Xuenou > Sports > Dead paedophile Rolf Harris covered classic football anthem for England World Cup win
Dead paedophile Rolf Harris covered classic football anthem for England World Cup win
Dead paedophile Rolf Harris covered classic football anthem for England World Cup win,Long before he was found guilty of a series of indecent assaults against underage girls, Rolf Harris released a song for the 1966 World Cup, which England won on home soil

Dead paedophile Rolf Harris covered classic football anthem for England World Cup win

Convicted paedophile Rolf Harris – who's died aged 93 – covered classic football anthem Football Crazy before the 1966 World Cup.

The Australian entertainer became known worldwide in the 20th century, initially thanks to his music. He played the accordion, didgeridoo and the stylophone, as well as using his wobble board.

His profile began to rise in the UK, where he moved to live in 1952. And that saw him release his own version of the song originally written by James Curran, ahead of England's World Cup, which they won on home soil.

READ MORE: Shamed Rolf Harris dies aged 93 years after disgraced TV star's child sex scandal

Harris' version came out as a single and featured on his 1966 album Shamus O'Sean the Leprechaun, also later being re-released on his 1991 album Ideal.

Originally titled as 'The Dooley Fitba' Club' when it was first released in the 1880s, Football Crazy is the earliest-known song that references association football. The track later became a hit in the 1960s for Scottish folk duo Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor, with its lyrics 'oh he's football crazy, he's football mad' popularising the phrase 'football crazy'.

Harris' links to sport were few and far between, but he did he sing Waltzing Matilda live before the 1982 Aussie Rules AFL final.

Album cover of Rolf Harris' Shamus O’Sean the Leprechaun
Amongst Harris' discography was a cover of Football Crazy
England captain Bobby Moore holds aloft the World Cup on the shoulders of his team-mates
He released his version before the 1966 World Cup, which England won on home soil (Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

He most famously presented shows such as Rolf's Cartoon Club and Animal Hospital on these shores, but the artist saw his career disgraced in 2014 when he was jailed for a series of indecent assaults as part of Operation Yewtree.

Harris was sentenced to five years and nine months behind bars after being found guilty of the attacks on four girls, which happened between 1968 and 1986.

One conviction, relating to an allegation he indecently assaulted an eight-year-old, was later overturned, but his challenge against the other 11 was dismissed.

He served three years of his sentence at Stafford Prison in Staffordshire, before returning to his home in Bray, Berkshire, where he lived with his wife Alwen. He died there on May 10 of neck cancer and "frailty of old age", according to his death certificate.

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