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Rage Against the Machine Are UK Christmas Number One

Rage Against The Machine has beaten 'X Factor' winner Joe McElderry to the UK Christmas No. 1 spot with its 1993 song 'Killing In the Name.' Frontman Zack de la Rocha, pictured, called it a victory over a "very sterile pop monopoly," NME reports.

Announced as the winner this evening in the UK, the RATM track sold some 500,000 copies, a victory margin of about 50,000. Bookies had named McElderry's song, a cover of Miley Cyrus' 'The Climb,' the favorite, but RATM began edging out the 18-year-old singer last week.

The band has promised to celebrate the win with a free concert in the UK that guitarist Tom Morello said will be "the victory party to end all victory parties."

'Killing In the Name' resurfaced this holiday season thanks to a grassroots campaign by two fans, husband and wife Jon and Tracy Morter, who were motivated by the fact that 'The X Factor' and its creator Simon Cowell's "music machine" has had a four-year run atop the Christmas chart.

The fans, who gathered in the hundreds of thousands on a Facebook group, were encouraged buyers of 'Killing In the Name' to donate to the charity Shelter, which fights homelessness. A portion of proceeds from 'X Factor' sales are also donated to charity.

RATM was fully behind the campaign, with Morello recently explaining to the press, "I think people are fed up of being spoon-fed some sugary ballad that sits on top of the charts. It's a little dose of anarchy."

But will the RATM track get any airplay? There is a clean version of the song, but lately, the band has seemingly been reluctant to edit out the song's offending line, "F--- you, I won't do what you tell me."

On Thursday, the band performed the song for the BBC's Radio 5Live Breakfast, repeating the expletive in the final minute of the song despite orders from the BBC not to. The performance was interrupted with co-host Shelagh Fogerty saying, "Get rid of it."

She then added, "Sorry. We needed to get rid of that because it suddenly turned into something we weren't expecting. Well, we were expecting it, and had asked them not to do it, but they did it anyway, so buy Joe's record." The BBC was later forced to apologize.

Watch a video of the interview and the entire performance on Rock Pit.

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Charles

Oh come on people you really can't be a fan of that F;g pop music genre music are you. We have had this pop music S;'T shoved down our throats for years. You have to wake up and realize that previous winner's of American Idol can't believe i just said that you don't even hear of them anymore,R&B groups never hear of them either. You've got bands like Aerosmith,Metallica,Bruce Springsteen,Rage Against The Machine,KISS,U2,Rush,Bon Jovi,Kenny Chesney,Keith Urban,Tim Mcgraw,even Mary J. Blige etc,etc that have been in the Music business for years cuz people are intersted in that music that's why they're still around. You need to wake up America/Canada get your fat a-;'s off of the couch and get out in the world and explore different music genre's instead of sitting in front of the TV eating bob bon's and fast food. Cya's hopefully you don't get mad about the truth thrown at you cuz it hurts don't it.

December 21 2009 at 11:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
COLIN

Did you all know that Cowell has both Joe and RATM in his pocket. So do you think that MAYBE JUST MAYBE Cowell organised this competition, so that more and more cds would be sold so he could really amass another fortune on top of the one he already has for himself. I WONDER

December 21 2009 at 5:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
nick

i hear neo nazi rock bands are gonna do a cover of the rage song its payback time suckers

December 21 2009 at 11:32 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to nick's comment
Eri

Yes, but the important thing is that Rage did it first.

December 25 2009 at 4:47 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
SDG

Real talent that is going to last for years to come vs noise and look who won! Real talentthis sort of thing makes me proud to be British . the only thing that would make this better would be if rage against the machine were from the UK so we would have had a UK winner but either way music lovers win.

December 21 2009 at 11:17 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
sophie

:(

December 21 2009 at 11:00 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
sara

Surely the most important factor here is that the Rage Against the Machine single has raised over £70,000 for the Shelter Charity, as the band has waivered all royalties from the single, in order to help the homeless people on the streets of Britain, over the Christmas period. That my friend, is Christmas spirit. I am sure that this was a massive contributing factor in the song getting as many sales as it did.

Has the X Factor team donated ALL profits from ALL the monies gained from the telephone votes, and the sales of Joe's single to charity? No. Why? So it can line the pockets of the already wealthy four "judges" (a very loosely used term indeed!) and everyone else involved in the X Factor shambles, and in order to pour into another series of mindless drivel next year.

December 21 2009 at 8:48 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
anarchy rules

Yessssssssssssssss
No longer have I got to sit through that utter drivel
and singalongy smilie facey manufactured crap that my unthinking oh drools over.

I can wallow in the fact that people power and common sence prevailed,RATMvoted into the no. 1 xmas spot, gave me the will to live, yes, there is a god!!!! and looks like he's taking instructions from good old dimebag.

;-)





December 21 2009 at 8:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Simon Cowell

Who says some piece of kiddie crap should always be no1 at xmas. ANARCHY IN THE UK COWELL !!!
Here's next years no1 {SPANKED} www.myspace.com/tammacsgiants according to the bookies.

December 21 2009 at 8:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DaveP

The only winner here is the record label. I didn't buy either song, but I have Rage's song on the original album. Buy either song for xmas? F**k you, I won't do what you tell me!

December 21 2009 at 8:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Les Parry

It just shows what a FICLE nation we are when people cast their votes for absolute garbage and sacrfice talent just to get back at someone.....

December 21 2009 at 7:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Les Parry's comment
Eri

This may shock you, but Rage have been around since 1991 and a lot of people I know absolutely love them, as opposed to the mindless drivel that spouts from the mouths of most X-Factor winners. Maybe they have pretty voices, but the songs stand for nothing. What's a tune without a meaning?

December 25 2009 at 4:37 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply