It’s official, Queen is the biggest-selling band in Britain, according to a new poll from VH1.
A top 100 compiled for the channel by the Official Chart Company put the band’s Greatest Hits sales at 5,407,587, ahead of The Beatles’s Sgt Pepper album which has amassed 4,803,292.
The second big shock is which bands failed to make the list at all. The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan join Sting and the Sex Pistols as big hitters without a top 100 entry. Jason Donovan beats all of them, by just making the list at 100 with his 1989 debut, 10 Good Reasons.
The chart, which includes compilations and original soundtrack, was compiled from data from current sales figures to handwritten till receipts from the 1950s.
Madonna is the highest ranked female at 10, with The Immaculate Collection, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller – officially the biggest-selling album in the world ever – is at 8. Jackson, Oasis and Celine Dion all have three albums in the chart each.
The top 10-selling albums are:
1. Queen, Greatest Hits (5,407,587)
2. The Beatles, Sgt Pepper (4,803,292)
3. Oasis, What's The Story Morning Glory (4,304,504)
4. Dire Straits, Brothers In Arms (3,946,931)
5. Abba, Gold Greatest Hits (3,932,316)
6. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of The Moon (3,759,958)
7. Queen, Greatest Hits II (3,631,321)
8. Michael Jackson, Thriller (3,570,250)
9. Michael Jackson, Bad (3,549,950)
10. Madonna, The Immaculate Collection (3,364,785)
They're the biggest sellers, but are Queen better than The Beatles? And, Celine Dion over Dylan? Three times? Tell us what you think we should have been buying all these years.
10:26 AM | 16/11/2006
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Queen is better than Fab Four. Macca/Lennon songs are over-rated all over the world.
Posted by Harri Vahamaa at 11:29 PM | 17/11/2006 | Report Abuse
No Queen werent better than the Beatles (but who was?!) but thats not the point here. In the period that Greatest Hits covered, they were without doubt the greatest singles band on earth. They didnt have the full package in terms of albums (where the Beatles created great albums as well as singles) but that album itself is faultless, so Im happy with the list!
Posted by galvers at 4:45 PM | 18/11/2006 | Report Abuse
Queen and The Beatles are the two most imortand and just a step ahead all the other bands/artists...
As George Harrison himself mentioned in Beatles anthology episodes : "They gave the money and the screams...but The Beatles kinda gave them the nervous systems...!" So well put..
Queen and The Beatles took our imagination and dreams way beyond everyone else did...
Posted by Elle at 10:36 AM | 24/11/2006 | Report Abuse
Freddie and the boys are the best. Period. The 'rest' can join the next line.
Posted by prakash1 at 6:33 AM | 19/12/2006 | Report Abuse
there can be only one.freddie mercury and the band queen
Posted by shiva raj nepali at 5:43 PM | 03/03/2007 | Report Abuse
I'm am glad to see Oasis there but no Rolling Stone's, I don't like them but I thought they would atleast be in the top 100! It is a surprise to see Queen there, not because of them as such but because after all these years it has been The Beatle's SPLHClub on the top.
Posted by steve at 9:50 AM | 16/04/2007 | Report Abuse
The queen .... BEST!!!!!!! of the world
Posted by Fredd at 11:45 AM | 24/11/2007 | Report Abuse
The Rolling Stones are overrated but to not see Bob Dylan on there is strange. Why would the Sex Pistols be on it, they had one album which went platinum for gods sakes. It doesn't surprise me to see Queen at no.1, their songs are amazing. There must be a mistake, Jason Donovan beating The Rolling Stones, hmmm, that is definitely not right, even though I hate them it just cant be true.
Posted by Steve at 1:14 PM | 08/01/2008 | Report Abuse
thats 1 album! overall no one comes close 1 Billion sales, to 1985, come on get real
Posted by Rob at 8:47 PM | 14/02/2008 | Report Abuse
Queen deserve to be The Kings .They are simply superb
Posted by Leslie at 6:20 AM | 07/05/2008 | Report Abuse
This does NOT mean that Queen are the biggest selling band. All it means is that their Greatest Hits is the biggest selling individual album.
Posted by chris at 6:47 PM | 23/02/2009 | Report Abuse
Only morons would think Queen are better than The Beatles - or that they've sold more records come to that! The Beatles are the best selling artists of all time - bigger than Elvis, Michael Jackson et al. Queen's catalogue is dreadfully weak which is why it is only their compilations that sell in any great numbers. Every Beatles CD is better than this Queen rubbish...
Posted by Len Roberts at 8:01 PM | 15/09/2009 | Report Abuse
Yes Len, go ahead and blame the moms for not grabbing Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, or Innuendo. Don't blame Queen for a public that only goes for ONE out of MANY sides of Queen. If Macca collaborates with an opera diva, people will fall all over him like drooling idiots. Why not Freddie?
Posted by moo at 7:31 AM | 01/05/2011 | Report Abuse
Yes Len, go ahead and blame the moms for not grabbing Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, or Innuendo. Don't blame Queen for a public that only goes for ONE out of MANY sides of Queen. If Macca collaborates with an opera diva, people will fall all over him like drooling idiots. Why not Freddie?
Posted by moo at 7:31 AM | 01/05/2011 | Report Abuse
Yes Len, go ahead and blame the moms for not grabbing Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, or Innuendo. Don't blame Queen for a public that only goes for ONE out of MANY sides of Queen. If Macca collaborates with an opera diva, people will fall all over him like drooling idiots. Why not Freddie?
Posted by moo at 7:34 AM | 01/05/2011 | Report Abuse
Yes Len, go ahead and blame the moms for not grabbing Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, or Innuendo. Don't blame Queen for a public that only goes for ONE out of MANY sides of Queen. If Macca collaborates with an opera diva, people will fall all over him like drooling idiots. Why not Freddie?
Posted by moo at 7:36 AM | 01/05/2011 | Report Abuse
Queen deserve at as they produced excellent music .Queen deserve to be crown Kings.
Posted by Leslie Isaacs,South Afria at 9:39 PM | 08/07/2011 | Report Abuse
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