France in the World Cup: Football anthems

There's no official French anthem for the World Cup this year. Perhaps its a pity, it adds something to the
excitement of the event, but perhaps there's less of a mood for celebrating giving how narrowly France qualified for the finals this time.

Still, it means there's an opportunity for a 12th man to come up with something to unite the terraces and outpace any opponents hindered by artistic merit or good taste. If there's anyone capable to stepping up to the penalty spot and putting it in the back of the net, it's Sébastien Patoche.



 It seems a long time since Zidane and the team paraded the cup in Paris in 1998.

That year the France team adopted a version of the Gloria Gaynor hit I will Survive as their song. It was a new version by Hermes House Band. High energy disco might seem a puzzling choice for a football team, but it didn't hold them back from an historic victory.


I Will Survive - Hermes House Band by iamseb

The following World Cup in 2002 saw a more successful song, even if the French team were not. Tous Ensemble by Johnny Hallyday gave France's Rocker National a number one song, even in Les Bleus didn't actually manage to score a goal in their entire - short - time in Korea and Japan.



There was no official anthem last time, but Bleu, blanc, rouge by Omar and Fred was as close as it got. Not the best song, and certainly not the best campaign by France. Their visit to South Africa was a short one.



Earlier years saw mixed fortune for the French national team, both on the field and in the recording studios.
Mexico 1986 saw Viva les Bleus lead the team to third position, beaten by West Germany in the semi finals.



1982 saw France playing in Spain, with the song Ollé la France by Denise Fabre helping the team into fourth place. Again they fell to West Germany in the semi finals, probably hindered by a song that sounds like a 70s Eurovision leftover keeping their morale up.


Denise Fabre - Ollé la France by gcolombat

Still, in 1978 Jean-Pierre Foucault and Léon Orlandi led the cheerleading, one of them handling what looks suspiciously like a rugby ball in the video. At least these days the singers seem to know what sport's actually being played on the field.



Meanwhile, the Spotify playlists of individual players have been reported on Les Inrocks,  with the likes of Booba and Maitre Gims featuring heavily. Most of the players seem to like their rap and r'n'b. Hats off to Mickael Landreau though for going against type to include Tom O'Dell and Céline Dion.

I am slightly surprised their playlists weren't on Deezer, it being a French company and all, you'd think it was an open goal of an opportunity for them.

But if there is a contender for the best non-official anthem for French-based football it probably should be  Vaudeville Smash's Zinedine Zidane. It features a voice over by Australian poet Les Murray , an internationally understandable lyric - mostly just a list of footballer's names - and a salute to arguably France's finest ever player.

Carlos: Allez La France!

Another outing for the French national team tonight, this time against Sweden.

By the looks of things, les Bleues have booked their place in the next round, but hopefully a victory will put them through the group stages undefeated.

So another excuse for one of the tunes that taste forgot, 1998's Allez La France by Carlos, a curious piece of music involving 80s rock, guitar solos and cheerleaders.

Its one from the Vindaloo school of football songs.

Needless today, that was the campaign that saw France win the biggest footballing trophy in teh world.

Carlos was a well-known entertainer, who worked with Johnny Hallyday in the early 60s, and Sylvie Vartin in the mi6 60s to early 70s. He also had his own musical career that spanned the decades from the 60s until his death in 2008, as well as a cartoon series and tv and radio appearances.

Euro 2012: Bleu, Blanc, Rouge by François le français feat. doudou

Another excuse for a French football related tune, with France playing Ukraine in the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament.

In their last game failed to put England to the sword, much to the disappointment of the nation full of France supporters in Scotland, but hopefully this game will put them in a firm position to get through to the next round.

The song was used in the 2010 South Africa World Cup, not one of the finest moments ever in the history of Les Bleues. In fact, it was a campaign that pretty much defines the term 'disaster', with a team surrounded in scandal and an early exit thanks to defeats at the hands of Mexico and South Africa, and a draw against Uraguay.

The song Bleu, Blanc, Rouge by François le français feat. doudou takes a very differnt approach to Johnny Hallyday's song I featured last week.

Needless to say, it still didn't actually do Les Bleues any good though.

The song was performed by TV comedy duo Omar and Fred, regular fixtures on French TV.


FRANÇOIS LE FRANÇAIS feat. DOUDOU "BLEU, BLANC... by spokanet

Rétro: Johnny Hallyday - Tous Ensemble

With Euro 2012 kicking off, and France playing England on Sunday there's no better reason to revive one of the official songs for Les Bleues that have been released over the years.

Football songs are always going to be a strange proposition, a collision between two normally very different worlds and caught between doing something serious and anthemic or self-depreciating novelty.

So if ever there was someone up to the task it is Mr Johnny Hallyday.

The song was released for the 2002 World Cup, in Japan and South Korea and went to number one in France.

Sadly, the team didn't do quite so well, failing to repeat their 1998 win. They were eliminated from the first round without scoring a goal, defeated by Senegal and Denmark.

Johnny, however, went on to put another in the net later that year with another number one in France with the song Marie.