‘Nothing against The Fire Tones’ claims BBC

Britain’s leading music stations – BBC Radio One and Two – have declared that they have nothing against The Fire Tones, but continue to shun their charity version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’.

Despite a groundswell of national support and a rush of physical sales and downloads, the BBC have decided not to play the single that was the brainchild of Welshpool firefighter Chris Birdell-Jones.

A BBC spokesperson told us last night: “The BBC does not ban songs or artists. Tracks are chosen on musical merit and their relevance to our audience on a case-by-case basis.”

It’s a bland response, and somewhat insulting, but supporters haven’t given up, bombarding breakfast presenters Greg James on Radio One and Chris Evans on Radio Two with emails earlier this week.

Last night, Heart Radio confirmed that the song would be added to their playlists and regional radio stations have also been airing their support.

Meanwhile, the song continues to make an impact on the charts despite the BBC radio blackout, and was a new entry at No 9 in the charts last Sunday.