World in Motion

"World in Motion..."
Single by New Order
B-side
  • "The B-side" (1990)
  • "Such a Good Thing" (2002)
Released21 May 1990 (1990-05-21)
StudioThe Sol Mill, Berkshire
Genre
Length4:30
LabelFactory
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stephen Hague
New Order singles chronology
"Run 2"
(1989)
"World in Motion..."
(1990)
"Regret"
(1993)

"World in Motion..." is the nineteenth single by British band New Order (performed with the England national football team, credited as ENGLANDneworder). The song is New Order's only number-one song on the UK Singles Chart. It was produced for the England national football team's 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign and features a guest rap by England footballer John Barnes and additional vocals by several members of the English team of 1990 and comedian Keith Allen, who co-wrote the lyrics.

Singer Bernard Sumner described the single to NME as "the last straw for Joy Division fans", noting how its upbeat sound had inverted their former band's famously gloomy image.[3][4] The song was originally to be called "E for England", with lyrics that ran "E is for England, England starts with E / We'll all be smiling when we're in Italy", but the Football Association vetoed the title, realising that it sounded suspiciously like a reference to the drug ecstasy.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference AUTOREF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AUTOREF1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "A Football Song to Conquer the World - BNN Bloomberg". 10 July 2018.
  4. ^ Astley, Conrad (29 August 2007). "Main event: Rising from the ashes". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  5. ^ "'World in Motion' 25 Years On". NME. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.