AC/DC’s chances to get ‘Thunderstruck’ to Christmas Number 1 on the UK charts diminish due to delayed fan campaign.
The Facebook fan group ‘AC/DC We Salute You’ started a campaign to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary by trying to get their song ‘Thunderstruck’ to number 1 on the charts. This follows their 2013 success with ‘Highway To Hell,’ which reached Number 4.
Shift In Campaign Strategy To Post-Christmas Focus
However, the organizers recently decided not to compete for Christmas Number 1 in 2023. Instead, they plan to target the period after Christmas, as previous campaigns have succeeded during this time. The admins of the AC/DC Facebook fan page, Steevi and Jon, confirmed this new strategy in a statement to Official Charts, saying:
“After a vote across three separate AC/DC groups, including the original 2013 campaign group of over 100,000 members, we have decided to put back the campaign week to Friday, December 29 to Thursday, January 4. By choosing to delay by two weeks, we’ll also avoid being caught up in the Christmas songs that will no doubt be prominent the week after Christmas as well.”
Rationale Behind Delaying The Campaign
Explaining why they took this decision, they added:
“Why? Because it focuses more on the band’s 50th anniversary itself rather than being caught up in the Christmas mayhem, in which we feel many would love to see [The Pogues] ‘Fairytale of New York’ top the pack for reasons we all know well. When polled, 83% of AC/DC fans agreed, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
The competition for Christmas Number 1 starts on December 15 and ends on December 21, with the winner announced on BBC Radio 1 on December 22. However, AC/DC fans aiming to get ‘Thunderstruck’ to Number 1 are focusing their efforts on the chart week from December 29 to January 4. The results for this week will be released on January 5, 2024, on OfficialCharts.com and broadcast on BBC Radio 1.
