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This weekend, Saturday May 17, the footballing representatives of the cities of Cardiff and – *spit* – Portsmouth butt heads at Wembley Stadium to contest this season’s FA Cup Final. Never ones to overlook an opportunity to remind readers of the strange relationship between pop music and the beautiful game, here we pick ten soccer… sorry… football-themed (or loosely associated) songs that’ve tickled the charts in recent years. We’d call it a top ten, but that’d suggest we like these songs.
First, though, a little something from the Pompey Sound Squad, pleasantly titled ‘Fuck Southampton’ (ahem), and the official Cardiff City song for this year, ‘Bluebirds Flying High’ by onetime Eurovision hopeful James Fox.
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And onto our ten…
‘Diamond Lights’
Tenuous? Perhaps. But probably the best ‘proper’ song here from
a couple of singing wingers…
‘England Crazy’
El Tel, former England manager and rarely shy of belting out a number or two, puts a little swing into a ‘terrace favourite’…
‘All Together Now (For Everton)’
Popular-in-the-‘90s Liverpool lot rework their ‘classic’ for Everton’s 1995 FA Cup Final…
‘Ossie’s Dream (Spurs Are On Their Way To Wembley)’
Cock-er-nee twosome C&D plug “Tottingham”’s 1981 campaign for the FA Cup…
‘Outstanding’
Short-of-the-top-40 1999 single from the former Manchester United
striker and funky rhymer…
‘Just A Man’
Why? This song’s parent LP Innocent was funded in part, and meant to originally be released by, former Everton striker Kevin Campbell’s 2 Wikid label. After a number of court visits – Morrison telling the press “no judge is gonna stop me”, the album eventually came out via Mona/Mack Life…
‘Ring Of Fire’
As adopted by Liverpool supporters during their 2005 Champions League run…
‘Come On You Reds’
Denim-rockers wheel out their ‘Burning Bridges song with hugely altered lyrics in 1994; it goes on to reach number one and remains in the chart for 15 weeks…
‘Blue Day’
A little balance what with the Champions League Final on Wednesday: here, Madness singer Suggs gets behind his team of choice’s 1997 FA Cup bid…
‘World In Motion’
Be fair: it’s the best proper football song ever written, making John Barnes’ rap and the presence of Lily Allen’s dad completely tolerable. It reached number one, and remains New Order’s only single to top the charts. 1990’s World Cup was England’s best since they won it in 1966, the team making the semi-finals in Italy…
No Three Lions? Oh get around the back already. And stay there. Enjoy the kicking tomorrow and Wednesday, readers. We will be.
DiScuss: And your favourite songs about kicking are...?
