WHAT A WAY TO MARK INTERNATIONAL LENNON DAY

As if to mock the solemn silence that settled over a world thinking "where the hell was I when Lennon got shot? Was that the time I was in the restaurant ordering the tuna sandwich, or was that when I heard the Berlin Wall was coming down?", the people who add up chart statistics chose the anniversary of his death to announce that The Beatles have lost the title of most successful band to Queen. (That's if you count success in total numbers of weeks on the UK chart.) Elvis and Cliff still rule all, mind:

1 (1) Elvis Presley
2 (2) Sir Cliff Richard
3 (4) Queen
4 (3) The Beatles
5 (5) Madonna
6 (6) Sir Elton John
7 (7) The Shadows
8 (8) Michael Jackson
9 (10) U2
10 (9) David Bowie

U2 have spent more weeks on the lists than Bowie? If ever you needed proof that this was no way to measure talent, there you'd have it. And down, down, deeper and down the chart, Oasis have nudged above Status Quo at 25.

music oasis status quo u2 john lennon queen the beatles