Artists for Grenfell's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' single soars to number one spot in two days

The Grenfell Tower charity single has rocketed to the top of the singles charts just two days after it was released.

The cover of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water was organised by Simon Cowell and recorded by 50 of the UK biggest musicians.

After selling more than 170,000 copies, it has been declared the second fastest-selling single of the year, according to the Official Charts Company.

The song is second only to Ed Sheeran's hit Shape Of You, which notched up 227,000 copies in its first week of release in January.

Performed by Artists For Grenfell, the line-up of musicians featured includes Robbie Williams, Liam Payne and Rita Ora – who helped out at the scene of the blaze.

An emotional opening rap verse by grime star Stormzy was praised by listeners when the track debuted across radio stations on Wednesday morning, followed by the release of a tear-jerking video, including footage from the fire aftermath, later in the evening.

The cover was recorded over the weekend at west London's Sarm studios, half a mile from the devastating tower block fire that killed at least 79 people last week.

Gareth Malone also organised a choir of local people to sing on the track.

He said afterwards: “I said it has got to have local people involved, voices on the record. It is a fantastic song about helping other people.

“We need something really positive at the moment. There’s a lot of anger, a lot of fear, a lot of pain.”

The Standard revealed on Wednesday that 68 flats in the £2 billion Kensington Row scheme have been acquired to permanently house families from the nearby tower.

Money raised by song sales and extra donations will go to support those affected by the disaster and will be distributed by the London Community Foundation.

According to the Official Charts Company, a total of 170,000 sales have been recorded across digital and streaming, with just under 169,000 of those sales coming from downloads.

The single, organised by X Factor boss Cowell, has also claimed the 10-year record for sales on an opening day with 120,000 units.