Oasis beats the Beatles in new best British album poll
Rock band Oasis, which some have criticized as a Beatles wannabe group, has surpassed the Fab Four in a new poll of the U.K.’s top albums of the past 50 years.
Oasis’s 1994 Definitely Maybe and its 1996 followup (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? nabbed the first and second spots, respectively, in a poll to find the 50 best British albums ever.
Another two Oasis albums ó Don’t Believe the Truth and Be Here Now ó also placed in the top 25 (14th and 22nd, respectively).
“It’s clear that, having polled three times more votes than any other act, Oasis are undoubtedly the nation’s most loved band,” according to Paul Rees, editor of music magazine Q, which spearheaded the poll along with music retailer HMV.
“Similarly, it’s evident just who music fans believe the classic and most enduring British acts of each era to be,” he added.
Radiohead placed third with their acclaimed 1997 album OK Computer, with the Beatles’ Revolver achieving fourth place and the Stone Roses’ self-titled album landing fifth on the rock-dominated list.
Rounding out the top 10 are:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles.
London Calling, the Clash.
Under the Iron Sea, Keane.
Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd.
Urban Hymns, the Verve.
Troubled singer Amy Winehouse, who was recently celebrated at the Grammy Awards, was the only female singer to make the cut (for her album Back to Black, which placed 35th).
Other artists on the list range from classic acts like the Clash, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, the Who, the Rolling Stones and Queen, to newer bands such as Keane, Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, the Libertines and Muse.
Though most album polls have tended to put classic acts like the Beatles and the Stone Roses at the top, the new poll reflects the changing perspective of music fans and a growing appreciation for more contemporary acts, like Oasis, according to Rudy Osorio, HMV’s head of music.
The Q-HMV poll surveyed 11,000 people.
A 2006 survey by the annual publication British Hit Singles & Albums also named Oasis’s Definitely Maybe the greatest album of all time, leaving the Beatles in second (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band) and third place ( Revolver).
Later that year, another British poll named Sgt. Pepper’s the No. 1 chart topper of all time.
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