THE UK has been asked to belt out Neil Diamond’s track Sweet Caroline to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The tune was written in 1969 and released in the UK in 1971 - selling more than 1.2 million copies and becoming an anthem in discos across the country.
However, in Scottish football circles the song has become known as a favourite of the Rangers supporters where it has courted controversy with some fans adding an anti-catholic line to one of the breaks.
And in June 2021 it was reported that a video of the Rangers football team and backroom staff had been doctored to include the offending sectarian line.
The song has also been a long-time favourite of followers of the Northern Ireland football team.
The request to have it sung was made by Radio 2 DJ host Zoe Ball who has asked that people up and down the UK to go into the streets on June 5 to sing the tune.
The audience for Ball’s breakfast show voted for the “uplifting, happy” song as it beat out contenders like Paul McCartney’s We All Stand Together and We Are The Champions by Queen.
Ball described Sweet Caroline during her morning show on Tuesday as a “song of togetherness”, adding that she hoped that around 10 million people would join in the singalong.
“We’re hoping also that loads of grassroots music groups and choirs and school bands and brass bands will learn the song and perform it too,” Ball said.
READ MORE: The most damning lines of the Sue Gray report - from vomiting to karaoke
“We really want to encourage the country to all come together.”
The campaign to get the UK to sing the tune was in collaboration with the Together Coalition, which was behind Thank You Day back in 2021 to celebrate those who had helped the country during the pandemic.
The event will be on June 5, the final day of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel