‘Number of the Beast’ Named Best British Album of the Last 60 Years

In a poll conducted by music retailer HMV, Iron Maiden’s 1982 classic, Number of the Beast, has been voted the Best British Album of the last sixty years.

Beating off competition from other seminal acts such as Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, Bruce Dickinson and company managed to secure nearly 10% of the total votes cast (2754 out of 30,000). Despite being deprived of the number one position, The Beatles made up nearly half of the top ten with albums Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (3), Abbey Road (4), Revolver (6) and White Album (10). ‘The Fab Four’ also secured a position in the top 20 with Rubber Soul (12).

Of the albums that secured votes, only one is currently in the charts – Adele’s 21 (9).

The full list is as follows:

1.   Iron Maiden / The Number of the Beast (9.18%)
2.   Depeche Mode / Violator (6.30%)
3.   The Beatles / Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (5.69)
4.   The Beatles / Abbey Road (5.67%)
5.   Pink Floyd / The Dark Side of the Moon (5.23%)
6.   The Beatles / Revolver (4.01%)
7.   Queen / A Night at the Opera (3.98%)
8.   Oasis / (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (3.91%)
9.   Adele / 21 (3.07%)
10. The Beatles / White Album (2.60%)
11. Led Zeppelin / IV (2.50%)
12. The Beatles / Rubber Soul (2.49%)
13. The Clash / London Calling (2.48%)
14. David Bowie / The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (2.38%)
15. The Smiths / The Queen is Dead (2.25%)
16. Black Sabbath / Black Sabbath (2.16%)
17. Radiohead / OK Computer (1.99%)
18. Pink Floyd / Wish You Were Here (1.99%)
19. Elton John / Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1.89%)
20. Oasis / Definitely Maybe (1.72%)
21. Take That / Beautiful World (1.66%)
22. Led Zeppelin / II (1.48%)
23. Elbow / Seldom Seen Kid (1.44%)
24. The Who / Who’s Next (1.38%)
25. Coldplay / Parachutes (1.31%)
26. Sex Pistols / Never Mind the Bollocks (1.30%)
27. Muse / Origin of Symmetry (1.25%)
28. Amy Winehouse / Back to Black (1.23%)
29. Joy Division / Unknown Pleasures (1.20%)
30. The Stone Roses / The Stone Roses (1.14%)

Watch a video of Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’, which features on their number two album Violator, below:

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