The Lightning Seeds – Three Lions (It’s Coming Home for Christmas) Review

Slade parodies, a call-back to what has dominated the beautiful game in the UK for years ever since a resurgence in quality football, and The Lightning Seeds find themselves relevant once more. As hard as it may be to be excited about a corrupt World Cup taking place in a corrupt country when people are more focused on not freezing to death than being disappointed by a brief bout of patriotism, Three Lions’ latest rendition is quite good. It is a call-back to a relatively simpler time that has seen a resurgence for the track capitalised on for the Christmas-themed World Cup hitting the streets. “A football Christmas song,” the pair chime. That is exactly what Three Lions (It’s Coming Home for Christmas) is. It’s quite good, too. 

Jabs at terrestrial broadcasting of international football tournaments, praise for the new Golden Era of football at home, and a few shaky lyrical updates. Qatar and VAR, Baddiel tries to rhyme, with little quality. This comes just a minute after Skinner delivers a “kick to the skull” lyric that is surprisingly strong for a song which borders on a novelty Christmas track. Give it a week and the right stream of advertising and it’ll be a novelty Christmas number one. How grand a resurgence Three Lions has had as a track depends almost entirely on public mood. A unity device that latches onto a primitive form of social interaction, one that can be boiled down to “who can down the most Cruzcampo during half time?”. 

Annoyingly good work from Skinner, and a supporting piece from Baddiel cement a legacy and rekindle the passionate flames. There is heartfelt sincerity that lingers throughout Three Lions’ latest, festive rendition. It makes sense for a comic song from two comics and a musician to have a Christmas addition. “A football Christmas song, not at all demeaning.” They’re right. It is hard to get up in arms about a decent track fuelled by optimism. Genuinely smart link-ups of history, from Lioness victories to tears of Turin in 1990 are natural and written up well. Skinner delivers with a voice that seems unchanged since the glory days of this Lightning Seeds original. There is enough changed through Three Lions to morph it into a Christmas classic, but enough remains the same to instil an anthem of the game.  

There is something of a sleeper hit in Three Lions (It’s Coming Home for Christmas). 56 years of hurt (for the men’s game) as Baddiel points out and a seemingly long-awaited desire for Skinner to dress up as Noddy Holder brings out the classic track in a new light. Novelty pop has never sounded so good. Just Christmassy enough to work as a festive tease but not removed enough from the game to be peppered with problems when the next tournament rolls around. There is a unity of fascination here, and it does feel as though parts are phoned in, the “lot of years of hurt” end line does little, but then the point of the track is to capture a moment, a mood. Lightning in a bottle from Lightning Seeds and company. Faux patriotism filtered into a very upbeat track that sounds as good as anything Fleetwood Mac ever did once eight pints deep and staring toward the penalty spot abyss.