Lloyd Webber's Ding Dong! royalties: Composer is earning money from Wizard of Oz song downloads that anti-Thatcher activists are trying to get to No.1
Lord Lloyd-Webber, the prominent
Conservative and admirer of Baroness Thatcher, is inadvertently
profiting from a campaign to get Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead to the top
of the charts.
The composer, who will attend Mrs Thatcher’s funeral this week, is gaining royalties from downloads of his Wizard Of Oz stage musical version of the song that anti-Thatcher activists are trying to get to No1.
Downloads of the song from the music mogul’s 2011 West End production are outselling that from the 1939 Wizard Of Oz film on one of the country’s most popular download sites.
And for each 99p download of the Lloyd Webber version, it is understood his company, The Really Useful Group, receives royalties for copyright – although it is unclear how much.
Music download website, 7digital said the recording by Lloyd Webber’s cast at the London Palladium was outselling the original film version because it shows up first on its search engine.
The website would not confirm how many people had downloaded the track, but a spokesman said it was in the hundreds.
Last night, other leading music websites, iTunes, Amazon and eMusic, did not respond to requests by The Mail on Sunday asking how many times the Lloyd Webber version had been downloaded.
The song has however already topped the iTunes and Amazon charts for several days. In the midweek Official Singles Chart it was listed at number 10 and is on course to be number one after selling more than 10,600 copies.
It came as elderly actors who played Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz have told of their shock at the campaign to propel Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead to the top of the charts in the wake of Baroness Thatcher's death.
Ruth Duccini, 94, and Jerry Maren, 91, who sang the song as part of the classic family film's cast of munchkins, said it was 'terrible' that the song had been hijacked by critics of the former prime minister, who died at the Ritz on Monday.
'Nobody deserves to be treated in such a way... I am ashamed I really am,' Ms Duccini said.
'When we were filming the movie no one intended it to be used in this way,' she told the Sun from her home in the U.S, adding that the campaign made her 'very sad'.
Mr Maren, who also appeared in the Judy Garland film, agreed, adding: 'It is shocking that the song is being used to celebrate the death of someone.' He described Baroness Thatcher as a 'great lady'.
The pair spoke out after the BBC was accused of fudging the decision over whether to play the track during the chart show on Radio 1 this weekend.
The song is climbing the charts after critics of the former Conservative prime minister launched an online campaign to get it to the number one spot as a means of 'celebrating' her death.
Allies of Lady Thatcher have branded the campaign 'utterly disrespectful', and have urged the BBC not to play the song. But the corporation has confirmed it will play a 'brief excerpt' of the track during the chart show following hours of private talks.
The composer, who will attend Mrs Thatcher’s funeral this week, is gaining royalties from downloads of his Wizard Of Oz stage musical version of the song that anti-Thatcher activists are trying to get to No1.
Downloads of the song from the music mogul’s 2011 West End production are outselling that from the 1939 Wizard Of Oz film on one of the country’s most popular download sites.
And for each 99p download of the Lloyd Webber version, it is understood his company, The Really Useful Group, receives royalties for copyright – although it is unclear how much.
Music download website, 7digital said the recording by Lloyd Webber’s cast at the London Palladium was outselling the original film version because it shows up first on its search engine.
The website would not confirm how many people had downloaded the track, but a spokesman said it was in the hundreds.
Last night, other leading music websites, iTunes, Amazon and eMusic, did not respond to requests by The Mail on Sunday asking how many times the Lloyd Webber version had been downloaded.
The song has however already topped the iTunes and Amazon charts for several days. In the midweek Official Singles Chart it was listed at number 10 and is on course to be number one after selling more than 10,600 copies.
It came as elderly actors who played Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz have told of their shock at the campaign to propel Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead to the top of the charts in the wake of Baroness Thatcher's death.
Ruth Duccini, 94, and Jerry Maren, 91, who sang the song as part of the classic family film's cast of munchkins, said it was 'terrible' that the song had been hijacked by critics of the former prime minister, who died at the Ritz on Monday.
'Nobody deserves to be treated in such a way... I am ashamed I really am,' Ms Duccini said.
Campaign: The song Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead
from the iconic family film is climbing the charts in the wake of
Baroness Thatcher's death
'Ashamed': Ruth Duccini, 94, left, and Jerry Maren, 91, right, described the use of the song as 'shocking'
Mr Maren, who also appeared in the Judy Garland film, agreed, adding: 'It is shocking that the song is being used to celebrate the death of someone.' He described Baroness Thatcher as a 'great lady'.
The pair spoke out after the BBC was accused of fudging the decision over whether to play the track during the chart show on Radio 1 this weekend.
The song is climbing the charts after critics of the former Conservative prime minister launched an online campaign to get it to the number one spot as a means of 'celebrating' her death.
Allies of Lady Thatcher have branded the campaign 'utterly disrespectful', and have urged the BBC not to play the song. But the corporation has confirmed it will play a 'brief excerpt' of the track during the chart show following hours of private talks.
'Utterly disrespectful': Jerry Maren, 91, who
played a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz, said Baroness Thatcher (seen with
her son Mark) was a 'great lady'
The full page advert was taken out by the firm
that was Saatchi & Saatchi in The Sunday Times today. Lady Thatcher
used the firm to help rocket her to power
