Have You embraced England's World Cup Anthem?

The world was at the feet of Bradford band Embrace yesterday as their new football anthem went on sale with record shop bosses predicting it would fly off the shelves.

The official England World Cup song, World at Your Feet, made it into this week's top 40 through downloads alone, coming in at number 38,outselling its rivals on day one by two to one. The song has been put out on the Independiente label, which also has hit bands Travis and Gomez on its books, and it is one of the tracks on the band's new album This New Day.

Embrace, whose members originally come from Wyke and Brighouse, were chosen by the Football Association in March to record England's official World Cup record. Brothers Danny [pictured] and Richard McNamara, of Wyke, Mike Heaton, Steve Firth and Mick Dale made a triumphant comeback when Out of Nothing shot to Number 1 and the single Gravity, written by Coldplay's Chris Martin, was a huge hit.Ed Paynter, manager at Bradford's Virgin record store, said: "I am sure it will do really well because it is a local band and the album is doing really well. It is too early to tell what the sales figures will be but we expect them to fly off the shelves at the weekend."

Colin Harrison, assistant manager at HMV Bradford, said: "The single is selling really well. It did very well in the download chart and it has charted. With Embrace being a local band, that has helped."

Mr Harrison who has worked in the record industry for more than 15 years added: "If the band comes from the local area it makes a real difference. "With the Kaiser Chiefs, people were asking about the album and single even before they were released."

It marked the end of a three-year wilderness period after diminishing sales had led to them being dropped by their record company and it was back to the day jobs. Another Bradford band has released an alternative World Cup song to the Embrace anthem.

Punk band the Negatives have released We Are England, a rousing punk anthem "set to rattle the teeth of England fans everywhere," according to frontman Tino Palmer. "It brings together the past and the present, evoking memories of Bobby Moore along with today's team members," he said. "And it looks to the future when the team lift the World Cup on the day of the final."

The single was released by notfromlondon records at a launch party at The Rosse pub in Saltaire. We Are England is available at the Negatives' gigs and via their website www. myspace. com/ negatives.

Source: thisisbradford.co.uk