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When England beat Ukraine 4-0 in their Euro 2020 quarter-final, it wasn’t just the goals, the images of manager Gareth Southgate and the praise for the players that were sweeping the internet.

Footage of Atomic Kitten’s Natasha Hamilton and Liz McClarnon performing the fan-made reworking of their 2001 hit Whole Again – now a declaration of love for the England boss/new national treasure – at Croydon’s Boxpark was also going viral, too.

While football fans refashioning pop songs into terrace chants is nothing new, this one has taken on a life of its own. In July 2021, you are probably never more than eight minutes away from hearing that football’s coming home, again.

Following the Croydon gig, phone calls were quickly made and bandmate Jenny Frost was brought back to re-record the song, which at the time of writing is currently sitting at number five in the Apple Music chart (Three Lions is number four, Vindaloo six and World In Motion just outside the top 10 at number 11).

They’ve done the obligatory England flag photo-shoot and belted out the “football’s coming home again” line to seemingly every news outlet in the country (including this one, because it’s impossible to interview Atomic Kitten now without asking them to go a cappella).

Atomic Kitten - Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon and Jenny Frost - have released a reworked version of their 2000 hit Whole Again in celebration of Gareth Southgate and the England team. Pic: Brett Cove/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
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The band – (L-R) Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon and Jenny Frost – have re-recorded Whole Again, now an unnoffical England anthem. Pic: Brett Cove/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

The adoption of Whole Again, the platinum-selling chart-topper that propelled the girl band to fame, actually first did the rounds during the World Cup in 2018, to a lesser extent; in 2021 it is now the unofficial soundtrack to England’s first final in an international men’s football tournament since they won it that time in 1966. Atomic Kitten are now a part of English football history. There are even rumours they will be performing at Wembley on the day itself. Keep your Nessun Dorma, Italy; we’re gonna sing about Gareth Southgate turning us on!

So, Atomic Kitten are coming home again. But is football? “Hell, yes!” says Hamilton, speaking to Sky News on Zoom. She’s joined by McClarnon, who affirms for the record that football is “definitely coming home on Sunday”. McClarnon is also on Zoom, but from a different location. Both are in car passenger seats; they’re even working during their travel time. Have they had much chance to sleep?

“It’s been absolutely chaotic,” says Hamilton. “It’s been brilliant, though. I think we did a 20-hour day the other day, so that was quite intense. We’ve been getting sleep but our working schedule has taken us right back, like, 20 years. [It’s] really intense but this is a special moment in time and this time next week it won’t be here. So we’re just making the most of it now.”

“We’re amazed by it,” says McClarnon. “Honestly… we wanted to be a part of it and we had loads of messages to say, ‘please release it, please release it’, after the Box Park video went viral, and we were just like, oh, okay… we’re all a bit shocked. We just thought we’d release it and a couple of people would buy it and it would be nice to do. It’s just a bit mad.”

Clearly, the fans have taken the song to their hearts, but Hamilton and McClarnon aren’t sure what the reaction is from the England camp. “I mean, they’ve probably heard it but I think they’re focusing on other things,” says McClarnon. “They might have something more important on their minds. I don’t know what that would be.”

Whole Again is a ballad, a song about pining for someone after a break-up. But now it has become Football’s Coming Home again, and an ode to the man in charge. “Looking back on when we first met, I cannot escape and I cannot forget,” fans now sing. “Southgate you’re the one, you still turn me on, football’s coming home again.”

This is the man who took England to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018, for the first time since Italia ’90, and inspired a soar in sales of waistcoats. Now he has gone one step further and is, according to a viral Twitter thread, the “ultimate middle-aged crush”.

Manager Gareth Southgate celebrates taking his team to the brink of glory
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‘One, two, three, four: looking back on when we first met…’ Whole Again has become a declaration of love for the England manager

Has Atomic Kitten’s love song struck an unlikely chord with football fans because we’re all longing for Gareth? “I don’t think there was much thought into the origins of the song,” says Hamilton. “I think it was more the fact that it was a really catchy song and it was such a successful song 20 years ago. It was number one for four weeks. It increased its sales every week over the four weeks, it was number one in 19 countries worldwide. You know, it’s a huge song. So it’s kind of in people’s minds. You only…”

“I didn’t think it would be in football fans’ minds, though,” McClarnon chimes in.

“No, but you only have to hear it once to know the melody,” says Hamilton. “It’s got that very catchy, simple melody. And it just kind of makes it the perfect song to chant along to… it just so happens that everyone’s saying that Southgate turns them on now.”

“We’re just pretending not to hear that bit every time we sing it,” laughs McClarnon.

Whole Again is undeniably a brilliant ear-worm of a pop song. According to the Official Charts, it ranks among the UK’s bestselling singles of all time with 1.03 million pure sales (CD and downloads) – making it the UK’s fourth best-selling girl band single ever behind Spice Girls’ Wannabe, 2 Become 1 and All Saints’ Never Ever.

“You know what?” says Hamilton. “I feel really proud that there is a girl band song that has crossed over to the football crowds. It’s usually really bloke-ish, most songs are male sang. So, yeah, I feel like we’re making history.”

Then England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and Atomic Kitten launch T-Mobile in London in April 2002
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Meeting then England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2002 wasn’t so memorable for all the band

They may be making history, but this isn’t Atomic Kitten’s first foray into the world of football. Searches on photo agency archives throw up pictures of the girls singing on the pitch at the Division 1 play-off final between Birmingham City and Norwich City in 2002, and meeting then England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson earlier that year. Coincidentally, they also performed the official England song in the 2001 Ricky Tomlinson film Mike Bassett: England manager.

“We were talking about this the other day,” says McClarnon. “I found a picture online of us and I was like, ‘that’s when we met Sven’. And you know what, we all have different memories of different things and some of us have blanked things out – not on purpose, just because there’s not much space to remember half the things that happened. And I think…”

“Why did we meet Sven?” asks Hamilton, quizzically. By the looks of things, he didn’t make much of an impact. (Sorry, Sven).

McClarnon tells her it was an “advertising thing” for a mobile phone provider. “Oh. I vaguely remember it, but…”

Maybe Southgate would be more memorable? “Yeah, he would now,” says McClarnon. “He’s the nation’s hero.”

Atomic Kitten perform during the Showtime at the Stadium concert held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 20 October  2001
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Whole Again topped the charts for four weeks in 2001

Perhaps they can serenade him at Wembley on Sunday?

“We don’t know what we’re doing on Sunday yet, there’s a lot of conversations,” is all Hamilton will say. “Lots of offers to sing in lots of different places.”

Before they go, I ask for the obligatory sing-along, although Zoom doesn’t work too well for harmonising. “We attempted it on Zoom a while ago and it was completely out of time so I will let Tash sing the top line,” says McClarnon, before Hamilton gives the camera the famous line, followed by a cheer.

They may have sung it before, but this is the first time from a car, so an exclusive, of sorts.

Finally, before they go, their message to Southgate and the England team.

“Our message so far is that you’ve done us proud already,” says McClarnon. “Just want one little step more. But we are so grateful and proud already.”

Super grateful, super proud,” says Hamilton. “And we’re behind you all the way.”

Football’s Coming Home Again, by Atomic Kitten, is out now

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‘We may see more things coming out’: BBC chief quizzed by MPs about talent ‘scandal’

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'We may see more things coming out': BBC chief quizzed by MPs about talent 'scandal'

BBC director-general Tim Davie has told MPs that “we may see more things coming out” after being asked for assurance there will not be another “scandal of BBC talent abusing their position”.

He told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee: “I think things have changed since we last talked to the committee, we are seeing people call it out, and that is a positive change, but it’s ongoing work.

“I don’t think you can change culture in six months and suddenly say nothing’s going to occur.

“We may see more things coming out, because in some ways I’m asking for it, and being utterly transparent and running towards the problem, that’s what we need to do.”

Mr Davie, who was joined by BBC chair Samir Shah on Tuesday, faced questions on subjects including the corporation’s Gaza documentary, its Glastonbury coverage and the recent Gregg Wallace investigation, as well as this year’s Strictly Come Dancing line-up.

The BBC has faced a series of recent controversies, most prominently the sacking of MasterChef presenter Greg Wallace after claims of inappropriate behaviour.

Presenter John Torode was later axed from the show after an allegation that he used an “extremely offensive racist term”.

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On Monday, it was announced that restaurant critic Grace Dent and Irish chef Anna Haugh will be fronting the forthcoming series.

Gregg Wallace. Pic: NetStorage
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Gregg Wallace. Pic: NetStorage


‘No one is irreplaceable – absolutely no one’

On the question of top talent being treated as irreplaceable, Mr Shah said: “No one is irreplaceable. Absolutely no one, seriously, no one”.

Mr Davie added: “We’re all dispensable. That’s an absolute, unequivocal position being given to the whole BBC.”

He also stressed: “We don’t call them talent… Everyone is talent.”

When asked about the decision to air the latest series of MasterChef, with Wallace and Torode still at the helm, Mr Davie said it was “a tough call,” but insisted it was the right decision “on balance” because the “vast majority” of contestants wanted the programme to go out.

Mr Davie added: “I think the consequences for the individuals who presented have been very significant. They no longer work with the BBC.”

The corporation also found itself in hot water in July after it breached its editorial guidelines over a Gaza documentary that was narrated by the child of a Hamas official.

Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone aired on the BBC in February but was pulled from iPlayer after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.

Mr Davie called the broadcast of the documentary, which was made by independent production company Hoyo Films, “a bad mistake,” and said BBC had “executed the recommendations,” adding, “There are people who are facing consequences.”

When asked about Israel refusing to allow journalists into Gaza, Mr Davie said it was “unacceptable,” calling coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, “the toughest coverage challenge we have ever faced”.

BBC accused of ‘disrespect’ over Gaza: Doctors Under Attack

A second documentary was also discussed, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which was commissioned by the BBC but subsequently shelved. It was eventually aired by Channel 4 in July.

It was suggested the corporation had been “overcautious” in their decision not to air the film, an accusation Mr Davie denied. He said the BBC have a different set of guidelines to Channel 4.

Labour MP for Ealing Central and Acton, Dr Rupa Huq, claimed the documentary was recently “the most asked about thing” at a recent BBC all-staff meeting, and called the corporation’s treatment of the film: “A disrespect for small, independent work done with integrity that you sit on it for months, give some spurious reason and another channel covers it.”

Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage. Pic: PA
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Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage. Pic: PA

Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set: ‘We’re not broadcasting this guy’

In June, the livestreaming of the controversial Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury, when the band led chants of “death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces),” led the BBC to announce it would stop broadcasting “high risk” performances live.

When questioned about Vylan’s controversial set, Mr Davie insisted, “I don’t think I misread [the situation]”.

He said the Vylan performance was “absolutely an antisemitic broadcast,” was “deeply disturbing” and admitted “the BBC made a very significant mistake”.

Describing the situation as it played out, Mr Davie said when he became aware of the issue at around 5pm on the afternoon of the live broadcast, his approach was “very quick,” and he said, “Get it off on demand, we’re not broadcasting this guy”. He added, “I think I did the right thing”.

Speaking to the decision of BBC staff to continue broadcasting the set despite the chants, Mr Davie said he had to be “proportionate” in his judgement following an ongoing investigation but said there will be “consequences for individuals that we’re working through at the moment.”

Irish rap trio Kneecap appeared on the same stage directly after Bob Vylan and led the Glastonbury audience in “Free Palestine” chants, but their set was not streamed live.

Thomas Skinner. Pic: PA
Image:
Thomas Skinner. Pic: PA

Davie on Strictly casting backlash: ‘We’ve cut the list down too far’

When asked about another editorial production call – the decision to cast ex-Apprentice contestant Tom Skinner on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing – Mr Davie said it was “not my decision” and that he “was not an expert on the individual per se”.

Mr Davie said it was decided by “the production team,” who “thought [Skinner] would be interesting to the audience”.

Skinner, who now has a large social media following, has previously shared posts saying it is “not far-right” to be “flying your flag and loving your country”, and complaining “it ain’t safe out there anymore” in London.

Mr Davie said: “I think it’s fine to cast an individual as long as they’re within boundaries”.

When asked what those boundaries were, he said: “If someone has broadcast things that are totally unacceptable [and] racist, you know, we don’t want anywhere near our shows. That’s obvious. That’s what our [production] team have to judge.”

He added: “I don’t think it’s right to say, ‘We won’t have anyone who’s ever said anything that you either disagree with is slightly controversial on social media’. I don’t think that works, frankly. I just think we’ve cut the list down too far nowadays”.

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Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan takes control of family media empire, including Fox News and Wall Street Journal

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Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan takes control of family media empire, including Fox News and Wall Street Journal

The Murdoch family have reached a deal which will see Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan cement control of the family media empire that includes Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.

The agreement ends a battle over who will control one of the highest-profile global media groups.

The dispute is thought to have been one of the inspirations for the television series Succession, about the infighting of the members of a media dynasty.

Under the deal, Rupert’s children James Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch and Prudence MacLeod will sell their personal holdings in Fox and News Corp over a period of six months.

Rupert Murdoch (C) with his sons Lachlan (L) and James (R) pictured in 2016. Pic: Reuters
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Rupert Murdoch (C) with his sons Lachlan (L) and James (R) pictured in 2016. Pic: Reuters

In return, they are each expected to receive about $1.1bn (£810m) in proceeds, according to a source.

Fox Corp said on Monday it had reached a mutual resolution, putting an end to all legal proceedings.

A new family trust will be created to benefit Lachlan Murdoch, and his younger siblings Grace and Chloe Murdoch, who are Rupert’s children from his marriage to Wendi Deng Murdoch.

A battle over the global television and publishing empire had played out last year in a Nevada courtroom, where a judge considered the contentious matter of succession.

James (L) and Elisabeth Murdoch (R) arriving at a court in Nevada in September 2024, to challenge an attempt to change the terms of the family's trust. Pic: Reuters
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James (L) and Elisabeth Murdoch (R) arriving at a court in Nevada in September 2024, to challenge an attempt to change the terms of the family’s trust. Pic: Reuters

Rupert, 94, attempted to change the terms of the family’s trust, which was set up after his 1999 divorce from his second wife, Anna.

The trust holds significant stakes in Fox News parent Fox and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp.

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Under the original trust, News Corp and Fox voting shares would have been transferred to Rupert’s four oldest children – Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James – upon his death.

But Rupert had proposed an amendment to the trust after he feared that three of his heirs, James, Elisabeth and Prudence, could mount a coup to oust Lachlan, who is executive chairman of Fox and chairman of News Corp.

A court rejected that plan in December, saying Rupert and Lachlan had acted in “bad faith” in seeking to amend the irrevocable trust.

Mr Murdoch launched Sky, which includes Sky News, in 1989. In 2018, 21st Century Fox sold their 39% stake in the firm to Comcast.

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Olivia Colman, Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton among 1,300 filmmakers to boycott Israeli film companies

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Olivia Colman, Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton among 1,300 filmmakers to boycott Israeli film companies

Olivia Colman, Javier Bardem, Susan Sarandon and Tilda Swinton are among more than 1,300 filmmakers who are refusing to work with Israeli film companies they say are “implicated in genocide” in Gaza.

Screenwriters, producers, actors and directors have signed a pledge created by Film Makers for Palestine in the latest show of celebrities speaking out against the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

They will boycott Israeli film institutions and companies, which they say are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”.

Some of the biggest names in film have signed the pledge, Riz Ahmed, Miriam Margolyes, Juliet Stevenson and Ken Loach also among them.

Writer-directors such as The Lobster director Yorgos Lanthimos and British filmmaker Asif Kapadia, who made documentaries Senna, Amy and Diego Maradona, and producers such as two-time BAFTA winner James Wilson and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy producer Robyn Slovo have also signed the pledge.

The Crown actress Olivia Colman has signed the pledge. Pic: PA
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The Crown actress Olivia Colman has signed the pledge. Pic: PA

Palme d’Or and BAFTA-winning producer Rebecca O’Brien, who produced I, Daniel Blake with Ken Loach, told Sky News: “For decades, Israeli festivals, broadcasters, and production companies have played their role in masking and justifying Israel’s system of apartheid and its war crimes – some through direct government partnerships.

“I refuse to let my work be used to whitewash a genocide.”

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Israel has repeatedly said its actions in Gaza are justified as a means of self-defence and denied they amount to genocide.

After the world’s leading association of genocide scholars, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, declared Israel is committing genocide in Gaza last week, the Israeli foreign ministry said it was based on “Hamas lies” and poor research.

Susan Sarandon, here at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York, has made the pledge. Pic: AP
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Susan Sarandon, here at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York, has made the pledge. Pic: AP

The boycott pledge urges the industry to “refuse silence, racism, and dehumanisation and to do everything humanly possible to end complicity in their oppression”.

The declaration was inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid, founded by award-winning filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Demme in 1987, which led to more than 100 prominent filmmakers refusing to screen their films in apartheid South Africa.

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IDF drops evacuation flyers on Gaza before tower bombed

The pledge is just the latest show of support for Gazans and against their treatment by Israel from celebrities.

In May, Sky News exclusively reported a letter signed by more than 300 famous names urging Sir Keir Starmer to “end UK complicity” in Gaza.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Annie Lennox, Gary Lineker and Dua Lipa were among the public figures joining leading doctors, academics, campaign groups and a Holocaust survivor.

Bond villain Javier Bardem has also signed
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Bond villain Javier Bardem has also signed

In June, more celebrities added their names to the letter to try to push the government to act after they said nothing had changed.

Read more:
Dua Lipa, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gary Lineker join 300 public figures urging end to UK complicity in Gaza

Judy Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci join call for PM to end UK complicity in Gaza

At the time, a UK government spokesman said it “strongly” opposes Israel’s military expansion in Gaza and called on the Israeli government to “cease its offensive and immediately allow for unfettered access to humanitarian aid”.

The spokesman also said the government suspended export licences to Israel last year “for items used in military operations in Gaza” and called for a ceasefire agreement.

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Israeli PM speaks after Jerusalem attack

More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Strip since the war began, Hamas-run Gaza health authorities say.

The war was sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel, when militants killed 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages.

Of the 48 hostages still held in Gaza, 20 are believed to still be alive.

Over the past few weeks, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have been preparing to intensify the war after the government vowed to gain full military control of Gaza to defeat Hamas.

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