โSweet Carolineโ, a beloved Neil Diamond song written for his wife, has become something of a cultural staple in the sporting world since its release 50 years ago. The Sydney Swans play this classic banger at their home games, UFC middleweight Darren Till has it as his walkout song, but perhaps the most lucrative use of โSweet Carolineโ can be credited to Englandโs national football team during the 2020 UEFA Euro tournament.
After England beat Germany 2-0 at Wembley in the quarter-final, the soft rock anthem practically became synonymous with Englandโs success on the pitch, as the players and all 60,000 fans belted out the songโs iconic chorus. This came about due to an executive decision made by Wembley DJ Tony Parry, who went with his instinct to play โSweet Carolineโ instead of Fat Lesโ 1998 World Cup anthem โVindaloo.โ
โI was going to play โVindalooโ but went with my gut. Even the German fans were belting it out in the end. Itโs a song that all fans can enjoy. The match director said in my in-ear, โThe worldโs been closed for 18 monthsโฆ let โem have it.'โ
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The song could be felt from every stadium, pub, and club across the country, instantly overtaking โThree Lions (Itโs Coming Home)โ as the fansโ song of choice for the tournament.
โTo hear them at the endโฆ I mean you canโt beat a bit of โSweet Caroline,โ can you?โ said England coach Gareth Southgate.
โThatโs a belter, really.โ
According to music licensing expert Bridget Bloom of 401K Music, Neil Diamond stood to earn over $10 million dollars from โSweet Carolineโ if England had won the Euro 2020. With revenue coming from bars streaming the song in celebration, and potential advertising campaigns, as well as the odd promotional dealโฆ the song would have seen a โcultural resurgenceโ that netted the 80-year-old songbird a mountain of cash.
For reference, the 26 players from the winning Italian side reportedly pocketed around โฌ500,000 (AU$790,000) in bonuses for winning the final. In a game he likely didnโt watch a single second of, Neil Diamond could have earned nearly 13 times that amount.
Suffice to say, no one wanted it to come home more than poor old Neil did. โGood times never seemed so goodโ, and in this case, they were just too good to be true.
