'Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead' closer to number one spot as it reaches top five following Margaret Thatcher's death

 

Lady Thatcher’s death could propel The Wizard Of Oz track "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead to the top of the charts.

Those who saw her death as a cause for celebration have prompted a download surge for the track.

Within 48 hours of the former Prime Minister’s death, the song has entered the official UK chart at number 10.

It is expected to climb higher as a result of a Facebook campaign being set up to encourage sales.

The Facebook group, encouraging people to download the "Witch" song to get it to number one, already had 664 members and was originally set up back in July 2007.

The BBC said it would decide whether to play Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead during Radio 1's top 40 countdown when places are finalised this weekend.

In a statement it said: "The Official Chart Show on Sunday is a historical and factual account of what the British public has been buying and we will make a decision about playing it when the final chart positions are clear."

The song was written by EY Harburg and composed by Harold Arlen and featured in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

A song specifically written to attack Lady Thatcher, "Tramp The Dirt Down" by Elvis Costello, also rose to 79 on the iTunes chart.

Respect MP George Galloway tweeted the title of the 1988 song, which includes the lyrics: “When they finally put you in the ground, they’ll stand there laughing and tramp the dirt down.”

Entrepreneurial fashion outlets were quick to cash in on the death. One boutique in Shoreditch, east London, placed T-shirts featuring Warhol-style portraits of Lady Thatcher in its window.

The Redbubble online clothing store was selling black and white T-shirts featuring a stark portrait of the politician with the word “DEAD” below, for £15.

However there appears to be a limit to the public appetite for all things Thatcher-related. A peak-time BBC1 90-minute obituary, narrated by Andrew Marr and broadcast on Monday night, attracted fewer than 3 million viewers. News bulletins providing blanket coverage of the death failed to record a viewing rise.

Britain’s first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died at the Ritz hotel in London on Monday following a stroke. She was 87.

Arts and Entertainment
television
Arts and Entertainment
Sam Smith for 'In the Lonely'
music
Arts and Entertainment

Film

Arnold Schwarzenegger says 'I'll be back', promptly commits suicide

Arts and Entertainment
Benedict Cumberbatch arrives for the The Imitation Game Los Angeles Special Screening, hosted By Chanel at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles, California, on 10 November, 2014

Film

Arts and Entertainment
books
PROMOTED VIDEO
Have you tried new the Independent Digital Edition apps?
Arts and Entertainment

ebooksNow available in paperback
Arts and Entertainment

ebooks
Arts and Entertainment
Queen Ariadne takes over Atlantis after the death of her father King Midas
tvReview: Much like the Hollywood franchise, there were battles in the arena and a love triangle this week
Arts and Entertainment
The starship in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
filmsThe first glimpse of JJ Abrams' new film has been released online
News
The Speaker of the House will takes his turn as guest editor of the Today programme
arts + ents
Arts and Entertainment
The cast of Downton Abbey in the 2014 Christmas special
TV
Arts and Entertainment
Jude Law in Black Sea

film

In Black Seahe is as audiences have never seen him before

Arts and Entertainment
Johnny Depp no longer cares if people criticise his movie flops

film

Arts and Entertainment
Full circle: Wu-Tang’s Method Man Getty

Music review

Arts and Entertainment
When he was king: Muhammad Ali training in 'I Am Ali'
film
Arts and Entertainment
Joel Edgerton, John Turturro and Christian Bale in Exodus: Gods and Kings
film Ridley Scott reveals truth behind casting decisions of Exodus
Arts and Entertainment
An unseen image of Kurt Cobain at home featured in the film 'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'
filmThe singers widow and former bandmates have approved project
Arts and Entertainment
Jake Quickenden and Edwina Currie are joining the I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! camp
tv
Arts and Entertainment
George Mpanga has been shortlisted for the Critics’ Choice prize
music
Arts and Entertainment
Roisin, James and Sanjay in the boardroom
tvReview: This week's failing project manager had to go
Arts and Entertainment

Film

Arts and Entertainment
Metallica are heading for the Main Stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals next summer

Music

Arts and Entertainment
TV
Arts and Entertainment

books
Arts and Entertainment
Tony breaks into Ian Garrett's yacht and makes a shocking discovery
TVReview: Revelations continue to make this drama a tough watch
Arts and Entertainment
The party's over: Paul Higgins and Stella Gonet in 'Hope' at the Royal Court

theatre
Arts and Entertainment
Brendan O'Carroll as Agnes Brown in the 2014 Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas special

Broadcaster unveils Christmas schedule

TV
Latest stories from i100
Have you tried new the Independent Digital Edition apps?

ES Rentals

    Independent Dating
    and  

    By clicking 'Search' you
    are agreeing to our
    Terms of Use.

    Homeless Veterans appeal: 'It took a lot of help for me to find my voice'

    Homeless Veterans appeal

    Ex-soldier Michael Crossan was able to get off the streets and develop his skills as an artist thanks to Veterans Aid
    Building a British naval base in Bahrain is a 'symbolic choice' – for no clear reason

    Building a British naval base in Bahrain is a 'symbolic choice' – for no clear reason

    The authoritarian kingdom where doctors are tortured is a strange place for this £15m investment, says Patrick Cockburn
    Smart farmers call in the gleaners: Volunteers are salvaging crops that supermarkets refuse to take – and giving them to food charities

    Smart farmers call in the gleaners

    Volunteers are salvaging crops that supermarkets refuse to take – and giving them to food charities
    Shmuley Boteach: Sex, Sainsbury's, celebrity... and anti-Semitism

    Shmuley Boteach: Sex, Sainsbury's, celebrity... and anti-Semitism

    The self-proclaimed 'Rabbi of America', says Britain has grown worryingly anti-Israel – and he wants us to listen to him
    The best and worst restaurants of 2014: From delicious dishes and sensational service to eating in the dark and bullies in the kitchen

    The best and worst restaurants of 2014

    From delicious dishes and sensational service to eating in the dark and bullies in the kitchen
    Britain branches out: Shoppers reject imported Christmas trees in favour of home-grown ones

    Britain branches out

    Shoppers reject imported Christmas trees in favour of home-grown ones
    Stephen Hawking right about dangers of AI... but for the wrong reasons, says eminent computer expert

    Stephen Hawking right about dangers of AI...

    ... but for the wrong reasons, says eminent computer expert
    Ed Harris: The actor on painting houses, smashing chairs and learning not to be so terse

    Ed Harris opens up

    The actor on painting houses, smashing chairs and learning not to be so terse
    Eric Garner 'chokehold' death: A grand jury blind to the evidence before it

    A grand jury blind to the evidence before it

    The decision not to bring charges after the death of a black man in police custody suggests a fatal flaw in the system, says Rupert Cornwell
    Oh, what a circus Jeremy Thorpe's Liberals were...

    Oh, what a circus Jeremy Thorpe's Liberals were...

    The Seventies' party was quite unlike its modern successor. It really believed in pluralism and tolerance, says DJ Taylor
    The 12 food trends of Christmas: From mince-pie cocktails to deep-fried crackling

    The 12 food trends of Christmas

    Flavourless white turkey and mushy sprouts with a cava chaser? No more! Make this year’s celebrations the foodiest ever...
    Bill Granger recipes: Our chef banishes the grey-sky blues with his soul-warming Asian feast

    Bill Granger's Asian feast

    From sticky ribs to earthy shiitake, our chef likes to see off the cold weather with steaming bowls of Asian comfort food
    Southampton vs Manchester United: Why Ronald Koeman and Louis van Gaal will never be friends

    Why Koeman and Van Gaal will never be friends

    As the Dutch managers prepare to go head to head in the Premier League, Miguel Delaney explores their relationship
    The Last Word: Candidate Sebastian Coe must demand that doping is a criminal offence

    Michael Calvin's Last Word

    Candidate Coe must demand that doping is a criminal offence
    Al-Jazeera journalists imprisoned by Egypt to ‘teach Qatar a lesson’ for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood

    Al-Jazeera journalists imprisoned by Egypt to ‘teach Qatar a lesson’

    Mohamed Fahmy, one of three reporters held in a Cairo prison, has written to Robert Fisk to outline his grievances against his employers