If you needed more proof of the weight behind social media, this is it.
Rage Against the Machine have just had their first UK Number 1. They got it thanks to an Facebook group campaign, beating X-Factor winner Joe McElderry.
Killing in the Name, the single, was released over 15 years ago. RATM spent nothing on marketing and yet they made it to Christmas No.1.
In taking the title for 2009, Killing In The Name also sets two new landmarks, becoming the UK’s first download-only Christmas number one and notching up the biggest one-week download sales total in British chart history.
A week ago X-Factor Winner Joe McElderry appeared to be a Shoo in for Christmas No.1. Every year, for four years, the Winner of X-Factor has been number one at Christmas. But this year Jon and Tracy Morter , of Essex, who decided to set up a protest campaign on Facebook and promote Rage Against the Machine as a possible contender.
Cowell praised the couple behind the anti-X Factor online drive. He said: “I am gutted for Joe because a number one single meant a lot to him but I have to congratulate Jon and Tracy, who started the Facebook campaign.
“I called Jon on Saturday to congratulate the two of them that, win or lose, they turned this into a very exciting race for the Christmas number one.
HMV’s Gennaro Castaldo said: “This is a truly remarkable outcome – possibly the greatest chart upset ever, which few people could have imagined when Joe claimed the X Factor crown last weekend.
Rage Against The Machine sold 502672 copies, beating X Factor Joe by approximately 50,000 sales.
delighted.
I seem to remeber Babe by Take That been kept off the Christmas number 1 by Mr Blobby. Now the capaign is over and some “ridiculous noise” is Christmas number 1 maybe Joe McEldery, who is likely to continue to sell CD’s over the next few weeks and make number 1, can continue in a promising career.
I feel sorry for Joe. It’s all very well getting one over on Simon Cowell, but it’s not fair to use Joe to do it.
Having said that, it does make a refreshing change for x-factor not to be number one for Christmas!
I agree it is very sad for Joe but it is not about the Christmas No 1 – it’s about Simon Cowell
I think that when you consider that a few months ago Joe was just an Average Joe (If You’ll pardon the pun). Number 2 in the UK singles chart at Christmas isn’t that bad a deal.
He’s obviosly a talented singer to have won the x-factor and generally he is a nice guy, and now that he has, he’ll no doubt be offered record deals and other oppourtunities.
He has the chance now that he’s well known to make it big in the music industry. Who knows, maybe he’ll have number ones in the future. It’s up to him.
Great news! And beaten by downloads only and by 50k singles.
A victory for decent music and real music fans over manufactured, big business shite and Cowell and his plastic acolytes who seek simply to exploit their positions within the industry for their own ends. They don’t give a monkey’s about good music.
Hear hear!
a big thumbs up firstly for a real song getting to number one for a change . But also that Simon Cowel has finally had his spell broken. Unfortunately Joe is a victim of this but then lets face it he is just one of the many puppets that the xfactor machine churns out then discards , he is as much a victim of the xfactor as he has been for this campaign
proud of all involved in settin this up, only hope it brings on more of this type of music
Durty cunts tht ratm songs shite we joes songs excellent fuck the world
Judging By the TxT speak bad spelling it is obvious that joes x factor fans are feeble of mind and easily lead by the corporate machine that is the music industry these days. This is a victory for real artists who put years of work into their careers.
I watched x factor, but also bought the RATM single. I don’t consider myself “feeble of mind” (for instance, I know the difference between lead and led).
While I agree with your general sentiments, I am sick and tired of seeing people pick on others for their grammar and spelling, especially when they’re far from perfect themselves.
Back on topic, very pleased that Cowell didn’t make number 1, regardless of whether or not this campaign actually generated more money for him.
What a prick fancy him do we you big lord
ha ha ha he can’t even spell. well done RATM nice to see musicians reach No.1 instead of manufactured over produced singers which think its cool to make their voices hit every other note other than the key note.
woooo that’s awsome xD, and as for Joe a lot people still like this isn’t the end of him and just because he won xfactor doesn’t mean he should automatically win the christmas number 1. And if he did want to be number they shouldn’t have took someone elses song.
Best digital marketing campaign in 2009.
Congrats Sony BMG.
I have fond memories of mooshing to this song on my travels back in the 90′s what a great achievement, just shows you what we can do as a collective when we put our minds to it.
bloody awesome, “F*@k you i won’t do what you tell me”
You’re right fools, Simon Cowell is a legend !
Since when was rebelling and swearing about Christmas, At least the other song was written about hope. You are illeducated middle class nutts
None of this was about Christmas. It was about standing up for original music. And Rage’s song was orginally written about racism in the US police force so get educated yourself before branding everyone else as otherwise.
You joker AJ! The other song is some rubbish written for Miley Cyrus which Cowell has nicked! It’s not even new material! At least RATM’s song is an ORIGINAL!
you are all bloody fools that need to get a life. its all well and good to try and get one on simon but to use some one else is cruel. and to use a crap song like that is dier you are all bloody idiots you could have bought any one of the charity songs or even a christmas song not that dark punk crap you bush of loosers
Do your research before calling people fools. The face book group that started this have raised over £60,000 for homeless charity shelter already. Also, RATM have said they will also give their windfall profits to the same Charity. Taking into account that this has been done entirely in download sales, there has been NO packaging or marketing costs, meaning the amount going to charity will be significantly more than if you’d purchased any of the ‘charity’ songs. Also, the lack of shipping / distribution costs make it probably the most carbon neutral number one ever. The only fool here is you with your ill informed view and appaling grammar and punctuation.
LOL, there are so many people complaining about RATM being no1 and clearly they have no idea what it is about. RATM have donated all proceeds to the homeless charity Shelter so it is a charity song, RATM also invited Simon Cowell to do the same with Joe’s (is that his name) and didn’t so get of your high horse tony and actually research the subject you are intending to pass comment on and save making yourself looking even more foolish
Oh and it is BUNCH of LOSERS not bush of loosers as you so eloquently wrote.
The song is DIRE not dier (in your opinion).
But thanks for your points, are you secretly Oscar Wilde writing under a pseudonym?
a j what a p,,,k u are
Absolutely brilliant! And why feel sorry for Joe? I’m sure he’ll make £1,000,000,000s in his plastic career. For me it’s the presumption of it all; the belief that whatever the X-factor churns out will be No1 without there even being a competition is horrible. Power to the people for once! I’m sure we’ll have to suffer many more years of X-factor, which let’s face it, is only any good when all the non-talented people embarrass themselves in the early chucks for the show, one thing’s for sure, next year, let’s do the same again!!!
looser
Uh, AJ..You say we’re ill-educated?
You spelt “nuts” wrong, you moron.
OH MY GOD!
JOE SHOULD OF BEEN NUMBER 1!
THIS IS SO ANNOYING!
HE’S AMAZING, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
Ahhh, bless, I feel sorry for him!
Anyway, he is way better!
Love you Joe ! xxx
I have never in my life wrote on these things but i think is it disgusting that people in the UK are so pathetic…so glad i left the country!
I watched X-Factor online and thoroughly enjoyed it…Give Simon Cowell a break…Its just good business and he gives people a shot
You sad gits who focus all your energy on a pathetic attempt to ruin others lives!
That christmas song is dredful by that awful rock band!
You really need to get a life!
If you’re that disgusted that people want to choose something different to be their Christmas no. 1 rather than being spoonfed Cowells same money-loving manufactured pop hits (which wasn’t even original, it was a cover of a Miley Cyrus song) then i’m glad you left the country. Good riddance.
YEAH I LEFT THE COUNTRY TO DEFEND YOUR SORRY ASSE…DONT KNOW WHY I BOTHER! A HOLE
There are far more things to be concerned about than a stupid attemot to try and hurt other people campaign!
Why dont you put some of your efforts into helping people than trying to hurt them
So shallow…no life!
no disrespect m8, but surely if yr doin what i think u r, u should hav a better perspectiv of whats important an what is flim flam. hopefully the worst news we hear this xmas is that some lame geordie karaoke singer didnt sell as many singles of someone elses song as he wanted 2.
I understand the whole “Revolution against Cowell” but its the cruel crap that comes out of peoples mouths…shit i can think of alot better things to bitch about…take for instance all the crap said about Joe’s teeth…There is nothing wrong with his teeth….it must be that they are Clean & White and not Yellow like most peoples teeth in the UK…maybe most peoples teeth in the UK are yellow coz of all the shit that come out of their mouths… Like i said i just dont see how people can be so pety about pointless stuff!
Bet some people go check their teeth now…lol
No offence intended…lol
Merry Christmas Everyone have one for me!
As opposed to be being spoon fed what is technically a re-release? Come on people are you all a bit Dim? You can defend your decision and say it was for charity but in all honesty X factor releases a song for charity every year which raises far more money than this. I like Rage i just feel this was inappropriate and if people had not been told about the facebook group which basically instructed you to buy the single then X factor would have won. It wasn’t a competition at all it was a bark loudest contest, and it left the UK music charts smashed by the sound of repetitive swearing. WOW well done everyone you managed to prove how gullible you all are. You can try to say that all this good will come out of it but isn’t it all a bit pointless?
How is choosing what we would like as no.1 ruining lifes??? Put your dummy back in. I’m sure Joe will earn enough money. Besides, this was not directed at Joe, x factor brainwashing. Did you buy Joes single btw?
Actually i dont care about christmas number one…but have you read how many nasty things people write on these blogs about other people….it really is astonishing how personal you guys get!
Like i said i have never written on these things and i dont think i will again, what really got me was the all the nasty stuff that people write…and all because of a christmas no1
Anyway Merry Christmas
if this many people can change a drab manufactured x craptor christmas number 1 to something decent why cant we do something about this shite government and look after the people of the uk more ? well done to R.A.T.M
Actually AJ killing in the name is promoting a better message than the climb, you don’t know just how much awareness that rage have raised, so it isn’t about swearing but defiantly about rebelling.
This is awesome.
I remember seeing RATM back in ’97 supporting U2.
Awesome band.
And this is a great song for xmas.
A heartfelt song against bigotry, intolerance and killing.
@AJ, illeducated is not a word. I think you mean uneducated.
i was gonna say that martin!! lol
right , ratm deserve this!
fucking joe mcelderry the shittest thing since fried shit,
hes got too many teeth in his head and hes as boring as fucking church
i hoep the geordie shit crawls back up cheryls cock end and shuts his too many toofed mouth xxx
Da Angel: This says it all. If you have to use filth and expletives in an attempt to make a nefarious allegation against a young man, who, incidentaly, probably has more integrity and intellligence in his little finger than you, you should keep it to your well educated mates.
Well said Mark!!! :-)
Your the kind of stupid cruel fuck head im talking about! No need to say that kind of stuff about people…bet you have yellow teeth…arse!
Not a great fan of the Rage track but I’m glad that the X Factor machine didnt bulldoze yet another Christmas No.1. Maybe we can start getting some Christmas songs back in the charts this time of year like years ago!
one of the thousands to join the group and download the tune. this christmas no 1 will be remembered for years due to the fact, that we proved just how powerful we can be when we all pull together!Why cant we do this when it comes to the goverment though?!!!!!
Excellent, delighted, am a 49 year old who did not want Simon dictating my Christmas No 1 well done people. Made My Christmas! yo!
In reply to ‘huneebee’,
I don’t think the British public used Joe McElderry, but even if we did, not quite as much as Simon Cowell used him.
Year after year The X factor has drawn in a huge revenue which to be honest could be used for more important things in this country when you take into terms the state of the economy.
For every TV that’s tuned into X Factor, that’s statistically ’4 people’ who are watching it.
I think it’s great how British public have actually became a minority and fought against an unwanted culture and have won.
And as for the song choice, excellent. It’s not like they’ve chosen any old song out of the hat, they chose the song that basically says, ‘no, I won’t do what everyone else is doing, I’m my own person, and I have my own idea’
Still can’t wipe the smile off my face.
to all u complainin, shut the f++k up, i think yr crap music has enough representation on radio an tv, stop moanin that u got caned,x factor is all about exploitin the sheep like u, an it usually works, even tho every single released 4 xmas has been w++k. post about joe in 17 years time- if u can remember who he was by then.rage on!
hey did you all hear about those thiefs breaking into simon cowells house, they pinched all his toilets, when they interviewed him he said he had ” nothing to go on” lol
Wow, everyone seems really angry. Im glad RATM got to number 1, well done them. The song sends a message which is important. On the other hand, I do think its apparent that its more about ‘the weight behind social media’ rather than the song itself, in which case, could we have sent a charity single to number 1 instead perhaps?
Just a thought…
i hope this will now shut all those geordies up with their he’s from south shields man.At last some real music has prevailed rage against the machine rock man ha! ha!
Scouse in geordieland: Why you here? Liverpool not good enough. Mmm maybe you best not let those around you know what you feel about the latest Geordie Star.
The first exciting race to christmas number one since x factor started. Happy RAGE won it, the majority of people have nothing against Joe personally and even he knows that, its against the pop machine. Cowell’s not bothered either way, he owns shares in Epic the label RAGE signed to.
So Sad.When people have not got better things to think of.There is a lot more going on in the world,than being worried who gets to number one.I feel sad for you all,
im well happy RATM made it to number one instead of the x factor winner its great that we finally have an awesome song as x-mas number one joe is just another talent show winner where as RATM is just pure awesome and for once its the folk who are different that got the last laugh lol
Brilliant. Just my opinion but Mr Cowell thinks he can release any old kak and the X Factor publicity bandwagon will bring it home. Not this time!!!. It has made my Xmas.lol
well done every one, what a set of bullys you all are! and what a fantasitc xmas number one we have as a result, its just the song to play during a family xmas lunch!
i get your point but why use a young lad who is just working hard to prove it!
and for all those out there who joined the RATM but still watched x-factor, you are just a bunch of hipocrits!!
ill be playing it all day christmas day its better than the shit we always end up with!
not very family friendly is it but i suppose the likes of you couldnt give a s**t about family values.
Oh, cry me a river, a singer used a bad word. Not everything should have to be “family friendly” and much of our more interesting pieces of cultural heritage are not, haven’t you actually read the some of the extremely risque prose that is Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?
come down off the soap box man, workin hard? he stood on a stage an sang 4 3 minutes, its not exactly hod carryin is it, anyway, other people try an fail in music, y should he b different? its no like he wrote the mother is it- grow up
like to see you do it! i’ll watch out for you next year! maybe you might even be able to write english by then
this has restored my faith in the public and shows Mr. Cowell that sometime enough is enough, no disrespect to the Xfactor boy but we wont even remember him this time next year
Agreed i mean who the fuck won it last year anyway lol
brilliant, simon cowell`s arrogance is nauseating, like his grey t-shirt
this time next year we wont remember who won X Factor 2009
Ha ha ha! Brilliant! That’s so funny I think I’ll be laughing until the next X-Factor! What a snub!
Have a pwoper BO chrimbo Simon & Jo – losers!
Excellent! Has anyone really listened closely to the lyrics of Killing In The Name Of, it’s quite a powerful song!
I don’t watch x factor anymore as everyone who should win don’t but that joe was excellent his voice was great and he should of won i feel sorry for him as these people who go on these shows have talent where all these other artists can’t sing live to save there lifes
lol so joe didnt get number one bloody makes a change havin rage against the machines winning number 1
That is such a terrible outcome. Rage Against The Machine should NOT have won, if the single was worthy of a number one, then they would have won it when the single was released fifteen years ago, without ruining an eighteen year old’s dreams to do it.
Though the blame really goes to Jon and Tracy Morter who have nothing better to do than create a hate campaign against Joe Mcelderry, because if you remove Simon Cowell from the equation, that is basically what has happened.
Well done.
Thanks!
well said beth. these people are no better than simon cowell, trying to influence what everyone thinks! wonder how well RATM would have done in the charts if it hadnt been made into a hate campaign! if you dont like what simon cowell does then dont watch the show and dont try to bully others into thinking the way you do. anyway all this publicity will only be lining simon cowells pocket further, i’m sure hes having a good laugh at all those looses out there who supported RATM! :)
“trying to influence what everyone thinks!”
This is we try to do in a civilized society. It’s called opinion, debate and freedom of speech.
“dont try to bully others into thinking the way you do”
You, madam, are a filthy stinking hypocrite.
absolutely bloody marvelous!!! RATM!!
to the twits who are whingeing on this blog – you don’t seem to understand that the big “fuck you” is aimed as much at you as it is Simon Cowell, he is the supplier, you’re the ones demanding karaoke stars, every bloody year. Pathetic!
RATM – “Bullet in your head” for next christmas!!! lol
Brilliant Simo – couldn’t have put it better myself!
Bless up!
Such a shame that a band like Rage with foul mouths and such a bad role model for young people would get to Chritmas number one. Joe is much more of a person that would inspire young people. He will go on and become bigger and better than Rage, I’m convinved of that.
Good one, want to put your house on it that he doesn’t?
Actually, they are not a bad role model at all, if you listen to their lyrics they are protesting for OUR generation. That song is very powerful. Its about issues that affect us. Just because they don’t inspire you doesn’t mean it doesn’t inspire us. At least they tell you to do something about the state of the world and see it for how it really is. That foul mouthed band are also donating all the money raised to charity…
cheers zeb, merry xmas!!!
Why is this song not a good song for Christmas?
The fact it made tens of thousands of pounds for homeless people shows goodwill of people at a time where money is tight and especially since during a recession!
Noones bullying Joe McEldrey.
If it was that good a song it would have sold more copies in the shops and RATM wouldn’t be number 1.
No point complaining, whats done is done.
…i’m happy that an original song won as opposed to a cover version…however the real injustice here is that we didn’t see Rolf at No.1 with Christmas in the Sun hehe :)
merry christmas to you all, songs are there for everyones judgement and the result stands , so get over it.
He will be working for butlins this time next year.
I can’t get over it, I just feel so sorry for Joe. He’s worked so hard, the poor guy will only earn about 5 million from all the exposure, adevertising deals and chat show appearances. He’s worked so hard to get where he is, its actually really physically draining singing a song thats been written for you by someone else, arranged for you by someone else, produced and marketed for you by someone else. Hopefully they’ll be a lot of homeless people eating their Christmas dinner inside this year due to the money pledged to Shelter, and RATM are pledging to donate to a charity in the U.K that support young musicians. That’s the bottom line really. Go Rage!!
Just a half decent kareoke singer.
Cheekycha , you really are a self-righteous peice of shit . you were complaining about others using expletives but go on to use personal insults yourself . You call the whole RATM camppaign cruel , how that poor young man didnt get his number 1 like it was his right , the RATM song has already raised £60,000 for a homeless charity with Rage set to donate any profits , they asked cowell if he felt he should do the same , surprisingly he declined. the rage song was so perfect as it may seem brash but it represents things of actual substance , a cover of a recently manufactured pop song doesnt really mean a thing does it?
Nice to hear some decent music at number one instead of the manufactured rubbish.
Joe go back to your day job this time next year you will be forgotten.
I feel so sorry for Joe, he’s probably now only going to make about 5 million from all the exposure, chat show appearances and advertising deals. Its actually really physically draining singing a 3 minute song thats been written for you by someone else, arranged for you by someone else and produced and marketed for you by someone else, theres a lot of homeless people who will be eating their Christmas dinner inside this year thanks to RATM. Can’t stop smiling!
Well said, Iain!
Words right out of my mouth!
HELL YEAH about time a fricking rock band was christmas number 1 :P
in reply to anton ….. yeah Im guessing your a chav. So 1st off a hater of Rage. Rage are 1 of the best rock band on the planet and about time they got a uk 1 number cause not many rock/metal bands do.
Congrads to Rage against the Machine. Killing in the name of ……Amazing :)
-Gemma
feel sorry for Joe but he’s just another puppet with simon cowells hand up his arse, well done RATM you guys rock!!
feel sorry for Joe but he’s just another puppet with simon cowells hand up his arse, the puppet master won’t be getting his greedy hands on as much of our hard earned cash this year!!! Congrats RATM.
Thank All the decent people out there who made this number one. One in the eye for the Cowal over produced and manufactured rubbish. We have had to listened to this crap for years.
None of his “stars” actually produce any of the music…… so where is the x factor in all that?.
Glorified Kareoke singers!!! with the might of the media behind them.
Someone else who does not have the weight of the media behind him is Tommy Reilly, a local singer song writer from glasgow…. do yourselves a favour guys go listen to him and download his album too… you will love it
Go on RATM! I joined the Facebook group a week ago, bought an mp3 for myself and gifted another 3 and it’s about time the real music got a chance to become a Christmas hit instead of the manufactured karaoke show finalists being pushed through the media. Thank You to everyone who took part in helping one of the greatest bands achieve an awesome prize UK CHRISTMAS NUMBER 1!
i think this is awesome! how often are subjected to the same old crap, that all of us know is ridiculous. and i can’t imagine a more fitting band nor a more fitting song to ring true that fact. “mutherfocker!!!”
all you lot talk shit
rock band as number1 pft
never herd so much bollox in my life
even tho joe is not much better
still a better idol to be number 1 at xmas
ratm are wank tbf lmfao but then again most rock bands are :D
Fuck off you ignorant chavvy wanker.
someone should start a facebook petition for this andrew guy to get a grip on his sad wee life…..ha! go fist yourself you chav!
small minded most pop/rock bands are inspired by the like’s of these bands !
You mate, are the type of person that perfectly describes what is wrong with the music scene in the UK. Pig ignorant and completely fucking oblivious to REAL talent, none of this glorified kareoke shit or electronic fag music with working class pikey cunts trying to rhyme words over the top of it, like a nursery rhyme for dickheads.
RATM own you, go back to listening to N-Dubz you Dappy looking fuckwit.
There are a lot of artists out there that make a name for themselves singing with original tracks. It was obvious that if we the people didnt stand up to the well oiled x-factor machine, then we would have been fed more rubbish music. If this Joe is so talented why didnt he make a name for himself without the help of the x-factor. It boils down to the fact that, if you listen to something enough it will eventually grow on you. to which im glad Joe’s somg will not be one of them.
Ratm are on cowells record lable so its win win for him u morons
That wasn’t the point of making RATM number 1, it was so that we don’t have to listen to all that X Factor shite constantly.
No they’re not on Cowell’s record label they’re on Sony’s. Cowell’s company SimCo are on Sony’s books too. Get your facts right Ed.
Simon Cowell’s/X-Factor’s record label is called Syco. RATM are on Epic. Both of these labels are subsidiaries of SonyBMG.
The X-Factor single will have sold more units as a result of the campaign because X-Factor fans were also trying to get the number 1 slot for their song.
Next year we need to pick a song/artist that doesn’t belong to Sony!
Actually, you need to check your facts.
Simon is the head of a different division of sony music, He has nothing to do with RATM and will make no money from their record sales.
Also, It doesn’t matter who RATM are signed to. The whole idea is to protest against manufactured pop. And to actually force a bit of competition back into the race for Christmas number 1
Go Ed!! It’s true!! Simon Cowell lost nothing. In fact you probably made him more money and in the process stole a dream from a guy who really deserved it. If this song is so great then why wasn’t it number 1 before?? It’s easy to club together and declare hate for something but where were all the people that downloaded the song when it was released before.
“in the process stole a dream from a guy who really deserved it”
No, Joe doesn’t deserve anything. Artistic acclaim should NOT come from showing up at Simon Cowell’s doorstep and expecting him to wave a magic wand to grant wishes of instant fame and fortune.
I could literally not agree more.
Here here…. winning Christmas number one from doing the X Factor is not having talent…. It’s just because the tribe that are taken in by that tripe and brainwashed by the “sob stories” follow Simon Cowell’s every word.
SOME of my faith is now restored in humanity.
Time will tell if Joe is a real talent, not getting Xmas number 1 through a national media onslaught.
ed ratm r signed 2 sony i dnt think simon cowell owns sony u thick tw*t
what a load of rubbish ratm is!
Joe u rule and u go and tell them to take the no. 1 back to where it belongs-america.
But actually my point is that no one forces u to listen to either so I dont know what the fuss is about. anyway joe is amazin and ratm r just a load of old trash!
you are a load of old trash mate! trailer trash! joe isnt any better than anyone else that has ever won the xfactor, infact hes the worst winner EVER. so suck on that.
I like The Climb and Joes a great singer.
Dont worry lad youll be number 1 for new year as the other racket wont last…………….
I cant bare to listen to it all the way through.
Just like to say it was inevitable that this would happen eventually and their are quite clearly a few Xfactor haters out their. I can appreciate what the the couple from essex where trying to do and i am a fan of RATM. However it didnt have to be this extreme. Why couldn’t anyone have actually downloaded Slade or something that was a christmas song? Also christmas number one was supposed to be something families enjoyed yet now young kids have to listen to Rage swearing for about 5 minutes. :S me thinks everyone got too caught up in the whole i just want to jump on the i hate simon cowell band wagon. I do think it proves a valid point no matter what people might think you either bought rage or xfactor and in itself proves that even though you all thought you were making your own decision you were still being told what to do so really FUCK YOU, YOU’LL DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU!.
Your completely missing the point love.
It’s a fuck you to monotony, monopoly and letting the mass media know that actually, the people rule…. NOT THEM.
The choice and lyrics of the song are perfect. Christmas ain’t about a fucking Christmas number one and the hype is ridiculous and that to me is just another reason why this is so perfect.
Get out of your box and grow a pair.
Its a good job the lyrics of joe’s first single suggest he knows “sometimes hes gonna have to loose”
Let’s not forget that the Rage single has also raised over £71K so far for the charity Shelter…plus, this won’t do anything to harm Joe’s career. And it might mean that we get bands releasing songs for Christmas again, now that know that it isn’t a foregone conclusion, which has to be a good thing.
joe, its a statement more than anything else. if “killing in the name” wasn’t released we would have bought another song to beat X shite. you say “If this song is so great then why wasn’t it number 1 before?? It’s easy to club together and declare hate for something but where were all the people that downloaded the song when it was released before” well 15 years ago you couldn’t download music from the net, the industry has evolved so much. another point – alot of the people who would have bought it this time would have either been too young or not even born 15 years ago to have bought this lengenary song.
i dont know if simon owns the rights for killing in the name but frankly it doesnt matter. the main thing is Joe and X factor did’nt win.
FUCK YOU,I WONT DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!
<3 been listening to these guy since 2004
they are amazing and original
not like any of the wank that comes out of x factor
all you mainstream listeners get angry because a shit song got beat by a great band
BOO-FUCKING-HOO
I agree its about time someone got the better of Simon Cowell, but behind all this is a kid trying to live his dream, lets not ever knock that or what does that make us. I honestly dont like either of the songs in question but we’ve made our point lets not let our dislike of Simon turn a lads big chance to shit. I cant abide X Factor but if we all liked the same thing it would be a pretty shite world. Good luck Joe and RATM enjoy your moment and the dollars it will bring you.
Well great news that xfactor has been injured. Now to make it fatal. Lets do the same every time they release a single. But lets at least make it something a lot of people would like to listen to. Also its just as bad and probably more manipulative but if thats what it takes in the short term then so be it. Cowell has destroyed music for the last few years. And deseres to disappear. He reminds me of those executives of the 50′s who tried to kill rocknroll when it was just a baby but this time he is trying to kill gramps….
What a load of rubbish. Best of luck to Joe in his new career. RATM may as well enjoy their moment ….. personally dont think it’ll last.
your all hilaious
all youve done is taken some kids dream away and make simon cowell just as much money because RATM are on his label
HA
RATM HAVE BEEN ON THE GO FOR FUCKIN` YEARS, THIS MANUFACTURED KARAOKE JOE WILL BE FORGOTTEN IN NO TIME APART FROM BEING A LOSER.
right on!
If there was no X factor RATM would never be number one.
RATM ARE CRAP WHO WANTS TO LISTEN TO THAT SHIT SONG ON CRISTMAS DAY.THEY WOULDNT GET PAST 1ST AUDITION ON XFACTOR TOTAL RUBISH CANT SING JUST SHOUT LOSERS
ok all im gunna say is you missed the point the whole point was to stop xfactor getting number one every single year with manufactured rubbish the fact that RATM got picked to do this is because that is the kinda thing that the band was all about your so closed minded you sicken me
You think Joe is a talented singer? Honestly? Might I suggest you try listening to Frank Sinatra, Freddie Mercury, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Beth Orton.
Joe has a very average and uninspiring voice.
it says jon and tracy on facebook did this are you sure it wasn’t /b/??
I think everyone who has said “The Climb” is a crpa song has totally missed the entire point of the campaign. The campaign was anti X-Factor, nothing personal against the song :/. And it was not about stopping Simon earning money, at all.
The fact that the song is not his own, and all the hard work is largely done by other people, in order to get Joe to sing and reap in the rewards for the people who put him there.
All who are wishing Joe good luck on his “Career” are very kind, but clearly they do not remember the winners of every other year (generalisation, yes) who have just done the xmas no. 1 and vanished from the face of the earth.
Please understand the purpose of what was done before posting your ignorance all over t’interweb :)
Well we are the great British Public, who don’t think twice about starting a hate campaign against an 18 year old lad. Those who bought the rage song should be ashamed of yourselves, as you think you have hurt Simon, but all you’ve done is line his pockets. Joe went through many auditions, fought every week against other talented singers, and won in front of nearly 20 million people. Those who think he has no talent, are totally bonkers. I hope Joe is strong enough to get past this stupid campaign, if he has any sense he will leave this backwards country
It was not “a hate campaign against an 18 year old lad”, it’s a reaction to the incessant tide of massed produced music of little artistic value exemplified by Cowell and his show.
And they say x-factor fans are thick! You’ve completely missed the point of the campaign! Joe seems a nice lad and he can sing a bit, i’ve got nothing against him. This was a protest against Cowells corporate machine that turns out safe bland singles backed by a 20 week long advetisment purely to make money. If the x-factor was about music those twin dorks wouldn’t have been in the show! There’s some great bands out there, talented, inovative, thought provoking, hard working trying to make it. What chance do they have against the might of cowells advertising machine? Go find them!
Well all i can say is…WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP
That is just TOO good, Joe Mc-pshhhhhh-Eldery can suck on that
yeah race against the machine have been going for years and never been anywere near the number one spot…..what does that say…basically that they are not what the majority of people want to listen to..and i bet most iof the ones who bought it had never even heard of them, if all the idiots in this campaign against cowell had only downloaded the single one time then they would have got nowere near number one!! the fact is it was 29p so you have all downloaded it a number of times to ensure defeat of cowell, unlike joe fans who have either bought one cd or one download….they beat joe by 50,000 copies so joes 450,000 fans far outweigh the dopes paying 29p ago over and over again….joe will still get far more airplay than the other noise anyway as radio stations aim to mass audiences and know that if they play the ratm shite people will turn off in droves….
a landmark victory!
its about time a band with substance and originality took the glory away from manufactured bollocks. RATM write their own music and put soul into it. A REAL band.
Joe is a good singer, but his generic boredom just perpetuates the corperate cash-in otherwise known as christmas…and the x-factor or ‘dream destroyer’ judge panel can fuck off too!!
take the power back RATM!!!!
Just because they write their own music, doesn’t mean they are any good
my god sue, you are a complete moron
So… Rage said “F**K YOU I WON’T DO WHAT THEY TOLD ME!” and everyone did what they were told and took the x-mas number 1 away from that x-factor bloke… who was sh*te anyway… I hate Rage though, political metal… Hopefully this will die out by next week.
to the twat who said “rage against the machine….enjoy your moment it won’t last”.
how fucking thick are you,they’ve been around for the last 18 years,which is a lot longer than any simon cowell manufactured crap would ever last.
nevermind 18 years,these fuckers don’t even last 18 months.
ughhh… Great, you all say that it’s about putting a stop to the x factor because of their rubbish songs. Please take a look at the ‘killing in the name”s lyrics and you’ll see just how boringly repetitive it is, and you should especially think about how you’ve affected Christmas. The song is very hateful. Christmas is about love, Jesus, family, friends, giving and more, but instead this couple has filled part of the Christmas season with a hate filled, anti-family, sinful, anti-Christmas song.
This was all because a couple didn’t like the ‘karaoke’ singles released by the winners of the x factor. Yes, perhaps it is wrong and does raise many people up before knocking them down. Perhaps the winner will be forgotten by next year, but isn’t that more reason to provide them with their spot in the limelight so that they can experience fame, rather than just making them depressed because people don’t like Simon Cowell.
Joe performed an uplifting song that was great for Christmas, and instead you have replaced it with a hateful song. If this was really that important to you, you people could have at least chosen a Christmassy type upbeat song instead. The fact that they donated £60k (not really that much considering) to charity, understand the fact that there are going to be young children and families whose Christmases will be affected because anytime they turn on the radio or listen to music on the TV, they will likely be exposed to this depressing drivel.
I sincerely hope that anyone who reads this and participated in this ‘event’ thinks over their actions and realises the full effects of what happens when they get carried away with things like this and resolves to think more carefully. You haven’t been very thoughtful in a wonderful season all about caring, and so I will pray for all those who have taken part in this and who have been affected.
Please be more thoughtful. Thank you.
It’s obvious you’ve never listened to killing in the name of. It’s not hateful, it’s about racism in the police. Joe’s song isn’t in anyway uplifting it’s just dull! If you don’tthink the £71000 raised so far isn’t much i hope you’ll be making your own donation just as everyone who downloaded RATM did!
I’m frankly just glad that it put an end to the monopoly that is the x factor. It has single-handedly turned around itv and it pisses me off that they run it for about 6 months. This will mean that in teh next few years there will actually be COMPETITION for christmas no 1. I think its fucking brilliant that everyone has clubbed together to give simon cowell a good, well, clubbing. This should deflate his ego slightly, lets hope. Go ratm, good for them and cant wait until their free concert.
All down to a facebook campaign to get top of the charts honestly thats how sad its got. I remember when it was all about the music not about what 2 people say on facebook. All this was was a protest to prove a point, nobody really cares about RATM just that the x factor was booted off TOP SPOT. This is the way its become, cant wait to see who launches the postman pat theme tune protest next year ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!
i think this is pathetic the song is rubbish and poor joe loosing out becauae of it
Zack de la Rocha RATM’s singer was about the same age as joe when he wrote them lyrics. 15 year down the line people are still listening.
I like the break from the x factor machine.
Just one couple?
What about the approx million people who joined the facebook campaign, not to mention the 550,000 who downloaded.
Xmas no. 1 single was always a great tradition, there’s been loads of truly memorable tracks over the years. Thanks to Xfactor all we’ve had this last few years is manufactured shite, spewed out by people who will be forgotten in a year or two.
Christmas is all about sharing, but the way Cowell et al behave is all about greed. A big portion of RATM sales have been donated to charity too – is that not Christmassy enough for you?
Err hold on Will, Just one couple?
What about the approx million people who joined the facebook campaign, not to mention the 550,000 who downloaded.
Xmas no. 1 single was always a great tradition, there’s been loads of truly memorable tracks over the years. Thanks to Xfactor all we’ve had this last few years is manufactured shite, spewed out by people who will be forgotten in a year or two.
Christmas is all about sharing, but the way Cowell et al behave is all about greed. A big portion of RATM sales have been donated to charity too – is that not Christmassy enough for you?
I think, you are all wankers – whether you like Joe or RATH … Sad Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkks
RATH RATM same shit
I thought twelve year olds like you were supposed to be in bed by now? :P
Will, you might well be a good person who likes to espouse nice values, but you’re way off with this one. Christmas is no longer about the birth of Jesus, family or love. You are prize-winningly naive to believe that. Christmas has been warped into a materialistic orgy and the X-Factor chart monopoly is one of the more noticeable manifestations. If you truly want Christmas to return to its roots, take Rage’s message to heart. It ISN’T one of hate, but one of rejecting this corporate wet-dream of a world we live and becoming sentient again.
As for McElderry’s actual song? Disgusting. Miley Cyrus is an abomination on legs. Her music is souless and without passion. I assume you’re Christian, with all the references to Christmas and prayer. I would have thought you’d be concerned about the promulgation of souless music. At least now some kids might listen to this and revert back to Hendrix, Lennon and Guns n Roses.
Let the aberration live on.
Die ^
ok bottom line is RATM are quite irrelevent now. (huge 15 years ago i’m a fan) they don’t care they are millionaires. but joe had 3 months advertising in the form of x factor.
truth is the chosen song is rubish even Miley Cyrus didn’t get a number one with it and her song.
I’m gonna throw a spanner in the works here and say that I like BOTH songs. RATM is an epic band, they have great music. But I’m also a fan of X Factor, and I fell in love with Joe after he sang Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me. Congrats on RATM for getting number 1, and to Joe for number 2… but maybe we should go back to good old fashioned Christmas songs for Christmas No. 1… just saying :)
“Such a shame that a band like Rage with foul mouths and such a bad role model for young people would get to Chritmas number one. Joe is much more of a person that would inspire young people. He will go on and become bigger and better than Rage, I’m convinved of that.”
Are you fucking serious? bad role models? he will be bigger than Rage? do me a favour mate
Much as I find the whole thing pretty funny..
I just wanted to say that it really does amaze me when people harp on about how much Joe deserved it and how much he put in?
To me any band (rock especially) must have worked for years etc to build up what they had. To say he deserved it for what he did seems so backwards. :S He just sang a few weekends? Get real. Hopes get built up for what it is, but he is by no means spectacular or anything new.
I don’t think the song choice was great either. Maybe he shoulda realised that or .. oh wait.. someone else made that choice. :S
A band who got famous off their own choices and work. I’d much rather this happen for No.1 thanks. :]
– Morello noted that Rage Against the Machine was a band that didn’t “pay its dues,” being signed after its second show. But the band’s musical personality was clear early on.
who is saying ratm worked hard? they didnt!!
You can’t make multiple albums and put on live shows infront of thousands of people over the years without hard work. Get real. The X Factor is a fast track to stardom, yet rarely produces a star remembered 12 months on.
For a start, I agree with the majority of the people on here. For too long, each Christmas we have been served some jumped up wanabee singing an apalling rendition of an already crappy song. Yes, the poor lad Joe gave it his all but he’s not put in the years and years of work that RATM did. They worked their way up from, in all probability, playing in crappy rock clubs to playing sell-out concerts! And we all know that Simon Cowell is a major shareholder in SONY, before anyone else gets up on their high horse and tells us how stupid we all are. But the bottom line is that this is a legendary song which has set a fantastic (and potentially dangerous!) precedent for the next few years. It has demolished the idea that the X Factor winner will be a “sure-fire” xmas no.1. And I, for one, applaud that!
I hope they do it again next year And the tear after until noone wants to go on that stupid show because they aren’t guaranteed the Christmas number 1 spot
Well, I’ve got to say that with this I’m glad that Simon Cowells strangle hold of the Christmas charts is shown to be weaker than we expected. The fact that he’s had to eat humble pie after spouting how ‘wrong it is’ that RATM was being brought up for the charts. Though I thoguht Joe(and still do)was a good singer, he hadn’t done anything to deserve the chart sucess he has had, no X Factor Winner has. Hopefully we’ll see the last of the cookie cutter style of tv in the next few years with that we’ve got with BB finishing next year (yay!) and poorer turnouts for viewers in ths years I’m a Celeb.
You all need to look hard at yourselves, if it wasn’t for this stupid campaign Joe would have been number 1. He would have got there fair and square. Instead we have a song that is number 1 that hardly nobody knows, and is something that we cannot share with our children, because it is so vulgar. Everyone is going on about how much it has raised for charity, well if this stupid campaign had to go ahead there are far more worthy songs that would have done the same. The soldiers, being just one of them. Over 19 million people tuned in to see the X-factor final, so I think there is a large part of the nation that like these programs, and do support these singers.
the fact you say joe would have won fair and square is what is wrong with the charts. you are basically told if you win x-factor you win christmas number 1, and that is not right! you say nobody knows the song, now they do, and is that such a bad thing? i for one think it a great song to have as number 1, firstly i love it, and think tis great! secondly its the message in the song that is exactly why the campaign went ahead! also you say 19 Million watched the final. obviously they didnt like joe, or the programe enough to support him! deal with it, RATM is xmas number 1!!
If you find the song too vulgar to share with your children, perhaps you would prefer they grow up in a world filled with the racism it speaks out against?
There are many things more vulgar in this world than words. Funnily enough, I find people who don’t realise that are a good example of such things.
“Over 19 million people tuned in to see the X-factor final, so I think there is a large part of the nation that like these programs, and do support these singers.”
er…..so why didn’t they show their support and buy Joe’s single?
A million people in this country voted for the BNP, proof that popularity is no hallmark of merit, Sue.
But not a lot of the 19 million could be bothered to buy it though, could they?
You can hardly blame people for independant thought. If the song was that good it would have beaten out the competition, as it was the song was the same over-produced, fake, syntheised shit Simon Cowell has been flogging the public for the last 5 years. Not to worry though I’m sure you’ll get the chance to vote for a doe-eyed, big-haired boy next year whose awful cover for can waste you money on then, I’m sure it’ll sound exactly the same, it’ll almost be like this year never happened!
And personally I would far far rather my kids learnt the lyrics “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” than allow themselves to be brainwashed as a mindless clone of Great Britian, but then again I’m one of those crazy people who is more concerned about the happiness of my children than the way the words they say make me look.
here here
so sue if like you say 19 milliom people tuned in why didnt joe get to number one??
I am so glad RATM won this years christmas number 1. people kept telling me, ‘it would never win it is a rubbish song’. but it is not about the song, it is about the strength of the people to do what they like. the mesage in the song, “I wont do what you tell me” and its victory in the charts means people have had enough of the stupid reality programs, and there so called stars! I congratulate everyone who downloaded the song (including myself) for having control over the charts like we should do! thanks to RATM fans we can have a great christmas listening to killing in the name of, OUR christmas number 1!! :)
Everyone is saying that the lyrics of the song is what counts “I won’t do what you tell me”, I think everyone needs to think for a second on this. Somebody on facebook tells people to go and buy this crap song, and you did. Who are the stupid followers now.
Sue, I grew up listening to Rage Against the Machine and the lyrics did me no harm! Its not just Rage Against the Machine that deserve this, it’s for every hard working band that can’t get into the charts because it is flooded with Simon Cowell’s protégé’s. A big congratulations to the people who set it up and everyone who bought the song..! It’s not a personal vendetta against Joe (who won the X Factor because its fixed btw, but that’s another matter)
GO RAGE!!
Sue, nobody “told” us to go buy it. They suggested it, and we agreed with the idea, and we choose to buy RATM’s song of our own free will, to prove a point.
We choose a song with meaning, talent and soul behind it, by *real* musicians who write their music from the heart, which are aspects and qualities that McElderry “music” will never, ever posses.
People acted to show the media that we have no interest in seeing soulless thrash invading the charts. And we succeeded in proving that point.
Or you replaced one song that people buy based on marketing hype convincing them to do so with another. Way to confirm the status quo i.e. that a #1 song isn’t #1 because of its merits at all. I mean, I’m glad this year’s trashy empty nothing is displaced, and appreciate the campaign, but there’s still a way to go yet.
“Somebody on facebook tells people to go and buy this crap song, and you did. Who are the stupid followers now.”
That will be you, as evidenced by your not realizing the idiocy in berating others for doing what, presumably, you did yourself in response the X-factor.
Still, enjoy listening to something I less pleasant than pouring boiling water into my ears, as taste is an entirely personal thing.
Wow, this just goes to show what the power of the public can achieve!
RATM are awesome and im glad some little kid with barely any talent didnt win.
And to do with Facebook telling us what to do well we were given an alternative option agaisnt the MACHINE and we won!!! stop crying about it.
Sue – people are rebelling against big corporations dictating mass actions foe financial gain. Simon cowell would have profited greatly from a number one which he used his ‘chokehold’ on the nations musical taste to achieve. How did the Facebook group creators profit from this? Nice to know people have a mind id their own. Toy, on the othwr hand are rebelling to look clever.
eye opener here folks. RATM is signed to SONY, Simon Cowell is with Sony! put two and two together. you ever seen to fuel stations opposite sides of the street from each other, but owned by the same owner? Everyeone thinks that the fuel companies compete against each other, but it is done to feed profits.
wake up people
this is part of the society we live in.
either way Sony wins.
It wasn’t about sony, sony don’t monopolize the market and i’m sure no-one has a problem with sony, they work with all kinds of artists, they’re company that have just done well. It was about standing up to cowell and xfactor stealing christmas. And hell, if we wanna keep hearing the good artists be signed then sony and the music industry in general needs this kind of publicity with everyone just stealing music nowadays the industry has taken a massive hit. The rage campaign was not a ploy by sony, they have far too much money to care.
This was never about Sony.
This was about the musicians.
thanks for repeating the same irrelevant point thats been made thousands of times by thousands of others that also read that same bit in the guardian/nme or copied from someone else.
i feel sorry for you if you believe the whole thing was about filling sony’s pockets, i really do feel sorry for you as you obviously got the wrong end of the stick.
i for one am very happy to see that Joe isn’t xmas number one. X factor has become a joke due to the fact that it is fixed and is no longer about who is the best, but who can make Simon Cowell the most money. However, i do agree that a more approriate song could’ve been chosen; although i do acknowledge the hard hitten mesage behing the words of the RATM song, it is not really a christmas song isit. There is a time to be serious and campaign for a cause, and christmas is not that time, particulalry if the cause doesn’t spread ‘christmas cheer’.
Let me just start by thanking Jon and Tracy Morter. They have ended the ridiculous stranglehold which X-Factor had on our Christmas number 1. The fact that the show is set up to end just before the once coveted number 1 is decided means that they assume they will be number 1, even if the song (which it will) sucks! X-Factor may well be a popular show, but where do the winners get to? I never watch it, but I hear that the 2nd placed contestant usually does better, despite obviously missing out on having a single in the Xmas chart. I agree with other people’s posts; that when it is said Joe put in a lot – he did not! It was really difficult – blah blah blah!! He sang for a few months? Now he has a single that sold a few copies, will probably have an album which will sell a bit, and he’ll ‘earn’ a lot of money, more than the rest of us will probably get for working all of 2010. So cheer up kid, enjoy your limelight and be thankful that the British public have shown that this is our chart, it’s our music and we will not ‘do what we are told’!
Aaah, I’m sooo happy for RATM. 65p well spent!
Tim Commerford must be especially happy:
http://music.aol.com/picture/rage-against-the-machine/rage-against-the-machine-bass-player-tim/07-3686-4539
Killing in the name is a magnificent anthem that contains a strong anti-racism message and the proceeds are going to charity, what more could you possible ask for in a Christmas Number 1? Looking forward to the free concert they promised us. Happy Christmas everybody :-)
Amazing! Hope Rage make a comeback. Interesting article about the story here http://bit.ly/8UPCgV
I don’t get why people are so against Joe on here. Everyone has to start somewhere right? Ans what’s to say these ‘legendary’ bands that have worked their way up to where they are now, would not have jumped at the chance to go a show to get them to where they want to be? Imknow if I was a struggling musician who wanted my big break I’d audition for something like this to get myself out there. Joe took the opportunity to get what he wanted like any other person who wants to fulfil their dreams would. Does this mean that just because the right opportunity came his way he doesn’t deserve to be successful???
As clearly, you couldn’t bothered actually reading what others have contributed to the debate before repeating it, I shall restate : :
No, Joe doesn’t deserve anything. Artistic acclaim should NOT come from showing up at Simon Cowell’s doorstep and expecting him to wave a magic wand to grant wishes of instant fame and fortune.
Why do people have such an issue with Joe? All he did was take an opportunity to achieve his dream. Are you saying that if any of these bands who ‘worked their way up’ were given an opportunity to audition to get what they were dreaming of, that they would just pass it up? Surely Joe deserves to be successful, he just happened to go for his dream and managed to achieve it.
I dont have a major problem with joe myself he has a decent voice but i do agree that x factor has monoipolised the charts long enough and i am so glad the RATM got the number 1. i wud mych rather have them with the title rather than a cover version of a crappy hannah montanna song i mean have some class people – the climb? you have to be kidding me
I don’t think it’s been a personal attack on Joe, the whole campaign has been against the idea that the winner of X Factor WILL be Xmas number 1. I’m sure he’ll get his number 1 at some point.
Sue, I am sharing it with my daughter and she is five.
She has been told why the track was chosen and why so many people wanted it to be number 1.
Another reason RATM donating £75,000 of the profit on sales to Shelter…. what has SC done with any money from X Factor – lined his own high waisted pockets?
Sorry but are you all stupid??? Rage against the machine are on the EPIC label which is owned by SONY same label as Joe!! so guess who set this up to make more money out the mugs that brought it haha simon cowell has won again!! should have setup a group to give the 79p to charity instead of buying joes song.
Simon Cowell works FOR sony, he doesn’t get any money from the single, sony do.he gets the money from joe only.
Considering the endless repetition of these tired arguments, I’m beginning to suspect Max Clifford has been drafted in to set his PR drones to work.
If you want to see the sorts of people both Cowell and Clifford are, try watching Louis Theroux’s show on Max. Pair of odious turds.
Hang on adam, if you go to the facebook group, the money spent dowloading the single has mostly been donated to SHELTER £70,000 in fact, sony hasnt made a profit, the rest is being spent on a free gig. so please get your facts strait before you call people stupid.
I myself havent got anything against joe, i wanted him to win the x factor, i watch the x factor, however, i was happy to see ratm have the xmas number 1 spot, for to long x factor are a ‘shoo’ for xmas number 1, and the mindless generation we have for music now is unbelievable, proper bands never get there break, on x factor if you were the next beatles and came on with guitars etc you wouldnt get through and also would have to sing other peoples songs, how is this fair?
Just shows how really stupid the english are.How could you replace one cowell act with another without doing the background checks. Gobshites.Sony wins.
I dont particularly like Sony, but i dont mind my money going to them – doesnt make me unhappy.
My money going to Rage Against The Machine makes me happy, but the fact that a portion of that money is going to charity makes me very happy.
Just as long as it doesnt all end up in Cowells pockets – Im happy!
Its just so refreshing to see Rage take the number one spot! Been a massive fan of Rage for years, and they were a big part of my life back in the 90′s, I just hope this injects a small amount of diversity into the UK charts.
Oh – and to all the Rage haters, even if your not rock fans, have a listen to the lyrics, they may swear some – they are passionate about they’re message – but they’re message is one of true goodness and hope, lets make the world a better place free of racism, war, anti-semitism and general government oppression.
Rock on guys =)
Best Christmas present EVER!
Its not about Joe.. its about Xfactor creating a society where music stagnates, nothing original is created. X factor number 1′s are songs allready released, why is there a need to release them again? Concerning sony making money on the songs, who cares? someone has to produce the music, both original and covers.
Look at westlife for example, they have exhausted covering songs that are twenty years old and now have to do poor covers of songs released recently (Daughtry’s What About Now). I am not saying the originals were good to begin with but at least they were original then, therefore even though i had rages album and live album i still suported there effort to get to the top because it supports original artists. Finally.. sue.. concerning the swearing in the song, parents let their children watch big brother, which lets face it dosnt have great integrity and morals, i heard a little girl singing, ‘my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard’, rage at least is an honest song with a good message
merry christmas
LOL peeps, one more time it seems…
Cowell’s label is SyCo.
RATM are signed to Epic.
SonyBMG owns SyCo and Epic.
Cowell doesn’t profit from anything on Epic’s list since he ISN’T AFFILIATED WITH EPIC RECORDS. (SHOCKA!!!!!)
So many idiots posting, aside from like the handful of people who seem to have grasped this concept. And as already mentioned so many times now, this was never ‘against McElderry’, but against the same shite that is vomitted up every damn year.
Yet Simon is a massive shareholder of Sony, So I guess he still wins, and I hope he’s raking it in, to get back at those who bought that disgusting record
You can keep keep saying it’s a crap record all you want, Sue. Thankfully, your current choice of bean-flicking material isn’t the final arbiter of what has artistic merit and what does not.
Still, it’s nice to see you spitting sour grapes, despite your arrogance. Keep the comments coming.
Hi Sue,
Some people (myself included) find X-Factor fairly disgusting and repulsive on occasion. The show does very well out of the public humiliation of ordinary people on national television during the first few rounds of the competition. These are ordinary people who had a dream JUST LIKE JOE’S. They too have their dream shattered by none other than Simon Cowell himself. Entrants are also required to sign an exclusive contract with SC before entering the show, which some people might reasonably interpret as contractual duress if the winner is really genuinely talented on their own merits.
But that is really by the bye. The point is that I, and many others, feel that music should really contain some degree of artistic expression. Sometimes this means that true art will often contain elements which some find contentious and/or offensive. This is a positive sign that the artist is communicating something of value to them.
Not everybody who bought the RATM is a huge fan like I am, but the vast majority felt that was an opportunity to say something about how music should stimulate a reaction (positive or negative), rather than just be some much aural wallpaper.
I’m sorry that you find the record so disgusting. That’s your right. But it is OUR right to express ourselves too. And as it turns, this Christmas, WE were in the majority.
There is another bigger issue that has been revealed by all of this: television is no longer the dominant force in marketing music. The internet (and in particular social networking) is fast overtaking the conventional TV advertising + CD sales model. Choice is now wider thanks to the lower costs of MP3 release and recording, and now everybody has a voice and can express their own tastes. This HAS to be a good thing, surely?
Let’s celebrate the new artistic diversity we are finding: pretty soon, there will be no need for people like Joe to go cap in hand to Simon Cowell for a big record deal: they’ll be able to do it all themselves (as many already are) through the internet.
We live in a society where we can choose whatever song, film or political party we wish to choose and its great.
Sue you lost – get over it! However before becoming bitter read these messages again and instead of just deciding what they say and being angry ebfore you read them – read them with open eyes.
All your comments show that you are either unable or refure to read the opinions of others and accepts that people have different views.
Most people aren’t against Joe. Most people are just a little worried about the way the music industry is evolving.
RATM are a band that have been around for years nad write their own songs with powerful lyrics. Sometimes swear words highlight a cause more effectively that powerful rhetoric and poetry. Particularly when you look at the intelligence and socio-economic background of most people that vote for the BNP – i mean they don’t really do well at Universiry Fresher weeks do they?
Just look at the lyrics “Killing in the name of!
Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses”.
Surely you know about the KKK? This song may not be as poignant as Billie Holliday’s “Strange Fruit” but it does get a message across.
I hope everyone has a wonderful christmas and that people realise the true meaning of christmas and also realise that until people stop looking for scapegoats songs like this are needed to make people stand up and think.
The song by RATM is owned by Psycho records, therfore Simon Cowell wins either way. Stupid idea the whiole thing anyway. Begrudgers.
There is nothing clever or admirable in leading a bunch of sheep in a negative campaign of this nature, borne out of an attitude of ‘sour grapes’ and resulting primarily in putting a dent in a young lad’s dream. How many worthy causes could have benfited from the time and effort which has been put into this, particularly at this time of year. Fortunately the band have been embarrassed enough to offer to make a charity donation. There are plenty of people like me who find it unhealthy that so many of us in England(and particularly our press)enjoy knocking anyone who is successful, whether through hard work or luck. People like me, however,tend to be too busy to have the time to post comments like this. As a company director myself, I would warn Simon Cowell against offering this type of person a job with his company – before he knew it they’d be wittering on about the boss earing too much and persuading their co-workers to go on strike!
“There is nothing clever or admirable in leading a bunch of sheep in a negative campaign of this nature, borne out of an attitude of ’sour grapes’ and resulting primarily in putting a dent in a young lad’s dream.”
Surely, if Joe is talented, he will reach the number one spot many times and soon this will all forgotten. Is this a tacit admission you expect him to vanish like morning mist?
“Fortunately the band have been embarrassed enough to offer to make a charity donation.”
Those purchasing the album have raised a huge about of cash for shelter BY THEMSELVES. Look for yourself.
http://www.justgiving.com/ratm4xmas
I doubt embarrassment is a factor here at all.
“As a company director myself”
Ah, that explains the pompous, overbearing attitude and complete ignorance of the facts.
If its any consolation, Joe will undoubtedly be number 1 next week, and the publicity surrounding this chart battle won’t do his career any harm either.
He’s probably going to sell MORE copies of this single as a result of this media circus. So in some respects, being number two with 450,000 sales is better than being number one with (for example) only 350,000 sales.
Also being a company director myself, I tend to consider the bottom line before reaching my conclusion! :P
RATM WHO?
If they were so good why have they never even hit the top 40 in 15 years?
As a lover of ALL types of music, I think the person behind this campaign must have had some political agenda.
They could have chose any number of brilliant metal classics like Motorhead “ace of spades”, or the original version of Journey’s “Don’t stop believing”(which Joe did a decent rendition of IMO).
How does any singer or band get a break in the business. Mostly they get noticed by talent scouts.
There is a lot of original talent out there. But how many original singers/bands started out covering classic songs. A. over 50% I reckon.
RATM had their chance.
Let someone else have a chance at fame.
“Mostly they get noticed by talent scouts.”
Actually, this isn’t really true any more. Labels are increasingly watching their bottom line, and with ubiquity of cheap digital recording, most artists are recording the material themselves. In fact, nowadays, very many artists are signed by a record label AFTER they have already had an independent record release and have built up their own (albeit relatively small following. This makes them a safer bet for the labels.
The days of a “talent scout” trawling the clubs of Britain looking for the next big thing are well and truly over. And, to be honest, I think this is a good thing. Artists signed to major labels in the old way often had their careers modelled by the label who signed them. These days, musicians can control the product themselves, giving them much greater artistic freedom. And partly, that’s what makes RATM great. They were never going to be “mainstream”, and they never wanted to be: fortunately they had a supportive label in Epic, who let them do what THEY wanted to do.
This was never about music, talent or raising money for charity. There are three types of people in this world – those with positive energy who like to build, those with negative energy who like to destroy, and those who follow whichever of the first two groups shouts the louder. It’s interesting to work out from the comments made what percentage of people fall into each group and how many from the third believe they are momentarily in the second. We must bear in mind, however, that most people in the first group do not have the time to do things like this! It’s also unrealistic to think that many people can change groups, although we live in hope!
There are many types of people ion the owrld. Those who destroy, those who build, those who loe, those who hate, those who laugh a little Britain, those qwho think its crap….
Come on people we are all individuals and as individuals we all do things for different reasons. Just three types of people – oh come on!
We all ahve different reasons for doing things. Many of the people that bought this single did so for different reasons – hate Joe, Like RATM, sick of Simon Cowell, sick of commercialism, like Ollie and wanted him to win, thought it’d be funny to have a song with sweart words in to me bumber one – people bought the song for different reasons!!!
People are not all the same and that is the beauty of humanity – stop trying to put people in boxes. Just live and be happy (or not if that’s what you choose!!)
And remember people – there’s only two more sleeps till xmas! xxxxxxx
There are many types of people ion the owrld. Those who destroy, those who build, those who loe, those who hate, those who laugh a little Britain, those qwho think its crap….
Come on people we are all individuals and as individuals we all do things for different reasons. Just three types of people – oh come on!
We all ahve different reasons for doing things. Many of the people that bought this single did so for different reasons – hate Joe, Like RATM, sick of Simon Cowell, sick of commercialism, like Ollie and wanted him to win, thought it’d be funny to have a song with swear words in to me number one – people bought the song for different reasons!!!
People are not all the same and that is the beauty of humanity – stop trying to put people in boxes. Just live and be happy (or not if that’s what you choose!!)
And remember people – there’s only two more sleeps till xmas! xxxxxxx
Oh and sorry for my typing errors I just get so excited – plus am too busy laughing at some of the pompous replies!!
Meryy christmas xxxxxxxxxxx
Em, you are a breath of fresh air. If you did buy the current No 1, I’d like to think you’d planned to buy it anyway. Merry Christmas to you, too!
I’ve never been a big fan of RATM but i decided to back the campaign by Jon & Tracy & download the track because i had had enough of x factor taking over the christmas number one spot yet again. To be honest i didn’t give a dame who one as long it was something other than the x factor again!!!
I’m fed up of hearing that Joe deserves the top spot, why does he? His only been in the music industry 5 minutes!!! If he had come into the music business after alot of hard work singing something that he had written himself, then maybe that would have been different. He’s not got a bad voice & i’m sure if he wants it bad enough in time he’s dream will grow with him & get a deserved number one….
As for Ladymuck you say “As a company director myself, I would warn Simon Cowell against offering this type of person a job with his company – before he knew it they’d be wittering on about the boss earing too much and persuading their co-workers to go on strike!” this statement just shows how narrow minded you actually are, its a pathetic thing to say especially as you obviously consider yourself an educated person!!!
I’m glad i don’t work for a person like you that obviously only thinks one way & puts people in boxes!!!!
It is all a crock of sh*te, spoke to someone today that downloaded and paid lots of times, just so someone off a reality show didnt get to number one.
A. The song is total rubbish, the vocals are rubbish.
B. How many people actually voted it in? or was it down to people multi-purchasing just to get it in?
FFS is this what the charts is down to, voting on facebook and nothing to do with genuine sales. TIME TO GET RID OF THE CHARTS, isn’t it?
ANOTHER TOTAL EMBARRISMENT FOR ENGLAND.
They were genuine sales, genuine sales of downloads. That’s what the charts are for; showing what people wanted to buy.
Also, FYI, if you purchase a track more than twice in the one week the charts company will not count it towards the charts. People who bought multiple copies just wasted their money after the first one.
So he manages both bands and owns both songs, so he needed money to pay his UK taxes – and all the stupid idiots fell for it, thanks Lady Muck, that makes it all make sense.
Laughing my a*se off at the people who paid to get the song to number one for christmas, SIMON IS SO LAUGHING AT YOU NOW.
No – hwat Lady Muck says does not make sense!
People cannot be put in a category – only young people with no life experience or people who can’t ccpe with randomness of life think that!
LIfe is not black and white. You cannot put people inn boxes. Its like saying people are either good or eveil – when everyone is a bit of both.
God even Hitler was a vegetarian!!
I love all the opinions on this site! I love it that people can share their views – I just wish poeple would stop trying to judge everyone.
People bought the single cos they wanted to and others didn’t becuase they didn’t want to.
Stop trying to make everyone the same and celebrate the uniqueness of the human race xxx
Come on – Christmas is a time to show love to other not be being mean to each other!!!
xxxxxx
Very well said em, totally agree with all that u have said…xxx
Wishing EVERYONE a very Merry Christmas…xxx
BUt thank you Lady Muck for your comment – ( I was the one not reading carefully this time).
And yes |I did buy the single but cos I use to mosh like craxy to it when I was 16 in a little club called Alcatraz – those were the days….
Wishing you a Merry CHristmas xxx
Well, if people delight in having a number one that is actually there by mob mentality and NOT merit, fair enough. Says a lot about todays society.
Isnt there enough hatred, war, bad feeling and anti social behaviour in the world already without purile chav internet download gangs being added to the list.
basically.. i think they have just ruined people’s christmas’ to prove their point.. well good look to them, they have proved their point and upset a lot of people by doing so.. personally i think there was no need + also.. the climb by joe was a lot better!
ridiculous noise? First of all: Rage Against The Machine is widely excepted for their music skills, they are praised for their high quality live shows..and the song actual
This action actually raised money for homeless and the song it self has content…
you are so dumb…and probably don`t know shit about music.
facts:
Rage Against The Machine: A real band
killing in the name: a song that actually is saying something
this action: raised money for the homeless
you are talking about destroying somebody`s campaign that was sponsored by the music industry. I mean, everybody was free to download or buy the Rage single or the Joe single, nobody was forced to buy annything..only young people are brainwashed by the media to buy that Joe single, he was on tv the whole year and after he won xfactor he had extreme publicty and offcourse that big expensive advertising/promotion.
that rage`s single becam a succes because of grassroots support.
scary. very scary. humanity is lost, how can people think like that. how can they just ignore the facts and believe in that shit. who`s lives are detroyed because of the xfaxtor winner not becoming the christmas nr 1? tell me!