Fueled by a grassroots Facebook campaign and a great song that stuck a chord with fans, Rage Against The Machine is topping the UK singles charts this Christmas. "Killing In The Name" sold an impressive 500,000 plus last week, all of them digital downloads.
Motivating the Facebook campaign by the unaffiliated husband and wife team of Jon and Tracy Morter, was a desire to take back the charts from the manufactured pop of X Factor producer Simon Crowell and others that normally dominate the holidays. In fact, one of Crowell's creations, Joe McElderry, came in #2, 50,000 short of Rage.
Praising the fans that made the victory possible, Rage Against The Machine lead singer Zach De La Rocha said:
"We're very, very ecstatic and excited about the song reaching the number one spot and I just want to say we want to thank everyone for participating in this incredible, organic grassroots campaign."
"It's more about the spontaneous action taken by young people in the UK to topple this very sterile pop monopoly," he continued. "When young people decide to take action they can make what's seemingly impossible possible."
The band will play a free gig for their supporters next year.
