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Pop Culture

The game of Subbuteo has a fairly solid place in UK pop culture, along with some other European nations. In a US comparison, the game would have been referenced on The Simpsons or Family Guy at least once.

The Northern Irish punk band The Undertones released a song called My Perfect Cousin in 1980. The song includes the commonly referenced lyric: "He always beat me at Subbuteo, cos he flicked to kick, and I didn't know".

Liverpool punk band Half Man Half Biscuit released a song "All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit" on their 1987 album "Back Again in the DHSS". The majority of the lyrics is about Subbuteo, and the title refers to the fact that during the 80s it was possible to buy just about any replica team in a toy store in the UK.

For the video of their 1995 track "Morning Glory", Oasis were performing in a hotel room. In the middle of the hotel room was a Subbuteo pitch - not particularly well laid out - and it was pulled up like a tablecloth towards the end of the video.

In 1997, Nick Hornby's book "Fever Pitch" was adapted for the big screen and released in the UK. It followed the fortunes of an Arsenal fan - played by Colin Firth - in the 1988/89 season. A number of times during the movie, he is found playing Subbuteo with a friend, acting out imaginary matches between a contemporary Arsenal team and one from the 1971 double-winning season.

More recently, Subbuteo even became referenced in the thriving "grime" (a form of rap) scene in London. Tottenham artist JME named a track on his first mixtape release "Subbuteo".

To prove that it is not just UK pop culture that is influenced by Subbuteo, an Italian short film was made on the subject, called "Silver Nail"

Just in 2009, a British comedy called "The Boat That Rocked", released in an edited format as "Pirate Radio" in the US, featured a scene where the whole crew were assembled in a common room and there was an ongoing Subbuteo game on the table.