The architect of football anthem Three Lions is reuniting with Frank Skinner and David Baddiel ahead of England’s first major final in 55 years.
Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie will join the pair on The Last Leg of the Euros with Baddiel and Skinner, to be aired on Channel 4 on Friday evening, when the trio will perform their huge hit.
Broudie had said he would “find an occasion” to perform the song before the game – but a pre-match rendition on the hallowed turf of Wembley would require the approval of higher-ups, he told i.
“I haven’t seen David and Frank for a couple of years,” he added. The singer will meet up with his comedian bandmates to watch the match on Sunday, but the possibility of performing on the day is “out of my control”, he said. “We haven’t been invited to yet.”
It is understood to be extremely unlikely that any performance of Three Lions would be allowed at the stadium before kick-off, to avoid Wembley facing accusations of pro-England bias. The trio could potentially team up again at an unofficial event or celebrations if England win.
Pressed on whether the song’s refrain would finally come true, Broudie demurred, saying: “It hasn’t quite come home yet. But there hasn’t been a moment like this in the song’s lifespan because we’re actually in a final.”
Baddiel, Skinner and Broudie will join comedians Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker live in the studio for a 90-minute extended episode of The Last Leg, starting at 10pm.
First recorded for Euro 1996, the hymn to England’s near misses is now hurtling towards the number-one spot for a fifth time.
This time, instead of consoling themselves after another tearful exit, fans are chanting “football’s coming home” with the team tantalisingly close to glory. Broudie himself is among them.
“I wrecked my voice shouting at the TV and singing Three Lions when we beat Denmark. Sometimes I forget it’s my song,” he said.
“I do vaguely remember 1966, watching the final on the telly with my dad and brother, but it was a long time ago so it does feel momentous,” the singer, 62, added.
Broudie, who enjoyed a string of hits with the Lightning Seeds and produced bands including The Zutons, never gets sick of hearing the song, which is of course a nice pension earner.
“It’s uplifting but sad and nostalgic at the same time. It’s the way I write my melodies.
“Something fused in the recording, making the emotion greater than the sum of its parts. When you’re nervous during the game you sing ‘It’s coming home’ almost like a plea or request.
“But when England win, then you go ‘It’s coming home!’ It’s a mix of the triumphant and the cautious.”
He added: “I’m very proud of it. When you’re in the stadium and everyone’s singing I find myself joining in because it’s become its own thing, it lives on outside of me even though I sang it on the record.
“The guy who wrote Happy Birthday probably sang that at a birthday party too.”
Broudie isn’t jealous that Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline is fast rising as a new singalong fan favourite. “I love Neil’s tunes and it’s so infectious. I don’t think one song excludes the other. We could sing a few songs, couldn’t we?”
Three Lions, a lyric expressing hope – dashed so often in recent history – of an England triumph, won’t become obsolete if the team suddenly become champions.
“I don’t think winning changes anything about the words. I can’t ever imagine rewriting it myself. It’s taken on a life of its own.”
Broudie believes the song, commissioned by the FA, kickstarted a sea-change in the perception of the national team. “There was a change in tone even then and now I love the way Gareth Southgate’s team is so inclusive and multicultural.
“The players talk intelligently and the era of the WAGs seems to have gone. I hope Three Lion was the beginning of that in some way.”
: Lightning Seeds resume their Jollification tour in September. Tickets available from https://lightningseeds.co.uk/live/. Their next studio album is due out in 2022
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3AJTmEJ
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