THE campaign to bring back the Greggs macaroni pie has a new spring in its step – after launching an official protest song.
The bakery chain is facing a backlash north of the border after deciding to stop selling the pie in favour of more trendy new snacks.
Now Tommy Mackay, a songwriter from Edinburgh, has penned a song which has become the official tune of the Facebook campaign.
To the tune of a catchy ska-infused guitar, Tommy asks: “If you’re the kind of person with hollow legs/And you cannae get enough pastry from Greggs/They why, oh, why, oh why/Have they ditched the macaroni pie?”
He goes on: “Give us it back/Give us it back/I want a luke-warm pasty for my heart attack.”
Tommy, 55, asks Newcastle-based Greggs: “The people of Scotland, do you want to offend ‘em?/Is it retribution for the referendum?/You can keep your sausage rolls and your steak bake guys/You can take our freedom, but you’ll never take our pies!”
With a modest 96 listens the song has yet to reach chart-topping heights, but Tommy insists the song is fast gaining in popularity.
He said: “I know people feel passionate about it and since releasing the song, I’ve been contacted by people in other countries – England – who are now jealous of never having tasted the delicacy and so are outraged that Greggs have never even given them the opportunity to do so.
“Therefore, I thought I should spread the pasta pastry passion that many Scots obviously feel for this unique culinary dish.”
Paul Tonner, 43, the mastermind behind the campaign said Greggs’ decision to scrap the pie sparked outrage, with fans of the launching a petition which now has more than 1,300 signatures and a crowd of celebrity supporters.
A spokeswoman for Greggs said: “We made the hard decision to stop selling macaroni pie based on dwindling sales – unfortunately over recent years it had become the smallest selling line from our savoury counters in Scotland.”
