For the first time in more than 50 years, the same song but by different artists has taken the number one and two spots in the UK chart – while a third version of the song is at number 36.
Hallelujah was first a hit for Leonard Cohen, who wrote the song more than 20 years ago and it is his version that entered the UK charts at number 36 this week.
Jeff Buckley’s version, recorded in 1994 and a long time hit on the indie scene, sold 81,000 copies via downloads.
However, it was X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke who clinched the eventual Christmas number one spot after she became the fastest selling female solo artist of all time with 576,000 copies being sold in one week alone with her version of Hallelujah.
The last time the same song took the number one and two spots was in 1957 when Tommy Steele and Guy Mitchell were both Singing the Blues.
Managing director of the Official Charts Company (OCC), Martin Talbot, said: “Chart placings at one, two and 36 are remarkable for a 25 year old song which has never previously reached the top 40.”
