Let Mozart be, Beatles top millennium pops
From an AFP correspondent in London

The Beatles the band of the millennium? John Lennon and Paul McCartney more influential than Mozart?

Those are some of the findings in what organisers claim to be Britain's biggest survey of popular musical tastes to date.

The Beatles notched up most of the top honours in the poll of 600,000 people, conducted by a record store company and Channel 4 television.

Mozart came in seventh in the list of influential musicians behind Lennon, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix and McCartney. Bach was 10th.

The Beatles finished top for best band – ahead of Queen, the Rolling Stones and U2 – and in the best album category for Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Michael Jackson's Thriller was runner-up best album.

Lennon and McCartney were the top two songwriters, but they missed out on the best song category, where top spot went to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody – although Lennon's Imagine was second.

Best male singer was Presley and best female was Madonna. Best jazz musician was Louis Armstrong.

In classical music, Vivaldi's Four Seasons was the best piece, followed by Holst's Planets Suite and Beethoven's 9th symphony.