Remainers win chart referendum as pro-Brexit song fails to break top 40

European Union anthem Ode To Joy has made it into the top 40 and is this week’s most downloaded song after it was given a chart boost by Remainers.

Andre Rieu’s version of the Beethoven classic went up against pro-Brexit song 17 Million F*** Offs by Dominic Frisby in a chart battle, with Ode To Joy coming out on top and entering the chart at number 30 following support from an anti-Brexit campaign.

Despite a campaign to get Frisby’s song into the top 40 on the day the UK leaves the EU, it ended the week at number 43, the Official Charts Company said.

As well as making it to number 30 in the main singles chart, Rieu’s version of Ode To Joy with the Johann Strauss Orchestra is also at number one on the Official Downloads Chart.

Comedian Frisby’s song was originally released a year ago on his album Libertarian Love Songs. He plans to donate any profits to charity the Maggie Oliver Foundation.

Lyrics include: “They wheeled in the experts to tell us what’s right, they gave us the benefit of their foresight.

“To leave is calamitous, that’s definite. Food shortages. No medicine. Planes grounded. House price crash.

“Half a million jobs lost. Cost of £4,300 to every home. Stock market collapse. Riots. No sandwiches. There’d be an outbreak of super gonorrhea. They seriously said that.

“Donald Tusk at the EU said it would be the end of Western civilisation as we know it. I’m not joking. And one more thing. If you vote to leave, that makes you racist.

“The British told them to f*** off. Seventeen million f*** offs.”

This week’s official number one is Lewis Capaldi’s Before You Go.

It is the Scottish singer-songwriter’s second chart-topper, following the success of last year’s hit Someone You Loved.

The Grammy-nominated star told OfficialCharts.com: “It’s so nice to get another one in the bag, second number one for my song Before You Go and it means the world so thank you so much if you went and bought it.

“Obviously becoming number one is absolutely everything to me and I would be disgusted if I had the number two spot, it would be gross, so yeah I’m so glad I’m not that guy, and if I did I don’t know what I would do, I would probably go home, cry into my hands and just have an awful, awful time, so thank you so much.”

The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights is at number two this week, ahead of Roddy Ricch’s The Box at number three, Godzilla by Eminem featuring Juice Wrld at number four, and Stormzy’s Own It with Ed Sheeran and Burna Boy.

Over on the albums chart, British singer-songwriter and rapper J Hus beat Pet Shop Boys and Eminem to the top spot.

His new album Big Conspiracy is his first chart-topper, as his debut album Common Sense peaked at number six in 2017.

Last week’s chart-topper, Music To Be Murdered By by Eminem, is at number two this week, ahead of Pet Shop Boys’ new album Hotspot, which debuts at number three.

Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent is at number four while rapper M Huncho is new in at number five with Huncholini The 1st.