In yet another example of the power of the people via the internet, Rage Against The Machine’s iconic 1992 protest song has reached Number one in the heady heights of the UK single Charts.

For the past few weeks steam has built up behind an online campaign housed in several Facebook groups and an official page at http://www.ratm4xmas.co.uk/.  The campaign was set up to end the reign of terror Simon Cowell and his kareoke monopoly have held on the charts for well over 5 years.

From groups set up compelling people to buy singles in the precious window of time before christmas (which as of last night secured their place at number one) to a sustained number of requests on a variety of radio stations, one thing remained constant, a will to prevent this years X Factor release, A cover version of Miley Cyrus’ song The Climb, by the Joe Mc Eldry from reaching the top spot.

Despite a great number of groups being set up to push Rage there were also campaigns to promote the sales of  The Muppets Cover of Bohemian Rhapsody and Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, though Killing In The Name Of was always a favourite choice for protest. Everything from the name of the band to the refrain of “Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me!” screams out revulsion at the current state of things.

In an on air comment when Killing In the Name Of was officially announced as the victor, lead singer Zach De La Rocha praised the movement as an “incredible organic campaign” against “the sterile pop mentality”.  A sentiment shared by band mate Tom Morello prior to the end of the campaign where he explained that it “tapped into the silent majority of the people in the UK who are tired of being spoon-fed one schmaltzy ballad after another”.

The sales of the single, advertised through RATM4XMAS.CO.UK have also encouraged customers to donate to Shelter, the homelessness charity through their Just Giving page, which has currently raised over £70,000. Jon and Tracy Morter, the husband and wife team behind the campaign have recieved a substantial amount of press coverage personally with a telephone appearance on RATM’s amusingly disobedient performance on BBC Radio 5 Live and a commendation on their actions from Simon Cowell himself. However, in other news articles Cowell condemned the campaign as being ‘Stupid’ and ‘Cynical’, targeting him personally.

Some have also condemned the campaign with Cowell again being at the heart of their protests. Simon Cowell signs a majority of his acts to the Sony BMG group, a company with which he has a substantial amount of shares on the basis that Rage Against The Machine is signed to the record label Epic, which is also owned by the group. So Cowell stood to profit regardless of which band hit the top spot, but in essence this is not what the protest was about.

To me, this campaign was about making the charts worth watching again, proving that the consumer could shake off the shackles of the pop masses and bring back some variety and excitement to what is essentially a set of statistics.

If you wish to continue the rage, Clothing Company Planet Neon Bunny are selling a T-shirt with the Slogan Fuck you, I won’t buy what you sell me for £10 with a portion of profits going to Shelter.

To order message Planet Neon Bunny Via this Face book Page

In the mean time, revel in the victory, and rage against the machine!