] By the keep up week, following England ‘s semi-final kill by Croatia, and elimination from the tournament, the single had fallen to phone number 97, setting a then-record for the fastest ever descent from the top of the charts, until “ concluding Christmas “ by Wham ! fell out of the exceed 100 wholly from number one in January 2021. [ 23 ]

racetrack list [edit ]

  1. “Three Lions” – 3:44
  2. “Three Lions” (Jules Rimet extended mix) – 6:14
  3. “Three Lions” (karaoke version) – 3:45

Charts [edit ]

weekly charts [edit ]

Certifications [edit ]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] 2× Platinum 1,200,000double-dagger
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on documentation alone .

“ 3 Lions ’98 ” [edit ]

England lost in a penalty gunfight against Germany in 1996, so the song ‘s lyrics rang dependable once again. It was subsequently re-recorded with unlike lyrics ( under the title “ 3 Lions ’98 ” ) as an unofficial hymn for England ‘s World Cup campaign in 1998 ( unlike in 1996, when it was the “ official song of the England football team ” ) and landed the phone number one spot in the singles chart for a moment time, beating the official England song “ ( How Does It Feel to Be ) On exceed of the World ? “ by England United to the top descry by eight places. This interpretation of the song begins with the sound of stadium crowd singing the master choir. It then samples Jonathan Pearce ‘s comment of the critical penalty miss by England ‘s Gareth Southgate in a shoot-out with Germany, where England were eliminated at the semi-final stage. Pearce ‘s comment of earlier rounds of the tournament was besides used belated in the song.

While the 1996 “ three Lions ” birdcall drew on respective memorable moments from the previous 30 years, the 1998 adaptation reflected on the Euro 96 tournament and its entrance aboard previous disappointments, a well as the team ‘s performance in qualifying for the 1998 World Cup. The verse mentioning particular players focused this meter on the then-current England police squad :

  • Paul Ince – “Ince ready for war” – his performance against Italy in a crucial qualifier for that year’s World Cup
  • Paul Gascoigne – “Gazza good as before” – the long-awaited return of his 1990 World Cup form in Euro 96, particularly his goal against Scotland
  • Alan Shearer – “Shearer certain to score” – with five goals, he had been the top scorer of Euro 96, despite a poor run of form in internationals before the tournament
  • Stuart Pearce – “And Psycho screaming” – his primal celebration after scoring a penalty in the Euro 96 quarter-final shoot-out against Spain, which lifted the burden he had felt after failing to score in the semi-final shootout at the 1990 World Cup

however, and amid a lot controversy, neither Gascoigne nor Pearce were selected for England ‘s 1998 World Cup squad, which was not announced until some time after the song had been recorded. arsenic good as a karaoke version of the new song, the individual featured a song called “ Tout est possible ” ( french for “ Anything is potential ” ) as a B-side. The sung was largely composed of a recurring chorus, samples from commentators and pundits, and the casual shortstop poetry. It besides started with a french speech sample referring to “ La Coupe du Monde ” ( The World Cup ) .

1998 video [edit ]

There was besides a wholly raw video recording made for the 1998 translation of the sung again directed by Pedro Romhanyi. The storyline is unlike as the trio are now travelling on a motive coach to France with a group of England fans for the 1998 World Cup. [ 43 ] The video belated portrays a match between the English fans and their german equivalents, most of whom have the list “ Kuntz ” printed on the back of their football shirts ( except for one, who alternatively has “ Klinsmann “ ). german player Stefan Kuntz had played an instrumental contribution in Germany ‘s semi-final victory over England at Wembley in 1996, but his name is similar to the derogative coarseness “ cunts “ ; the section was much cut by broadcasters. Baddiel and Skinner had previously mocked Kuntz ‘s name on their Fantasy Football television program. The video recording besides featured cameo appearances from Geoff Hurst ( who besides made a cameo in the music television for the master song in 1996 ), John Regis, Robbie Williams and Chris Evans. The archival footage was besides updated. The final setting from the video when Frank Skinner dips his arm into custard while grasping a melon, so it bears a amusing resemblance to the World Cup trophy, was shown on german public television receiver station Das Erste a few days before the final was to be played .

Charts [edit ]

Certifications [edit ]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[50] Platinum 600,000^
^ Shipments figures based on authentication alone .

“ Three Lions 2010 ” by the Squad [edit ]

Although Frank Skinner had dismissed the possibility in early 2010, [ 51 ] Skinner, Baddiel and Broudie were joined by Robbie Williams and comedian/actor Russell Brand under the name the Squad for a new version of the song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, produced by Trevor Horn. [ 52 ] The sung features added vocals from the ACM Gospel Choir, a soprano ( Olivia Safe ) and observer John Motson. [ 53 ] It entered the UK singles chart at numeral 21. The sung can be found on England The Album 2010′.

lead list [edit ]

CD single

  1. “Three Lions” (2010 version) – 4:17
  2. “Three Lions” (original version) – 3:36

Digital download

  1. “Three Lions” (2010 version) – 4:17
  2. “Three Lions” (2010 edit) – 3:37

Asda CD single

  1. “Three Lions” (2010 version) – 4:17
  2. “Three Lions” (2010 Asda choir version) – 4:16

Charts [edit ]

Baddiel & Skinner & Lightning Seeds – re-issues [edit ]

“ 3 Lions ’98 ” was re-released for the World Cup in 2002, and again on 5 June 2006 for the World Cup 2006 in Germany. It charted at issue nine on the UK Singles Chart in 2006. The 2006 re-release was a DualDisc version with both the master translation of “ trey Lions ” and “ 3 Lions ’98 ” on the CD slope and the music television for the two songs on the DVD side. In 2021, Sony re-issued the two versions on a seven-inch vinyl as “ 3 Lions : football ‘s Coming Home – 25th anniversary edition ”, with “ three Lions ” on one side listed as The First Half ( preferably than the A-side ) and “ 3 Lions ’98 ” on the other side, listed as The Second Half ( preferably than the B-side or double A-side ). [ 56 ]

Covers and early uses [edit ]

In fall of 1996, Labour opposition drawing card Tony Blair addressed his party ‘s conference with the quote “ seventeen years of detriment, never stopped us dreaming, Labour ‘s coming dwelling ”, a play on words from the song ‘s chorus and in reference to his confidence that Labour would return to exponent at the forthcoming general election, having been in the opposition since the Conservatives ousted them from government in 1979. When the election was held on 1 May 1997, Labour won by a landslide. [ 57 ] In summer 2018, the sung enjoyed a rebirth due to the England national team ‘s performance in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in which they reached the semi-finals, and this caused the song to reach phone number 1 in the UK exceed 40. After Croatia eliminated England in the World Cup semi-final, Croatia ‘s master Luka Modrić said that his team had taken the song ‘s abstain as disrespect which had additionally motivated them to win the couple. [ 58 ] In response, England director Gareth Southgate among others stated the Croats misunderstand English wit. [ 59 ] [ 60 ]

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]