Williamson is perhaps best known as Barry Evans from EastEnders. Former EastEnders star Shaun Williamson has backed Sweet Caroline as football’s ultimate anthem. Williamson, perhaps best known as the ill-fated and lovelorn Barry Evans in the BBC soap, surprised fans at Boxpark Wembley on Thursday with a rendition of the song ahead of England drawing against Denmark at Euro 2024.
He currently has a new calling as the emcee of Barrioke, a karaoke event that has seen him entertain huge crowds on a popular – and seemingly indefinite – tour around the UK. The 58-year-old said he loves the Neil Diamond song – ranked England’s favourite football tune in a recent survey – while he feels Phil Foden would make the best soap star out of Gareth Southgate’s squad. Williamson told the PA news agency: “There’s been some belters, any Liverpool fan will tell you it’s You’ll Never Walk Alone and every particular team has their own anthem, but to me it’s Sweet Caroline.
“It’s just a beautiful song. I don’t think you can beat it. It’s simple.
Like most great songs, there’s a simplicity to them. There’s some notable rivals, like Three Lions or Vindaloo by Fat Les, but I think Sweet Caroline takes it.” England supporters agree.
In a poll carried out by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar about fans’ favourite anthems, Sweet Caroline took 31% of the vote followed by We Are The Champions’ (29%), You’ll Never Walk Alone (25%) and Three Lions (23%), with Vindaloo (15%) rou.
