Top 10 versions of Darth Vader's Star Wars theme

I'm a sucker for a good silly chart campaign. Yes, I know, you're sick of them. And to be fair, fatigue and the law of diminishing returns was making any kind of Rage-style Christmas effort look unlikely this year, until X-Factor apparently told a charity whose name they ripped off to 'get a lawyer', which could be enough to make anyone arbitrarily download Smells Like Teen Spirit again, frankly.

Meanwhile I find myself drawn to the dark side... or specifically a group with (at the time of writing) fewer than 50 members, trying to get Lord Vader to the festive top spot by means of downloading the Imperial March. Well, you can't deny it's catchy. And "I find your lack of faith disturbing" is proving a very handy phrase for silencing the inevitable tedious doubters.

In honour of the valiance of the attempt (and the fact I've been constantly distracted by YouTube for the last 36 hours since the page went up and I want to get it out of my system), here are 10 variously curious interpretations of the splendid John Williams theme.


Disclaimer: Yes, I know there's a dubstep version. And I know No Doubt and Daft Punk and someone-who-isn't-Metallica have done them. These are more fun:

1. Kuricorder Quartet



For anyone who thought the Imperial March could never possibly sound cute...

2. Ukulele Duet



Use the force, Uke.

3. Floppy Disk Drive Duet



4. 8bit



5. On a Grand Piano



Lord Vader specifically ordered the piano be shiny and black.

6. Presbytarian Handbell Choir



From 1:41...

7. A Better Dubstep Version



So don't say I don't wub you.

8. Funked Up

The Death Star is a discoball.

9. A Cockatiel.



10. And finally, played on what I can only assume must be actual Sith technology.




If you want to help the campaign to get the original to number one this Christmas (because, come on, it would sound wonderful on Radio 1, would it not?) - join the Facebook group, spread the word, and most importantly download from 18th December!