I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher

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"I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher"
Single by The Notsensibles
A-side I'm In Love With Margaret Thatcher
Concerto No. 2
B-side Little Boxes
Gary Bushell's Band Of The Week[1]
Released October 1979
Recorded 12 September 1979[1]
Length 3:38
Label Redball
Snotty Snail
Writer(s) Notsensibles
The Notsensibles singles chronology
Death To Disco
(1979)		 I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher
(1979)		 I Thought You Were Dead
(1980)

"I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher" is a 1979 single by the English punk band Notsensibles. It was originally written as an tongue-in-cheek comment on Margaret Thatcher, and following her death in 2013 was part of a social media campaign to get it to number one on the UK Singles Chart.[2] The song charted at number 35 on the chart on 12 April 2013.[3]

Initial release

The Notsensibles formed in Burnley, Lancashire, in 1978, to "make silly records and play silly gigs".[4] Their second single, "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher", was issued in October 1979, five months after Thatcher's win in the UK General Election. Initially self-released in a pressing of 1,000 on the Redball label, but reissued on the Snotty Snail label due to continuing demand,[4] the release gave them a No. 8 UK Indie Chart hit at the start of 1980.[5] According to one review, the song was: "Meant as neither a pro- nor anti-Thatcher song. It revolved around the idea that no-one was too sacred to get the piss taken out of."[6] Writer Simon Reynolds stated that it "...taps into the side of punk all about not taking anything seriously..."[7] The record sleeve showed a photograph of Thatcher apparently giving a V sign to the camera.[8] The single's B-side included "Gary Bushell's Band of the Week", which poked fun at the journalist.[9]

The song was featured in the 2011 film The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep, and was re-released on vinyl and download at that time.

After Thatcher's death

After the death of Margaret Thatcher in April 2013 there was a social media campaign to raise "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from The Wizard of Oz to number one in the UK Singles Chart. Following its rapid rise up the charts, there was a rival campaign to promote "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher".[10] The campaign was initially understood to have been started by Thatcher supporters, and was endorsed by former Conservative MP and author Louise Mensch,[11] but in fact was initiated by Notsensibles' singer Mike Hargreaves and promoter Suzie Delooze by way of a Facebook page.[12][13]

The Notsensibles' song was reportedly considered "more favourable to Baroness Thatcher", and at one performance in 2012, Hargreaves claimed that he had "great reverence for Thatcher".[14][15] Hargreaves later said: "I find it hilarious that Tories have adopted it. The song is a sort-of tribute and sort-of not."[16] Band member Steven Hartley commented that it had been written as a satirical swipe at her,[2][16] and also said: "It was tongue-in-cheek - a bit of fun... a throw-away ditty... We were never rebels. We were never a sneering punk rock band - it was all a bit of light-hearted fun to us."[17] The band's promoter Suzie Delooze said: "Whether you like her or not the band thought that their song was more tongue-in-cheek and not so horrible towards the lady and her family. Hopefully, it will reach a much wider audience and be more respectful than other songs."[13]

References

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External links

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