| "Put 'Em Under Pressure" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Republic of Ireland Football Squad | |
| B-side | "Pacemaker" |
| Released | 1990 |
| Recorded | 1990 |
| Genre | Novelty |
| Length | 5:03 |
| Label | Son Records, London Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Trad. |
| Producer(s) | Larry Mullen Jr. |
"Put 'Em Under Pressure" was the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign in Italy.
Produced by U2's Larry Mullen, it featured an intro by Moya Brennan. The song was created by Mullen, Denis Woods, John Donnelly and engineered by John Grimes. The song features 'spoken-word' mash-up taken from the film Que Sera Sera. [1] [2]
The guitar riff takes inspiration from the song "Dearg Doom" by Horslips, [3] which features on the album The Táin . [4]
The title became a catchphrase of then manager Jack Charlton, whose soundbites were sampled for the verse; the chorus was a combination of the familiar football chant "Olé Olé Olé" and a reworking of "Ally's Tartan Army" (which was itself set to the tune of "God Save Ireland"), the unofficial theme tune for Scotland in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, and for 13 weeks the song was at number one in the Irish Singles Chart helped by a pulsating video again directed by Billy McGrath featuring footage from Que Sera Sera and the team recording the song in Windmill Lane. [5]
The song is regularly played in celebration at Irish homes matches. [6] [7] [8] It was used as the opening theme for the compilation episode of BBC Switch series Chartjackers . [9] In 2011, RTÉ One aired a quiz show titled Put 'Em Under Pressure , presented by Gráinne Seoige. [10]
The phrase Put 'Em Under Pressure is to this day used in relation to the Ireland national football team. [11]
Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during his time at English club Manchester United. Regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004. Noted for his hardened and brash demeanour, he was ranked at No. 11 on The Times' list of the 50 "hardest" footballers in history in 2007. Keane was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Mary Kennedy is an Irish television personality and former newscaster, and writer. She presented the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 from the Point Theatre in Dublin. She has also presented her own Saturday night chat show called Kennedy, a precursor to Saturday Night with Miriam. Kennedy was co-presenter of the magazine programme Open House with Marty Whelan. She has previously presented Up for the Match and the People of the Year Awards. She was co-presenter of Nationwide with Anne Cassin until 2019, having been so for a time with Michael Ryan.
Sky News Ireland was a programming block on Sky News broadcast in Ireland. It was a separate feed from the UK and international versions of Sky News. Sky News Ireland was broadcast from its studios in Dublin. The service was also available in the UK and around the world on Sky News Active service.
Gráinne Seoige is an Irish journalist, news anchor and documentary and entertainment television presenter. A noted Irish language supporter, Seoige is the only television personality to have worked with all four Irish terrestrial television stations—TG4, TV3, RTÉ One and RTÉ2—and to have read the inaugural news bulletins on three separate channels—TG4, TV3, and Sky News Ireland.
Neil Delamere is an Irish comedian. He is a regular on the BBC Northern Ireland television show The Blame Game, and the reigning BBC Fighting Talk Champion of Champions.
Mario Rosenstock is an Irish actor, comedian, impressionist and musician.
Crimecall is a television show broadcast once monthly on RTÉ. It is co-produced in Dublin, Ireland by Green Ink Ltd and 360 Production South Ltd. Since January 2018, the show is presented by Sharon Ní Bheoláin. It is a second RTÉ adaptation of German crime programme Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst, and its format matches that of its British derivative Crimewatch and re-enacts unsolved crimes.
Joe O'Shea is an Irish broadcaster and journalist. He lives and works in London & Dublin and makes regular appearances on Irish radio and television.
Seoige is an Irish television chat show. The show, hosted by sisters Gráinne and Síle Seoige, was broadcast live on weekdays at 16:30 on RTÉ One, with a hiatus in the summer months. Episodes were repeated at 08:20 the following weekday morning on the same channel.
Desmond Cahill is an Irish sports presenter and commentator with national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.
The All Ireland Talent Show was a Raidió Teilifís Éireann television series which was billed as Ireland's biggest-ever talent contest. It was first announced in November 2008 and the first series commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, completing on 15 March 2009. Modelled on Got Talent, it is produced by Tyrone Productions. Airing on RTÉ One, it was hosted by Gráinne Seoige.
The Táin is an album by Irish rock band Horslips. Their second studio album, it was Horslip's first attempt at making a concept album, an idea they would return to in 1976 with The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony. The Táin was based on the Táin Bó Cúailnge, one of the most infamous legends of Early Irish literature, dealing with the war between Ulster and Connacht over a prize bull. The songs tell the story from the points of view of Cúchulainn, Queen Maeve of Connacht and Ferdia, among others. Horslips continued their Celtic Rock style of fusing traditional Irish music and rock, using traditional jigs and reels and incorporating them into their songs. For example, Dearg Doom is based on O'Neill's March, while The March of the King of Laois forms part of "More Than You Can Chew".
The Saipan incident was a public quarrel in May 2002 between Republic of Ireland national football team's captain Roy Keane and manager Mick McCarthy when the team was preparing in Saipan for its matches in Japan in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. It resulted in Keane, a key player, being sent home from the squad. The incident divided public opinion in Ireland regarding who was to blame.
The fifth and final season of Tubridy Tonight commenced airing on 27 September 2008 and completed broadcasting on 30 May 2009. The series, hosted by Ryan Tubridy, aired on RTÉ One on Saturdays nights following the RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock. At the end of this series, Tubridy took over from Pat Kenny as host of The Late Late Show on Friday nights on the same channel.
The second series of The All Ireland Talent Show was announced on 10 August 2009. The winner was Chloe Coyle from Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The second season was an extended one with more shows, seventeen in total.
Put 'Em Under Pressure is an Irish panel game with a sporting theme hosted by Gráinne Seoige which started on RTÉ One on 18 September 2011. The show's name is taken from "Put 'Em Under Pressure", the official song to the Republic of Ireland national football team's 1990 World Cup campaign.
Green Tea is the title of a series of topical comedy pieces broadcast each weekend on RTÉ Radio 1, starring Oliver Callan.
The 50th season of The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show, began on 2 September 2011 and concluded on 1 June 2012. Ryan Tubridy's third season as host, it aired on RTÉ One each Friday evening from 21:30.
Dancing with the Stars returned for a fifth series on 9 January 2022 on RTÉ One. This was the first series in two years after the show was put on a year-long hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Old favourites like Put 'Em Under Pressure were pumped out over the PA system, a new generation of fans experienced their first attempt at the Mexican Wave and punters entertained themselves by floating paper aeroplanes onto the pitch. It was that kind of evening: Giddy and childish and wonderful.
As the fans chanted 'Keano, Keano', and 'Ole Ole Ole', the DJ blasted out famous soccer anthem Put 'em Under Pressure as the crowds in Dicey Riley's cheered on their heroes.
Old classics such as Put 'Em Under Pressure and Give It A Lash rang out lustily.Heroes such as Ronnie Whelan and Ray Houghton from past campaigns also joined the party.