Amarillo gets World Cup rewrite

The new song, (Is This the Way To) The World Cup, aims to rival Embrace's official England anthem in the charts and on the terraces.

"This has every chance of being number one when England win the World Cup," Christie said.

The song, released on 29 May, has been championed by BBC Radio 1's breakfast host Chris Moyles.

Christie added: "The new lyrics made me laugh when I heard them and when Chris Moyles said on air that I should record it I couldn't resist."

"I knew that the terraces demanded an Amarillo-style World Cup song"
Ian Stringer
Lyricist

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The lyrics begin: "All across the nation, you can taste the expectation. Finish what we started, England the lion-hearted."

The words have been rewritten by Ian Stringer and "Big" George Webley, presenters on BBC local station Three Counties Radio.

Stringer said: "I knew that the terraces demanded an Amarillo-style World Cup song.

"Our version of the song connects with the terraces, it is about the passion and desire of England competing in - and winning - the World Cup."

Chart race

Christie - who first released Amarillo in 1971 - spent seven weeks at the top of the UK singles chart last year when the song was re-released for Comic Relief.

Rock band Embrace will release England's official song, World at Your Feet, while a host of other unofficial anthems are in the pipeline.

Joe Fagin has re-recorded the Auf Wiedersehen Pet theme tune as That's England Alright and punk singer Jimmy Pursey will release Hurry Up England, a reworking of his band Sham 69's 1978 hit Hurry Up Harry.

The Laddz will put out Chant Like an English Fan to the tune of Walk Like An Egyptian, while a string of other efforts are vying to capture the public's imagination.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
(Is This the Way To) The World Cup
Tony Christie
Song on BBC Three Counties
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