God Save the Queen: The Sex Pistols take on charity track

A royal race to the top of the chart has begun with the Sex Pistol's record company re-releasing God Save the Queen while a blind singer aims to take the National Anthem to the top of the charts for Diamond Jubilee week.

Lissa Hermans, 30, who is also autistic, is to release a charity version of the traditional God Save The Queen next month

It will be released at the same time as the Pistols' punk anthem of the same name, which is being reissued to mark the track's 35th anniversary.

Singer John Lydon - known in the 70s as Johnny Rotten - has already distanced himself from a campaign to get his song to number one for the jubilee weekend.

Hermans version is though to be the first time the tune has been released as a single.

The singer is a member of the Chickenshed Theatre, a pet cause of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the single will benefit its charitable trust.

Hermans said the Queen had enjoyed her performance of the National Anthem:

Music fans are trying to co-ordinate an online campaign to get the Pistols' God Save The Queen to number one after record giant Universal announced the track would be re-released on May 28.

Showbiz agent Jonathan Shalit, a trustee of the Chickenshed Theatre, said he was "appalled" to hear that Universal was putting the punk track out again, describing it as a

When the track was originally released in 1977, it became a focus for a royal backlash.

It has long been thought to have been the biggest seller for the Silver Jubilee week, with conspiracy theorists suggesting a tweak to the rules of chart eligibility denied it a place at number one. Instead Rod Stewart was at the top with I Don't Want To Talk About It.

God Save The Queen was re-released in 2002 for the Golden Jubilee but made it to just number 15.