A COMEDIAN from Pendle is the driving force behind a campaign to propel a 1960s surf-rock novelty song to the Christmas top spot.

Inspired by the cult animated TV show Family Guy, Matt Whistler said he and a group of friends decided to make a video to put some weight behind a campaign to get The Trashmen’s 1964 hit ‘Surfin’ Bird’ to number one in the UK singles chart.

The clip, which sees him dancing through the snow-covered streets of Brighton, dressed in a festive red and white thong, bra and Santa hat combo, has made him an internet sensation, getting an impressive 120,000 hits since it was uploaded to YouTube on December 3.

Matt, 38, a former Brierfield schoolboy, said he believed the song, also featured in Vietnam war film Full Metal Jacket, will prove popular enough to keep X Factor winner Matt Cardle off the Christmas top spot.

It has also been championed by Radio One DJ Scott Mills and is seen by the bookies as the most significant opposition.

Matt, an actor, comic, stuntman, writer and presenter now based in Brighton, said his latest filmmaking exploits started when he had to cut short a trip to London due to the bad weather.

He said: “I got back to Brighton and went to a mate’s and I decided, spontaneously, to slide down the steepest road in East Sussex naked on a tea tray.

"We filmed it and uploaded it to Facebook and it went ballistic.

“YouTube banned it, but we made the Surfin’ Bird one just over a week ago.”

When Surfin’ Bird was first released in 1964 it reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in America.

But only when it was featured heavily in an episode of Family Guy last year did it enter the UK chart at number 50.

Matt, who still makes regular trips to visit his family in Pendle, said he had high hopes for the song’s latest assault on the charts.

He said: “The odds are getting better all the time.

"I have absolutely no reason to doubt that it will get to number one. It will do it.”

Rage Against The Machine battled to the Christmas number one last year selling 502,000 copies compared to 450,000 sold by then X Factor winner Joe McElderry.