A music producer from Wishaw has stepped back in time to rework a Scottish football anthem that he hopes will inspire Steve Clarke's squad at the European Championships.
It’s been a very long time since Scotland played in the finals stages of a tournament, but for the first time in 23 years the nation can dream again.
Gaz Sheridan, 31, hopes his cover of We Have a Dream will inspire the boys in dark blue to victory over Czech Republic, Croatia, and the Auld Enemy, England, and a lengthy run at the European Championship finals which kick-off on Friday.
There are a number of songs doing the rounds at the moment from The Fratellis cover of Yes Sir, I can Boogie, to The LaFontaines’ original; Scotland, Bonnie Scotland.
Gaz, has gone down the route of the former rather than the latter and decided to go with the tried and tested – a cover of BA Robertson’s song released prior to Scotland going to the World Cup Finals almost 40 years ago, and starring John Gordon Sinclair on lead vocals with the backing of the football squad from that time.
Gaz, a DJ on Internet radio station KL Radio, told Lanarkshire Live: "The track itself is a slightly modern take on the original complete with slang wording and the added bonus vocals of The Tartan Army.
“I was talking to a pal of mine, Tony Miller who works at Pulse Radio in Renfrew, and he said my voice and accent would be perfect to replace John Gordon Sinclair in the song as it was really similar.
"So he said, ‘why don’t you give it a bash, bring it up to date and mix it,' and it just went from there.
“We obviously needed permission from BMG for the copyright. We were just going to play it on the radio but the whole thing sort of blew up and we’re releasing it.”
The former Coltness High admits he isn’t old enough to remember the original version of the song being on Top of the Pops in the charts.
He added: “I wasn’t even thought of in 1982.
“The lyrics are almost identical, but there are a few tiny wee things I’ve changed. In the original it says a ‘still voice’ and I’ve changed that to a ‘creepy wee voice’.
"And there are other bits, such as John Robertson has been changed to Ryan Christie - for taking the penalties. Music-wise is where everybody is going to hear a massive change.
“It’s positive and upbeat and definitely not a 'Don’t Come Home Too Soon' type of song.”
Gaz also has praise for both The Fratellis and The LaFontaines for their inspirational Scotland song efforts.
He continued: “I love the Baccara version of Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, and The Fratellis version is really good. The LaFontaines is really good as well, it’s all about the fun and having a laugh when you’re Scottish. I really like the lyrics.”
As a proud footballing nation, and thanks to Steve Clark and the players who got us to the finals, we can dream once again.
Gaz's track is released today (Friday) to coincide with the opening of the competition. It is available for purchase, stream and download on all major platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, and everything else in between.
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