In so many different ways, Nick Morgan’s life has been shaped by Scotland’s revival on the international stage over these past few years.
A 42-year-old musician from Ayrshire, Morgan was working as a postman in Prestwick when he wrote the song No Scotland No Party prior to Euro 2024.
The fact he can now consider himself a former postie is partly thanks to the way in which the song took off and became a smash-hit among the Tartan Army.
Based on the melody of an old Argentinian song written for Diego Maradona, Morgan has tweaked it and released an updated version for this summer’s World Cup.
Morgan gave up his day job around a year ago and is now able to pursue a full-time career in music. As well as the updated version of his most famous song, he also has a new release called Scotland’s on Fire.
There was also a song in honour of Lyndon Dykes, to the tune of Live Is Life, which the Scotland striker duly reposted on social media.
Prestwick postman Nick Morgan has given up delivering letters for a career as a singer
Morgan’s songs are now an essential part of any Tartan Army playlist. But the journey to actually get to the World Cup carries deeper personal significance.
‘I worked as a postie for quite a few years,’ Morgan tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘I basically took a year’s sabbatical from delivering mail and went to Denmark to see the woman who is now my wife.
‘We met in Edinburgh on New Year’s Eve. It just so happened that Scotland were then playing Denmark in the World Cup qualifiers.
‘I was playing in Copenhagen in a Tartan Army fanzone when Scotland played Denmark last year and she came to the gig. She was getting right in amongst with the Tartan Army, which was brilliant.
‘Danish people are often quite reserved. I’ve played in some pubs over there and people are sitting playing board games and stuff. It’s a totally different vibe compared to pubs in Scotland.
‘Then she ends up right in the middle of the Tartan Army in full voice. I’m not sure she had ever seen people drink that many pints of beer!
‘I think at first she was thinking: “What the hell is this?” But do you know what? She absolutely loved it. She has got a real affection for Scotland now off the back of that.
‘Denmark obviously never made it to the World Cup, so she’s coming with me to America. She’s buzzing for it.’
Morgan is the man responsible for the catchy Tartan Army favourite No Scotland No Party
Scotland drew 0-0 with the Danes in Copenhagen at the start of the campaign, before winning 4-2 in an epic contest at Hampden last November to secure World Cup qualification.
Were there any divided loyalties in the Morgan household at the end of one of the greatest Scotland victories in history?
‘After we beat Denmark to qualify, it was an interesting atmosphere in our house, that’s for sure,’ he says. ‘I felt bad for her, but it is what it is.
‘It’s really weird the way life works out at times. I meet a Danish girl out the blue on Hogmanay, we end up getting married, then Scotland beat Denmark to qualify for a World Cup. You couldn’t write it to be honest.
‘The plan is for me to move over to Denmark later in the year and start doing my music over there. I’m doing it full-time now here in Scotland, which has always been the dream ultimately.
‘I worked as a postie for about another year after the Euros. The song helped me give up my day job and pursue a full-time career in music.
‘Without that, I probably wouldn’t be able to move to Denmark. So it’s had a massively positive influence on my life.’
Morgan has been touring round schools recently and playing his music to get kids in the mood for the World Cup kicking off next week.
Morgan admits that Scotland’s qualifying win over Denmark was tough for his Danish girlfriend
He admits he could never have envisaged the way No Scotland No Party would become such a hit. When Scotland qualified for the World Cup, there were clips of the full squad singing it in the dressing room.
Of the song’s origins, Morgan explains: ‘It is basically a reworked version of an old Argentinian song that was written for Maradona.
‘When Maradona passed away a few years ago, there was all these tributes on social media. I found this one video of him actually singing the song in a pub. I didn’t know what he was signing because it was all in Spanish. But I just remember it being ridiculously catchy. I then looked into it more and discovered it was called Le Mano de Dios.
‘That basically translates as “Hand of God”. I just thought: “This is perfect, I’m going to do something with this”.
‘I released a song for the Euros in 2021 called Our Moment. That did all right, but I was in that mindset of wanting to keep making songs for Scotland whenever we got to a major tournament.
‘As soon as we qualified for Euro 2024, I started working on it. I loved the melody and how catchy it was, I just tried to make it a wee bit more upbeat and more Scottish with my own lyrics.
‘There’s no way I could have predicted how big the song would become and the way it went viral. It’s pretty much a staple tune now for the Tartan Army.
No Scotland No Party has become the unofficial anthem of the Tartan Army in recent years
‘The new version for the World Cup has been updated with some new lyrics to reference the fact we’ll be in America and stuff like that.
‘The song is pretty well-established in Scotland now. I would love it if the Americans and other countries really get into it as well and for it to really go to a new level. That would be brilliant.
‘There will eventually come a time when I will move on from it and hopefully be able to do other things with my music. But hopefully it’ll always be there as a staple Tartan Army song and a World Cup song. I’ve loved it.’
Morgan will be heading out to Boston and Miami and will be playing in all the usual Tartan Army fanzones, as well as keeping some free time to actually soak it all up and enjoy himself.
It has been a chaotic period, but the memories over these past few years are something he will cherish for the rest of his life.
We Have A Dream will forever be the quintessential Scotland song, written for Ally MacLeod and his players as they left for Argentina in 1978.
There have been others, such as Del Amitri’s Don’t Come Home Too Soon, which was written for France ‘98.
If the Euros is anything to go by, Morgan’s updated version could become another smash-hit over these next few weeks.
Scotland fans have a dream and are hoping they don’t come home too soon from the States
‘We Have A Dream is hard to beat,’ he says. ‘I love playing that live in gigs. I think that’ll always be the No 1 for Scotland fans.
‘I have been so busy recently. It’s been pretty crazy and chaotic trying to keep up with emails and phone calls and everything else for different events I’m doing.
‘I am heading out to Boston on June 12. I’ll be there for the first two games against Haiti and Morocco and then going to Miami for Brazil.
‘I don’t have tickets for any of the games yet but I’m still looking into it. I’ve heard the prices are starting to come down a bit, so you never know.
‘I will be playing music in some of the fanzones, but I also want to keep some free time to actually enjoy it as well. It’s just brilliant to be part of it all.’
Nick Morgan’s World Cup tour has been sponsored by Connekt EV Charging, the UK’s leading commercial EV charging provider.
