Chelsea Dagger

"Chelsea Dagger" is a song by Scottish rock band the Fratellis. It was released as the second single from their debut studio album, '' Costello Music'' (2006), on 28 August 2006. It is named after Jon Fratelli's wife Heather, a burlesque dancer whose stage name is a play on Britney Spears. Fratelli described the tune as "a rock 'n' roll gig in an old speakeasy or something like that."

This song was number 77 on ''Rolling Stone's'' list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. "Chelsea Dagger" has become notable for its usage in sports. It has also been featured in adverts for Amstel Light and KitKat, the films '' Run Fatboy Run'' and '' Pitch Perfect'', a trailer to '' Shrek the Third'', a TV spot for '' Open Season'', an episode of '' The Inbetweeners'', as well as the video games '' Burnout Dominator'' and '' Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits''. The song peaked at number 2 on the Scottish Singles Chart and number 5 on the UK Singles Chart and was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in 2024.

Track listing

Usage in sports

"Chelsea Dagger" is used heavily as a sports anthem. The first team to adopt it was Celtic, for whom the Fratellis are supporters. It is also used by other football teams such as Perth Glory, Major League Soccer franchise Montreal Impact and Cercle Brugge when a goal is scored, while Italian club Juventus used it for more than 8 years and 500 goals, until 15 December 2019.
Currently Sporting Clube de Portugal and New Zealand club Wellington Phoenix also play the song after every victory by their team. The song is also used as the goal celebration song of the Nottingham Panthers in the Elite Ice Hockey League.

It is best known as the goal song of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks, first used in the 2008–09 NHL season. The song gained popularity within the team and its fans during the Blackhawks' first Stanley Cup run in 49 years in 2010, and as of the 2024–25 NHL season, it remains the team's current goal song. The song was then adopted by the entire Blackhawks' minor league system, the Rockford IceHogs ( AHL) and Indy Fuel ( ECHL) clubs. During the Blackhawks' successful run to the 2013 Stanley Cup, Chicago Symphony Orchestra conductor Riccardo Muti arranged an orchestral version of the song that was performed after the victory, and again after the Blackhawks' 2015 Stanley Cup win. The song was also ranked "best goal song in NHL" by ''Sports Illustrated'' in 2014.

Opposing NHL teams have also used the song as a taunt against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Vancouver Canucks, who had lost to the Blackhawks in previous years in the playoffs, used the song after Alexandre Burrows scored in overtime in Game 7 of their 2011 series with Chicago. Five years later, St. Louis Blues organist Jeremy Boyer played the song in a somber tone after the Blues eliminated the Blackhawks in Game 7 of their 2016 series.

The success of the Blackhawks has led "Chelsea Dagger" to be adopted as a goal song by the University of North Dakota, as well as the Pensacola Ice Flyers and the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs of the SPHL among others. This song is played during Professional Darts Corporation matches shown on ITV4 and at the Hong Kong Sevens. The song is also played after every try scored at European Championship home games of the Leinster Rugby club in the RDS Dublin Ireland. It was also a favorite of the now defunct LSUA Rugby Club which made a Championship run in each of its seasons in NSCRO.

It is also used by the Georgia Swarm of the National Lacrosse League after the team scores a goal at all home games. While the song is played, fans hold their arms out in the air and move them up and down, similar to that of cartoon character Johnny Bravo. This also occurs at the home games of the Brisbane Broncos rugby league team.

The song has been regularly played during ITV4's coverage of the PDC darts events. Sky Sports had popularised the use of " Chase the Sun" by Planet Funk as 'the darts song', but when ITV4 picked up the rights to certain tournaments, they opted instead to use "Chelsea Dagger" for their intros and outros.

It is also used by Oldham RLFC of the RFL Championship after the team scores a try at all home games. While the song is played, fans hold their arms out in the air and move them up and down, similar to that of cartoon character Johnny Bravo.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

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2006 songs
2006 singles
The Fratellis songs
Songs written by Jon Fratelli
Association football songs and chants