Queen Top Annual Request Chart for First Time in 28 Years
Queen have topped the annual request chart for the first time since 1992. The group were the most requested artist by patients of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore in 2020, in a year which saw fewer requests than normal due to the Covid-19 restrictions. However over 1,000 requests were still played. Despite not topping our annual chart for 28 years, since the year after Freddie Mercury passed away, they have been in our annual Top 10 for all but one of the last 20 years.
Elvis Presley, the number one artist of the previous two years, moved down one place to finish in the runner-up position for the year. He’s now finished in our annual Top 3 for each of the last five years. Frank Sinatra rounded off our annual Top 3, climbing four places from the previous year, and making our annual request chart for 31 consecutive years, along with Queen.
There were some surprises though as Fleetwood Mac registered a place in our annual Top 10 for the first time ever, and Petula Clark also entered our annual Top 10, having never even made our Top 40 before.
Meanwhile, there was also a surprise at the top of our songs chart for the year, as the duet between Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers was the most requested song of the year. The track was released was back in 1983, and made our top 10 for the first time only a year ago, but continues to gain in popularity in the hospital. The late Kenny Rogers retweeted Radio Brockley just after last year’s request chart, shortly before he passed away, which led to a huge number of retweets.
Finishing in the runners-up position yet again was “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. The track has appeared in our request chart 27 times, and has been in our Top 5 on no fewer than 13 occasions! However, it has still never reached our number one – peaking at No.2 for the third time. Meatloaf’s “Bat Out Of Hell” reached its highest ever position of No.3, whilst tracks by Tom Jones, Neil Diamond and Gloria Gaynor made new peaks this year.
Alan Joyce presented the chart show for the 29th year in a row, with Emma Joyce and Rebecca Lewis updating the chart live on social media. Here are the Top 20s for the year:
MOST REQUESTED SONGS OF 2020
1 (3) ISLANDS IN THE STREAM Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
2 (5) MY WAY Frank Sinatra
3 (re) BAT OUT OF HELL Meatloaf
4 (4) HAPPY Pharrell Williams
5 (re) FLYING WITHOUT WINGS Westlife
6 (re) GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME Tom Jones
7 (10) SWEET CAROLINE Neil Diamond
8 (14) I WILL SURVIVE Gloria Gaynor
9 (15) SUSPICIOUS MINDS Elvis Presley
10 (25) YOU RAISE ME UP Westlife
11 (re) WE WILL ROCK YOU Queen
12 (re) YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE Gerry and the Pacemakers
13 (2) BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Queen
14 (39) DANCING QUEEN Abba
15 (re) FAITH George Michael
16 (-) BLINDING LIGHTS The Weeknd
17 (re) WONDERFUL TONIGHT Eric Clapton
18 (re) WONDERWALL Oasis
19 (re) DON’T STOP ME NOW Queen
20 (re) WOMAN IN LOVE Barbra Streisand
MOST REQUESTED ARTISTS OF 2020
1 (2) Queen
2 (1) Elvis Presley
3 (7) Frank Sinatra
4 (4) The Beatles
5 (11) Elton John
6 (9) Abba
7 (29) Westlife
8 (5) Dolly Parton
9 (34) Fleetwood Mac
10 (-) Petula Clark
11 (14) Cliff Richard
12 (16) Whitney Houston
13 (6) George Michael
14 (10) Kenny Rogers
15 (3) Ed Sheeran
16 (20) Stevie Wonder
17 (re) Tom Jones
18 (re) Meatloaf
19 (8) Bob Marley and the Wailers
20 (18) Michael Buble