Song Of the Day: June 10, 2006
I am by no means the biggest sports fan in the world -- Jon Harrison, for remaining a devoted fan of the Kansas City Royals despite a losing streak of possibly historic proportions, deserves the Little Hits crown -- but I have to admit, I'm always psyched for the World Cup. Unlike the Olympics, that other sporting quadrennial, I get the sense that average people around the globe actually care about and enjoy the World Cup, and it's always cool to feel that kind of global connection. However, I'm a realist about Team USA's chances, and therefore, my native Anglophilia leads me to support England, and the ethnic makeup of my adopted home of Allston, Massachusetts leads me to also support Brazil. (Seriously, this place went batshit crazy when Brazil won in 2002 -- people were driving around leaning out of car windows and waving enormous Brazilian flags!)
Anyway, to celebrate, we give you "The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme." Released to coincide with the 1986 World Cup, this instrumental is a deadpan parody of the sort of generic jock rock that accompanies sports highlight shows. It's such a perfect evocation of same, in fact, that I understand it's been used in that capacity occasionally over the last 20 years.
Colourbox themselves were a British synth-dance duo, brothers Steve and Martyn Young, who were kind of the odd band out at 4AD during the label's heyday. Their sample-based club-floor orientation was an odd fit with the likes of the Cocteau Twins and Modern English, but when they hooked up with the more abstract AR Kane, the group created the estimable "Pump Up the Volume," quite possibly the iconic U.K. dance track of the '80s. Due in part to legal and creative squabbles engendered by that single, the Young brothers apparently never released another record.
Ole, ole ole ole...
-Stewart Mason
posted by Jon Harrison at 6:44 AM
8 Comments:
Superb choice! I've always believed this tune ought to have been THE official World Cup theme. Years ago, playing in a 5-a-side football tournament for a pub side, we used it as our walk-on theme. BTW, the guy pictured on the sleeve is Jimmy Hill, well-known English footballer and latterly TV pundit/national irritant. Great to hear this one again. Thanks!
Reminds me of hot Thursdays nights, late 80s echoing around the Hacienda, bopping away and eyeing up girls with bretton shirts and a Mary Quant bobs.
Okay, I'm still pulling for England, but that Australia/Japan game was something. Japan scores in the first half with a goal they really shouldn't have been credited with, and in the last ten minutes of the game, a sub named Tim Cahill comes in and scores two in like five minutes!
Thanks for posting this, still quite possibly the best of the official world cup themes out of England!
Tell you what I like: that "Kinnel Tommy" number by Ed Banger. No-one can convince me that there's ever been a better football-related record. Meanwhile, never really dug Colourbox, and records with Jimmy Hill on the cover seem to be lacking that essence of romance and distant-wonder that playsuch a big part in pop music. On the other hand, if I can make myself adopt fontilan's associations with this record ("girls with breton shirts and Mary Quant bobs") I'll definitely reconsider. I'll work on it and let you know.
Eeek! This was released 20 years ago! Thank you for making me feel very old .... but seriously, it's a fab track and worthy of an airing.
What a great record - how could I be so dumb to throw the vinyl 12" away during a mad sort out in my more mature years!! Great listening to this in the Hacienda, Ritz etc in Manchester whilst studying exceptionally hard at the Uni in the late 80s!!!!
Anyone know how to get the 12" pls let me know at jags_mold@hotmail.co.uk
I agree, it is definitely the best Official World Cup theme there ever was.
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