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BBC 'witch song' insult to Maggie: Corporation to play single driven up by Thatcher haters

Song has now sold 20,000 copies since Thatcher's death on Monday
It has been pushed up the charts due to an internet campaign
The track, which costs 79p online, is currently No1 on iTunes
Also on course to become the shortest top 10 single ever at 51 seconds
BBC confirms a decision has not been made on whether to play it

By Alasdair Glennie and Tamara Cohen

PUBLISHED: 15:25, 11 April 2013 | UPDATED: 09:07, 12 April 2013

Three days before the funeral of Baroness Thatcher, the BBC plans to play the song Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead on national radio.

A campaign by Left-wing agitators has caused the song from the Wizard Of Oz to rise to number 4 in the midweek pop charts.

As well as rising up the official charts, the track, which costs 79p online, is currently No1 on iTunes.

In the past, songs deemed to be too controversial have been banned from the airwaves by the BBC.
Thatcher
FILM ' The Wizard Of Oz ' (1939) starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley.

Climbing up the charts: The Wizard Of Oz track which has had a surge of popularity in the wake of Baroness Thatcher's death is on course for a place in the top five
Online push: A message running on the Facebook group which has been set up to push the song to number one in this week's chart

Online push: A message running on the Facebook group which has been set up to push the song to number one in this week's chart

But insiders confirmed yesterday that, in a decision which will cause widespread outrage, Ding Dong! will feature in Radio 1's Sunday-evening Top 40 countdown.

Before it is played, it is planned to use a reporter from the BBC1 news programme Newsbeat to explain to the station's target audience of young listeners why the song has risen in the charts.

MPs from both Labour and the Conservative party united in saying it would be wrong to give airtime to a song denigrating our greatest peacetime Prime Minister less than a week after her death.

The ruling comes after accusations of 'Left-wing bias' over the BBC's coverage of Lady Thatcher's death. It could be the first major leadership test for new director general Tony Hall, the chairman of the Culture Media and Sport select committee warned last night.

John Whittingdale said: 'This is an attempt to manipulate the charts by people trying to make a political point. Most people will find that offensive and deeply insensitive, and for that reason it would be better if the BBC did not play it. It's a political act.
The Wizard Of Oz track which has had a surge of popularity in the wake of Baroness Thatcher's death is on course for a place in the top five.
Duke Dumont

The BBC will now need to decide if they will play the 1939 tune during Radio 1's top 40 countdown, hosted by Jameela Jamil, left. It is still some distance behind the week�s biggest selling single, Need U (100%) by Duke Dumont , right, FT A*M*E
Place in the charts: The song is also on course to become the shortest top 10 single ever, with the most popular version running to 51 seconds

Place in the charts: The song is also on course to become the shortest top 10 single ever, with the most popular version running to 51 seconds

The power of a Facebook campaign should not be underestimated.

In 2009 a Facebook campaign was designed to prevent another X Factor number one.

As a consequence Rock band Rage Against the Machine won the most competitive battle in years for the Christmas number one.

The band's single, Killing In The Name, sold 500,000 downloads beating X Factor winner Joe McElderry's The Climb by 50,000 copies to clinch the top spot.

'Sometimes the BBC has taken the decision not to play a record because it is offensive, such as the Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen, but that is a matter for the director general, who will be appearing before my committee in two weeks.'

Labour backbencher Gerry Sutcliffe added: 'Obviously nobody wants censorship of music or culture but there has to be dignity in death. While I disagreed with everything she stood for, she was a leader and a Prime Minister so I don't think it would be a good idea to promote that single.'

Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead was written for the soundtrack of the 1939 film The Wizard Of Oz and sung by Judy Garland, who played Dorothy, the Munchkins and Glinda the Good Witch, played by Billie Burke.

The song, written by E.Y. Harburg and composed by Harold Arlen, is sung as they celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the East after Dorothy 'dropped a house on her'. It includes the lyrics: 'Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead/She's gone where the goblins go/Below, below, below.'

Since Lady Thatcher died on Monday, it has become an anthem of hate for hordes of Left-wingers who have set up Facebook pages encouraging their friends to buy it.

Supporters of Lady Thatcher urged the public to download Madonna's song True Blue � the Whitehall codename for the preparations for her funeral � instead.
Decision

Decision: In what could be seen as the first major test for the new director general Tony Hall, the BBC will now have to take a decision about whether they will play the tune during Radio 1's top 40 countdown when places are finalised at the weekend

Conservative peer Baroness Buscombe said: 'So many of these people who are buying this song probably weren't even alive when she was turning this country from being entirely broke, with no future or prospects, into one giving us all hope and enterprise and inspiration. I think it's a great shame if people think it's the right thing to do to dance on her death.'

Tory MP Henry Smith said it would be 'silly and absurd' for the BBC to play the track on Sunday. He said: 'The song is in particularly poor taste. If I was the person in charge of making the decision I would choose not to play that track. However, it is ultimately irrelevant. Margaret Thatcher's towering reputation will survive this. She was someone who stood for freedom of expression, so we can't ban these sick and misguided protests.'

Another Conservative MP, Philip Davies, defended the BBC's decision, saying it had a duty to play the song on its chart show.

He said: 'It's a chart programme so if it's top of the charts they have to play it. It's not for the BBC to define on what basis something is in the charts.

'However I think this whole campaign is pretty pathetic really if the best these Left-wingers can achieve in their lives is to campaign for a song. Compared to Lady Thatcher's achievements around the world, it just shows what a fantastic Prime Minister she was that she defeated these people time and again and they are still bitter about it.'

In 1977 the BBC refused to play the Sex Pistols' anti-monarchy song God Save the Queen during the Silver Jubilee celebrations. It reached number one in the NME music magazine chart, but only number 2 in the official singles chart � selling 150,000 copies in its first week.

Yesterday BBC officials officially said no decision had yet been taken on whether to play Ding Dong! on the chart show. However, the corporation did not deny an online Guardian report that a decision had been made to play it if it remains in the top five.

This " song " has only reached a position in the charts by dint of a long and carefully orchestrated campaign based on violent hatred and disrespect for the deceased and it matters not who the person is who has died . If the BBC go ahead and broadcast it , I myself and several hundred thousands of others will interpret this as being a statement of direct support for militant anarchists , whose only desire is the annihilation of all that is decent in a civilised society . Suffice to say , the backlash will be strong , will be powerful and will be the end of this corrupt corporation , one that seems to have quietly rewritten it's charter . . I for one would welcome the final nail in the BBC coffin and I repeat , what appears to be a home to corruption , pedophiles , cover ups and what borders on Marxist self interest in its execution

For an impartial view, it's over to Arthur Scargill...

By Richard Littlejohn

PUBLISHED: 23:02, 11 April 2013 | UPDATED: 01:07, 12 April 2013

The BBC has been finalising the arrangements for Mrs Thatcher�s funeral. Let�s hope the coverage is more balanced than the predictable Left-wing propaganda pumped out in the wake of her death. And that it manages to rise above the level of the Corporation�s dismal performance on the day of the Queen�s Diamond Jubilee pageant. So what can we expect? This column has been leaked a copy of a confidential memo to staff from the BBC�s Acting Deputy Assistant Head of Ceremonial Affairs (Vision) . . .

Item: Funeral of the Lady Thatcher, Wednesday April 17. Draft schedule.

The eyes of the world will be on the BBC next week and it is therefore imperative that we uphold the Corporation�s global reputation for excellence and impartiality.

Lady Thatcher was a divisive figure, however, and we have a duty to reflect all shades of opinion. We also have a sacred mission both to explain and entertain, so it is vital we take pains to make this event relevant to all licence-payers.
What to expect? The BBC has been finalising the arrangements for Mrs Thatcher's funeral. Let's hope the coverage is more balanced than the predictable Left-wing propaganda pumped out in the wake of her death

What to expect? The BBC has been finalising the arrangements for Mrs Thatcher's funeral. Let's hope the coverage is more balanced than the predictable Left-wing propaganda pumped out in the wake of her death

As those of you who have been involved in the planning of our coverage over the past five years, ever since we first realised the old bat had completely lost her marbles, our original intention was to have the broadcast anchored by a much-loved television personality from the world of light entertainment.

Unfortunately, Jimmy Savile is no longer available and Clare Balding is doing the racing on Channel 4. So the steering committee has decided unanimously that our lead presenter will be the ever-popular Tess Daly, from Strictly, who will reach out across the audience spectrum and attract younger viewers.

She will be joined on the BBC�s bouncy castle at College Green, Westminster, by a rotating panel of completely impartial commentators, including Glenda Jackson and Polly Toynbee, who will be able to offer valuable insights into how Mrs Thatcher advanced the role of women in the workplace and where Pippa Middleton bought her frock.

Back at New Broadcasting House, Jeremy Vine, from the Jimmy Young Show, will be in our brand new virtual reality studio, providing his usual expert analysis.
Sir Jimmy Savile
Tess Daly

Unfortunately, Jimmy Savile is no longer available. So the steering committee has decided that the lead presenter will be Tess Daly, who will reach out across the audience spectrum and attract younger viewers

Jeremy will be dressed as a Twenties coal miner and will ask Arthur Scargill for his considered view of the devastating effect Mrs Thatcher�s evil economic policies had on millions of working people.

I have instructed our computer graphics department to mock up Thatcher, in full battle-dress, driving a tank through a typical Northern village � Durham, Stevenage, anywhere �Up North� will do � blasting homes and factories, and crushing screaming women and children to death.

(Memo to Sound: must remember to mix Hovis theme with Ride Of The Valkyries.)

As the funeral cortege makes its way along Whitehall, Matt Baker from The One Show will mingle with the crowds as they jeer Thatch on her final journey.

Can we put a bid in for that student from the �savage cuts� demo and ask him his opinion? You know, that rock star�s son who was sent to prison for swinging on the Cenotaph. Bryan Ferry�s boy wasn�t it? No, on second thoughts, he�s the pro-fox-hunting oik. We don�t want him on.
Jeremy Vine will be dressed as a Twenties coal miner and will ask Arthur Scargill (pictured) for his considered view of the devastating effect Mrs Thatcher's evil economic policies had on millions of working people

Jeremy Vine will be dressed as a Twenties coal miner and will ask Arthur Scargill (pictured) for his considered view of the devastating effect Mrs Thatcher's evil economic policies had on millions of working people

When the procession reaches the re-enactment of the poll tax riots in Trafalgar Square, the Blue Peter team will be on hand to demonstrate how to make a petrol bomb out of a washing-up liquid bottle, some sticky-backed plastic and a litre of four-star. Tess will then cross to Belfast where Gerry Adams will lead the armoured division of the Provisional IRA in a 21-Kalashnikov salute to start the celebrations.

(Memo to Talent: can we book Riverdance for this?)

As the cortege continues down the Strand, it will pause briefly to allow members of the Tufnell Park Stop The Cuts and Hang The Bankers Collective to smash in the front windows of the Queen�s bank Coutts � where Thatch is believed to have stashed billions of dollars in bribes she got from rich American oil barons in exchange for destroying the British coal industry.

Back at the bouncy castle, Alastair Campbell and Russell Brand will give a reasoned perspective on the Thatcher years and explain why she should have been imprisoned as a war criminal for invading the Malvinas, which obviously belong to Argentina.
Alastair Campbell
Russell Brand

Back at the bouncy castle, Alastair Campbell and Russell Brand will give a reasoned perspective on the Thatcher years and explain why she should have been imprisoned as a war criminal for invading the Malvinas

Campbell will produce a dossier of new evidence, which he has just downloaded off the internet, about the sinking of the Belgrano.

(Memo to Producers: we should try to balance this with a Tory MP, preferably that mad one with the bad wig who wants to bring back hanging. The viewers will hate him. Better still, put a bid in for that loony racist from UKIP. Porridge, or whatever his name is.)

After that, it�s a live link to the garden party in Battersea Park where Fearne Cotton will talk to a spokesperson from Trans Media Watch about the influence Thatcher�s distinctive signature fashion style and extensive range of handbags had on members of the cross-dressing community.

Fearne will also talk us through some of the souvenirs on sale, including a novelty Mrs Thatcher sick bag into which you can vomit at the mere mention of her name.
After the choir sing Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead, the Right Rev George Galloway will read from the Book of Twitter, Psalms 3, Verse 4: 'May she rot in hellfire'

After the choir sing Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead, the Right Rev George Galloway will read from the Book of Twitter, Psalms 3, Verse 4: 'May she rot in hellfire'

Tess is then joined on the bouncy castle by Ken Livingstone who will explain how Thatcher�s deeply divisive privatisation programme and council house sell-off forced some residents of Broadwater Farm to burn down their own estate and murder a copper. Don�t forget to play archive footage of Bernie Grant saying the police got �a bloody good hiding�.

Ken will then draw parallels with the �savage cuts� being introduced by the Coalition which caused the protests in Tottenham and across Britain two summers ago.

(Memo to Sound: something by The Clash should do it.)

By this time the cortege will have reached Fleet Street, which was reduced to rubble by Thatcher and the evil Rupert Murdoch. Let�s have the usual police brutality at Wapping stuff and an interview with someone from the print unions. Tony Dubbins, is he still alive?

As the cortege climbs Ludgate Hill, we go over to Zippy and Bungle from Rainbow with a pack of Girl Guides in �Say No To Page 3� T-shirts, all wearing grotesque Mrs Thatcher Spitting Image masks.

The coffin is carried into St Paul�s Cathedral past the recently reinstated Stop The City protest camp. Stephen Fry and Frankie Boyle take up the commentary. That vicar who writes for the Guardian explains why Thatch was the Devil Incarnate.

After the choir sing Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead, the Right Rev George Galloway will read from the Book of Twitter, Psalms 3, Verse 4: �May she rot in hellfire.�

Tony Blair will take to the pulpit and proclaim: �She was the People�s Prime Minister� before being yanked off with a bishop�s crook by Gordon Brown.

At the end of the ceremony the congregation will file out to that well-known hymn Tramp The Dirt Down by the composer Declan MacManus, son of the bloke who used to sing on Thatcher�s favourite TV commercial I�m A Secret Lemonade drinker.

But even though this is solemn occasion, it is also a day of celebration. Our cameras will be there as effigies of Thatch are burned on hillsides across the nation.

In the evening, we will stage a Jubilee-style concert in The Mall. We had hoped Johnny Rotten would top the bill but he has inexplicably turned us down.

UB40 and Morrissey have accepted, but unfortunately Rolf Harris is not available on Wednesday.