"We're on the Ball" is a single by British pop and television duo Ant & Dec, released in 2002. It was the second of three comeback performances since their musical career ended in 1997, and their only studio recording since. "We're on the Ball" is a football song, and was adapted from a song written by Harold Spiro. It was produced and arranged by

Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from roc ...

. The song is the

England football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affiliat ...

's "Official Song" of the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. It features on the album ''

The Official Album of the 2002 FIFA World Cup ''The Official Album of the 2002 FIFA World Cup'' is a compilation album with various artists, released in 2002 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. This albums is the official music album of the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. The alb ...

'', released by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. The song's lyrics are about the England team of the time, featuring references to their victory at the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

and their attempts to repeat that success since. The single was re released digitally in May 2010, to coincide with the

World Cup 2010 , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Background and release

The song was the duo's first single since their 1997 release "

Falling Falling or fallin' may refer to: *Falling (physics), movement due to gravity *Falling (accident) *Falling (execution) *Falling (sensation) People * Christine Falling (born 1963), American serial killer who murdered six children Books * ''Fall ...

", after which they had decided to end their pop career and move into television presenting. They resurrected their musical career for '' CD:UK'' in 2000, for a one off performance of "

Let's Get Ready to Rhumble "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble" is a 1994 song by PJ & Duncan AKA, the performing name used by British duo Ant & Dec at the time. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 11 July 1994 as the third single from their debut studio album ''Psyche ...

". Their success with that performance led to "We're on the Ball". The song entered the

UK Singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at number three, beaten by a cover of " Light My Fire" by

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 Pop Idol (series 1), inaugural series of the ITV (TV network), ITV talent contest ''Pop Idol'', making him the f ...

, who was the winner of that year's series of the reality show '' Pop Idol'', which Ant & Dec presented, and also by the previous week's number-one single,

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

's " Without Me". It became their highest-peaking single at the time, beating 1994's "

", which had only reached number nine.

Music video

The music video starts with Ant & Dec eating in a café watching the FIFA World Cup on a television (which is on top of a fridge that bears a sticker advert for

Tizer Tizer is a red-coloured, citrus-flavoured soft drink bottled in Cumbernauld and sold in the United Kingdom. The name originally comes from the phrase "Tizer the Appetizer". It was launched in 1924 by Fred and Tom Pickup of Pudsey when it was k ...

, who sponsored the music show ''CD:UK'', which Ant & Dec also presented). Dec explains how they "really want to be at the World Cup", but Ant says "it's too expensive", and they would need to disguise themselves as then England manager

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...

and his assistant manager Tord Grip to be at the World Cup. After first laughing it off, they quickly deem it a good idea, disguising themselves in a K6 red telephone box outside the café (a reference to

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

). The pair then go to the World Cup. The rest of the video sees them singing in the cafe and in disguise, as well as kicking large inflatable St. George's Flag footballs and, whilst in disguise, managing the England football team. At the end of the video, the duo are caught by officials.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Music of FIFA World Cup 1998 songs 2002 singles Ant & Dec songs Columbia Records singles England national football team songs FIFA World Cup songs Football songs and chants Songs written by Harold Spiro England at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Songs written by Declan Donnelly Songs written by Anthony McPartlin Song recordings produced by Mike Hedges