The Tartan Army have a singalong new ‘underdog’ anthem for Euro 2020 courtesy of Scottish indie rockers Randolph’s Leap.
Boasting four members from Aberdeenshire, the eight piece’s They Didn’t See Us Coming is set to become the song of the summer for the Tartan Army.
The charity single has joined the pantheon of legendary Scotland squad pre-tournament hits such as Easy, Easy (1974 World Cup), Ally’s Tartan Army (1978 World Cup) and We Have A Dream (1982 World Cup).
The halcyon days of performing pre-tournament football anthems on Top of the Pops are sadly long gone but Randolph’s Leap singer songwriter Adam Ross will be happy if the charity song is adopted by Scots fans inside stadiums and fan zones.
Adam said: “One of the reasons I wrote this song is that it has been so long since Scotland last played in a tournament.
“If I didn’t do one now I might only get one or two more chances to do it in my lifetime the way things have gone with the national team.
“Who knows it could be a very long time before it comes around again.
“I was 10 years old when they last played in the World Cup in 1998.
“With the lyrics I wanted to not set hopes too high about the tournament and instead focused on just enjoying it.
“Euro 2020 is definitely something for everyone to look forward to – which is what we all need after more than a year of lockdown.
“The issue with all these lockdowns and restrictions is the risk of isolation.
“Even if you can’t necessarily be in the same room as all your friends and family at least you have a shared experience and a bit of excitement with the Euros.
“Music and football share a lot in common.
“They’re both valuable sources of escapism and have an amazing power to lift people’s spirits and help us connect with other humans.
“All of those things are really welcome and important right now.
“Hopefully we will also have something to celebrate – or at least commiserate together.”
A Tartan Army anthem for Euro 2020
Born and raised in Nairn but now based in St Cyrus near Montrose, Adam is joined in the band by Fetternear-based Adam Florence (drums), Kemnay’s Pete MacDonald (keyboard) and Heather Thikey (violin) and Vicky Cole (bass) who are both from Bridge of Don in Aberdeen.
Supporters’ anthems such as Ally’s Tartan Army are sang en masse at Scotland games and Adam hopes the fans also embrace They Didn’t See Us Coming.
The lyrics of the song make reference to the ‘decades of hoping’ as a generation have waited for Scotland to compete in a major tournament.
You know they didn’t see us coming
But we can make it alone
My heartbeat is drumming
But my head’s in the zone
Now hearts may be broken
And tears they may fall
But after decades of hoping
It’s nice to be here at all
They didn’t see us coming
But we can make it alone
Let’s just boogie
Until we have to go home
Now we have a story
Of snatching defeat
From the jaws of glory
But that’s no way to get beat
Now we’re not deluded
Our chances aren’t great
But it’s so nice to be included
Arriving fashionably late
They didn’t see us coming
But we can make it alone
So let’s just boogie
Until we have to go home
They Didn’t See Us Coming – Lyrics
Adam would love to hear the Tartan Army singing his lyrics as they rock Hampden, Wembley and fans’ zones.
Adam said: “That would be great although there is plenty of competition with other songs out there.
“The song is a bit of an underdog anthem as it is about defying expectations.
“It’s about defying expectations but also remembering to have fun and make the most of these matches and the atmosphere that will accompany them.”
Out now on Olive Grove Records the single will raise will raise money for two notable charities, Street Soccer Scotland and LEAP Sports.
A catchy, upbeat number, the supporters will hope to be singing it as they watch the Scots in the knock-out stages.
The chorus of They Didn’t See Us Coming pays brief homage to Tartan Army stadium-favourites ‘Doe-a-Deer’, ‘We’ll Be Coming Down The Road’ and Baccara’s ‘Yes Sir I Can Boogie’.
Seventies disco hit ‘Yes Sir I Can Boogie’ became an unlikely anthem, and returned to the charts, after footage of the Scottish squad dancing to the song whilst celebrating the defeat of Serbia in November became a social media sensation.
🎶 Oh, yes sir… 🎶#NoScotlandNoParty pic.twitter.com/UNTLXIuHVH
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) November 12, 2020
Adam said: “They Didn’t See Us Coming was borne out of the desire to record again and it seemed appropriate as a football song has that extra level of universality to it.
“I am a big fan of international football competitions as the atmosphere and cultural aspect to it really hooks me in.
“At the last Euros in 2016 my wife and I were in Poland and catching games became a really nice focal point for the evening.
“I remember the semi-finals were shown on a big open air screen in the National Park where we really didn’t expect anywhere to be showing the game.
“However there was a shack on the edge of the forest that did bike hire and they managed to hook up a screen and were selling beers.
“We sat out on the edge of the forest and watched the game. It is a great memory.
“These big international tournaments in the summer can create opportunities to do memorable things like that.
“There is the festival atmosphere and cultural celebration of the Euro finals.”
Aberdeen keyboard player Pete MacDonald was the studio whizz who brought a band isolated in different parts of Scotland together remotely to produce the single.
The final ingredient was the commentary from BBC Scotland’s Liam McLeod when the Scots netted the winning penalty in Serbia to secure Euro 2020 qualification.
The Scottish Football Association and BBC Scotland granted permission for the band to sample McLeod’s voice.
Adam said: “Doing this song was a bit of a challenge but it is good to write songs for different purposes and to express different things.
“With Covid the band have not been able to get together for more than a year now so it was a really nice excuse to do some remote recording.
“We are quite lucky that our keyboard player Pete is quite a deft sound engineer, mixer and producer.
“I recorded the guitar and vocals then sent that across to Pete.
“We managed to recycle an out-take from our last album as we had some drum parts from different takes of songs that were left over.
“We were able to use that as a foundation and build everything on top of that.
“The feedback on the song has been very positive.
“Music is subjective but people seem to be enjoying it.”
All proceeds raised from the single will be donated to two causes chosen by the band.
LEAP Sports is a Glasgow-based charity which aims to increase LGBTIQ+ representation in sport through work such as their ‘Football vs Homophobia’ campaign.
The second nominated charity is Street Soccer Scotland, a social enterprise which uses football to tackle issues of isolation linked to poverty and social exclusion.
Adam said: “Raising money for charity was another incentive to do the song.
“We have dabbled with Christmas singles in the past as well and have raised money through charity doing that.
“We talked with LEAP Sports Scotland and Street Soccer Scotland who were both happy to be involved.
“All the money from the single is going to them.
“LEAP Sports focus on inclusion and diversity in sport and getting more LGBTIQ+ involved, not just playing but also refereeing and taking on behind the scenes roles as well.
“Access to that has been limited in the past.
“There is no reason why anyone can’t get involved and enjoy it.
“Street Soccer Scotland focus on issues of isolation and social exclusion mostly linked to economic issues and poverty.
“They use football as a way of providing a sense of community and purpose for people.”
Euro 2020 offers a welcome distraction for Randolph’s Leap from their inability to play live for more than a year due to lockdown restrictions.
They had a series of shows arranged for March last year but they fell by the wayside as live venues were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Adam said: “As soon as we are allowed to start booking gigs again that will be our priority.
“We have something tentatively booked for the start of next year but it would be nice if we could do something earlier than that.
“I am really proud of the new album and think it will work really well live.
“I had solo gigs and there were also some with the band as well.
“It was about a week or two before those gigs were scheduled to start when shows started to be pulled.
“It was pretty gutting but absolutely the right decision.
“We played our last gig on March 1 last year.
“A few people who were at that gig have said it was the last one they attended because there was not much that was allowed to go ahead after that.
“It meant retreating and having all that time at home was a good excuse to do a lot of DIY recording and putting it online.
“It has created some opportunities but that said I can’t wait to get back to normal.”
They Didn’t See Us Coming is available on bandcamp.