Things Can Only Get Better: Story behind song that derailed Rishi Sunak election speech
Rishi Sunak’s speech on the steps of Downing Street today will forever be remembered for two things: his sodden suit and the abrasive strains of 90s pop hit Things Can Only Get Better. When Northern Irish/English pop act D:Ream – which included the physicist and TV presenter Prof Brian Cox on keyboard – first released their most enduring single it languished at number 24 in the charts.
A year later they supported Take That on tour and a Things Can Only Get Better rerelease rocketed to number one. But the song didn’t become indelibly entwined with politics until the 1997 election, when it was used – with permission from the band – as the campaign theme for the Labour Party as Tony Blair battled to end almost 23 years of Tory rule. A subsequent third release of the single reached number 19 in the charts. Since then it has become a staple on the political campaign trail and has been used by opposition supporters to jeer successive Tory leaders, played on loudspeakers when politicians take to the lectern outside Downing Street. But never has it had such an impact as when it was used to drown out Sunak’s announcement of a 4 July election.
Things Can Only Get Better is not the first pop song to cause consternation in political circles. Liz Truss angered M-People’s Mike Pickering when she used the song Moving On Up. “I don’t want my song to be a soundtrack to lies,” Pickering tweeted. Johnny Marr also took to the internet to “forbid” David Cameron from listening to The Smiths after he chose This Charming Man as one of his Desert Island Discs choices.
In the UK politicians must seek permission from record labels before they can use songs at official rallies, although it does not appear to be particularly well policed.
Donald Trump, meanwhile, has angered everyone from Bruce Springsteen (Born in the USA) to Neil Young (Rockin’ in the Free World).