Greatest British Band of All Time! (For Now)

As long as a 400-vote margin qualifies as a trouncing, Queen has trounced The Beatles in a BBC Radio 2 Music Club poll. At stakes: who is the Greatest British Band of All Time?

While it might feel like the Brits vote on the Greatest British Band on a regular basis, that's only because they vote on it very frequently. This time, votes cast during a 3-hour radio program determined the winners from among a 5-finalist shortlist, whittled down from thousands of nominations. That sounds like a lot, but some people probably suggested groups like "Yo Mama" -- either so obscure (and American-sounding) as to make you wonder whether the person who nominated them really thinks they could win, or not a real nomination at all, but rather a cheeky prank.

The Rolling Stones took third place and Oasis came in fourth, leaving Take That in fifth.

More than 20,000 votes determined the outcome. It's being reported as "more than 20,000 listeners", but votes were allowed by email, text, or phone, which allows for multiple votes per person. So it's unclear how many people voted for any of the groups, but the poll might be a measure of both popularity and something related to fanbase dedication. How many hours your fanbase is willing/able to spend on mass-voting is more complex than a pure measure of dedication, but there's some relationship.

While the first response at BBC Radio 2's message board ("QUEEN!!?") echoes the feelings of some, other people spoke louder, first. Or maybe not louder, but definitely more often, and therefore Queen must remain enthroned (as it were) as The Greatest British Band Of All Time!

At least until the next poll.

Queen - Play The Game (available on Greatest Hits)

Jon Brion - Play The Game (available on Killer Queen - A Tribute To Queen)