Political T-shirts news: Rage 'outselling X Factor winner' in Christmas chart race

15/12/2009

An anti-X Factor campaign by Facebook users could propel Rage Against the Machine to the top of the charts this Christmas, it has emerged.

Early sales figures indicate that the US heavy rock band's signature song Killing in the Name is currently on course to outsell the debut single from Joe McElderry, who won The X Factor last weekend.

Originally released in 1992, the Rage track gained notoriety among British music fans after Radio One DJ Bruno Brookes accidentally played the uncensored version on the UK Top 40.

The song was brought back into the charts following the efforts of a Facebook group who said they were "fed up of Simon Cowell's latest karaoke act being Christmas number one".

X Factor creator and judge Cowell has since dismissed the campaign as "stupid".

Rage gained fans all over the world, many of whom sport the band's trademark political T-shirts, with their blend of revolutionary lyrics and rap-rock arrangements.