UK Christmas No. 1 Battle - who won?

It's been some time since the UK has seen a battle for the Christmas number 1 after the years of manufactured pop music courtesy of Simon Cowell. But there again, who has cared since single sales have been down? 2009 saw the return of a decent battle, thanks to an internet campaign via Facebook to dislodge Mr Cowell and his grip on the number 1 at Yuletide.

And the song chosen was Rage Against the Machine's Killing In The Name - not a particularly Christmasy song. Cowell claimed it was an attack against him (well, duh!), and it was stupid. Even music heavyweights like Sir Paul McCartney thought it was a fun idea.

And the good news is that Cowell's grip on the Christmas Singles Chart has ended for a year. Rage Against the Machine sold about 500,000 copies (well, legitimately as they did sell more) compared to 450,000 by Joe McElderry (he being the X-Factor winner).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8423340.stm

Now, it shall be interesting to see if this becomes an annual event...