BBC put faith in Faithless

Faithless' song is not a typical football anthem

By David Matthews BBC Sport Online

With gold and platinum discs strewn around her Gothic pad in North London and impressive four-figure record collection, it's fair to say that Sister Bliss, Faithless' keyboardist and co-producer is more High Fidelity than Fever Pitch.

But between touring, recording and spinning the wheels of steel, Miss Bliss has swapped TOTP for MOTD and contracted a case of "World Cup fever" in the process.

After all the pieces of music in the world that could have been chosen, it's an honour

Faithless' Sister Bliss

Britain's biggest dance outfit is about to take over the world - of football theme tunes that is - with the BBC's World Cup anthem.

"The World Cup is an event I think the whole world is interested in," says Bliss, who along with rapper-cum-lyricist Maxi Jazz and co-producer Rollo (pop star Dido's brother), are the band's nucleus.

"So for us it's a massive buzz. After all the pieces of music in the world that could have been chosen, it's an honour."

The piece of music in question is a remix of Tarantula (taken from the band's fifth album Outrospective), which is the Beeb's theme tune for its World Cup coverage.

Faithless and their extended family of musicians, who have produced a stream of hits including Insomnia and We Come One are, as Bliss puts it, "absolute football nutters".

Maybe it is a symbol of the BBC trying to tap into youth culture and draw the best of that

Faithless' Sister Bliss

Bliss said: "What's interesting with football theme tunes is it's the football theme music that has been most concentrated on, like the David Baddiel Three Lions thing or New Order's World in Motion.

"I suppose they all had a kind of paternalistic theme - a bit 'England is the greatest' kind of vibe.

"It's interesting because this piece of music doesn't really have those connotations at all.

"Maybe it is a symbol of the BBC trying to tap into youth culture and draw out the best of that, to connect with those people who will be watching the World Cup religiously," adds Bliss.

"Maybe it's a reflection of them trying to get a bit more global - in choosing a piece of music without lyrics it speaks to more people."

Faithless hope the song will appeal to a wide audience

Faithless can expect increased exposure and records sales to boot on the back of their radical collaboration with the BBC.

But for a band that are more concerned with matters temporal and spiritual than financial, the deal has other implications.

"Maxi had quite a serious car accident recently and he loves his motor sport and loves performing and being really active," says Bliss, adopting a more contemplative tone.

"He was absolutely immobilised for the best part of three months and had to be totally rehabilitated into learning how to walk again.

"In fact, that's when we got the news that the BBC wanted to use our music for the World Cup.

"You know being in a band and making music is a picnic compared with a lot of other jobs but it definitely has its dark and difficult moments.

"Little pieces of information suddenly have a much more far reaching effect on the morale of the band."

Hear the interview with Faithless' Sister Bliss