NEWS
Football anthem ‘Three Lions’ is being tipped to reach Number One in the UK Charts as England have reached the Euro 2024 final.
Betting company William Hill have said they expect three songs to vie for the top spot this July: David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and The Lightning Seeds‘ ‘Three Lions’, Neil Diamond classic ‘Sweet Caroline’ and Fat Les’ ‘Vindaloo’.
The news follows England’s glorious victory last night (July 10), which saw Ollie Watkins score a last-minute goal to push the Three Lions into the final against Spain on Sunday (July 14).
Now, William Hill have said those three songs are collectively estimated with 3/1 odds to top the charts, adding: “Three Lions has been a UK No.1 single in three separate years, spanning across three decades, so you cannot write off another return to the top for The Lightning Seeds.
“England are in a final of a major tournament on foreign soil for the first time in history and the tunes will be blaring out this weekend,” they continued. “A win for Gareth Southgate’s men would surely spark a rush of sales and streams for some of England’s classic hits, so we go 3/1 for any of Three Lions, Vindaloo or even Sweet Caroline hitting top spot, while it’s odds-on at 10/11 one of those will enter the Top 10 this month.”
‘Three Lions’, which was originally released in 1996, previously broke records when it shot to Number One during the World Cup in 2018.
It was the first time in the Official Chart’s 66-year history that a song scored four spells at the top of the charts with the same artist line-up: the original 1996 version had two one-week stints in 1996, while the 1998 re-work had one three-week spell at the top.
The trio have since gone on to release a new version in 2022, when they unveiled a special festive edition of the song.
However, David Baddiel suggested the song could be “put to bed” after the England Women’s team’s Euro 2022 victory, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme (via The Guardian): “The women have reset the clock.”
The lyric “30 years of hurt” in the chorus was a reflection on the fact that England hadn’t won a trophy since triumphing against West Germany in the 1966 FIFA World Cup when it was first released in 1996.
In other news, The Killers paused their London show for the last five minutes of the Euros semifinals, celebrating England’s win with a performance of ‘Mr Brightside’ straight after.
Lewis Capaldi reportedly picked up the bill for an entire pub packed with England supporters following their dramatic World Cup win against Mexico.
The singer songwriter was spotted enjoying the match with Rita Ora at the Marlborough pub in Mayfair as the Three Lions secured a thrilling 3 to 2 victory.
Even though his home nation, Scotland, endured a disappointing tournament and were knocked out during the group stage, Capaldi still joined in the celebrations after the final whistle by treating the England fans in the pub to a round of drinks.
“Lewis bought every single person in the Marlborough a drink,” one customer told The Sun. “The bar staff were told to put every drink ordered on his tab. By the end of the night it came to almost £2,000.”
The pubgoer continued, saying it was “such a generous surprise and a genuinely lovely thing to do, especially from a Scotland fan… Lewis was an absolute legend. Not only did he buy everyone a drink, but he was also so kind to every person who came over to say hello.”
Ora also posted several videos from the lively celebrations, writing: “NOTHING beats a London pub game EVER… It’s coming home!!! The fact I woke up with my hair clips in and my hair has not moved says. Watch it till the end… trust me.”
Throughout the celebrations, Capaldi and Ora sang each other's songs before joining the rest of the crowd in celebrating England's victory by chanting, “Football’s coming home, it’s coming home…”
The celebrations come just before Capaldi headlines BST Hyde Park this weekend. The Scottish singer songwriter is set to perform at the London concert series on both Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12.
Those huge outdoor performances are part of his UK and Ireland headline tour this summer, and any remaining tickets can be found here.
Capaldi recently revealed that one of the BST Hyde Park concerts will also be streamed live worldwide on YouTube.
The performance will be the biggest headline show of his career so far. Fans across the globe will be able to watch for free on YouTube without a paywall. The broadcast will feature 26 cameras capturing every moment, along with aerial footage filmed by drones.
Joining him on the July 11 BST Hyde Park lineup are The Vaccines, Absolutely, Nieve Ella, Tyler Ballgame, Kerr Mercer, NECKBREAKERS, Benjamin Steer, Luz, Sebastian Croft, and Luke La Volpe.
Meanwhile, England will face Norway in the World Cup quarter finals on the same evening as Capaldi's opening BST Hyde Park performance.
