SHELVES STRIPPED AS HAITI SINGLE OUT A DAY EARLY

BRITS stripped the shelves of the new Haiti charity single yesterday after it hit shops a day early.

Extra lorries were even drafted in to get the star-studded cover version of REM’s Everybody Hurts into stores.

Tens of thousands of copies were sold as big-hearted fans dug deep to help the quake-hit country.

And as music lovers flocked to buy the single from record shops, thousands went online to send it rocketing to the top of the download charts after less than a day of sales.

The charity ballad is tipped to be the biggest and fastest-selling track of all time and is expected to raise millions of pounds.

Even some shops that do not normally sell CDs put it on display.

Bhs, Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, Oxfam and BP all agreed to ship in Simon Cowell’s disc at the 11th hour. Gennaro Castaldo, of HMV, predicted it would stay at No 1 for weeks.

He said: “We’ve seen a surge in demand for the Helping Haiti single online at hmv.com, where it’s our No 1 music pre-order, and you get a real sense that a ground-swell of interest is building.

“Everybody Hurts could well dominate the charts over the next few weeks and looks set to be one of the biggest releases of the past decade.”

Star names on the track include Mariah Carey, 39, Jon Bon Jovi, 47, Kylie Minogue, 41, Rod Stewart, 65, Leona Lewis, 24, Miley Cyrus, 17, Susan Boyle, 48, pictured below, and X Factor’s Cheryl Cole, 26.

The single also saw former Take Thatter Robbie Williams, 35, and ex-bandmates Gary Barlow, 39, Mark Owen, 38, Howard Donald, 41, and Jason Orange, 39, reunite to record their first track since 1995.

Figures showing how well the song is selling will be out tomorrow.

To become the biggest seller of all time it would have to beat Elton John’s 1997 hit Candle In The Wind, which shifted 4.8million copies.

Bosses from some stores said they were happy to help. M&S chairman, Sir Stuart Rose, 60, said: “We urge all our customers to buy a copy and help rebuild the lives of thousands of people.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that earthquake survivors have been left at the mercy of rape gangs.

Haitian Bernice Chamblain, 22, said: “We’re all scared but what can we do? Many of our husbands, boyfriends and fathers have been killed.”

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