Rebels bid to deny Cowell's X Factor the Christmas No 1 single – again

The late John Cage and Captain Ska are rivals to Simon Cowell's reality-show pop stars

Tonight, as the victorious contestant in ITV's The X Factor is finally anointed, the race for the Christmas No 1 spot in the charts will begin in earnest. Whether Rebecca Ferguson, Matt Cardle, Cher Lloyd or perhaps the boy band One Direction turns out to be the winner, the end of the television talent show will offer a chance of lasting fame for all the runners-up.

It is not just the acts taking part in the live final who stand to benefit from the X Factor factor, a bemusing array of satirical and novelty tracks are also making the most of the publicity surrounding the show by defining themselves as alternatives to the mainstream fare promoted by Simon Cowell's one-man music industry.

As students rampage through the streets of London, Captain Ska's anti-cuts, anti-coalition government song, Liar Liar, goes on sale today aiming to provide an anthem for this winter of discontented youth. Excerpts from the speeches of George Osborne, David Cameron and Nick Clegg are intercut with the urgent lyric, "He's a liar, liar," sung along to a reggae beat. Proceeds from the single are to go to causes helping those affected by the cuts, including the homeless charity Crisis, the Disability Alliance, Women's Health Matters and to a campaigning website, False Economy, designed as a repository of information on the cuts.

"I've never much been into politics before," Captain Ska said last week, "but the spending cuts are going to really hit millions of people who did nothing to cause this recession. And ska can be the soundtrack for the campaign, just as 2-tone was one of the few good things to come from the 1980s."

Subversive contenders for No 1 position at Christmas are still led by Cage Against the Machine, a "performance" of avant garde musician John Cage's notorious 1952 composition of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. Those behind the hugely popular Facebook campaign promoting this single took their inspiration from the success of last year's single Killing In The Name by the band Rage Against the Machine, which managed to beat the 2009 X Factor winner Joe McElderry to the top slot, raising more than £100,000 for the housing charity Shelter in the process.

A sideswipe at the X Factor machine might also come from singer Gamu Nhengu, who went out of this year's competition at an early stage but who is entering the race for this year's Christmas No 1 with a charity single. Last year's outsider contestants, Jedward, the Irish brothers John and Edward, are also tilting at the top again with a new single.

For the four acts still in the running to win this year's X Factor, the week ahead means serious business. Secret plans for the immediate release of the winner's single are already advanced, ensuring maximum impact on the market, before their names start to fade in the memory of rival camps of supporters.

If the five fresh-faced members of One Direction, the boy-band who were put together by the X Factor judges, win tonight, they plan to sing Young Forever, a track by Hudson based on an original by Alphaville. If the guitar-playing Cardle is triumphant, he plans to perform Many of Horror by the Scottish Mercury prize nominees Biffy Clyro.

The two remaining solo divas, Ferguson and Lloyd, have yet to announce what they will sing should they win. As competition favourites, they are already entering the marketing-led purdah that blankets the lives of the most profitable stars in the music business.

The sassy yet fragile Lloyd has had a bumpy ride in the competition so far, yet many suspect that Cowell privately hopes this teenager will win. Although Lloyd is "mentored" on the show by fellow judge Cheryl Cole, the all-powerful Cowell appears to approve of her more unconventional attitude.

For those looking for a light-hearted way to thumb their nose at Cowell, the comedian Harry Hill has released an album of satirical songs for Christmas, including the single I Wanna Baby, about a teenage wannabe mum. Ellie Goulding's cover of Elton John's Your Song has been a download hit since its use in the John Lewis Christmas commercial.

Conventional Christmas-hit-peddlers Cliff Richard, Mariah Carey and George Michael, and the late Michael Jackson are also all in the running with new singles or charity re-releases. Among the remaining unlikely competitors are: Welsh opera singer Bryn Terfel, who duets with the late Bing Crosby courtesy of technology; the Pogues' Shane MacGowan, who has joined up with the Priests for a new version of The Little Drummer Boy; and the cast of Glee, the hit US television show, who are releasing a song from their Christmas special.

Contributor

Vanessa Thorpe

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Rage Against the Machine for Christmas No 1: The celebrities wade in

Paul McCartney, Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell get dragged into the most heated race for Christmas No 1 in years

Rosie Swash

18, Dec, 2009 @12:01 PM

Your little game's been rumbled, Simon Cowell | Paul Morley

Paul Morley: Why I don't buy into all this Rage Against the Machine euphoria

Paul Morley

27, Dec, 2009 @12:05 AM

Article image
Why a Rage Against the Machine Christmas No 1 would be a great pop moment

Tim Jonze: If the sweary, shouty rap-rock mob prove to have the X(mas) factor it will be a victory for the democratised and downloadable nature of the pop charts in 2009

Tim Jonze

11, Dec, 2009 @12:30 PM

Article image
Fight for love – how Cheryl Cole became the new X Factor darling

Girls Aloud singer was a tabloid favourite for all the wrong reasons until Simon Cowell turned her into the people's princess. Now solo success and a US launch for X Factor beckon

Alice Fisher

24, Oct, 2009 @11:06 PM

Article image
Cheryl Cole ponders switch to BBC after X Factor sacking
Former X Factor judge reportedly offered role in rival BBC show The Voice as debate rages in US about whether she was brought down by foul play

Joanna Walters and Vanessa Thorpe

28, May, 2011 @11:08 PM

Article image
Can Rage Against the Machine compete with Joe McElderry?

Has the Facebook drive to thwart X Factor Joe McElderry's victory in the Christmas charts stalled? Or can Rage Against the Machine still grab a surprise festive number one?

Sean Michaels

15, Dec, 2009 @10:17 AM

Article image
Cage Against the Machine: pop stars to stage silent X Factor protest
Pete Doherty and Billy Bragg among those teaming up to record John Cage's silent composition in a bid for Christmas No 1

Sean Michaels

06, Dec, 2010 @12:49 PM

Article image
Rage Against the Machine v Joe McElderry: Chart update!

RATM still have the edge over X Factor winner Joe McElderry in the battle for Christmas number one, but the gap is closing

Rosie Swash

17, Dec, 2009 @12:14 PM

Article image
Simon Cowell: Rage Against the Machine campaign is 'stupid'

At first, nobody believed an internet campaign could topple Simon Cowell's Christmas chart dominance. But now the X Factor mogul has waded in ... and he looks worried

Rosie Swash

10, Dec, 2009 @5:24 PM

Article image
Cage Against the Machine – enjoy the silence | Tom Service
Tom Service: John Cage's heightened soundscape of quietness is the perfect response to Simon Cowell and The X Factor this Christmas

Tom Service

05, Nov, 2010 @2:04 PM