LONDON (Reuters) - Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" was named Britain's favorite pop single of all time Wednesday in a poll by Guinness World Records.
More than 31,000 people voted in the poll for GWR's "British Hit Singles" book.
The six-minute epic first topped the charts in 1975 and became No. 1 again in 1991 when a fund-raising version was released after the death of the group's singer Freddie Mercury.
Guitarist Brian May, who collected the award with fellow band member Roger Taylor, said on Wednesday: "The song was apparently so far ahead of any rival that even months before the deadline, its position in this new poll was unimpeachable. Thank you, people, for the memory."
The song, written by Mercury, also continues to live on every night at the musical "We Will Rock You," which is running at a London West End theater.
Its video was also recently voted third best of all time by viewers of the music channel VH1.
David Roberts, Editor of GWR's "British Hit Singles," said: "Queen is a band whose achievements are legendary ... It ('Bohemian Rhapsody') really was miles ahead of the opposition."
No. 2 in the top 100 list was John Lennon's "Imagine," which joined four other Beatles' hits in the top 10.
The most recent single to feature in the chart was Robbie Williams' "Angels," which was released in 1998, while the Spice Girls' "Wannabe" was voted eighth most popular.
Other notable songs that made it into the top 100 were: Oasis' "Wonderwall" at No. 30; Eminem's "Stan" at 54; and Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" at 63.
The top 10 favorite singles of all time are:
1. Bohemian Rhapsody -- Queen
2. Imagine -- John Lennon
3. Hey Jude -- The Beatles
4. Dancing Queen -- Abba
5. Like a Prayer -- Madonna
6. Angels -- Robbie Williams
7. Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever -- The Beatles
8. Wannabe -- Spice Girls
9. Yesterday -- The Beatles
10. Let It Be -- The Beatles
And that, my friend, is the story. |
