Here’s a fun fact for you. In the film Robocop, every time you see our hero sitting in his police car, Peter Weller, the actor, was in his underwear. The Robocop suit was too bulky to sit down, so Weller only wore the top half.
It’s not known whether the producers of the 2014 remake of Robocop knew this fun fact. But we suspect they did – because that movie was total pants.
Here’s another fun fact for you. What’s the connection between Robocop and the Champions League? Is it:
- They were secretly created by an all powerful organisation implicated in corporate crime, allegations of bribery and large scale embezzlement; or
- Tony Britten.
While our lawyers insist we confirm it’s definitely not 1, we can tell you that the correct answer is: Tony Britten.
Who? You might say. Well, Tony Britten conducted the music in Robocop (connection 1!) and, in 1992, he made his name as a composer when he was asked by UEFA to create an anthem for the Champions League (connection 2). Unlike Robocop however Tony Britten was responsible for a remake that was better than the original. He adapted Handel’s Zadok the Priest as the new anthem of the Champions League.
The original has been performed at every British coronation since 1727 but now that it’s synonymous with Europe’s premier football tournament, they might have lost the edge. Here’s Britten’s Champions League version:
However, while the anthem is EPIC, it, like all anthems, relies far too much on a a large orchestra, a huge choir and a spare kitchen sink to build excitement and power. For an anthem to succeed it must still work even when shrunk down to the bare essentials. You can still play God Save The Queen using just a comb, spoons and a Chelsea pensioner. Can you say the same about the Champions League anthem? Does it work when you keep things simple? You can judge for yourself as this is the version of the anthem with an acoustic guitar:
Well, let’s just say, I’d buy that for a dollar. When the Champions League kicks off again tonight, remember, you’ve got a man in his pants to thank for the song you hear.
He’s a part-time comedian and in 2014, he supported Eddie Izzard in ‘Please Don’t Go’, Izzard’s show about Scottish independence and worked with BBC Radio Scotland as a weekly guest on Referendum Tonight.
