June 1, 2017
(AFP) - A general election protest song branding British Prime Minister Theresa May a liar was heading for the top of the charts on Wednesday -- despite the BBC refusing to play it.
"Liar, Liar GE2017" by seven-piece band Captain Ska was released last Friday and currently stands at number three, according to the Official Charts company.
"She's a liar, liar. you can't trust her, no, no, no no," they sing, interspersed with audio clips from May as well as references to school, health service and police cuts.
"Sales of 'Liar, Liar' are being driven by downloads, with over 30,000 people picking up a digital copy of the track in five days," the company said in a statement.
"The song has so far been streamed just over 100,000 times."
BBC Radio 1 said the song would not be played as part of the official chart countdown on Friday due to rules governing the campaign ahead of the June 8 vote.
"We do not ban songs or artists, however our editorial guidelines require us to remain impartial and the UK is currently in an election period, so we will not be playing the song," it said in a statement.
All proceeds of the song -- a remix of a 2010 tune --- sold before election day will be donated to food banks and to The People's Assembly Against Austerity.
"Just a quick one to say thanks so much everyone. I'm so overwhelmed by the response and so happy that we've raised so much money," the band said on its Facebook page.
"Keep it up, people, this is massive!"