SOTD...

The Weather Girls’ 1980s classic, "It’s Raining Men", looks set to re-enter the UK Top 20 on Sunday. The track has been propelled back into the Official Singles Chart thanks to a social media campaign in response to derogatory comments made by a UKIP councillor about marriage equality.

In an open letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron, which was published in The Henley Standard newspaper earlier this month, then UKIP councillor David Silvester claimed that the UK’s recent spate of bad weather was a direct reaction to last year’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act.

"Since the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, the nation has been beset by serious storms and floods,” Silvester wrote. “This is not new. This happened in the Old Testament – they were warned if they turned against God there would be pestilence, there would be war, there would be disasters."

While Silvester has since been suspended from the party for his comments, the public have nevertheless rallied round to register their distain in a very British way – by setting up a social media campaign to try to get "It’s Raining Men" back into the Official Singles Chart!

“We believe that the show of strength to get a song to Number 1 will create a huge spotlight on our campaign for equality as a whole,” Darren Pop, one of the campaign’s organisers told OfficialCharts.com. “The song, if you like, is our catalyst and part of the bigger message. For decades now, this song has been used as a gay anthem. We thought it fitted all the better based on the UKIP councillor's comments.”

According to the Official Charts Company latest sales data, "It’s Raining Men" is currently at Number 21 on this morning’s Official Singles Chart sales flash, and is less than 40 copies off the Number 20 spot. It is likely to continue to climb up the Top 40 as the week continues, and the campaign gathers momentum. So while the UK will experience highs of seven degrees this weekend, on the Official Singles Chart Top 20, it will be raining men. (Hallelujah!)

As much as I despise those "social media campaigns" that try to manipulate the charts, I do think it is a fun way to bring the focus on the issue - and how great to see the girls back in the charts!

 

The Weather Girls’ "It’s Raining Men" was originally released in the UK in 1983. The track peaked at Number 73 on the Official Singles Chart, before being re-released the following year where it reached Number 2. The song reached the #1 spot on the US Dance Club Play charts.

Martha Wash from the group teamed up with RuPaul in 1998 and took a re-recorded version of the hit, dubbed "It’s Raining Men… The Sequel", to Number 21. There was also the best forgotten cover by Geri Halliwell...