UK’s Most Played Rock Acts of The 21st Century

Remarkably, the most played in the 21st century is by a band who recorded most of their major hits in the 20th century.

Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Brian May and John Deacon

According to a new PPL chart, Queen have amassed over 400 million seconds of radio and TV airplay, the equivalent of 12.5 years of continuous play this century, with their most played track being A Kind Of Magic.

Reacting to the accolade, Queen's guitarist Brian May said: “Astounding news! Bearing in mind that most of Queen’s major works were done in the 20th century, it’s amazing to top a 21st century list. Big thanks to all our fans.”

PPL, which licenses recorded music for use on UK radio and television, and in public spaces such as bars, restaurants and gyms, compiled the chart using extensive airplay reporting data from radio and TV broadcasters across the country. So, the numbers exclude streaming services like Spotify, where Queen is one of the most-streamed artists ever. Their most streamed song is Bohemian Rhapsody (Remastered 2011), which has more than 2.9 billion streams. The band has about 48.5 million monthly listeners.

The band’s fourth studio album, A Night At The Opera, became their first UK No.1 in 1975. Music Week says that the album’s centrepiece, Bohemian Rhapsody, spent nine consecutive weeks at the top of the UK singles chart on its original release and returned to the top for five weeks across 1991 and 1992.

As regards PPL's data for those most played on TV and radio in the UK, any guesses what other bands make up the top 10? Well, here's the list:

1. Queen

2. David Bowie

3. U2

4. Oasis

5. Fleetwood Mac

6. Stereophonics

7. The Rolling Stones

8. The Police

9. The Killers

10. Kings Of Leon

The CEO of PPL, Peter Leathem, said: “This chart underlines how rock music across the decades continues to thrive on UK airwaves. Congratulations to Queen on this great accolade in such a significant anniversary year for their first No.1 album. It’s a testament to their expansive and much-loved music catalogue that they continue to mean so much to UK audiences to this very day.”