New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead, the song that has been at the centre of an online campaign by opponents of
Baroness Thatcher, has failed to reach the number one spot in the music charts.
The Wizard of Oz song reached No 2 after selling 52,605 copies. However it was still over 5,700 copies behind
Duke Dumont and A*M*E with Need U, which remained at the top for a second week.
The 1979 song by punk band
Notsensibles sold 8,768 copies after a late push from Lady Thatcher fans and it entered at 35.
Radio 1's chart show played a seven-second clip of the song from The Wizard of Oz! The BBC radio show that plays out the weekly hit list has only played two 5 second clips of the song 'Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead' for fear of offending people in what is being seen as a compromise to free speech.
Asked about the furore over the BBC playing a song mocking her death which protesters have forced to the top of the UK charts, Lord Parkinson said: "Margaret Thatcher probably would have preferred to watch Songs of Praise or something but I don't think it would have upset her because when you are as strong a character as she is, you are going to create divisions. I don't mind people disapproving of her, but what I do object to is the idea that she personally destroyed industries."
BBC
Radio 1's controller, Ben Cooper, defended his decision not to play the full song, saying: "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. I think there's a large part of the population that finds it disrespectful but then on the other hand you have a part of society which has decided to demonstrate in this way. If I wasn't to play it then I would be seen as banning it and that would bring up issues of freedom of speech and censorship."
The Official Charts Company said Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead was 'one of the most controversial chart contenders of all time' following the death of Lady Thatcher last week.
According to BBC News, the corporation refused to play God Save the
Queen by the
Sex Pistols when it was in the charts during the Queen's
Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977.
Free speech is a global right. There's absolutely no question that the BBC have to played Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead on its chart show yesterday. Yes, some people found it offensive, but that wasn't a good reason to ban it. One of the costs of living in a free society is that you're going to be offended from time to time by your fellow citizens and it would be an insult to the memory of
Margaret Thatcher, a warrior in the cause of liberty.
The BBC banned the song on grounds of "taste" or "decency": as you everybody know better, censorship is fascism. The BBC is not what it once was!
