Rage Against the Machine outselling the X Factor

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Rock band Rage Against The Machine is ahead of X Factor winner Joe McElderry in the race for the Christmas number one, early sales figures suggest.

A Facebook group aiming to get the band's 1992 hit Killing In The Name to the top of the festive chart has attracted more than 750,000 members.

But McElderry's debut The Climb, out on CD on Wednesday, is expected to catch up by the weekend.

The Official Charts Company (OCC) said it is "a very exciting battle".

It is understood that there is a 10% margin in sales between the two singles after Sunday and Monday.

McElderry's song was only released digitally after his victory in the X Factor final at midnight on Sunday, giving it less time to rack up sales for this week's chart than Rage Against The Machine.

X Factor judge Simon Cowell has criticised the internet campaign, calling it "stupid".

Prior to the final of the ITV talent show, he said: "I think the campaign's aimed directly at me."

The Facebook page includes a link to homeless charity site Shelter, which has raised nearly £30,000 in donations.

Rage Against The Machine, meanwhile, are signed to Epic Records, which is part of Sony BMG, the same label as McElderry.

Ladbrokes has re-opened its betting for the number one Christmas single just 24 hours after closing it.

Ladbrokes spokesman, Nick Weinberg, said: "Earlier this week it looked a done deal. Now Joe appears to be facing an almighty battle for top spot.

"This Christmas could be the first time in a long while that we see a genuine competition."

McElderry is at 1/3 with Rage Against the Machine at 2/1.

The OCC's Martin Talbot said "two different records have captured the nation's imagination".

"According to our initial sales estimates, there is no doubt that this tussle is far from over," he added.



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Question: Cowell thinks its stupid...is the campaign more or less stupid than X Factor viewers pre-ordering the song before they know what it is/pre-ordering the winner's song before they know who the winner is/buying tickets for the X Factor tour before they know who is in the finals etc?

[Golden AWe]

Killing In The Name.

Fuck, that's a GRATE album. I love it. Gotta dig it up!

[Seshmeister]

The fucking staggering hypocrisy of cunty Cowell saying this is a cynical stunt beggars belief.

I'm going to buy the RATM song even though I got the album when it came out.

[binnie]

It would be amazing if this did get to No.1.

However, when the CD single of the X Factor winner's song is availble, I imagine it will be game over for RATM.

Shame, it would be an hilarious coup.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

It would be amazing if this did get to No.1.

However, when the CD single of the X Factor winner's song is availble, I imagine it will be game over for RATM.

Shame, it would be an hilarious coup.

I'm not too sure...do "da kids" and "da housewives" still buy physical release singles for £2.99 or do they just download the song for 79p? (I honestly don't know if they do)

[VanHalenFan5150]

I personally like RATM MUCH better. Own all their albums. Even the two live ones and a bootleg or two. Tom Morello is an incredibly amazing guitar player, and Zach De La Rocha spits up more thought-provoking sentences then most.

Long Live RATM.

[binnie]

I'm not too sure...do "da kids" and "da housewives" still buy physical release singles for £2.99 or do they just download the song for 79p? (I honestly don't know if they do)

You are correct that most people don't buy CD singles anymore. However with a 'product' like X Factor, CD singles will fly off the shelves (sadly.) I expect they'll sell over 1 million copies before Christmas.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Update: RATM have a 60% lead over the X Factor.

[binnie]

Fuck you I won't do what ya tell me!

[binnie]

Chan - The X Factor is like American Idol. It runs for three or four months every year in the UK and the winner releases a single the week before Christmas, pretty much guarenteeing them the No. 1 spot (for the past 5 years or so.)

A Facebook campaign has started to get RATM to No.1 instead - BUY IT TO MAKE A STAND FOR REAL MUSIC

[Shaun Ponsonby]

The wah-wah-wacka-wah-wah-wacka-wacka in "Bulls On Parade" makes me crazy - in a good way.

I don't understand the campaign. I love RATM, but before cast my vote, what is this about?

(Sorry, it's Wednesday, but it feels like a Monday.)

Well, there's a tradition in the UK around this time of year regarding who is going to have the number one single at Christmas. It used to be a big deal.

However, over the last few years, Simon Cowell has been releasing the single from the X Factor winner (X Factor basically being the UK American Idol with a few notable differences) just in time for the Christmas market and, consequently, the race for the Christmas number one has been a done deal, thanks to Cowell's greed.

Last year, the winner released a version of Leonerd Cohen's "Hallelujah" (which Charlie Brooker, who really is one of the few people in the media who talks sense, described as a version of the song destined to be played at thick people's funerals...actually Charlie also once suggested we call up Lemmy and get him to re-release Ace of Spades at Christmas so that we can all buy it out of protest of Simon Cowell and so we can have a decent Christmas Number 1), and there was a minature campaign to stop it reaching number 1 by people buying Jeff Buckley's version of the song instead of the atrocious version that was eventually released. Sadly, Buckley's only reached number 2, while Leonerd Cohen's original was placed at about number 38 and the X Factor version reached number 1.

So, this year, a campaign has been started to get RATM to number one in protest of Cowell's dominance of shit. And, so far, 60% more people in the UK have downloaded Killing in the Name instead of the X Factor single (which is a cover of a Miley fucking Cyrus song).

Cowell has, in fact, made matters worse/better for bitching about it because it gave the campaign more publicity.

[Seshmeister]

I support the idea but surely it would be more cost effective just to set up a pay pal account that everyone could donate $1 to as a reward fund to be paid for someone to kill Cowell.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

I support the idea but surely it would be more cost effective just to set up a pay pal account that everyone could donate $1 to as a reward fund to be paid for someone to kill Cowell.

I believe that was the original plan, but the MoD shut it down.

The MoD really need to get a sense of humour.

[Seshmeister]

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[Golden AWe]

...

Genius vid!