Date posted:12 Jun 2012
Source: Generator
According to the British public, the best way to obliterate any trace of the Jubilee weekend is to blast Iron Maiden’s ‘The Number of the Beast’- how appropriate. Run to the Hills!
The heavy metal band’s 1982 LP beat The Beatles and pipped Pink Floyd to the post to be named the best British album of the past 60 years in a national HMV survey.
Proving that Bill Hicks was right about the devil having the best tunes, ‘The Number of the Beast’ got a 9.2% share of almost 55,000 votes in the month-long poll, with Depeche Mode’s ‘Violator’ coming second with 6.3%. Just in case you’re worried that The Beatles were snubbed, they actually got four albums in the top ten and Sgt Peppers in at Number Three.
HMV’s Gennaro Castaldo said: "You often tend to see the same artists and albums dominate album polls, but with social media increasingly giving the most ardent and passionate fans a powerful voice, I think that’s all going to change, and so it’s no surprise that Iron Maiden have come out on top as their fans are renowned for being the most loyal and dedicated around".
Despite all this excitable talk of changes in public attitude and tastemaking, we should point out that alongside The Beatles four times, the top ten also featured Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd, Oasis and Adele, perhaps quite predictably after her sales trouncing of Thriller earlier this month.
All round good guy of metal Bruce Dickinson, hopefully commenting from the cockpit of Flight 666, said: "We’re astonished and delighted to hear The Number of the Beast has been named No.1 in HMV’s Diamond Jubilee survey for the greatest British album category. Some of the most influential and classic albums from the past 60 years were in the running so it’s a testament to our incredibly loyal and ever-supportive fans who voted for us".
The top ten films in the same poll included Trainspotting at Number One, Clockwork Orange and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
The top ten are:
1. Iron Maiden- The Number of the Beast
2. Depeche Mode- Violator
3. The Beatles- Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. The Beatles- Abbey Road
5. Pink Floyd- The Dark Side of the Moon
6. The Beatles- Revolver
7. Queen- A Night at the Opera
8. Oasis- (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
9. Adele- 21
10. The Beatles- White Album
