I like this a lot, not in an ironic way, but as a genuinely unforced antidote to the hopelessly fake commercial circus that goes hand in hand with Roy Keane's prawn sandwich culture.
Sing it for England starts with a commentary snippet that evokes a similar hallowed World Cup atmosphere to the beginning of the Lightning Seeds original Three Lions, followed by a bit of noble nostalgia, vintage hope and humble rhyming dictionary expertise.
It never goes over the top in an outpouring of clichéd emotional desperation or gets overrun by any nightmare cheeky chappies looking for their day in the sun.
A rarity indeed, this has a soul. You can imagine the lads (five Bromley builders under the Young Stanley moniker) walking home genuinely disappointed, not in a Radio Five Live herded manner, but with that kind of genuinely informed resignation that one can relate to in any walk of life, before a pint in the local.
When I hear this coming through the TV speakers during Germany '06, I could well make the point of singing along myself. By the way, can someone write a song to get Baker and Kelly back on the air?
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