English armchair managers immortalised in Euro 2020 music video.
Football fans with designs on the top England job are the subject of a hilarious new music video released ahead of the EURO 2020 tournament kicking off tomorrow.
Created by footy-mad rapper T8PES in support of his new England anthem This is Football, the cheeky film pays tribute to ‘armchair managers’ up and down the country.
The spoof sees the Birmingham artist star as a sofa tactician, based on former Villa captain Gareth Southgate – now in charge of the national team – as he prepares to watch the finals of the major tournament.
“After some unconvincing friendly warm-ups, Southgate’s performance will be under the spotlight in a big way. We’ll all be studying his player choices and tactics from the first whistle. He could go from waistcoat-donning hero of the last world cup to Euro 96 penalty missing zero if we fail to progress from the group stage of the tournament, particularly after being cited as favourites.
“We wanted to map the journey that every football fan eventually takes as they move from eager spectator to critic, analyst and pundit, to eventual fully-fledged armchair management and international TV coach.”
This Is Football, released on Friday 4th June, received support from T8PES’ old friend and global megastar Ed Sheeran, who said, “I love this England tune from my old mate T8PES. England’s gonna bring it home – make sure you check the song out!”
Described as a ‘people’s anthem’ by Birmingham artist, youth worker and Aston Villa fan Jimmy Davis, who records and performs under the moniker T8PES, the track is a rousing call to arms for fans to get behind Gareth Southgate and team as they progress through the major sporting event.
The track features a myriad of musical styles, including rapped verses from T8PES, guest vocals from emerging local talent Wolverhampton indie singer Jack Cattell and Hertfordshire pop artist Zoe Philips, as well as the brass section from UB40’s favourite tour support band Kioko.
Villa-supporting T8PES has penned football-based lyrics and freestyles about the ups and downs of the beautiful game in his weekly Premier League Wrap Up which led to MUTV asking him to perform on the channel.
And whilst his great grandparents hailed from County Mayo in Ireland, T8PES is a diehard England fan. The 39-year-old has watched every England game in European and world tournaments since the age of nine when he was holidaying in Italy during Italia ’90.
This Is Football is out across all streaming platforms now.