What movie anthem do British commuters rely on to get them pumped up for work?
'Rocky III' theme tune 'Eye of the Tiger' has been crowned the top motivational tune for the dreaded commute.
Survivor's 'Rocky III' theme song 'Eye of the Tiger' has been crowned the top commuter track.
The 1982 rock anthem was inspired by a line in the iconic sports drama film by Sylvester Stallone's alter-ego Rocky Balboa's boxing coach Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), who says: "You had that eye of the tiger, man, the edge... You gotta get it back."
The Grammy winning tune - which won Best Rock Performance at the 1983 ceremony – has long been a go-to for those needing some motivation and a new survey by National Rail found 36 per cent of 2,000 Britons would pick 'Eye of the Tiger' to kick-start their day.
Stallone, 78, famously wanted Queen’s ‘Another Bites The Dust’ as the theme song for the blockbuster but settled for Survivor’s tune instead.
Queen have made the list twice, with ‘I Want to Break Free’ being chosen by 23 per cent of the commuters and their David Bowie collaboration ‘Under Pressure’ was picked by 1 in 5 of those surveyed.
The Top 30 list also includes Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’, Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’, ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams, Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Gotta Feeling’, ‘Manic Monday’ by The Bangles, and ‘I’m Still Standing’ by Sir Elton John.
Plus, a more recent hit in Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Espresso’.
The survey also established that 43 per cent of people who work in HR “vibe” to R'n'B tunes, IT experts have a penchant for electronic and instrumental music (67 per cent) and PR and marketing professional (22 per cent) prefer indie anthems.
What's more, builders (23 per cent) love to groove to disco and 1 in 10 bankers listen to heavy metal.
Jacqueline Starr, CEO of Rail Delivery Group, commented: “Our research shows that music is a favourite way for many of our customers to pass the time on their journey, whether it's to energise them on the way to work or help them relax on the way home. To celebrate 2025 marking 200 years since the birth of the modern railway we’re making it easier for commuters to discover new music for their commuter playlists, and the health and wellbeing benefits that comes with listening to a variety of music on your train commute.”
Britain’s Top Commuting Tunes:
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor – 36 per cent
9 to 5 by Dolly Parton – 28 per cent
Happy by Pharrell Williams – 24 per cent
I Gotta Feeling by the Black-Eyed Peas – 24 per cent
Manic Monday by The Bangles – 24 per cent
I’m Still Standing by Elton John – 23 per cent
I Want to Break Free by Queen – 23 per cent
Lose Yourself by Eminem – 23 per cent
Work by Rihanna ft. Drake – 22 per cent
I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor – 22 per cent
Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter – 21 per cent
Shake It Off by Taylor Swift – 20 per cent
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse – 21 per cent
Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie – 20 per cent
I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston – 20 per cent
Money For Nothing by Dire Straits – 18 per cent
We Are the Champions by Queen – 18 per cent
Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey – 18 per cent
Firestarter by The Prodigy – 18 per cent
Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves – 17 per cent
Blinding Lights by The Weeknd – 17 per cent
Dreams by Fleetwood Mac – 17 per cent
Tiny Dancer by Elton John – 16 per cent
Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles – 15 per cent
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – 15 per cent
As it Was by Harry Styles – 15 per cent
Survivor by Destiny’s Child – 15 per cent
Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley – 14 per cent
Stronger by Kayne West – 14 per cent
Born Slippy by Underworld - 14 per cent
