December 22, 2008 16:43

Jeff Buckley's mother says he 'would have loved' fans' 'Hallelujah' campaign

Mary Guibert thanks fans for pushing Buckley's version of the song up the charts

Jeff Buckley's mother Mary Guibert has expressed her delight at seeing his cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' reach the Number Two position in the UK singles chart.

Thousands of Buckley's fans joined internet campaigns to get the song back in the charts this week, after it was announced that 'The X Factor' winner Alexandra Burke would be releasing her cover of 'Hallelujah' in an effort to get to Christmas Number One.

While Burke's cover had no problems reaching the top spot yesterday (December 21), Buckley fans rejoiced after his version of the song went in at Number Two.

In an interview with The Independent, Guibert said she thought it ironic that it had taken 'The X Factor' creator Simon Cowell, who she called the "ultimate taste arbiter", to give Buckley his highest-ever chart placing.

She said: "I think Jeff would have found this Number One thing very amusing. "It's ironic in so many ways. I mean, here is 'The X Factor', run by Simon Cowell, who is supposed to be the ultimate taste arbiter, and they've been run to the wire by my son.

"It's come about so organically, with no record label pushing it, and I think Jeff would have loved that, and loved his fans for doing it."

Guibert also revealed that if Buckley hadn't drowned in 1997, she believes he would now be as big as U2 frontman Bono.

"If Jeff had lived, he would now be on a level with Bono," she said. "He would have toured the world and had a lifelong career, and at the end of it, he would have been that guy sitting in a wheelchair with the microphone specially lowered six inches, so that we could all hear him sing 'Hallelujah one more time."

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