Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead headed for Official Top 5

Wizard Of Oz track heading for the Official Singles Chart Top 5 following the death of Baroness Thatcher.

Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead, from the soundtrack of the 1939 film The Wizard Of Oz, has moved up to Number 4 in the race to top this Sunday’s Official Singles Chart.

As initially reported on Tuesday, the surge in sales follows a campaign to get the track to Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart following the death of Margaret Thatcher on Monday (April 8). The former British Prime Minister passed away following a stroke, aged 87.

By yesterday’s Official Chart Update, the recording – credited to the Wizard Of Oz Film Cast – had reached Number 10, but is continuing to climb.

In today’s latest Official Singles Chart sales flash, which counts sales up to midnight last night (Wednesday, April 10), it had sold almost 20,000 copies - but it is still some distance behind the week’s biggest selling single, Need U (100%) by Duke Dumont FT A*M*E, which had sold more than 34,000 copies at the same point.

Because Ding Dong!... is out of copyright (and therefore in the public domain), there are a number of versions of the same recording (taken from the 1939 movie) available to buy across several digital retailers. In line with standard procedures, the Official Chart position under the artist credit The Wizard Of Oz Film Cast combines sales all the versions derived from the 1939 film recording, including versions credited to Judy Garland (pictured above) or The Munchkins. In fact, Garland’s vocal (either sung or spoken) does not feature on the track.

A 1961 cover version by Ella Fitzgerald continues to chart separately, but is currently outside the Top 75.

Aside from the controversial and political aspect of the single’s rise, Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead is also on course to be the shortest Top 10 single of all time (with the most popular version running to just 51 seconds) and the only sub-60 second single to make the Top 10.