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US rap-metal band Rage Against The Machine took the coveted Christmas number one in British pop charts on Sunday after an Internet campaign to keep the winner of the “X Factor” TV talent show from the top spot.

The band’s 1992 single “Killing in the Name” sold more than 500,000 download copies in the past week, enough to beat Joe McElderry’s “The Climb”, which managed sales of 450,000 by downloads and in the shops, the Official Charts Company (OCC) said.

The surprise outcome brought an end to a four-year run of “X Factor” winners claiming top position in the seasonal charts, and showed the power of the Internet in the process.

It was the first time a download-only single had achieved a Christmas number one, and in the process notched up the biggest one-week download sales in British chart history.

“As we have seen in recent years, overhauling any ‘X Factor’ winner in the race for the Christmas number one is no mean achievement,” OCC managing director Martin Talbot said.

“The popular support we have seen for the record this week has been truly amazing — and handed them two all-time records.”

Previous “X Factor” winners have easily secured the Christmas top spot, and music experts had said there was little chance anyone could produce a serious rival.

Bookmakers had believed that the popularity of the show, with some 20 million viewers tuning in to see McElderry win last week, would mean his debut single, a cover of a song by American Miley Cyrus, would come out on top.

But a popular campaign on the Facebook website encouraged people who were fed up of “X Factor” taking the Christmas number one, to buy RATM’s expletive-filled single as a protest. It amassed almost 950,000 supporters.

“This is a huge victory by and for fans of real music and we extend our heartfelt thanks to every fan and freedom fighter who helped make our anthem of defiance and rebellion the anarchy Christmas miracle of 2009,” the band said in a statement.

Rupert Adam, spokesman for bookmaker William Hill, said the industry would be paying out a large six figure sum.

“Rage Against The Machine’s win was unthinkable just a few weeks ago. But the LA band have landed a sensational Christmas gamble for their fans. We simply didn’t see it coming,” said Nick Weinberg from Ladbrokes.

However, the greatest beneficiary of the closely fought battle is record company Sony BMG as both acts are on its labels.

Simon Cowell, 50, the executive producer of “X Factor” and also the creator of popular U.S. show “American Idol”, had hit out at the online campaign, saying that it was aimed at him and it was “stupid”.

But there was some consolation for him, as Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who herself became an Internet sensation when she appeared on Cowell’s “Britain’s Got Talent” TV show, took top spot in the album charts with “I Dreamed A Dream”.

Reuters

See the clip of Rage Against The Machine's 1992 hit "Killing in the name of" on YouTube. (Warning: Clip contains strong language)