COMEDIANS David Baddiel and Frank Skinner today unveil their new Christmas version of Three Lions ahead of the World Cup.
The duo have reworked their 1996 anthem, with new lyrics exclusively revealed in The Sun. Sir Geoff Hurst and Lionesses Jess Carter and Beth England also star in a festive video.
As England prepare for Monday’s opener versus Iran, Frank said: “We just had to do it.”
The comedians have also reunited with singer Ian Broudie to record the new version.
The original famously referred to “30 years of hurt” for England’s footballers but that has now been raised to “56” — though it is a mere “20 weeks” for the women.
The Sun first revealed in September that Baddiel, 58, Skinner, 65, and Lightning Seeds singer Broudie, 64, were updating their hugely popular song.
They officially released the track today — three days before England kick off against Iran in Qatar on Monday — and shared their new lyrics exclusively with Sun readers.
Skinner said: “We just had to do it. Christmas World Cup songs are not like buses.
“If we’d let this opportunity pull away, it would have been a very long wait for the next one.”
Baddiel quipped: “It’s between me and Mariah Carey for who really is the voice of Christmas.”
The trio have included some of the highlights of the past 26 years – notably the Lionesses’ Euros win at Wembley in July.
It kicks off with them in England’s victorious press conference – with Skinner singing: “Loving that Lionesses win.”
The first chorus then gets in the festive spirit, with: “Three Lions on a sleigh, with She-Lions inspiration. Santa says let’s play, the Christmas tree formation.”
The comedians also poke fun at themselves, with Skinner referring to his past booze addiction.
Baddiel sings: “When they decided on Qatar, should have checked VAR. It’s too hot, and too far – so we’ll be snowflakes watching it here. This is our time of year, we’ll be having a beer . . . ”
To which Skinner chips in: “Actually I won’t because I’ve got alcohol issues.”
Christmas gets more mentions as a commentator says during a match: “What a cracker of a game . . . England are giving them a real good stuffing . . . Ding Dong Merrily on Sky . . . oh no it’s not on Sky . . . it has to be on terrestrial doesn’t it? . . . for legal reasons.”
Baddiel and Skinner also had to lengthen England’s trophy drought — but only for the fellas. In one of the final choruses they change “30 years of hurt” to “56 years of hurt – for the men’s game”. The comedians, along with a child choir, then sing: “20 weeks of hurt, for the women’s game obviously.”
In the video, Baddiel and Skinner come face to face with their 1990s selves, as they sit on their tatty old telly furniture.
The pair also decorate a Christmas tree — topped with the Jules Rimet Trophy from 1966 — while wearing festive jumpers.
England’s 1966 hero Sir Geoff Hurst turns up on a doorstep with kids singing carols before tearing open his coat to reveal a festive sweater. Also singing in the video are Lionesses Jess Carter and Beth England, while moments from their Euros success play throughout.
The team behind the song hope it can go to No1 next Friday and help give the England team a boost — just like it did in Euro 96.
Released in May that year, it hit No1 where it stayed for three weeks. The first reworking, Three Lions ’98, also topped the charts during the World Cup two years later.
In total it has sold almost two million copies – and been streamed tens of millions of times. In 2018 it was played 450,000 times in a day when England beat Colombia at the Russia World Cup.
Earlier this year Baddiel revealed that fans wrongly believe he rakes it in from royalties.
He said: “I want to say to them, ‘Do you know how much you get from Spotify?’” He claimed it had been calculated that 16 million plays earns the three writers about £900 between them, adding: “I can’t retire on that.”
Last month Broudie spoke of his pride at the Lionesses belting it out at manager Sarina Wiegman’s winning press conference. He said: “They all ran in and danced on the tables, singing Three Lions. That was a great thing for me.”
It comes as a new set of photos of England players with boss Gareth Southgate are released, below.
- THE new version of Three Lions is out now to buy and stream.
- World Cup news LIVE: All the latest from Qatar
- England vs Iran – all you need to know for Three Lions’ opener
- USA vs Wales – all the TV and live stream info for Dragons’ first World Cup match in 64 years
