The World Cup is back.
The goals, the upsets and the inevitable penalty shoot-outs will dominate the headlines, but every tournament also leaves behind another kind of memory: its music. For generations of British viewers, World Cups have been accompanied by theme tunes that became almost as familiar as the football itself.
Sometimes the BBC or ITV has commissioned an original theme; more often, they have turned to existing music, giving famous classical works, show tunes and popular songs a fresh sporting context. From Puccini and Fauré to Bernstein and Handel, here are some of the most memorable World Cup themes from down the years.
Best World Cup theme tunes
1982: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats
Four years earlier, in 1978, for the World Cup in Argentina, Andrew Lloyd-Webber had written the catchy Latin American-sounding Argentine Medley. Now, the BBC turned to him again, but this time used the ‘Jellicle Ball’ tune from his musical Cats, which had hit the stage the previous year.
A curious choice, some might say, given that it sounded not remotely Spanish and also began in a minor key. In the tournament itself, Scotland briefly showed their claws against Brazil, while England and Northern Ireland purred their way through the group stage, only to be put out for the night by Germany and France in the next round.
1990: Puccini’s Turandot
Undoubtedly the most famous BBC World Cup theme of all time, and a choice that gave classical music itself a huge boost in popularity.
Though it’s not entirely true that Luciano Pavarotti’s rendition of ‘Nessun Dorma’ from Puccini’s Turandot was largely unfamiliar before the Italia 90 tournament began – its inclusion in a recent Pirelli ad had already pricked the ears of millions of TV viewers – it certainly embedded it in people’s consciousness, not least when associated with the dramatic images of Gazza’s tears and Stuart Pearce’s penalty miss as England reached the semi-final against Germany.
Cue the Three Tenors phenomenon and booming CD sales.
1994: Bernstein’s West Side Story
After the stirring opera aria of 1990, the Beeb opted for sheer high spirits for the 1994 World Cup in the US – Bernstein’s vivacious ‘I like to be in America’ from West Side Story greeted viewers tuning in to watch a tournament that included crazed goal celebrations by Maradona, a famous German exit to Bulgaria and an infamously boring final between Brazil and Italy.
Quite sensibly, BBC producers chose an orchestral moment from Bernstein’s song for the theme tune rather than include any of the words – given that England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland had all failed to qualify, ‘liking to be in America’ was but a distant dream.
1998: Fauré’s Pavane
At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum from ‘I like to be in America’ was the restrained, almost elegiac Fauré’s Pavane, the BBC’s choice for the 1998 World Cup in France.
Arranged for choir by British composer Elizabeth Parker, the work was reckoned by some to give an air of sophistication – a perfect accompaniment to shots of the Parisian skyline and the debonair demeanour of presenter Des Lynam – while others found it dispiritingly dull.
Sadly, it inspired neither Scotland nor England to great things, as France went on to win its own tournament. Zut alors!
2002: Puccini’s Madam Butterfly
In previous World Cups, basing a theme tune on a famous piece of classical music had been the preserve of the BBC. In 2002, however, as the competition headed to Japan and South Korea and British viewers found themselves getting out of bed in the morning to turn on games accompanied by a coffee rather than the usual pint, it was ITV who serenaded them with music from yesteryear.
For its opening titles, ITV went for music based on ‘One Fine Day’, sung by the title character in Puccini’s Madam Butterfly, set in Japan. The famous aria – in fact, much of the opera itself – is about someone waiting for a very long time, hoping for the happy day to come. A bit like England World Cup fans, in fact… and similarly resulting in bitter disappointment.
2006: Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus
How best to introduce a World Cup in Germany in which England’s ‘golden generation’ were expected to be one of the favourites? The German-born, naturalised Englishman George Frederic Handel was an obvious choice, especially as a beefed-up version of the chorus ‘See the conquering hero comes’ from the oratorio Judas Maccabaeus struck just the right sort of optimistic note.
Given that the music was originally written to celebrate a victory over the largely Scottish Jacobite army at the notoriously bloody Battle of Culloden in 1746, it was, admittedly, perhaps not the most diplomatic choice for pan-UK TV coverage. However, if any Scots feared it might inspire England to greatness they need not have feared, as Sven-Göran Eriksson’s team wobbled out in the quarter-finals.
2014: Ary Barroso’s Aquarela do Brasil
If classical music fans approached the 2014 World Cup in Brazil hoping that games might be prefaced by a little something by local boy Heitor Villa-Lobos – a Chôro, perhaps, or a moment from his Bachianas Brasileiras – they were to be disappointed.
However, ITV did at least opt for a song from 1939, when the composer was in his prime. Conjuring up the spirit of the Beautiful Game in the beautiful South American country was Aquarela do Brasil, a samba that has been recorded by a number of the Brazilian greats over the years, including Antônio Carlo Jobim and Joao Gilberto.
In this instance, the version was by Brazilian singer Thiago Thomé, and if lyrics such as ‘Brazil, a greenness that is offered for the admiration of the world. Brazil of my love, land of our Lord’ were intended to inspire, sadly Thomé’s team failed to deliver, losing 7-1 to Germany in the semi-final.
Main image by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
