Wirral songwriter Geoff has hopes for a hit with World Cup song (From Wirral Globe)

Wirral songwriter Geoff has hopes for a hit with World Cup song

11:32am Tuesday 16th March 2010

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WHEN football fan Geoff Jackson entered a competition to find the 2010 World Cup song the last thing he expected was to become a recording artist.

But thanks to an article in the Wirral Globe earlier this year, the 43-year-old from Wallasey has done just that.

His song, Shout For England, made it onto iTunes and is to be released as a single in time for the World Cup.

Our story on Geoff's bid for music fame was published in January and spotted by Wirral-based R'n'B singer and producer, Mikey Matteo.

He offered Geoff the opportunity to make a professional recording of the song in his studio free of charge.

The father-of-three said: "Mikey emailed me a sample of his production of the song. I was so impressed with the way he had transformed the sound that we agreed to work together and see if we could get it released."

Mikey Matteo has been building a following all over the UK and has performed alongside some of today's biggest stars like Chipmunk and N-Dubz as well as X-Factor finalists like Lloyd Daniels.

With his experience as a live performer, Mikey knew exactly how to give Geoff's song a beat that would make it sound at home in the charts.

He said: "When I saw Geoff's video on Youtube I thought the song had real potential and I couldn't stop singing it.

"Geoff was a bit nervous about recording his singing at first but he took to the recording studio like a natural and we had the whole thing done in a day."

Geoff, a pharmaceutical assistant who also works as a doorman and a steward at Liverpool Football Club, has his own website, www.ShoutFor England.com and a brand new video, which will be out on Youtube very soon.

The finished track is being released as a single on iTunes on May 24.

Geoff said: "I am hoping that we can get enough people to pre-order the track ahead of the release date and we could even get it in the top 40."

Earlier this year, Geoff wrote to the FA suggesting they adopt 'Shout For England' as the official England World Cup anthem.

They wrote back saying they were not having a World Cup song because they wanted the players to concentrate on the football.

Geoff said: "I don't think a World Cup song is really for the players.

"It is more about uniting the nation and getting everyone behind the team."

Geoff has launched a Facebook group called 'We want a World Cup anthem - shout for England', and is hoping to get the support of local people to join the group and help him make his dream come true, that his will be the song that all true England fans will be singing to cheer on our team when they go to South Africa to bring home the World Cup.

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