Former Radio 1 DJ Mike Read has launched a bid for chart success with a song singing the praises of Ukip and its leader Nigel Farage.

The broadcaster's Ukip Calypso, which includes the lyrics "when we take charge and the new prime minister is Farage", is 50-1 to go straight in the charts at number one according to bookmakers Paddy Power.

Other lyrics, which Read sings in a mock Caribbean accent, include digs at the European Union such as "With the EU we must be on our mettle, want to change our lawnmowers and our kettles".

Read, who spent more than a decade at Radio 1, hit the headlines in 1984 when he refused to play the Frankie Goes To Hollywood single Relax because he objected to its lyrics.

He has also turned his hand to musicals, but his show about the life of writer Oscar Wilde closed after one night after dreadful reviews and poor ticket sales.

A BBC spokeswoman said Read had not breached the corporation's guidelines on impartiality by recording the song in support of the anti-EU party.

He is not the first DJ to cause a stir with his political opinions. In the run-up to the 1983 general election Kenny Everett appeared on stage at a Young Conservative rally wearing a pair of giant foam hands and shouted "let's bomb Russia".

In a dig at the then leader of the Labour Party, he also chanted: "Let's kick Michael Foot's stick away."

Farage provided a link to the track, which is credited to The Independents, on Amazon and urged his followers to "help get the Ukip Calypso by The Independents to Number 1".

Not all the reviewers were complimentary, with one Amazon customer writing: "My god, the musical equivalent of the Ebola virus. Anyway, isn't calypso music a bit foreign for Ukip?"

Another simply said: "John, Paul, George, Ringo, Farage".

The track did have some fans, with one listener saying: "Brilliant and so true! Love Ukip."

Read defended singing in an accent, telling Sky News: "It's a satire and a bit of fun. It's not terribly serious. It wouldn't have sounded very good sung in a Surrey accent".