There are few things more subjective than music. While sports stars can prove themselves to be numero uno through direct competition, the world of the arts is a murky place to be championing greatness. Sometimes, however, the stars seem to align in such a way that a fateful finger of victory is pointed purely through happenstance. The most comical example of chance turning to chancellor is when Led Zeppelin were inadvertently backed as the greatest group of all time.
The story goes that Planet Rock Radio were holding a survey to craft the ideal supergroup. With an admittedly small survey pool of around 4000 people, fans submitted answers declaring their favourite singer, guitarist, bassist and drummer from the world of rock.
Planet Rock presenter, Trevor Dann, compiled the poll and revealed: “This is an amazing result. Listeners could have voted for any classic rock artists when creating their fantasy supergroup.” However, the listeners seemed to have a one-track mind. The winners of every single category went to one band and one band only: Wham!
Of course not, Led Zeppelin were the act who proved victorious across the board. Robert Plant pipped Freddie Mercury to the top spot when it came to vocalists, while Paul Rodgers of Free sat in third place which gives you a solid grasp of the audience who took part in the poll.
As for the drummer, John Bonham, the thunder of drums himself, tops most polls in fairness. His trailblazing glass smashing style has made him an icon that few sticksmiths have ever been able to compete with. Bonham left Neil Peart of Rush in his wake, with a crazed Keith Moon in third place.
As for guitarists, the accepted notion is that Jimi Hendrix was the master that nobody else has come close to usurping and even Jimmy Page agreed with that global assertion himself. The Planet Rock fans, however, thought that Jimmy Page was sorely mistaken; they cast Hendrix down to fourth place and popped Page at the top on a podium with Slash and Richie Blackmore.
The only place left was the riveting world of the bass where the worlds true music iconoclasts reside. As you already know, the multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones triumphed over The Who’s John Entwistle, Chris Squire of Yes, Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott and Geddy Lee of Rush, who all completed the top five.
You can see the full top ten’s from the poll below.
Planet Rock’s dream supergroup:
Best singer
1. Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
2. Freddie Mercury (Queen)
3. Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company)
4. David Coverdale (Deep Purple, Whitesnake)
5. Ian Gillan (Deep Purple)
6. Bon Scott (AC/DC)
7. Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow)
8. Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac)
9. Roger Daltrey (The Who)
10. Bono (U2)
Best guitarist
1. Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
2. Slash (Guns N’ Roses)
3. Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple)
4. Jimi Hendrix
5. Angus Young (AC/DC)
6. Gary Moore
7. Brian May (Queen)
8. Joe Satriani
9. Steve Vai
10. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Best bassist
1. John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)
2. John Entwistle (The Who)
3. Chris Squire (Yes)
4. Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy)
5. Geddy Lee (Rush)
6. Jack Bruce (Cream)
7. Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)
8. Lemmy (Motorhead)
9. Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath)
10. Roger Waters (Pink Floyd)
Best drummer
1. John Bonham (Led Zeppelin)
2. Neil Peart (Rush)
3. Keith Moon (The Who)
4. Cozy Powell (Black Sabbath, Rainbow)
5. Phil Collins (Genesis)
6. Ginger Baker (Cream)
7. Ian Paice (Deep Purple)
8. Roger Taylor (Queen)
9. Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters)
10. Eric Carr (Kiss)