Otway hopes for chart return

John Otway last hit the charts in 1977

Singer John Otway is hoping to score his biggest ever chart hit this weekend - 25 years after he was last in the top 40.

Fans of the eccentric performer have collaborated to give him his second hit as a 50th birthday present.

The song, Bunsen Burner, which samples the 70s hit Disco Inferno, was chosen by the fans themselves.

Otway decided to let them choose by recording a CD of 11 specially produced songs and pressed 5,000 copies, asking fans to vote on which of the tracks they would like to see as a single.

The election was decided in a sealed postal ballot which was conducted by the Electoral Reform Society.

Otway then revealed the winner at a special free gig at the Astoria where he played each of the songs from the CD.

Cult following

Bunsen Burner is expected to debut inside the top 10 this weekend, although its actual position will be revealed to Otway live on stage at the London Palladium, where he is playing on Sunday.

"I already know what I'm getting for my birthday," the singer said, "I just don't know how big it's going to be."

Otway reached number 25 in the charts in 1977 with the track Really Free, and has tried for years to follow it up.

However, he has built up a cult following and recently played a sell-out show at the Royal Albert Hall.

His fans traditionally club together each year to buy him a birthday present.

The B-side of the song, a cover of The Animals' House Of The Rising Sun, features 1,000 of them singing back vocals.