Intro Track
At 2:03 - Greetings Xenophiles!
On this day in 2026 the FIFA World Cup began in Mexico, USA and Canada.
Exactly 250 years ago today Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft the US Declaration of Independence.
35 years ago today Microsoft released MS-DOS 5.0. How things have changed - some of that original code is still in Windows 11. Which is probably why it’s so shite.
Many other things happened on this day in history but none of them interesting, so…
Happy Birthday to Hugh Laurie - Doctor House - 67 today. And the force of nature that is Liviu Papadima. La Multi Ani Dom Professor!
FIFA 2026 - With Horea Musca
Part 1 - Anthems
Canario Luna - Uruguayos Campeones - What’s this about?
“Uruguayos Campeones” is much more than a football song in Uruguay. It is effectively an unofficial national football anthem, and its roots go back far earlier than most people realize. The lyrics were originally written in 1926 by Uruguayan poet Omar Odriozola to celebrate the success of the Uruguayan national team.
The song predates the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, but it became linked to World Cups because it celebrates Uruguay’s footballing achievements and was repeatedly updated as the national team accumulated honours.
19:10
Arrow - Hot Hot Hot
Arrow (real name Alphonsus Cassell) was a musician from the Caribbean island of Montserrat. He recorded “Hot Hot Hot” in 1982, and it became one of the biggest soca hits ever recorded.
Officially associated with the FIFA 1986 in Mexico. It’s also now used a lot at cricket matches, especially around the Carribean.
It’s interesting to compare it with “Uruguayos Campeones”. The Uruguayan song is a century-old national football anthem rooted in one country’s football history, whereas “Hot Hot Hot” is essentially a party song that became attached to a particular World Cup and then spread throughout global sports culture.
Part 2 - Rarities
IN 1937 Sunderland won the FA Cup. They beat Preston North End 3-1.
In 1973 (same digits, different order) they won it again against Leeds - 1-0.
Local car dealer Tom Cowie bought the winning team a car each - A Hillman Avenger. Ian Porterfield scored the winning goal and sold his old car (an MG) to my dad. If I were Ian Porterfield I’d have kept the MG and sold the Hillman.
But Porterfield’s loss was my dad’s gain - and mine - I spent a good few summers zooming around in that car until my brother started driving it - and it never really recovered from that.
Toy Tolls even made a song about Tom Cowie.
And if we play Toy Dolls then we have to play some Half Man Half Biscuit or else Dave will be upset. So how about All I Want For Christmads Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit.
2 days ago I was surfing for somnething and just at random YouTube threw something on my screen that stopped me dead in my tracks. It was a song written and performed by an old, dear friend of minen who we lost a couple of years ago. Nick Brind. In between his architechture work he fooled around in recording studios and on stages and made some nice music. He bankrolled Chas & Dave’s first album. And he was commissioned to make a football song for Brentford United FC.
And this is it.
Part 3 - Back on track
It was written and recorded for the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile and is widely regarded as the first World Cup song. Many sources describe it as the first official World Cup anthem, while others note that it began as a local initiative that became the tournament’s de facto anthem because of its enormous popularity.
In 1960, Chile suffered the devastating 1960 Valdivia earthquake, still the most powerful earthquake ever instrumentally recorded. There were genuine doubts that Chile could host the World Cup. Nevertheless, the country rebuilt and staged the tournament successfully.
And Now - Paul Gascoine and Peter Beardsley
End bit
I suppose we should play the official FIFA 2026 anthem - which is - again - Shakira. I think somebody at FIFA really fancies Shakira - and I can’t blame them.
And now the unofficial anthem for FIFA 2026 - which is WAY better that the official one - sorry Shakira.