Who the hell dug Sham 69 up?

Graham Coxon, apparently. No offense intended, I love Blur and I don't mind his solo albums, but… did we really need this?

It's the Christian O'Connell "People's Anthem", and unfortunately the people have chosen Sham 69 – covering their "Hurry Up Harry" as "Hurry Up England" with tailored Great Escape referencing lyrics. Admittedly, Sham's form of punk was very much tailored to football terraces, so it's actually pretty appropriate. (The main change is the terrace chanting "WE'RE… GONNA WIN THE CUP" instead of, in the original, "WE'RE… GOING DOWN THE PUB"). It's hopefully going to be a bigger hit than Embrace because, unlike the Embrace single, it's got a tune, albeit a very simplistic one.

But, like all football singles, we didn't need it – there are going to be ten different WC singles this year and all are either forgettable (good), Embrace (bad), or Chas and Dave (very very ugly). Is it really the time for yet another, even if it's slightly more, well, legitimate (and a lot less musical)? Besides, in a tournament with Brazil in it England haven't a chance in hell, so why delude ourselves?

At least the cash is going to the Teenage Cancer Trust, so it's not as objectionable as the Embrace single for that reason alone. Also, there is one amusing moment in the lyrics, where time has already overtaken the single:

We've got Gerrard, Lampard and Wayne Rooney!

Oops.