Will radio play anti-Thatcher chart song?

There’s no official word yet from BBC Radio 1 or Global Radio, distributor of Big Top 40 show, on whether the anti-Thatcher song will air this week.

New BBC Director General Lord Hall told BBC staff yesterday that he was closely watching the situation, but that the final decision would be made by Radio 1 Controller Ben Cooper.

Radio 1 has refused to play a chart tune before, in 1977 when it didn’t play the Sex Pistols’ song ‘God Save the Queen’ during the Silver Jubilee celebrations.

In commercial radio, the networked Big Top 40 is committed to playing the 10 songs which are in the top 10 on iTunes at 6pm Sunday. We’re awaiting a comment from Global Radio which produces the show at Capital FM in London.

The 51-second song Ding Dong The Witch is Dead comes from the ‘Wizard of Oz, which has sold more than 20,000 copies. It is currently number one on iTunes and is set to become the shortest top 10 single ever at just 51 seconds long.

The Daily Mail reports MPs from both Labour and the Conservative party are 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.