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A Bit Of Cash For The Harold Arlen Estate, A Bit Of A Headache For The Bbc....

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sp1814 | 05:46 Fri 12th Apr 2013 | News
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Should the BBC play 'Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead' on the chart show this weekend?

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead-closer-to-number-one-spot-as-it-reaches-top-five-following-margaret-thatchers-death-8566042.html

Other papers (The Daily Mail) have compared it to the situation back in 1977, where the Beeb banned 'God Save The Queen' by the Sex Pistols, but is this not different, as GSTQ was specifically written about Her Maj, where this is a song whose meaning has been hijacked.

Sounds like the BBC are caught between a rock, and a hard place. Play the song and incur the wrath of many...or don't play the song and face accusations of cowardice.

Me...if I were the Director General, I would question whether its worth handing some sections of the press an open goal...
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No no no it's all wrong wrong wrong....show some respect decorum and class please...most of these so called protesters were not even born in the day !!! Did I say NO ?
The Beeb would shoot themselves in the foot if they played it.

Avoiding it is not cowardice, but decorum. People power isn't always right.
does the Harold Arlen estate have any view on the hi-jacking of their asset in the making of an overtly political statement?
Question Author
mushroom25

No word from the Arlens at present.
I can't see the owners of a song being unduly concerned that it's making them money.
When New Labour adopted 'Things can only get better' as their campaign anthem I'm sure nobody objected.
Quite different connotations Sandy..
>>>most of these so called protesters were not even born in the day !!!

I have made that point on other forums.

"Young" people see film of the poll tax protests or the coal miners strike (both politically motivated by the socialist/communist left in an attempt to bring down the Tories) and think it was all like that during the 11 years in power.

Many of the advantages the "young" get today were because of things Thatcher did back then.

Before Thatcher came to power we had one huge organization looking after our phone system called the GPO (General Post office). This was a badly run, over manned, inefficient organization, and you wanted a phone you HAD to go through them. You were lucky if you got a phone within 6 months.

But the GPO became BT, was privatised, and now you can get your phone service from many companies. You can walk into many high street shops and buy a mobile phone on the same day.

Much of that is down to Thatcher.

But some morons who are dancing on her photos don't realise that.
Did she make the trains run on time, too?
Perhaps I should explain, for those not familiar with early 20th Cen. Italian politics, it was said of the dictator, Mussolini, that whatever his other failings he did at least make the trains run on time.
>>>Did she make the trains run on time, too?

No but she began the process of getting rid of British Rail (another badly run, inefficient, over manned organization that could not give a stuff about its passengers) and replace them with companies like Virgin Trains (and others) that DO care about customers and trains do now run on time.

I remember about 30 years ago trying to get a train on a Bank Holiday in some remote station. I got on the platform about 5 minutes before the train was due but it never turned up.

I had to wait about 2 hours for the next train (being a bank holiday) and when it came I complained to the ticket collector about the previous train and he shrugged his shoulders in a could not care less attitude and said the previous train had gone through the stations EARLY because there were so few passengers.

He did not care one jot I had had to wait two hours on the station platform.

THAT was what we had to put up with in many of these nationalized industries and Thatcher got rid of most of them.
I think it's childish and distasteful. No matter what your politics, have some respect. This woman has left a grieving family how about having some thought for them.
You rather assume that so many of these purchasers are young because it fits your prejudice of them.

I certainly remember very well the Thatcher years!

Frankly I think it's a brilliant protest against the half of the country that's trying to force the other half to show respect to someone who they despised

If it were a personal fulneral it would be a personal matter and I would

but a State fulneral is a chance for the country to show respect for someone for whom there is a general concensus of respect and this farce is a great example of what will happen if that's not the case.

Circling back to the question - No I don't think the BBC should play it - getting this to number 1 is an overtly political action and playing it would be too much taking sides and the BBC should be above that

Great to see it though
Question Author
sandyRoe

Also, D:Ream sanctioned the use of the track, and if I remember correctly, they performed live when Labour won in 1997.

Not sure if songwriters actually have the last day anyway (think it may be publishers).

I say that because the BNP licenced a Billy Bragg track for one of their fund-raising compilation CDs without his consent.

Mr Bragg was, understandably...upset.
Ratty - I'd have respect for it if it were a private matter of the familly.

It isn't - they're parading her through the streets of London draped in a flag on a gun carriage for Gods sake!

Those of us who didn't like her didn't start this

David Cameron started this when he decided on a state fulneral
'i'm going to protest against Thatcher by downloading a terrible tune from the wizard of oz onto my ipod. that'll show em.'

oh, the terror of the modern anarchist.

Question Author
I think JTP's right in concluding that the BBC shouldn't play the song.

Perhaps the correct thing to do is for the DJ to make a statement just before announcing the song's chart position staring, "The next song is by Judy Garland, and due to the nature of the song, we won't be playing it this week".

However, if the song goes up the following week...I dunno.
There's a history of this doctorb

Most recently the campaign against the incresing commercialisation of music getting x-factor manufactured music to number 1 at Christmas provoked an anti-simon cowell campaign to get a heavy rock song by 'rage against the machine' to number 1 which was successful

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8423340.stm

It's a brilliant piece of passive ersistance Ghandi would be proud of

Would you prefer we all disrupted the fulneral?

And not liking Margaret Thatcher and her politics is hardly the preserve of the anarchist!
sandyRoe @ 08:08:- :)
Question Author
doctorb

I think it's more to do with sticking two fingers up at those eulogising her. And it's worked horribly. You ought to see the Mail this morning.

I only hope those downloading the track realise it's only 53 seconds long.
'Trade unions plan a summer campaign against tory cuts by organising national download of songs from the musicals starting in may with 'Annie'.

Bob Crowe told comrades 'if we play 'the sun will come out tommorow' often enough and loud enough cameron will have to listen. If not we'll move on to grease and mamma mia.'

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