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Theresa May ‘Liar Liar’ song battling Justin Bieber for top spot in UK charts

Track criticising Prime Minister by Captain Ska could beat new single from Canadian pop star to summit despite limited airplay

Joe Nerssessian
Wednesday 31 May 2017 14:05 BST
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Captain Ska now in with a chance of replacing Bieber's remix of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's Despacito at the summit
Captain Ska now in with a chance of replacing Bieber's remix of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's Despacito at the summit (AFP/Getty)

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A song labelling Theresa May a “liar” is battling to replace pop superstar Justin Bieber at the top of the UK charts.

Captain Ska's Liar Liar GE2017 has shot up the Official Singles Chart since its release last week, landing at number three on Wednesday.

The track criticises the Prime Minister, using samples of her speeches and interviews alongside clips of other senior Tories with the chorus “She's a liar liar, you can't trust her, no, no, no”.

Its rise through the chart means it is now in with a chance of replacing Bieber's remix of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's Despacito at the summit in Friday's chart announcement.

The song has already replaced Bieber at the top of the iTunes most downloaded chart and the Official Charts revealed sales were being driven by downloads, with more than 30,000 people purchasing a digital copy in five days.

The song has also been streamed more than 100,000 times while the music video, which references cuts to police and schools, has received more than one million views on YouTube.

It is expected to be the highest new entry in this week's top 40, although the song will not be played during the chart countdown as it may breach Ofcom guidelines during the ongoing election campaign.

In a statement, BBC Radio 1 said the song would not be played but insisted they had not banned the track.

They said: “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.”

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All proceeds of the song sold before election day on 8 June will be donated to food banks around the country and campaign organisation The People's Assembly Against Austerity, who supported the track.

A version of the song was released seven years ago in response to the coalition government and reached number 89 in the charts.

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