Four in every ten MP3 players in the UK contain Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, making the 1975 rock operetta the countrys most popular digital song, new research shows.
James Hall

Bad Romance by Lady Gaga is the second most popular song, appearing on 38 per cent of MP3 players.

Queen and Lady Gaga are joined by Michael Jackson in having two songs apiece in the top 10.

The findings are contained in research by car-maker Seat, which analysed the contents of 4,000 music fans’ iPods and MP3 players.

The band with the most songs in Seat’s top 50 is The Beatles, with four tracks.

I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas and Everybody Hurts by REM are also in the top 10, while Yellow by Coldplay is on three in ten MP3 players. Other popular songs include Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses – also on three in 10 MP3 players – and Wonderwall by Oasis – on one in four.

The findings were analysed by Eddy Lawrence, music editor of Time Out Magazine. He said: “It’s a funny thought that Bohemian Rhapsody, a track that Freddie Mercury almost scrapped in its early stages of development, has topped the poll.

“So many of these songs have successfully made the transition from vinyl classics to MP3 classics. It also goes to show that a good tune, however old or loud the original recording, will always find a new audience.”

The survey found that a third of music fans said that the 1980s produced the best music. Meanwhile rock marginally beat pop as the most popular genre on MP3 players.

The average Briton listens to music for two hours a day, the survey found.