September 27, 2000 13:04

'STAN' UP FOR YOURSELVES

The controversial track [b]'Stan'[/b] isn't your regular candidate for the Christmas Number One...

Photo Gallery: Eminem

Eminem looks set to release 'STAN' as a pre-Christmas single - and already WILLIAM HILL bookmakers have installed it at 20-1 as a UK Christmas chart-topper.

The track, set to be the third culled from the multi-million selling 'The Marshall Mathers LP', is slated for a November 27 release. However, a UK spokesperson for the rapper today insisted the date was not set in stone but subject to change.

Already receiving heavy airplay on UK radio, the song would be a radical change from the usual cosy Christmas tunes. Last year saw Cliff Richard's take on the Lord's Prayer at the top of the charts.

Eminem's 'Stan' dramatises a series of letters to him from an eponymous obsessive fan which ends with the fan locking his abused girlfriend in the trunk of his car and driving it off a bridge.

Eminem is due to film the video for the dramatic track next week in Los Angeles.

According to mtv.com, the star will be directed by Dr. Dre and Phillip Atwell in the promo. Two versions, one normal length and one extended, will be made.

Dido, the British singer whose track 'Thank You' is sampled extensively in 'Stan' is also set to appear in the video - probably as Stan's doomed girlfriend.

Meanwhile, current chart-toppers Westlife are William Hill's 6-4 favourite for the Christmas Number One spot.