Hurry Up England: Motty’s Sheepskin

Motty’s Sheepskin’s version of Hurry up England is out on Cadiz Records. All proceeds go to Cancer Relief.

Musical Style: A stylish, well produced reworking of the punk classic Hurry up Harry. Well-crafted lyrics, growling Pursey-esq vocals and a bar room piano.

Over The Moon: Not only does there seem to be more England Anthems then ever before this time around, there’s even a bit of controversy thrown in for good measure. According to Motty’s Sheepskin’s website, the very strange tale of Hurry up England goes like this: The band from Romford, who reworked the Vapours Turning Japanese for the last World Cup, approached Jimmy Pursey asking his blessing to revamp the legendary Sham 69 tune Hurry up Harry as a charity England Anthem. Jimmy agreed, but only days later Virgin Radio played the single that they are touting as the People’s Anthem; Hurry up England by none other then Jimmy Pursey. Although disheartened, the band decided to put out their version anyway. A statement on the Official Sham 69 site however disputes this, saying that although the band did approach Jimmy about the song they already knew he had this song in the pipeline and had asked permission to revamp it but made no mention of doing the song as a World Cup Anthem. To add to the confusion, another band, Jump in the Woods, have also released a reworked version of the song under the title Come on England. Since Mulder and Scully have gone their separate ways and we may never get to the bottom of this mysterious tale, so we are left to judge the different versions on their own individual merits. The most distinguishing feature of all three is the difference in the lyrics. For me, Motty’s Sheepskin have produced a great version of the song, with strong lyrics and the familiar sounds of the pub mixed in which manages to convey the a real sense that if you’re not at the the game itself then "..it always feels better with an ice cold beer!"

Sick As A Parrot: This one lacks some of the raw edge of the original song and of Jimmy Pursey’s remake.

Terrace Appeal: 8/10