As the World Cup is here we thought it was time to remind football fans across the globe of the one worst received England football anthems of all-time.
Sadly for the city of Leeds and one its favourite bands we have to take light-hearted aim at Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson. Back in 2018, Ricky, 44, teamed up with former cricketer Freddie Flintoff (obviously…) to produce a cover of Boney M's Rasputin - dedicated to captain Harry Kane.
The anthem, released to coincide with the World Cup in Russia, featured the lyrics: "Ra ra Raspu-teen, England's got a goal machine, he's Harry Kane and he's gonna score. Ra ra Rasputin, he's captain of the England team, he's off to Russia to lay down the law."
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The song was released in collaboration with a betting company. At the time, Freddie said: "It's a perfect choice for a football anthem this summer. It's Russian, it's got all the noises, and all the dances - the only dodgy thing is I'm in it. There's been some cracking World Cup songs in the past and it would be nice to think that the fans will get behind this one and sing it in the stands over in Russia. If they don't, Ricky and I will just have to fly over there and get it going on the terraces ourselves."
Ricky added: "Rasputin has such a great chorus. The test for any song is imagining a group of football fans singing it on the terraces. It worked with (Kaisers anthem) Ruby, Ruby, Ruby and now it's working with Ra Ra Rasputin. And it's another R: Riot, Ruby, Rasputin."
We suspect now, the pair might concede the song isn’t quite a Three Lions or World in Motion where England World Cup anthems are concerned.
You can watch a clip of the song below
It is fair to say the song did not win an army of fans and it is doubtful it will get many airings from fans during this winter’s competition. Taking to Twitter, many made their thoughts known about what they thought about the track giving it the red card.
We saw @Goffi post: “Freddie Flintoff and Ricky Wilson have already ruined the World Cup before it’s started. Rather listen to the vuvuzelas!” While @mrjohnkirby added: “I'm pretty sure Freddie Flintoff and Ricky Wilson singing Rasputin will be revealed as a part of taskmaster. The task is to make the most embarrassing thing.”
Another person @yammo_ wrote: “Ricky Wilson and Freddie Flintoff? No thanks. #CringeFest.”
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