"UKIP Calypso" is a 2014 calypso single by

Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for mus ...

released under the name of The Independents. The single was released to raise money for charity and was endorsed by the

United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

(UKIP). The song reached 44 in the UK Singles Charts and number 1 on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

History

"UKIP Calypso" was originally created to be performed by Read at a UKIP dinner. The song was well received at the dinner and it was suggested that Read should release it as a single. Shortly after Read released it, the song received endorsement from UKIP leader

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

, whom the song refers to as the new

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. Shortly after it was released,

Lord Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (31 May 1938 – 20 November 2024) was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the ...

and

David Lammy David Lindon Lammy FRSA (born 19 July 1972) is a British politician who has served as Foreign Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham since 2000. Lammy previously held vario ...

criticised the song because Read performed it with a Caribbean accent, to which Read responded, "you can't sing a calypso with a

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

accent". The song also drew allegations of racism for the verse: "The leaders committed a cardinal sin / Open the borders let them all come in / Illegal immigrants in every town / Stand up and be counted

Blair Blair is a Scots-English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or " field", frequently ...

and

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

." Read initially responded that it was political satire but later withdrew the song and apologised for any unintentional offence. A debate over the song was featured on the BBC's ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...

'' programme where UKIP spokesman

Winston McKenzie Winston Truman McKenzie (born 23 October 1953) is a British political activist and perennial candidate for public office. He is currently a founder and leader of the Unity in Action Party. He has been a member of every major UK political party, a ...

, himself of Caribbean origin, praised the song and likened it to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' adaptation of predominantly black musical styles, while

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially those between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has produc ...

DJ Nihal Nihal Arthanayake (born 1 June 1971) is a British radio and TV presenter. Early life Nihal Arthanayake was born on 1 June 1971, to Theravada Buddhist Sri Lankan parents. Nihal began his involvement in the music industry as a promoter of rap ...

was critical of it, stating "that it made my ears vomit." UKIP announced that half of the proceeds of UKIP Calypso would go to the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

as part of their appeal against

ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...

. However, the Red Cross declined the donation stating: "As a neutral organisation, we cannot benefit from something which overtly supports one political party." UKIP stated that they were disappointed about it and claimed that the Red Cross was putting politics ahead of saving lives.

Charts

"UKIP Calypso" was released on

Angel Air Records Angel Air is an English independent record label established in February 1997, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s (and latterly new albums from known artists up to the 21st century ...

, a UK independent label, and Farage put out an appeal for people to make it a number one hit. Despite this, it only managed number 44 on the UK Singles Chart on Sunday 26 October 2014, falling from number 21 in the midweek charts. UKIP blamed "synthetic outrage" for Read withdrawing the song from sale earlier that week.{{cite web, author= , url=http://www.itv.com/news/2014-10-26/mike-reads-ukip-calypso-misses-out-on-top-40-place/ , title=Mike Read's Ukip Calypso misses out on Top 40 place , publisher=ITV News , date=2014-10-26 , accessdate=2015-03-03 It charted at number 1 on the UK Indie Charts released on the same day.

References

2014 songs 2014 singles Songs written by Mike Read Cultural depictions of Nigel Farage UK Independence Party Political songs Calypso songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles