No Rock And Roll Fun

DON'T GO ON TOO MUCH: Most nations wait until they qualify before writing a singalong anthem to cheer them on in the World Cup finals - but, since they don't have a great record of qualification, Wales have decided to get their song written for the preliminary stages. Of course, if they do pull it off and make it through to Germany 2006, they'll have the song ready to go. Gary Slaymaker is co-ordinating attempts to find the new song and - as is the way with everything from opera singers to top models these days - his efforts are going to be centred on a TV series.

The Manics had been promising to write a song for the Welsh team if they'd qualified for Euro 2004; they didn't, so they didn't.