Song · The Lightning Seeds
“Three Lions” by The Lightning Seeds
Released 1996
“Three Lions” by The Lightning Seeds appears on 2 radio countdowns from 1 station between 1996 and 2003. It was first released in 1996. Its best result is #5 on the Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1996. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #191 alternative song of 1996.
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"Three Lions" arrived on 20 May 1996 on Epic, timed for the European Championship that England was hosting that year, and it teamed Ian Broudie's Lightning Seeds with comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner, the hosts of the football comedy show Fantasy Football League. The three wrote it between them and all three sing it, with Broudie producing alongside David Bascombe and Simon Rogers; the title nods to the England team's crest.
What might have been a novelty turned into something much bigger. It went to number one in the UK, and so did the reworked "Three Lions '98", and it keeps climbing back into the singles chart whenever England lines up at a major tournament. It has been called the unofficial anthem of English football, and its chorus is still chanted by fans at England games.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 5 | Virgin Radio United Kingdom | Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1996 | 10 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 42 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio VR10x10 (April 2003) | 100 |
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