Beckham's single was her first release on the Telstar label

This Groove/Let Your Head Go entered the chart in third place, behind Gary Jules' Christmas chart-topper Mad World and Changes by the Osbournes.

It is the ex-Spice Girl's highest solo chart entry, her two previous solo hits having reached number six.

Fame Academy's Alistair Griffin entered the singles chart at number five, with Sophie Ellis Bextor in ninth place.

In this respect it was a victory for Victoria Beckham, whose 2000 collaboration with True Steppers and Dane Bowers was kept off the number one spot by Spiller's single Groovejet, sung by Ellis Bextor.

Urban

This Groove/Let Your Head Go was Beckham's first release on the Telstar record label, after she parted company with Virgin following poor sales of her self-titled solo album.

Hip hop guru Damon Dash was enlisted to add an urban sound but the US producer slighted Beckham's musical ability, saying: "If we can make Victoria hot, we can make anybody hot."

An unreleased track, It's Not That Simple, received a mixed reception when released to radio stations last July.

Nevertheless pop guru and ex-Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller helped relaunch Beckham's music career, and her latest single was preceded by numerous high-profile TV, radio and magazine appearances.

After hearing pop song Let Your Head Go and R&B track This Groove, viewers of BBC One's Top of the Pops were asked to decide which track Beckham should release as a single.