AI creates soccer anthem to exchange Three Lions – however the outcomes are horrifying
The prevailing fear of modern artists – aside from earning a living wage – is the threat of AI taking their jobs. With a few desultory clicks, anyone with internet access can make their own song, artwork or write a script with the help of Gemini or ChatGPT.
It takes a fraction of the time and is completely free – so surely we’re on for a winner, right? Well – not so fast. When we asked AI to recreate The Lightning Seeds’ football anthem Three Lions ahead of the World Cup, the results were terrible.
Gemini was asked to “create a song England fans can belt out from the terraces” and did so in under a minute – maybe it should have spent a little bit longer. Rest assured musicians, it’s all going to be OK.
Gemini’s output was entitled The Roar Returns, which sounds like a long-lost Star Wars film starring Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage and follows the rise of the National Front of Tatooine.
There’s a troublingly jingoistic vibe to the whole thing, which is backed up by the tune’s artwork (also created with AI). The roaring lion with its eyes scratched out is the sort of banner you’d see at an EDL rally – the art equivalent of a flare gun going off outside the Den.
Put it this way – I’m definitely not going to print it off and hang it out of my window when Thomas Tuchel ’s lads play their opener against Croatia on June 17.
Now – the words. I wasn’t expecting the bot to produce anything Morrissey-esque, but let’s be honest the following is about as imaginative as having your stag do in Prague.
The lyrics:
We’re the lads who always stand and never hide
Yeah we’re the lads with all of England’s pride
The roar is back, we’re ready for the fight
Ready for the fight, we’ll see you right
These dreary lyrics are set against a faux Match of the Day-type melody. It’s a snoozefest from start to finish, and we’re just glad it’s only 30 seconds long.
If this was played on Radio One as the official England song, it would have the phone logs jammed with people ringing up to turn it off.
Instead, I urge you to get out your CD of Skinner and Baddiel’s 1996 masterpiece, which still stands the test of time and invokes some genuine feeling of pride.
