Protest song marches into charts

The band are named Ugly Rumours after the prime minister's old band

An anti-war song is on course to enter the UK charts this weekend after being promoted at a protest rally.

The cover of Edwin Starr's War (What Is It Good For?) has been released by a group called Ugly Rumours - the same name as Tony Blair's student band.

Early sales suggest it will go into the top 10, Music Week magazine reports.

Organisers of the peace march in London on Saturday asked supporters to order the song via their mobiles, calling it a "musical referendum" on Tony Blair.

Powerful message

Ben Grey, who produced the song, told the BBC News website: "We wanted to try and reach the people who might be more into watching X-Factor than listening to politics.

"Marches and rallies can be dismissed and ignored but a hit record will mean everyone is talking about this issue."

Next month marks the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

Mr Grey said: "Imagine what a message it would send to the world if this record was number one during that anniversary."

Chart rules were changed at the start of the year to allow digital single sales to count towards a chart position even if there is no CD version.