The new Jewish beat behind England’s dream
Three decades after Three Lions, a trio are hoping their anthem will spur on the national team to football success
It’s no secret that David Baddiel helped create the England football team’s most iconic anthem – Three Lions.
Now a trio – two Jews, Ian Rubens and Fenton Gee, with their friend Andrew Blake – are looking to follow in his footsteps. Their new dance group, Bassline Lions, has launched a debut single, The Time is Right Now, aiming to give England’s 2026 World Cup a fresh new sound.
“It’s a song for everywhere,” says Rubens, an Immanuel College alumnus and Stanmore United synagogue member, who is the group’s lyricist. “The pub, the club, the stadium, the radio. Everywhere.”
Unlike other songs launched to spur on the England team – including 1970’s Back Home, 1998’s Vindaloo and even Three Lions itself, the latest tune has a more driven, electronic beat, with the trio describing influences from the likes of The Prodigy and David Guetta. Rubens, Blake and Gee reckon that, taking into account all platforms, the song has been listened to hundreds of thousands of times so far.
One thing immediately apparent speaking to the Bassline Lions is the strength of their friendship, which spans more than twenty-five years.
All self-described “die-hard Spurs fans”, they hope their song will resonate across England.
“I’ve known Blakey (Andrew Blake) since about 2000,” says the Bushey-based Gee. “We just sort of hit it off straight away. He’s one of my besties. When Ian brought me this, I knew that he would be the right one for this project.”
For his part, Rubens describes Gee as “a lovely man and a really great father.”
Their message to the England squad? The Time is Right Now!
The Time Is Right Now is available to stream and download on Spotify and other platforms
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