Witch song 'gave voice to people'

A protester behind the move to get Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead to number one in the charts has claimed the campaign has been a success as it has "given a voice" to opponents of Baroness Thatcher.

Satirist Mark Biddiss said he had received "amazing" support from the public and criticised the BBC for choosing to play only a five-second clip of the song as part of a news item during the Radio 1 chart show.

"It has been ridiculous how this has been portrayed. At the end of the day people were trying to get a voice," he told ITV Day break. "That song must have hit a nerve because people didn't have a voice. They have a voice now. Number one in Scotland, number one in Wales," he said.

"I must say the public have been absolutely supportive. It has been absolutely amazing. It has been worth the occasional death threat I had and the 'I am a lefty music producer'- I am a satirist, and that is all," he added.

His remarks come after the song failed to reach the number one spot in the UK chart with the recording, taken from 1939 film The Wizard Of Oz, entering the charts at number two.

It was more than 5,000 sales short of this week's chart-topper Need U (100%) by Duke Dumont featuring A*M*E.

The Official Charts Company described Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead as "one of the most controversial chart contenders of all time".

Sales were fuelled by an online campaign organised by opponents of the former prime minister, who wanted to see the 51-second song reach number one.

It entered the charts at number 54 on Tuesday, the day after Baroness Thatcher's death, and climbed to number 10 on Wednesday. By Thursday, it had reached number four and was at number three by Friday.

There was a final rush of 18,000 sales after Friday morning and Sunday, the Official Charts Company said, but its final total was 52,605 copies - 5,700 behind Duke Dumont, which achieved 58,321 sales in the past week.