She paved the way for the ban on all-night raves but it seems Baroness Thatcher is a closet Acid House fan after all.

True blue Tories snapping up copies of a recently released CD set of her greatest speeches have been amazed to hear the former prime minister's thunderous voice call on people to "party, party, party" to the backing of a bouncy dance beat.

Sadly, the track isn't the result of the Iron Lady spinning the wheels of steel but rather the work of one-time producer and now painter and decorator Peter Harman, of Cranston Avenue, Bexhill.

However, Lady Thatcher seems to have liked the tune, called Maggie's Last Party, enough to approve its inclusion in the three-CD set.

Conservative parliamentary candidate Iain Dale, 41, who released the record, said: "We submitted a list of tracks to the Margaret Thatcher Foundation and no one asked if we could take anything out.

"I've also sent Lady Thatcher a few copies of the CD personally so she should have listened to it."

The news will shock anyone who remembers the Thatcher government's attempts to stamp out the rise of free music festivals and parties during the Eighties.

She presided over the Public Order Act 1986, which introduced a new law giving police powers to break up any gathering of 12 vehicles or more, and the Entertainment (Increased Penalties) Act 1990, which saw organisers of unlicensed events hit with fines of up to £20,000.

These tough measures were strengthened after her time by the controversial Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which allowed police to confiscate sound equipment and reduced the minimum number of vehicles to six.

Mr Harman, 49, produced Maggie's Last Party from a home-made studio in London in 1991 and it reached number 63 in the network charts. He has since given up producing music to concentrate on his decorating business.

He said: "I couldn't believe it when Iain phoned to ask if he could use the track. The CD sounds as if it is for people who loved Thatcher so I'm not sure how it will go down.

"But it's nice to know other people can get a chance to hear it."

Mr Harman, who lives with his wife Diana and children Madeline, seven, and two-year-old Jim, said the track was produced in a moment's inspiration.

He said: "We were just messing about with a new sampler we bought. Thatcher's voice is very theatrical, unlike some of today's politicians, and it sounded really good.

"We cut up her speeches so she said things like 'rave' and 'murder' which copied some of the slang of the time. Although I never liked Thatcher, it's not a hate record. We were just being a bit mischievous."

Mr Dale owns Politico's, a political online book shop, and said the CD - which also features Lady Thatcher's better-known recordings including her "the lady's not for turning" speech - had already sold thousands of copies.

He said: "We came up with the idea to mark the 25th anniversary of her election to prime minister.

"I actually bought the 12in vinyl version of Maggie's Last Party when it came out and thought it would be perfect for the third CD, which has odder recordings like the Yes, Minister sketch Lady Thatcher wrote and performed.

"Anything to do with Margaret Thatcher sells really well but I have been surprised by the number of young people who want a copy, so perhaps Peter's track is suitable after all."

Margaret Thatcher: The Great Speeches is available from www.politicos.co.uk priced £18.99.