The Weather Girls’ classic track It's Raining Men is set to re-enter the Top 20 in the UK, in a fun protest against a homophobic politician’s claim marriage equality caused recent flooding. The 1980s hit is set to re-enter the Top 20 thanks to a social media campaign in response to bizarre 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 marriage equality. "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, a public campaign has pushed It's Raining Men back into the charts, where it currently sits at number 21. “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,” he added. “We thought it fitted all the better based on the UKIP councillor's comments.” 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.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 29th January 2014 - 12:10pm