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X Factor guru Simon Cowell has revealed that his is "gutted" to have lost out on the race for Christmas number one.

It has been one of the most closely fought festive chart countdowns in history. Taking on the might of X Factor a Facebook campaign propelled Rage Against The Machine into contention.

Competing against a huge entertainment company the organisers cracked open the champagne last night (December 20th) after 'Killing In The Name' was declared the British number one.

Now rival boss Simon Cowell has claimed that he is "gutted" to have lost out. The X Factor champion Joe McElderry was beaten despite selling over 450,000 copies of his single 'The Climb'.

However Cowell is not one to miss out on an opportunity. "I am genuinely impressed by the campaign they have run. It has been a good campaign with no dirty tricks and without any funding. They have been passionate and worked hard," Cowell told the Daily Mirror.

"I offered them jobs at my record company. It could be in marketing or perhaps even running the company!"

"This is their first attempt at putting out a record and they got a Christmas Number One, so they have not done badly at all. I wanted them to come and work for us. I was deadly serious but they haven't taken me up on the offer."

The Facebook campaign was run by Joe Morter and his wife Tracy. Previously, it was revealed that Simon Cowell had phoned the pair to wish them the best of luck.

"Simon was very sweet and it was lovely to talk to him," Morter explained to the NME. "We had a good chat about music in general and just wished each other good luck. I've got total respect for him. That was really nice thing to do."

For an exclusive full interview with Jon Morter - including his reaction to the chart victory - click HERE!