Nerve Endings Firing Away

Last time I was enthusiastic about a World Cup song was in 1998 when Ricky Martin’s La Copa de la Vida was chosen as the official song. Yeah, I know I said Ricky Martin but you have to admit the song had a great rhythm (remember Allez! Ola! Ole!) and certainly suited the sport. Splashed on the music channels continuously before and during the Cup helped a great deal too.

This time, a relatively unknown melody, Bamboo composed by Nadir Khayat and Bilal Hajji has been selected as the official melody for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is a simple five-note chant of the word and will be sold as a ringtone (seems to be popular marketing material these days) apart from being featured in ads by Adidas, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Phillips. FIFA admits that it will be using the tune to brand the event apart from trying to make it a commercial success. So we’ll see in a few days time if it succeeds in rocking the fans. We definitely need a World Cup chant.