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A moment for the history books; Prime Minister Rishi Sunak drenched by the rain calling for a general election as Things Can Only Get Better blasts in the background.
The track by Irish pop band D:Ream was not intentionally played at the announcement by the current PM, instead it was the brainchild of anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray.
Things Can Only Get Better happens to be the soundtrack of Tony Blair’s 1997 election campaign, which saw him topple the Tories’ 17 years in office.
As is the British way, the moment instantly became a meme and has now sparked the song appearing to re-enter the charts in the UK.
Professor Brian Cox, who was the keyboardist for the band, couldn’t help but play along as the song picked up momentum online.
He wrote on X: ‘Things Can Only Get Better is of course the most appropriate song for today, but let me throw another one into the ring to add a little variety…’
Professor Brian Cox poked fun at the band’s song being used (Picture: Joe Maher/WireImage)
The 56-year-old physicist attached a clip with Rishi, 44, walking away from the podium as circus music played.
Replying to a fan, Brian added: ‘We’re going to have some fun :-).’
Things Can Only Get Better was not an instant success for the group, peaking at 24 in its initial chart run in 1993, several months after it’s release.
However, while the band toured with Take That, they remixed it and suddenly the song jumped up to number one — enjoying four weeks in the top spot.
During Labour’s 1997 campaign, the song once more returned to the charts and reached 19 as a rallying cry for change in the UK.
He had worked with Peter Cunnah and D:Ream in the 90s (Picture: Mick Hutson/Redferns)
Tony Blair used the song in his 1997 campaign which saw Labour win in a landslide (Picture: Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)
D:Ream’s track became symbolic of the so-called New Labour under Blair as he won a landslide victory over John Major.
The band split that same year but had seen success with other hits like U R the Best Thing and Shoot Me with Your Love.
Ahead of the official chart announcement this week, iTunes chart listings show D:Ream’s hit sitting at number six ahead of Sabrina Carpenter and Post Malone.
Given the resurgence in popularity, Keir Starmer could be eyeing up the song for another election campaign but D:Ream may not be interested.
Rishi Sunak announced a general election would take place on July 4 (Picture: Reuters)
In 2015, Brian said he wouldn’t want Labour using the song in their campaign for Ed Miliband as ‘there are immense pros and cons to all the parties’
‘I can’t quite see a clear direction,’ he told The Evening Standard at the time. ‘It’s very different now than in ’97.
‘In ’97, it was obvious that everybody supported Blair. But now I think it’s complicated, it’s a muddy political climate. I’m sort of apolitical intentionally, because I’m rather a single-issue person, so it’s definitely not clear-cut.’
A general election has been called for July 4 so only time will tell if Things Can Only Get Better becomes political rallying cry once again.
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