The Beatles have been named ‘best British recording artists in history’, followed by Queen and David Bowie
The Fab Four pipped famed rockers Queen to the number-one spot - with David Bowie taking third place on the list
THE Beatles have been named the best British recording artists in history, according to a new poll.
The Fab Four pipped famed rockers Queen to the number-one spot - with David Bowie taking third place on the list.
Elton John and the Rolling Stones completed the top five.
The survey of 1000 Brits was carried out by OnePoll in behalf of streaming music service Deezer, whose spokesman said: “Even though the British music industry is in rude health – as proven by Adele’s presence at sixth on the list – most of the top 10 best artists in history have come from decades gone by.
“In fact, you have to look further down the top 40 to find more artists who started recording this millennium, like Amy Winehouse and Ed Sheeran.
“This shows that the British appetite for the classics is as strong as ever, and the enduring appeal of the Beatles in particular, who have been topping these kinds of polls for close to five decades.”
Adele, whose album 25 became the fastest-selling of all-time on its release in 2015, came in at sixth place – one spot in front of George Michael, who died on Christmas Day 2016.
Elsewhere in the list, Led Zeppelin could only manage 18th place, coming in below Status Quo, Phil Collins and Coldplay.
And, when it came to his solo career, Paul McCartney also placed in 20th – making him one of two artists to appear twice in the top 40.
The second was Robbie Williams, whose history with boy-band Take That followed by his hugely successful solo career landed him at both 23rd and 24th.
THE TOP 40 BRITISH ARTISTS OF ALL TIME
- The Beatles
- Queen
- David Bowie
- Elton John
- Rolling Stones
- Adele
- George Michael
- The Who
- Pink Floyd
- Eric Clapton
- The Bee Gees
- Status Quo
- Rod Stewart
- Phil Collins
- Oasis
- Amy Winehouse
- Coldplay
- Led Zeppelin
- Cliff Richard
- Paul McCartney
- Dire Straits
- Ed Sheeran
- Take That
- Robbie Williams
- Black Sabbath
- The Police
- Coldplay
- Eurythmics
- T-Rex
- Spice Girls
- Duran Duran
- Radiohead
- Blur
- The Verve
- James Blunt
- Dido
- Travis
- Keane
- Leona Lewis
- The Kinks
Singer songwriter James Blunt managed to overhaul The Kinks, Travis and Keane to place 35th - though his famously hilarious Twitter feed may have helped his recent popularity.
Deezer also revealed its most-streamed albums that have also won the coveted BRIT award for British Album of the Year, since the company started streaming in 2007.
Top of the pops was Ed Sheeran’s mega-smash X, which won the gong in 2015.
And second went to Arctic Monkeys’ AM, the British Album of the Year winner in 2014.
In third was Adele – for her 2012 breakthrough album 21 - which yielded the singles Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You.
Deezer’s spokesman continued: “Ed Sheeran is one of the most influential pop stars of the modern age, so it’s no surprise to find he’s hitting a chord with music fans.
“Huge-selling, critically respected artists like Sheeran and Adele are bound to go from strength to strength as they continue their careers, and we’d expect them to feature in many ‘favourite artist’ polls in the coming decades.”