Satirist launches a single

He might not be your typical pop star – but Armando Iannucci has just released a single.

Two pieces the In The Loop director wrote for his Radio 4 series Facts And Fancies have been set to music, and put out on iTunes.

Tommy Mackay, a musical comedian who performs under the name The Sensational Alex Salmond Band, said he always liked Iannucci’s Lyrics From An Imaginary Album piece, so approached him about a collaboration.

‘I asked him via Twitter if I could put music to them,’ Mackay said. ‘He was up for it and so we did three tunes initially, two of which we've now put up on iTunes to help raise money for the Silver Star Trust which he's involved in.’

The trust is a specialist maternity unit in Oxford under threat of closure. Iannucci, whose three children were born at the unit, heads a charity that has raised more than £100,000 for the cause.

The main track is titled Shoplifting Girl, with Papal Blues as a B-side, and available from iTunes .