Afroman hits High spot

Kylie: Knocked off top in albums and singles charts

Kylie Minogue's reign at the top of the UK singles chart has been ended by Afroman's novelty song about marijuana, Because I Got High.

Minogue had been at number one for four weeks with the single Can't Get You Out Of My Head, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide.

Afroman: Song has been championed by radio DJs

But Afroman was revealed as a new entry on Sunday after his song became a surprise hit.

In it, the singer tells a cautionary tale about the constant apathy that results from cannabis use.

Afroman - real name Joseph Foreman - has defended the lyrics, saying the final verse shows the damage drugs can do.

The 26-year-old hip hop star, from Mississippi, was forced to edit the "risqué content" of the single to make it suitable for radio play.

It has since benefited from a considerable amount of airplay and has been championed by a number of BBC Radio 1 DJs.

'Messed up'

The song includes lyrics like: "I was gonna pay my child support but then I got high, they took my whole paycheck and I know why, because I got high."

It signs off: "I messed up my entire life because I got high, I lost my kids and wife because I got high, now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk and I know why, because I got high."

Steps: Greatest Hits album is number one

It features on the soundtrack to the cult film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Minogue is now at number two, and Can't Get You Out Of My Head has become the second biggest seller of the Australian singer's 13-year career.

The single, the first taken from Fever, had seen off competition from Victoria Beckham and most recently Michael Jackson to stay at number one.

She is due to release another single in January, and has just added five extra dates to her UK arena tour, starting next April, after four of the seven venues sold out within an hour when tickets went on sale on Saturday.

New entries

Britney Spears had a new entry at number four, behind DJ Otzi, who stayed at number three.

Mis-Teeq scored an entry at number five, while Michael Jackson's You Rock My World moved down to number six.

Kylie Minogue also slid from the top spot in the albums chart after Steps' new greatest hits album, Gold, entered at number one.

Andrea Bocelli's Cieli Di Toscana was another high new entry, at number three.