A Facebook group has succeeded in capturing the Christmas number one chart spot following a campaign supported by almost one million people.

Members of the Rage Against The Machine 4 Xmas group were intent on pushing the US rock band to the top of the charts, thereby denying X Factor competition winner Joe McElderry a Christmas number one record.

A total of 968,852 Facebook users joined the group and between them purchased around 500,000 copies of the winning single Killing in the Name. The song, which was originally released back in 1993, is the first to reach the top of the UK singles chart on download sales alone.

According to a BBC report it also achieved the biggest download sales total in a first week ever in the UK charts.