Politics

'Things Can Only Get Better' skyrockets up charts following Sunak's speech

'Things Can Only Get Better' skyrockets up charts following Sunak's speech
Rishi Sunak announces general election on July 4 2024
Reuters

This week, a drenched Rishi Sunak stood outside Downing Street in the pouring rain to announce that there will be a summer general election on July 4.

But the weather wasn't the only talking point from the speech...

While Sunak addressed the nation, he was drowned out by the song 'Things Can Only Get Better' by D:Ream which Sir Tony Blair famously used for his winning general election campaign for Labour in 1997.

Anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray turned up outside the gates of Downing Street with two amplifiers to blast the song during Sunak's speech and certainly managed to get his message across.

Released in 1993, the upbeat anthem had chart success at the time, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart on 16 January 1994 where it spent four weeks on the top spot.

(Fun fact: Physicist Brian Cox was the band's original keyboard player).

It then climbed up the charts once more when Blair used the song for his campaign, which saw the band's lead singer Peter Cunnah performing it at a number of rallies.

Following it being boomed across the country this week, the song has managed to skyrocket up the iTunes music chart and after just 24 hours it is sitting at Number 5 - but we'll have to wait and see if this sudden surge impacts the UK Official Music Chart in any way.

On his stunt, Bray said: "I thought about what would be the best trolling tune if he announced the election."

"And of course, it had to be Things Can Only Get Better. Because everybody can relate to that and the 1997 election.

"I didn't do it for Labour. I did it because it was the top trolling song for the Conservatives."

While Bray's speakers eventually blew out due to the torrential rain, he remains determined to continue in his protesting efforts and return with more amplifiers as the election campaign continues.

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