"Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann?" is a song by the English band Tonedef All Stars. It is set to the tune of the ''

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran fo ...

'' theme tune, " Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler?" The song was released to coincide with the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

History

The song was created as part of a competition run by '' The Sun'' to determine their official World Cup song. "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann?" was selected as the winner. The song was first broadcast on 26 May 2006 on BBC Radio 2 on ''

Chris Evans Drivetime ''Chris Evans Drivetime'' was the incarnation of the drivetime show on BBC Radio 2 from 18 April 2006 to 24 December 2009, and aired on weekdays between 17:00 and 19:00 in the United Kingdom. It was presented by Chris Evans, who moved to Drive ...

''. The song was performed by Tonedef All Stars with boxer

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno, (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He had a highly publicised and eventful career, both in and out of the ring. The pinnacle of Bruno's boxing career was winning ...

1966 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 ...

winners

Sir Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley St ...

and

Martin Peters Martin Stanford Peters (8 November 1943 – 21 December 2019) was an English footballer and manager. As a member of the England team which won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, he scored the second of England's four goals in the final against West Germa ...

, and

Bill Pertwee William Desmond Anthony Pertwee, (21 July 1926 – 27 May 2013) was a British comedy actor. He played the role of Chief ARP Warden Hodges in the sitcom '' Dad's Army''. Early life Pertwee was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, on 21 July 192 ...

, who played Warden Hodges in ''

''.

Reception

It was initially believed by music journalists and bookmakers that the song would chart at a higher place than the official world cup song, "

World at Your Feet "World at Your Feet" is a song by English rock band Embrace from the re-released version of their fifth studio album, ''This New Day'' (2006). It was the official song of the England World Cup squad in the 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign, and w ...

" by

Embrace Embrace may refer to: * A hug, a form of physical intimacy * Acceptance Music Bands * Embrace (American band), a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. * Embrace (English band), a post-Britpop band from West Yorkshire * Embrace (duo), a Dan ...

. Embrace member,

Danny McNamara Daniel Anthony McNamara (31 December 1970 in Halifax) is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of English band Embrace. Early years McNamara and his brother Richard (guitarist) grew up in the village of Bailiff Bridge, Brigho ...

said that the song was "brilliant" and thought that it might beat Embrace in the charts. The song debuted in the

UK Singles Charts 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- ...

at 13, behind "World at Your Feet" at 3. It spent four weeks in the charts, failing to improve on its initial 13th position after dropping to 27 in its second week. Although appreciated by England fans, the song was not universally liked. '' Stylus Magazine'' called it "charming xenophobia", with it being suggested that

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

didn't like it because of the references to the war. The Germany national team manager,

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...

reportedly did not like the song because he disliked the connection that the song was comparing him to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

Tony Christie Anthony Fitzgerald (born 25 April 1943), known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his recording of "(Is This the Way To) Amarillo", a double UK chart success. Career 1960s to 1970 ...

, a singer with an entry in the competition, said that while he thought the video was "very good", he felt the change from "Hitler" to "Klinsmann" was unwise and suggested that people should "steer clear". ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

'' criticised the performers, calling them "just a few celebrities on a karaoke machine"; however, they also stated that the song was "infuriatingly catchy".

References

External links

The official music video
{{Music of FIFA World Cup Association football songs and chants English songs 2006 songs Songs about association football players Klinsmann Klinsmann England at the 2006 FIFA World Cup England national football team songs