Madonna's material wins her top spot in most played list

Published on Monday 5 April 2010 19:02

CHART queen Madonna has been revealed to be the most played artist of the past decade – nudging The Beatles into second spot.

• Madonna's music was played more than any other artist. Picture: PA

The American superstar, who has been producing hits since 1984, topped a list of artists who have received the most airplay and public performances of their recordings from 2000 to 2009.

The figures were compiled by royalties body PPL for a Radio 2 countdown.

Madonna – whose major hits have included Material Girl, Into the Groove and Ray of Light – was the only female act to make the top five.

The Beatles showed their longevity by taking the runners-up spot, despite splitting three decades before the data even began.

Robbie Williams came in third, two places ahead of his former bandmates Take That, despite their recent revival and chart domination.

Fourth place went to Queen, who continue to be widely played – in particular, with massive hit Bohemian Rhapsody – despite the death of frontman Freddie Mercury eight years before the Noughties even began. And Elvis Presley made it to Number eight, ahead of current stars such as Coldplay and Girls Aloud.

Radio 2's People's Artist Chart – which counted down the 50 most-played acts of the previous ten years – was drawn from recordings on radio and TV and in public places such as pubs and shops.

PPL chairman Fran Nevrkla said: "The latest people's chart show is an accurate reflection of the most popular artists of the last decade, based both on what radio and TV programmes have chosen to broadcast in that time, as well as what people have been hearing in public venues."

An earlier chart showed Procol Harum's A Whiter Shade of Pale was the most played pop recording of the past 75 years, while Carl Orff's O Fortuna, from Carmina Burana, was the most popular classical recording.

Madonna, meanwhile, arrived in the African state of Malawi yesterday, ahead of a week-long charity tour.

The singer will today lay the first brick of her Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, signalling the official start of construction of the $15 million (10m) school, which is set to open next year.