Lonnie Donegan: World Cup Willie

I have seen something you will never see: England win the World Cup.

While I have vague memories of World Cup Willie, the 1966 tournament's mascot, I have no memory of this song. You can hear why.

In those more innocent days before the England team has its own official supermarket, the song was not even a hit.

Lonnie Donegan, a figure from the era before the Beatles and the British Invasion, must have seemed an odd choice to sing it even at the time.

Note that in those days the England fans had no problem in wrapping themselves in the Union Jack.

The fashion for the flag of St George dates only from 1996, when both England and Scotland qualified for the European Championship, which England hosted.