John Barnes joined Peter Hook on stage in Manchester to perform his rap from New Order’s ‘World In Motion’ – watch below.
READ MORE: World In Motion: 10 Geeky Facts About The New Order Football Classic
The former Joy Division and New Order bassist was playing at the Manchester Academy last night (June 4) to mark the 50th anniversary of the Sex Pistols’ legendary show in the city, and he welcomed England legend Barnes onto the stage for a rendition of the 1990 World Cup anthem.
Hook’s epic 35-track performance saw him take a chronological trip through his entire career, and Barnes joined him at the halfway point during the song that became inextricably linked to England’s run to the semi-finals of Italia ‘90, and also New Order’s only Number One single.
Barnes wrote and performed the rap himself back in 1990, with legend having it that he recorded it in a single take. Check out footage of the 2026 version here:
You’ve got to hold and give, but do it at the right time
Peter Hook & The Light at the Academy World In Motion drops…and out walks John Barnes to deliver that verse.
Goes right off, gaff absolutely erupts
A moment only Manchester could produce.#Madchester #hooky
#JohnBarnes pic.twitter.com/4cZqi3EdIW
— Madchester (@madchester_mdcr) June 5, 2026
Earlier this week, Barnes revealed audio clips of Paul Gascoigne and Peter Beardsley attempting his rap, and said he battled five other players for the right to perform the rap on the song.
When ‘World In Motion’ was first released, NME asked Barnes how excited he was to be collaborating on a football song, to which he responded: “If I thought it was going to be the same as the usual crap, why bother? But this is alright.”
World Cup fever is ramping up, with the tournament beginning next Thursday (June 11) and England’s campaign starting against Croatia on June 17.
Baddiel, Skinner & Lightning Seeds have announced a 30th anniversary re-release of their own England anthem ‘Three Lions’, while Belle & Sebastian have penned a buoyant song for Scotland’s campaign, ‘It Only Takes One Lion’, with Stuart Murdoch telling NME, “you have to understand, it’s been 30 years since Scotland qualified so I think everybody and their dog has written a song for the team”.
Susan Boyle and Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos have teamed up for the Irn Bru World Cup ad, while an official FIFA World Cup soundtrack album has been announced, featuring The Rolling Stones, Shakira and Stormzy.
Reflecting on the gig last night, meanwhile, Hook wrote on Instagram that it was a “truly memorably show”, and thanked Rowetta and Buzzcocks for their appearances too.
Hook himself was in attendance at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester for the Sex Pistols’ historic show in 1976, and he famously went out and bought his first bass the following day, forming the band Warsaw, who went on to be known as Joy Division.
The show is credited with being a big bang event in British punk music and is also seen as kickstarting the Manchester music scene, with others in attendance including Hook’s future bandmate Bernard Sumner, as well as Morrissey, Mark E. Smith, Tony Wilson and John Cooper Clarke.
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