Advertisement

Is this the leaked setlist from London’s Opening Ceremony?

The Opening Ceremony to the London Olympics will feature an eclectic mix of British music including The Beatles, Handel, The Sex Pistols, Adele, David Bowie, Muse and The Chemical Brothers, as well as songs from movies, TV shows and the West End.

According to a report in the British tabloid The Sun, the director of the ceremony, Danny Boyle, will use a 79-track playlist during the three-hour spectacle on July 27. A more-respected periodical, The Telegraph, also reported the leaked setlist. Olympic officials haven't confirmed (or denied) the playlist's authenticity, but if you read between the lines of that Telegraph story, it seems more real than fake. Let's treat it as if it's the former and analyze Boyle's musical selections.

• The show begins with "The Eton Boating Song," an old hymn evoking early 20th-century London that you've never heard, but have probably heard a thousand times. It's scheduled to be followed by Elgar and Benson's "Land of Hope and Glory," which you may remember from every graduation you've ever attended and its well-known section, "Pomp and Circumstance." Then Boyle fast-forwards to a cut from 1970s punk band The Jam and one from current rockers, Muse.

[Pat Forde: With an eye on a record Olympic medal haul, Michael Phelps will enter seven events at U.S. swim trials]

• After an intro from the chimes of Big Ben, the guitar riffs of the Sex Pistols will crash in, as Boyle's most controversial selection, The Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen." Will Boyle let lines like "God save the queen/She ain't no human being/There is no future/In England's dreaming" play as Queen Elizabeth sits in Olympic Stadium? My money's on no. Boyle is subversive, but everything he's said and done over the past 18 months suggest he knows the gravity of the moment. That, coupled with the fact that some songs will only be played in snippets, and the Opening Ceremony's big rebellious movement may come down to a few power chords.

• In a move sure to anger the brothers Gallagher, Oasis has one fewer song than some tossers from Liverpool. The Beatles have the most tracks (three), just as you'd expect. But rather than turn the ceremony into a history lesson of the British invasion, Boyle uses a blend of music from all eras of the nation's history. Rest assured, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and Led Zeppelin each make an appearance. Solo efforts from members of those bands were mostly ignored. Sorry, Wings.

• Handel, Sir Hubert Parry and Elgar are among the classical composers to have works featured in the leaked setlist.

• The "Chariots of Fire" theme song is there, too, hopefully with a live appearance from Vangelis (featuring Yanni?!)

• No Spice Girls, but Sugababes gets the lead-off of the second portion with "Push the Button." It's followed by a track from "Oliver" and something off "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," hopefully with a live appearance from Angela Lansbury (featuring Yanni?!)

• Other snubs: Robbie Williams (boy, is Robbie Williams going to be mad), Rod Stewart, Shirley Bassey, Cheryl Cole and Take That. The two most egregious snubs: Elton John and Tom Jones. "What's New Pussycat?" Only that Frankie Goes to Hollywood is now thought to be more emblematic of a nation than the man who sings "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," that's what.

• Some of the classics: "My Generation," "Satisfaction," "All Day and All of the Night" (come on; surely there are 80 better Kinks song than that), "She Loves You," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "The End," and "Hey Jude."

• Modern classics: "Creep," "Song 2," "Bittersweet Symphony," "Wonderwall," "Paper Planes" and "Rolling in the Deep."

• Coldplay song: "Viva La Vida."

• The playlist ends with David Bowie's "Absolute Beginners," which may seem like an odd choice, but given its anthemic qualities and video featuring Bowie traipsing around in a trenchcoat, it could be a perfect choice to close Boyle's Olympic ode to all things England.

The Opening Ceremony setlist (?)

Captain Algernon Drummond, William Johnson Cory - Eton Boating Song

Elgar, AC Benson - Land of Hope and Glory

The Jam - Going Underground

Muse - Map of the Problematique

Big Ben Chimes

Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen

The Clash - London Calling

Simon May - EastEnders Theme

The Shipping Forecast

Sir Hubert Parry, William Blake - Jerusalem

Elgar - Nimrod

Handel - Arrival of the Queen of Sheba

Eric Coates - Dambusters March

Handel - Music for the Royal Fireworks

Monty Norman - James Bond Theme

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

Mike Oldfield - In Dulci Jubilo

Vangelis - Chariots of Fire

BBC News 1954

Arthur Wood - The Archers Theme

Winifred Atwell - Black and White Rag

Sugababes - Push the Button

OMD - Enola Gay

David Rose - The Stripper

Lionel Bart - Food Glorious Food

Irwin Kostal, Richard Sherman, Robert Sherman - Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Rizzle Kicks - When I Was a Youngster

Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight

Colin Tully - Gregorys Girl Theme

William Pitt - City Lights

The Who - My Generation

The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction

Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop

The Kinks - All Day and All of the Night

The Beatles - She Loves You

Mud - Tiger Feet

Led Zeppelin - Trampled Under Foot

The Specials - A Message to You Rudy

David Bowie - Starman

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant

Duran Duran - The Reflex

New Order - Blue Monday

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax

Soul II Soul - Back To Life

Happy Mondays - Step On

Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony

Prodigy - Firestarter

Underworld - Born Slippy

Jaan Kenbrovin, John William Kellette - Im Forever Blowing Bubbles

Blur - Song 2

Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers

Tigerstyle - Nachna Onda Nei (contains Michael Jackson - Billie Jean, Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure and Ilaiyaraaja - Naanthaan Ungappanda)

Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse - Valerie

Radiohead - Creep

Muse - Uprising

Kano & Mikey J - Random Antics

Tinie Tempah - Pass Out

MIA - Paper Planes

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

The Chemical Brothers - Galvanize

Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out

Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict a Riot

Roll Deep - Shake a Leg

Adele - Rolling in the Deep

Oasis - The Hindu Times

Oasis - Wonderwall

Emeli Sande - Heaven

William Monk/Henry Francis - Abide With Me

Pink Floyd - Eclipse

The Beatles - The End

The Beatles - Hey Jude

David Bowie - Heroes

Eric Spear - Coronation Street Theme

Ron Grainer - Doctor Who Theme

John Philip Sousa - Monty Python Theme/The Liberty Bell

David Bowie - Absolute Beginners

Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
Tiger Woods opens as the favorite in Vegas to win the British Open
ERA leader Brandon Beachy facing possibility of Tommy John surgery with torn UCL
Is Patrik Elias in possession of LA Kings' missing Stanley Cup puck?
Y! Shine: Adidas "Shackle" sneakers create controversy