In the United Kingdom, BBC Radio 1 did not play the song on its daytime playlist at first, though Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong did play it for three weeks in a row on his "Essential Selection" program in 1996. Tong's appointing it Essential Tune of The Week each week for three weeks in a row culminated in a frenzied bidding war amongst UK major record companies. Meanwhile, Kiss FM was among the first to play the song, even using it in one of the station's minute-long television commercials. "Children" reached the number two position on the UK Singles Chart prior to promotion and marketing, and became the year's eighth best-selling single.