Okay, so the latest figures are in (well, not the actual figures) on this week’s race to be the UK’s Christmas number one. And in news that will give its Facebook campaign a boost, Rage Against The Machine are AHEAD of X-Factor winner Joe McElderry based on digital sales for Sunday and Monday.
That’s according to the Official Charts Company. However, the gap is narrow: only about 10% of Rage Against The Machine’s sales separate the two, apparently.
Don’t get too excited: Joe’s CD single comes out tomorrow, for everybody’s mum and nan to buy in supermarkets. The prospects for a festive upset remain slim. And in any case, the big winner from all of this is label Sony Music Entertainment, which is responsible for both tracks.
“This is shaping up to be a very exciting battle between two different records which have captured the nation’s imagination,” says the OCC’s Martin Talbot. “But, although Rage Against The Machine have started off in front, according to our initial sales estimates, there is no doubt that this tussle is far from over.”