"World in Motion" is a song by English musical group New Order

New Order

New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...

. It is New Order's only UK number one single. The song was produced for the England football team

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

's 1990 FIFA World Cup

1990 FIFA World Cup

The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

 campaign, and features several members of the 1990 English team, as well as comedian Keith Allen, who co-wrote the lyrics. Originally it was going to be called "E for England" but the Football Association

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

, worried that it would be taken as a reference to the drug ecstasy

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine

MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...

, vetoed that title.

The backing track for the chorus of "World in Motion" bore some similarities to the instrumental theme tune for the DEF II

DEF II

DEF II was a programming strand on BBC Two, which aired at 6pm on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 May 1988 to 23 May 1994, to serve the teenage market. It was produced by Janet Street-Porter, and followed on from her influential youth TV show Network 7, on Channel 4...

 current-affairs show, Reportage, which had been written for the show by Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert

Gillian Gilbert

Gillian Lesley Gilbert is an English musician, keyboardist, guitarist and singer, best known as a member of New Order and a founding member of The Other Two.-Biography:...

 of New Order. The song was produced by Stephen Hague

Stephen Hague

Stephen Hague is an American music producer most active with various British acts in the 1980s. He was an influential figure in the synthpop movement.-Early career:...

, who had also produced one of the group's earlier hits, "True Faith".

The single's B-side

A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

, an early version of the A-side, was titled "The B-Side", extending the football theme of the release. It was produced by former Swans

Swans (band)

Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...

 member Roli Mosimann

Roli Mosimann

Roli Mosimann is a drummer, electronic musician and record producer who has worked in genres ranging from industrial to pop. Originally from Switzerland, Mosimann first came to attention with the New York City no wave band Swans and later collaborated with Foetus leader J. G...

. The single was released in May 1990 with the catalogue number FAC 293. It was New Order's last release on Factory Records

Factory Records

Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...

.

A rap is performed by Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

n-born England player John Barnes towards the end of the track. Barnes was selected to perform the rap after a contest with other players including Peter Beardsley

Peter Beardsley

Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE is an English former footballer who played between 1979 and 1999. He once set a record transfer fee in the game and represented his country 59 times between 1986 and 1996, once as captain...

, Paul Gascoigne

Paul Gascoigne

Paul John Gascoigne , commonly referred to as Gazza, is a retired English professional footballer.Playing in the position of midfield, Gascoigne's career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Gansu Tianma, where he scored at least a goal...

, and Chris Waddle

Chris Waddle

Christopher Roland "Chris" Waddle is a former footballer from England. He played for a number of clubs in the 1980s and 90s, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday in England, and Olympique de Marseille in France...

. The rap part was co-written by former Liverpool player Craig Johnston

Craig Johnston

Craig Johnston is a former football player who was one of the first Australians to make a major impact in the English game. He is remembered for his time spent with Liverpool throughout the 1980s...

. In addition to Barnes, the entire squad sing on parts of the track.

In 1996, LFO's Mark Bell remixed version of the song appeared on The Beautiful Game, which was released to tie in with Euro 96.

The single was re-released for the 2002 FIFA World Cup

2002 FIFA World Cup

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

, this time with the track "Such a Good Thing" replacing "The B-Side". It failed to enter the UK Top 40. The 2002 version was planned to have David Beckham

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...

 performing the rap, but the F.A. vetoed the idea. It was due to have been re-released again in remixed form for the 2006 FIFA World Cup

2006 FIFA World Cup

The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

, however despite a UK release date of May 29, 2006 a last minute decision was taken to shelve this release and the remix has never surfaced.

The legendary "They think it's all over

They think it's all over

They think it's all over is a well known quotation and football chant popular in England. It is taken from Kenneth Wolstenholme's BBC TV commentary in the closing moments of the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final, where England beat West Germany 4–2 after extra time to win the FIFA World Cup.Soon after the...

" quotation uttered by football commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme

Kenneth Wolstenholme

Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC & Bar was the football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s, most notable for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup which included the famous phrase "some people are on the pitch...they think it's all over....it is now!", as Geoff Hurst scored...

 at the end of the 1966 World Cup Final between England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 is utilised at the beginning and end of the track (though not the original; Wolstenholme re-recorded his famous phrase especially for the producers), and somewhat less known samples, such as "A beauty scored by Bobby Charlton" and "We Want Goals", are taken from Goal!, the official documentary film on the 1966 tournament; the voice is that of actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 Nigel Patrick

Nigel Patrick

Nigel Patrick was an English actor and stage director born into a theatrical family.-Biography:...

.

In 2010 a reworked version of the song was used in a commercial for the Mars Bar

Mars Bar

Mars is a chocolate bar manufactured by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in Slough, Berkshire in the United Kingdom in 1932 as a sweeter version of the US Milky Way bar which Mars, Inc. produced...

.

UK CD - FACD 293

1. "World in Motion" – 4:30
2. "World in Motion (The B-Side)" – 4:14
3. "World in Motion" (No Alla Violenza Mix) – 5:19
4. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo
   Subbuteo
   Subbuteo is a set of table top games simulating team sports such as association football, cricket, both codes of rugby and hockey. The name is most closely associated with the football game, which for many years was marketed as "the replica of Association Football".The "Subbuteo" name is derived...
   
    Mix) – 5:08

UK 12" 1 - FAC 293

1. "World in Motion" – 4:30
2. "World in Motion (The B-Side)" – 4:48

The same tracks appear on the 7" and cassette singles.

UK 12" 2 - FAC 293R

1. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo Mix) – 5:08
2. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo Dub) – 4:13
3. "World in Motion" (Carabinieri Mix) – 5:52
4. "World in Motion" (No Alla Violenza Mix) – 4:12

US CD - Qwest 9 21582-2

1. "World in Motion" (Single Mix) – 4:30
2. "World in Motion" (The B-Side) – 4:48
3. "World in Motion" (No Alla Violenza mix) – 5:40
4. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo Mix) – 5:08

US 12" and cassette - Qwest 9 21582-0/4

1. "World in Motion" (Carabinieri Mix) – 5:52
2. "World in Motion" (No Alla Violenza Mix) – 5:40
3. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo Mix) – 5:08
4. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo Dub) – 5:08

Canadian CD - Factory/MCA/Polygram 846 237-2

1. "World in Motion" – 4:32
2. "World in Motion" (No Alla Violenza Mix) – 5:41
3. "World in Motion" (Carabinieri Mix) – 5:56
4. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo Mix) – 5:10
5. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo Dub Mix) – 5:10
6. "The B-Side" – 4:49

Canadian cassette - Factory/MCA/Polygram 846 237-4

1. "World in Motion" (No Alla Violenza Mix)
2. "World in Motion" (Carabinieri Mix)
3. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo Mix)
4. "World in Motion" (Subbuteo Dub Mix)
5. "The B-Side"

UK CD - NUOCD12 [2002 release]

1. "World in Motion" – 4:30
2. "Such a Good Thing" – 4:10
3. "World in Motion" (No Alla Violenza Mix) – 4:12

Chart positions

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australia ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	21
German Media Control Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...  Singles Chart	21
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	7
New Zealand RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...  Singles Chart	8
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	1
UK Indie Chart UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	10
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...	5
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	5

Chart (2002, NUOCD12 release)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	43

Chart (2010)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	22