Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead fails to hit number one in singles chart but BBC still plays offending lyrics
The BBC provoked outrage yesterday by playing an offensive song propelled into the charts by enemies of Baroness Thatcher.
Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead failed to reach the number one spot. The recording, taken from 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, entered the charts at number two and BBC Radio 1's official chart show only played a five second clip of the song.
Former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth said: ‘Like all Margaret Thatcher’s opponents, the people behind this song have failed to get to No 1.’
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However the man behind the Facebook campaign, Mark Biddiss, said he was 'ecstatic' that the song made the top five.
It was more than 5,000 sales short of this week's chart-topper Need U (100%) by Duke Dumont featuring A*M*E.
The clip played on Radio 1 contained the controversial lyrics: 'Ding Dong the witch is dead. Which old witch? The wicked witch. Ding Dong, the wicked witch is dead.'
Radio 1 presenter Jameela Jamil handed over to music reporter Sinead Garvan, who said: 'Tributes poured in from around the world when (Margaret Thatcher) died, but there were also people throwing street parties across the UK.
'Like much of Margaret Thatcher's political career, this song has divided opinion.'
She then outlined that Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper had decided not to play the entire song and invited listeners to log onto the radio station's Newsbeat page to see his reasons.
On the page he said: 'I am not going to play it in full but I will play a clip of it. You have very difficult and emotional arguments on both sides of the fence.
'Let's not forget you also have a family that is grieving for a loved one who is yet to be buried.'
Biddiss, 39, defended his actions, which he says has seen him receive death threats. He said: 'I'm ecstatic. We have got people talking across the world.
'Hopefully people will start listening. There is a lot of pent-up frustration and the group was made up of people mainly over 40 who come from all walks of life who felt frustrated by Margaret Thatcher's policies and that her history has been airbrushed after she died.
'She's being lauded as our greatest ever leader, which is not correct. What she did in the UK and her policies are very much in evidence today and caused a lot of pain.
'It has been ridiculous how this has been portrayed. At the end of the day people were trying to get a voice.
'That song must have hit a nerve because people didn't have a voice. They have a voice now. Number one in Scotland, number one in Wales,' he said.
'I must say the public have been absolutely supportive. It has been absolutely amazing. It has been worth the occasional death threat I had and the 'I am a lefty music producer'- I am a satirist, and that is all,' he added.
'No one has been disrespectful to the children and grandchildren. I hope people show respect when it comes to the funeral. This is a lady, this is a person.'
However Tory MP Philip Davies added: ‘The whole campaign has been small-minded and ridiculous.
‘When you put this lot against the towering achievements of Mrs Thatcher, you see what a pathetic bunch they are.’
The Official Charts Company described Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead as 'one of the most controversial chart contenders of all time'.
There was a final rush of 18,000 sales between Friday morning and yesterday, the Official Charts Company said, but its final total was 52,605 copies - 5,700 behind Duke Dumont, which achieved 58,321 sales in the past week.
An Official Charts Company spokeswoman said it had been a 'relatively quiet' week for sales however, with the average sale of a number one in 2012 being just under 106,000 copies.
Some Tory MPs demanded the BBC ban the song - but others warned that politicians should not interfere in the choice of records played by broadcasters.
New BBC Director General Tony Hall has explained the broadcaster's decision to only play a five-second clip of the song as part of a news item during the Radio 1 chart show, saying: 'I personally believe it is distasteful and inappropriate.
'However I do believe it would be wrong to ban the song outright as free speech is an important principle and a ban would only give it more publicity.'
On Friday UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: 'If you suppress things then you make them popular, so play the b***** thing. If you ban it it will be number one for weeks.
'Personally I think that the behaviour of these yobs - most of whom weren’t even born when Lady Thatcher was in power - is horrible, offensive and disgusting'.
Despite failing to reach the top spot, Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead has broken a new record by becoming the shortest top 10 single of all time and is the only one in history to be under a minute long.
Punk song I'm In Love With Margaret Thatcher by the Notsensibles, which was featured in recent film The Iron Lady, also entered the top 40 yesterday.
The 1979 single reached number 35 after a push from fans of Lady Thatcher in response to Ding Dong The Witch is Dead and sold 8,768 copies.
Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead failed to reach the number one spot. The recording, taken from 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, entered the charts at number two and BBC Radio 1's official chart show only played a five second clip of the song.
Former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth said: ‘Like all Margaret Thatcher’s opponents, the people behind this song have failed to get to No 1.’
Scroll down for video
Controversial hit: The Wizard Of Oz track which has had a surge of
popularity in the wake of Baroness Thatcher's death went to number 2 in
the official charts
Online push: A message running on the Facebook group which has been set up to push the song in this week's chart
Campaign: Protester Mark Biddiss says he is 'ecstatic' the song hit number two in the charts
The clip played on Radio 1 contained the controversial lyrics: 'Ding Dong the witch is dead. Which old witch? The wicked witch. Ding Dong, the wicked witch is dead.'
Radio 1 presenter Jameela Jamil handed over to music reporter Sinead Garvan, who said: 'Tributes poured in from around the world when (Margaret Thatcher) died, but there were also people throwing street parties across the UK.
'Like much of Margaret Thatcher's political career, this song has divided opinion.'
She then outlined that Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper had decided not to play the entire song and invited listeners to log onto the radio station's Newsbeat page to see his reasons.
On the page he said: 'I am not going to play it in full but I will play a clip of it. You have very difficult and emotional arguments on both sides of the fence.
'Let's not forget you also have a family that is grieving for a loved one who is yet to be buried.'
Biddiss, 39, defended his actions, which he says has seen him receive death threats. He said: 'I'm ecstatic. We have got people talking across the world.
'Hopefully people will start listening. There is a lot of pent-up frustration and the group was made up of people mainly over 40 who come from all walks of life who felt frustrated by Margaret Thatcher's policies and that her history has been airbrushed after she died.
'She's being lauded as our greatest ever leader, which is not correct. What she did in the UK and her policies are very much in evidence today and caused a lot of pain.
'It has been ridiculous how this has been portrayed. At the end of the day people were trying to get a voice.
'That song must have hit a nerve because people didn't have a voice. They have a voice now. Number one in Scotland, number one in Wales,' he said.
'I must say the public have been absolutely supportive. It has been absolutely amazing. It has been worth the occasional death threat I had and the 'I am a lefty music producer'- I am a satirist, and that is all,' he added.
The BBC played part of the 1939 tune during
Radio 1's top 40 countdown, hosted by Jameela Jamil, left. It was
beaten by the week’s biggest selling single, Need U (100%) by Duke
Dumont, right, FT A*M*E
When
asked what Baroness Thatcher's children might feel when hearing the
news, he said: 'I don't think they'll be happy but they are aware the
consensus was she divided opinion.
'No one has been disrespectful to the children and grandchildren. I hope people show respect when it comes to the funeral. This is a lady, this is a person.'
However Tory MP Philip Davies added: ‘The whole campaign has been small-minded and ridiculous.
‘When you put this lot against the towering achievements of Mrs Thatcher, you see what a pathetic bunch they are.’
The Official Charts Company described Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead as 'one of the most controversial chart contenders of all time'.
Place in the charts: The song is the shortest top 10 single ever, with the most popular version running to 51 seconds
It entered the charts at number 54 on
Tuesday, the day after Baroness Thatcher's death, and climbed to number
10 on Wednesday. By Thursday, it had reached number four and was at
number three by Friday.There was a final rush of 18,000 sales between Friday morning and yesterday, the Official Charts Company said, but its final total was 52,605 copies - 5,700 behind Duke Dumont, which achieved 58,321 sales in the past week.
An Official Charts Company spokeswoman said it had been a 'relatively quiet' week for sales however, with the average sale of a number one in 2012 being just under 106,000 copies.
Some Tory MPs demanded the BBC ban the song - but others warned that politicians should not interfere in the choice of records played by broadcasters.
New BBC Director General Tony Hall has explained the broadcaster's decision to only play a five-second clip of the song as part of a news item during the Radio 1 chart show, saying: 'I personally believe it is distasteful and inappropriate.
'However I do believe it would be wrong to ban the song outright as free speech is an important principle and a ban would only give it more publicity.'
New director general Tony Hall defended playing
the clip, saying: 'I do believe it would be wrong to ban the song
outright as free speech is an important principle and a ban would only
give it more publicity'
Former
Tory MP Louise Mensch tweeted: 'It's so good to see that #HopeNotHate
triumphed and #DingDidnt flopped at the fence. Much like her opponents
in life :) #Thatcher'On Friday UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: 'If you suppress things then you make them popular, so play the b***** thing. If you ban it it will be number one for weeks.
'Personally I think that the behaviour of these yobs - most of whom weren’t even born when Lady Thatcher was in power - is horrible, offensive and disgusting'.
Despite failing to reach the top spot, Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead has broken a new record by becoming the shortest top 10 single of all time and is the only one in history to be under a minute long.
Punk song I'm In Love With Margaret Thatcher by the Notsensibles, which was featured in recent film The Iron Lady, also entered the top 40 yesterday.
The 1979 single reached number 35 after a push from fans of Lady Thatcher in response to Ding Dong The Witch is Dead and sold 8,768 copies.