THE HALF TIMERS
TEAM UP WITH FORMER ENGLAND STRIKER CARLTON COLE FOR THE
NEW WORLD CUP ANTHEM ‘ENGLISHMAN (ALL MY LIFE)’ - LISTEN HERE
Marco Helliwell of The Half Timers (centre) in the song’s upcoming video, with Andy Milne and Paul ‘Tango Man’ Gregory
NEW WORLD CUP ANTHEM ‘ENGLISHMAN (ALL MY LIFE)’ - LISTEN HERE
Marco Helliwell of The Half Timers (centre) in the song’s upcoming video, with Andy Milne and Paul ‘Tango Man’ Gregory
Words: Press
Unless you were around for the glory days of 1966, your England World Cup experience has been one of repeated heartbreaks: the Hand of God, multiple penalty shoot-out defeats, Ronaldinho lobbing David Seaman, taking an early lead versus Croatia only to be defeated in extra-time. But despite all the near misses and “what ifs?” every new tournament starts with the optimism of “This could be our time.” It’s an emotion that The Half Timers capture with their 2026 World Cup anthem ‘Englishman (All My Life)’. The track features former England, West Ham and Chelsea striker Carlton Cole.
Inspired by ‘90s club classics and rave culture, ‘Englishman (All My Life)’ celebrates the community that only seems to come together for England’s World Cup games. In those 90 minutes (plus inevitably extra time… let’s not mention the penalties), we’re in that moment together as we all put our differences to one side and come together to roar the team on - but why can’t we share that spirit more often?
The Half Timers’ frontman Marco Helliwell says, “I’ve always wanted to make the second-best football song ever – I’ll never beat ‘Three Lions’. I wanted to create a cultural moment that lives on with ‘Englishman (All My Life)’. My aim is to inspire people to find a national identity that we sometimes lack outside of the Euros and World Cup. The track was initially called ‘Born in 67’, as I often wondered how it would feel to narrowly miss out on glory.
I want people to be proud, to laugh at themselves and be hopeful. But more than anything, it comes home every two years whether we win it or not because of the moments we share together. Why can’t we be like that all the time when we have a collective sense of self? We can be such good neighbours to each other when we want to and I wanted to capture that sentiment with ‘Englishman (All My Life)’. I’m a proud England football supporter and you should be too.”
Now an ambassador for West Ham and co-host of the The Dressing Room Podcast with his former teammates Joe Cole and Wayne Bridge, Carlton Cole was so eager to get involved after hearing the track that he jumped in the studio the very next day to add his bars. His involvement echoes nostalgic moments of the past: John Barnes’ famous ‘World In Motion’ rap and how big a part ex-West Ham stars Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters played in the great 1966 triumph.
Carlton Cole adds, “I heard the demo, felt Marco’s passion for the song, thought I’d love to get on this. I was an MC when I was younger, and I really enjoyed doing something out of the box, going into the studio and spitting some bars.”
Inspired by ‘90s club classics and rave culture, ‘Englishman (All My Life)’ celebrates the community that only seems to come together for England’s World Cup games. In those 90 minutes (plus inevitably extra time… let’s not mention the penalties), we’re in that moment together as we all put our differences to one side and come together to roar the team on - but why can’t we share that spirit more often?
The Half Timers’ frontman Marco Helliwell says, “I’ve always wanted to make the second-best football song ever – I’ll never beat ‘Three Lions’. I wanted to create a cultural moment that lives on with ‘Englishman (All My Life)’. My aim is to inspire people to find a national identity that we sometimes lack outside of the Euros and World Cup. The track was initially called ‘Born in 67’, as I often wondered how it would feel to narrowly miss out on glory.
I want people to be proud, to laugh at themselves and be hopeful. But more than anything, it comes home every two years whether we win it or not because of the moments we share together. Why can’t we be like that all the time when we have a collective sense of self? We can be such good neighbours to each other when we want to and I wanted to capture that sentiment with ‘Englishman (All My Life)’. I’m a proud England football supporter and you should be too.”
Now an ambassador for West Ham and co-host of the The Dressing Room Podcast with his former teammates Joe Cole and Wayne Bridge, Carlton Cole was so eager to get involved after hearing the track that he jumped in the studio the very next day to add his bars. His involvement echoes nostalgic moments of the past: John Barnes’ famous ‘World In Motion’ rap and how big a part ex-West Ham stars Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters played in the great 1966 triumph.
Carlton Cole adds, “I heard the demo, felt Marco’s passion for the song, thought I’d love to get on this. I was an MC when I was younger, and I really enjoyed doing something out of the box, going into the studio and spitting some bars.”
Carlton Cole on the The Dressing Room Podcast
The song was written by Marco Helliwell, and also features soulful vocals from Shahla Karkouti and powerful poetry from Baby Geezer. It was produced by Mkulu Nobadula at Islington’s Rose Bowl, and was mastered by Geoff Pesche (Coldplay, Kylie Minogue) at Abbey Road Studios.
The Half Timers shot to prominence ahead of the 2022 World Cup when William Hill named their track ‘Coming Home For Christmas’ as contender for the Christmas #1 - unfortunately, England once again fell short. They subsequently celebrated the Lionesses with ‘She’s A Baller’ for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and then ‘Gareth’, a tribute to Gareth Southgate, to coincide with Euro 2024.
So will it be 60 years of hurt? Or will The Half Timers soundtrack a summer of glory? Either way, if we’re all in it together, we’ll sing even if we’re not winning.
The Half Timers shot to prominence ahead of the 2022 World Cup when William Hill named their track ‘Coming Home For Christmas’ as contender for the Christmas #1 - unfortunately, England once again fell short. They subsequently celebrated the Lionesses with ‘She’s A Baller’ for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and then ‘Gareth’, a tribute to Gareth Southgate, to coincide with Euro 2024.
So will it be 60 years of hurt? Or will The Half Timers soundtrack a summer of glory? Either way, if we’re all in it together, we’ll sing even if we’re not winning.