Thirty years after Oasis first released Wonderwall, the Britpop classic has become the unlikely soundtrack to England's World Cup dream. The 1995 hit is now ringing out from pubs, fan parks, and living rooms across the country, overtaking Baddiel & Skinner's Three Lions as the go-to England anthem.
From Britpop to Football Anthem
Written by Noel Gallagher for Oasis' second album, (What's The Story) Morning Glory?, the song was inspired by the idea of a 'wonderwall' — a person who could rescue you or see things in you that others couldn't. Noel later admitted he was surprised by how huge the track became. He explained: 'Wonderwall I was like, "Nah, it's alright", I actually thought it was a bit annoying when I wrote it. When our record label came down to hear the thing, I think Wonderwall is like third track on the album or something, and after it finished all the people from Sony all looked at each other and just went, "that's it, that's gonna be the hit". We were like, "What? What about the other one about cannons and cannonballs and all that s***?"'
Chart Success and Streaming Dominance
Released in October 1995, Wonderwall became one of the biggest songs of the Britpop era, but famously missed out on the top spot in the charts. The track peaked at No2 on the Official Singles Chart, losing out to Britpop rivals Blur with Country House. The rivalry became a defining moment of the Britpop wars, but almost three decades later, Wonderwall has arguably had the last laugh. It has become Oasis's biggest streaming track, racking up hundreds of millions of streams in the UK alone and billions globally. This week, as it soundtracks England's World Cup, it could even reach No1.
Why Wonderwall Resonates with Football Fans
The reason why Harry Kane and the fans have adopted it as the unofficial anthem is simple: everyone knows it. Wonderwall spans generations and has the ability to turn a crowd of strangers into a choir. There's a rousing melancholy to the melody which appeals to the emotion and drama of modern-day football and fans whose tastes are more sophisticated than traditional terrace sing-a-longs. While Baddiel, Skinner, and The Lightning Seeds will always own a place in football history with Three Lions, Wonderwall has become the emotional soundtrack to those nerve-wracking, hopeful sporting moments when a nation dares to believe it might actually be coming home.
Other Songs Resurgent Thanks to World Cup
Wonderwall isn't the only song that has received a resurgence thanks to the World Cup. ANOTR's Talk To You has flown up the Official Singles Chart and is currently sitting at No2, thanks to defender John Stones' viral clip. The footy star playfully fakes a shoulder injury in the dressing room before activating into a dance to the track.
