A 50-year-old former punk star stormed into the top ten last night - 25 years after his first chart success.

John Otway came in at number nine with Bunsen Burner, which features 1,000 of his die-hard fans providing backing vocals on the B-side.

Otway's first single - (Cor Baby That's) Really Free, with Wild Willy Barrett - reached number 27 in 1977 and he was snapped up by Polydor for £250,000.

But his next release - Geneve - failed to impress the music-buying public and he disappeared into obscurity.

A cult following of fans on the Internet kept Otway's musical interests alive and when they asked him what he wanted for his 50th birthday this year, he said a second hit single.

Otway was celebrating his new chart success last night with a sell-out gig at the London Palladium for 2,500 of the fans who helped him achieve it with a massive Internet campaign.

Elsewhere in the charts, Pop Idol stars Will Young and Gareth Gates kept the top slot for a second week with their cover version of Long And Winding Road.

In the album chart, the Elvis Presley collection Elv1s - 30 Number 1 Hits, stayed at number one.