| |
Chart Listings: Thatcher's Death Spurs Sales of Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
Member Since: 2/15/2012
Posts: 15,569
|
Thatcher's Death Spurs Sales of Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
Through Popular Viral Campaign, "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" flies up UK iTunes charts
Quote:
Margaret Thatcher, the divisive former Prime Minister who died of a stroke on Monday afternoon, may have another musical footnote to her legacy next week: chart catalyst.
A macabre Facebook campaign, titled "Make 'Ding dong the witch is dead' number 1 the week Thatcher dies" and which launched yesterday, has been driving sales of the "Wizard of Oz" classic, originally sung by Judy Garland, in the wake of less-than-fond remembrances from the likes of Morrissey and an outpouring of anti-Thatcher sentiment online.
The Official Charts Company, the industry standard charts provider for the U.K., wrote today that three versions of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" are currently placing in the Top 200 songs chart, with Judy Garland's recording at No. 54, Ella Fitzgerald's 1961 version at No. 146 and the Munchkins' cover at No. 183. Combined, they would place the song at No. 40 with 2,500 in combined sales. As OCC points out, however, Judy Garland's original will "likely… move into the Official Singles Chart Top 40 in its own right by Sunday if it maintains its current momentum."
According to iTunes sales aggregator LivePopBars, Garland's version is currently the digital retailer's second most popular song, sandwiched between Pitbull and Justin Timberlake (when we started writing this story it was at No. 5).
Meanwhile, British artists have been taking to the web to express their admiration -- at least in the case of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell -- and disdain for Thatcher. One tweet in particular seems especially prescient now, from Welsh band Los Campesinos:
Another anti-Thatcher tune, Elvis Costello's "Tramp the Dirt Down," is also making its way up the U.K.'s iTunes chart, currently sitting at No. 80. Referring to Thatcher, Costello sings: "When they finally put you in the ground / I'll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down."
The U.K. has in recent history incubated a strange, cheeky singles market that is seemingly more receptive to viral campaigns and humor -- especially at Christmas time. In 2012, for example, a novelty hit courtesy of Shahid Nazir's "One Pound Fish" came in at No. 29 after his market stall jingle became a viral hit on YouTube. In December 2011, the U.K.'s holiday charts were a race between the Military Wives, "The X Factor" and its yearly not-so-traditional holiday song competitor, a song recorded in 1960 about an Italian donkey and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the latter of which was elevated due to another Facebook campaign. Two years prior, Rage Against the Machine's song "Killing In the Name Of" was the beneficiary of another holiday-time social media campaign which eventually drove the song to #1 in the country and resulted in the band playing a free concert in London to celebrate the achievement.
|
http://www.billboard.com/articles/ne...cher-uk-charts
According to Kworb's website, the song currently stands as such in the UK.
2 Judy Garland (Et Al.) - Ding-Dong! the Witch Is Dead 0.7499
It is also at 13 in Ireland.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/20/2012
Posts: 11,332
|
We Brits are evil.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/29/2011
Posts: 2,087
|
The brits are tearing her apart even in death!
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/22/2011
Posts: 21,227
|
So rude, and vile.
Get some respect, please. 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 4/10/2012
Posts: 14,394
|
That's awful. Imagine how her family feels about this.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 2/4/2012
Posts: 2,817
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/28/2010
Posts: 7,399
|
OMG I don't know what to think.
On one hand this is SICK and DISGUSTING, but on the other hand my FAVE JUDY GARLAND is at #2 on UK iTunes!!!
So many mixed emotions right now.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 1/1/2013
Posts: 709
|
It's not the nicest thing. But maggie wasn't a nice woman herself.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 2/17/2010
Posts: 21,811
|
I had no idea she was that hated in Britain.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 11/3/2011
Posts: 2,770
|
this is nothing, you should of been on the streets last night people was celebrating/riotting all night 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 1/2/2012
Posts: 22,450
|
Disrespectful af.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 11/11/2010
Posts: 11,240
|
I knew the Brits still had it in them so proud.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/16/2010
Posts: 19,703
|
They did NOT
what? Is this the site similar to Kworb's? 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 11/9/2011
Posts: 12,849
|
Nothing compared to the celebration in Brixton. 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/30/2011
Posts: 10,415
|
Mess  Some people truly hated her..
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/7/2012
Posts: 16,235
|
Now what would happen if I said I want to celebrate when each one of them dies? 
Bit sad. Even journalists that were against her have said behind the politics and when the camera rolled, she was nice and friendly.
The thing is all these people should have celebrated WHEN she left office. They can hate her policies and what she believed but she was not evil. Celebrating at her death is wrong, celebrating when she was out of office isn't. That's when all this should have happened, not when an elderly woman dies from a stroke.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 1/24/2012
Posts: 3,704
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 3/15/2013
Posts: 8,406
|
I didn't really care about Margaret Thatcher, but people should show some respect, regardless of how much you dislike someone
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/28/2008
Posts: 13,266
|
News sites are reporting that it won't be eligible for the official chart, though, since the circumstances around it re-charting are too political.
The charts are also aired on the BBC, who without a doubt won't stand for this.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/28/2010
Posts: 7,399
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Dizzy
News sites are reporting that it won't be eligible for the official chart, though, since the circumstances around it re-charting are too political.
The charts are also aired on the BBC, who without a doubt won't stand for this. |
There is no way it can't chart.
If people buy it, then it is eligible to chart. Political songs have been allowed before, and this isn't even political.
They can't just ban all Judy Garland/Wizard of Oz songs from charting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
