Read what others have said..

Joel Bower, Fareham, Hampshire
One of the most overated bands of all time. Ok they where big in their day but not greats. The Who are one of the best bands to come from the Sixtys

john gallivan birmingham
no other band can touch the Beatles. Musically,lyrically and creatively miles ahead of eveyone else!! Lennon was a genious only closley followed by Paul Weller!!!

Laurie Webb, Wantage, Oxfordshire
I was 15 when the Beatles exploded into the music world and I've still got some original vinyl from 62/63. Their influence was immediate, not just in the UK but worldwide. For six years or so I was vocalist with various local blues bands playing BB King, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters etc who had influenced the Beatles. When I joined a more "pop-based" band I refused to follow the trend and sing Beatles songs, sticking to Stones, Who, Small Faces and left it to the lead guitarist to sing Beatles while I popped off-stage to down a quick pint! My daughter was a teenager in the early 90's and became an avid Beatles fan. No doubt my 10 month old grandson will come under the influence of Beatles music as will many generations to come. Where would modern music be without them?

Roy Bywater, Rochdale
The Beatles set out to beat the best. They ended up not only beating the best, but then ended up setting the standards for the rest to aspire to. Their experiences as a group gave them 4 to 5 years of invaluable grounding in the popular music industry followed by 7 years at the top. All this was underpinned by the songwriting talents of the Lennon and McCartney partnership as well as Harrison's influences. Their inspirational musical presentations will always leave all other groups since then as second best!

Mr.Lawyer/Florida
Beatles are Gods and no way anyone compares to them

Jim, Lanarkshire
The sheer dazzling diversity of their music means it just has to be the Fabs. No one else comes close.

Mike Surplice - Sutton Coldfield
Their music is the greatest and what a legacy they have left! How many other bands can still top the charts 40 years on? The Beatles are the bench mark all other bands will be judged against. Thank you John, Paul, George and Ringo.

carl armstrong - earl shilton - leicestershire
They had everything from the writing of gentle classic love songs,to reality storyline songs and through to psycadelic material,no other group seemed to develop like them.Their songs still stand the test of time today,and are played all the time.

Geraldine Annis, Worcester
Whether you loved them or hated them, you had to agree that they were the most influential band of all time. They changed the way we listened to music forever. They were a forerunner of every other band. Although the Stones were around at the same time they never had the same impact as the Beatles.

Reg Dove - Brighton
There is no competition here. No one can question that the Beatles were the best band of all time. The others are great but 'also rans' in this line-up. Their song writing abilities and capacities means that, in my mind, no one else can beat them.

Lorna Lindsay, Edinburgh
Their music lives on today, 40 years after they disbanded, and will live on forever. Their music is timeless, incredibly varied and appeals to all ages. They influenced many other bands, including most of those in this competition. No contest really.

mark freemantle, birmingham
The only group that can make me stop what I am doing just to enjoy the moment.

Ron Gunter - West Mids
I was just 12 years old and never even bothered with music, then I heard "From me to you" blasting out from a radio whilst walking across parkland in Stourport with my Mother, and from then on my life changed from that day - they are musically the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Jim McMullan Belfast
I was born in 1954.From age 10 to age 16 in 1970 The Beatles not only changed the music world they ruled it.For anyone not around at that time they can have no real idea of the impact these four guys had on peoples lives. I have continued to listen to and adore many bands and artists,always looking to develop my musical awareness and taste. Nothing ,however,could ever replace the excitement that came with every new eagerly awaited release. Try this. Put together a compilation CD of 20 Beatles tracks.Make sure none of the tracks were ever singles.Play to family/friends. My bet is they will know every track and probably all the words. I doubt this could be done with any other Group. The Beatles The Best.

Mark Packham from Reigate Surrey
I think the Beatles were the best band, i never get bored with them. The Beatles just make me feel happy. They are my Number one.

Phil Snow Ellesmere Port
everything that can be said about the Beatles has been said,I grew up on Merseyside with them,they were part of my life then and still are now

Sue, North Yorks
I feel sorry for today's kids who will never know that feeling of hearing "She Loves You" for the very first time. I was only six, but I remember it so clearly. The Beatles led and others followed - I like Oasis, but what would they be without the Beatles' example? And Take That - nice boys, but please!

Adam Pilgrim, Tiverton, Devon
I agonised about whether to vote for the Beatles or Queen being the best British band of all time. The Beatles stimulated huge beneficial changes in popular music, apart from their own superb and wide-ranging work, but Queen's performances create stronger,immediate impact on the listener so they win for me. Only just!

PAUL ATKINSON - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Put very simply, beyond comparison!

Mike Brown, ITV Central,Nottingham.
The Beatles were amazing,hit after hit of tuneful melodies that you never forget.How can anyone write so many brilliant songs.

Trevor Read Norwich
Un-beatle-bul

mick ferrie
The music of the Beatles appealed to people world wide - they were versatile, imaginative and always hugely original. They wrote the music- they played the instruments and they sang the words - making the most beautiful sounds .Their music has lasted and will last forever. No one has come any where near them -in the history of the world.There can only be one winner- The Beatles.

Denise Baylis, Northants
Probably the best band of all time - definitely my favourites - Rolling Stones second best

Scobie-John, Tokyo Japan
They were what brought a whole new era to music! They may not have been the actual originators of this "new era" but they were certainly what caused it and our hats must go off to them!

Pat Brown
The Beatles created the most varieties of music, the most creative, and the most innovative music ever, and are still great listening. Each member of the band brought something different to the attraction of the band and was talented in their own right. Queen would be a very close contender for their music, but Freddie Mercury WAS Queen. The Stones had some good music, but were a joke, and still are. And SO UGLY! Take That were easy listening but lightweights in comparison. I fail to see what Oasis is even doing in this list! They're awful, bad music, bad boys and unattractive. They won't be remembered in 5 years at all.

Spud Yates
43 years ago I heard a band being piped thru the works system and stood out in the quiet corridor to listen. Of course I heard The Beatles for the 1st time, and even nowwhenever I hear them I still stop and listen.The only others who can do that are Mozart and Frankie Laine. To be a faithful beatles fan at 70 years of age they have got to have real pulling power. It's not about who's best, it's who's going to be 2nd.

Paul Sherriff, Wigan
From Joe Cocker to Peter Sellers, Symphony Orchestras and String Quartets. Who hasn't covered The Beatles. The most beautiful and versatile music from one source!

Spud Yates
43 years ago I heard a band being piped thru the works system and stood out in the quiet corridor to listen. Of course I heard The Beatles for the 1st time, and even nowwhenever I hear them I still stop and listen.The only others who can do that are Mozart and Frankie Laine. To be a faithful beatles fan at 70 years of age they have got to have real pulling power. It's not about who's best, it's who's going to be 2nd.

Allan, West Bromwich
Covered all aspects of music, invented new areas in music. Dominated the music world on all coasts, and still do. Without doubt the greatest band from this country or any other

Steve Locke Epsom Surrey
Will the producers of Oasis, Take That, Queen and the Rolling Stones be remixing their songs into a top selling album 35 years on? I don't think so.

Norma Bridgland, Wrotham Heath, Kent
Of course they were and still are the greatest. They were the band that significantly changed the pop scene forever. Others came after them and built on what the Beatles had first established.

Keith Whitaker, Belper
It's so obvious, it's untrue. Just ask this one question - which other band will have a remix of just a few of their songs at the top of the charts 40 years after they were originally released? And millions of people will recognise them? As I said, no contest....

GRAHAM STAPLEHURST EXMOUTH DEVON
THE BEST BY FAR.... FOUR LADS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD AND WHO HAD WORLDWIDE APEAL TO ALL AGE GROUPS. OTHERS MIGHT COME AND GO BUT 40 YEARS ON THEY CAN STILL TOP THE CHARTS WORLDWIDE. THEIR LIKE HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN SINCE AND WILL NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN!

peter john watkins south wales
you only have to listen to the different types of songs they made to know they have to be the best, they have a song for every mood.

Paul Bishop, Hastings
All the bands in the final are good, maybe even great - but without a doubt the Beatles are a class above everyone else. When one considers that the amount and comsistent quality of material that they produced in the mere 6 years between 1963 and 1969, it defies belief. Although Lennon and McCartney will be considered the driving force of the Beatles in that short time, the significant part played by both George Harrison and Ringo Starr should not be overlooked. What you had, essence, were four lads from Liverpool who grew year by year into phenomenal force, with each band member emerging with a separate style and influence that is so evident in their later work. it is this that comes through so clear in the latest re-mixed and re-mastered "Love" offering that makes us all not forget the magic performed by the 5th Beatle - Sir George Martin. Despite the undisputed brilliance of the other artists - in the end there is only one clear winner!

RON NORTHAMPTON
THE BEATLES ARE THE GREATEST THEY WERE IN THE 60s 70, 80.90, and they are still about in the 2006

Miles (Spain)
To me, they are and will always be the best. An 8-year-old career, and still so strong and influential: no doubt, then.

Constantine from PL
In dark komunist time 60's , music from Radio anglo language was for us one & only to listen . The Beatles is my favorite Uk music band (next is The Shadows and more...)- my lovely song is " Paper back writer' - fantastic bass guitar Macca... and many more .

Víctor Nieto, Seville (Spain)
The Beatles are the best and greatest band, because people from the whole world knows at least one of their songs. Could we say this about the others finalist group?

Chris Day , Coseley, West Midlands.
The Beatles have provided the soundtrack to my life from my early teens up to the present day - I am now 57 years old - I cannot imagine life without their music. No question, the Beatles are most definitely the best British band of all time. It's very hard to imagine any other band coming close to them. I am very happy to have grown up with them.

Anna, Sweden
The Beatles were and are the best band from Britain, as they are the best band the world has ever seen.

Dr. L.R.Heupel Oullins France
The Beatles will still be the best band, because they gave us always the best of their own. The songwriters Lennon/Mc Cartney are better than Beethoven or other musicans of the old classic stuff. They changed the music styls in many different ways.

Brendan
No doubt about, Tha Fab Four. They were there with the complete variety of songs on their LP's. My Mum , God rest her, started buying me Beatle's LP's and records while I was convalescing; I continued buying them until the weird stuff came in. Not the same band after that. Nevertheless they definitely were the best ever.

Lynne Lancaster
The only band - generations on we all love them!

Mary in Northampton
It has to be The Beatles. They started the modern pop genre. Without them, none of the others would have followed. Am a great Queen fan, but The Beatles with their songwriting talents just blow all others away. Why else is the new mix album LOVE such a viable proposition forty-something years later. Their talent and George Martins production genius. Take That and Oasis don't hold a candle.... Vote Beatles!

Ronnie Sheehan from Ballymena, N. Ireland
There have been many excellent bands over the years and many have achieved fantastic levels of success and adulation, but none of them has come anywhere close to achieving the levels reached by The Beatles. They were/are, quite simply, in a class of their own. No Band or Artist has ever held the top 5 spots in the American Billboard charts or is ever likely to again. No Band or Artist comes within a country mile of the levels of record sales of the boys. The Beatles stopped touring in August 1966 due, in part, to the unprecedented levels of hysteria and mayhem that accompanied them wherever they went. They then went into the studio and produced one of the greatest albums of all time (some of their own albums are also credited with this accolade) in the early summer of 1967, an album which is still after almost 40 years setting the benchmark. Sgt Pepper was innovative in several ways, apart from the music, including the album cover itself and the printing of the lyrics on the inside cover. There was, is and always be only one Band worthy of the accolade of being the best British Band of all time and that Band is The Beatles.

Leslie Hagyard Keighley West Yorkshire
With out a doubt the best band of all time. The Beatles changed the face of music. Paul and John were the best writers of lyrics. The album Sgt Pepper Hearts Club Band as to be the best album of all time.

Dave Williams
The Beatles - Once heard never forgotten.

STEVE Grimsley, gloucester
Yeh, Yeh, Yeh!

Bill Coombs, Weymouth
The Beatles were the most inventive band, always looking to try different things.In George Martin they had someone to bounce ideas off.

Alastair Sutherland Troon Ayrshire
Their music Was Original

Peter Lloyd Ambrosden Oxfordshire
4 great singers and musicians, 2 legendary songwriters, George Harrison was also a good songwriter,and George Martin's production and quality control made a great collective team. Their later solo projects rarely attained the consistent excellence of their joint efforts.

Barry, Sheringham
With all respect to the other nominees, quite simply, without The Beatles none of them would exist. Their influence on music, fashion, politics, songwriting, film, art and general modern living makes a nonsense of having any real debate on the matter.Whilst the other nominees have had influence musicaly (apart from the joke entry Take That!!!!!)none of them can claim the iconic status of the Beatles.

George Beardmore, Durham
Their music is as fresh and exiting now as it was when first written

Robert Miller, Sheffield
The Beatles remain the ultimate band. 40 years on, their influence continues to be felt and they are the barometer against which other artists will continue to be judged. And quite right too ....

Mike Walker Chester
It has to be the Fab 4 as they are the only ones out of the top 5 to have changed pop music.

Rob Leech....Shropshire
The Beatles will always be the greatest band ever. They brought together young and old at the time and are still doing it now. The music is timeless - proof of this is the briliant LOVE album.

Brian of Dumfries Scotland
The Beatles did it all in a period of 6/7 years and were/are simply better than anyone before or since by a mile.They have more classic songs on one album than most other bands have in their long drawn out careers. They are the yardstick that everyone since has been compared with. All have fallen short by some way. They were influenced by others but never sounded like anyone except themselves unlike some musical 'Magpies' in this poll. The other candidates in this vote, with the exception of the Stones,are a joke when it comes to any sort of comparison with the Beatles. Although not as good as the Beatles the Stones too are miles ahead of the other candidates. Take That, are you having a laugh? Knowing the way the Great British public vote they will probably win as the public tend to vote for the last thing they heard - and recently it's hard to avoid Take That as much as I try!

Shaun Baldwin
It staggers me that anyone but the Beatles could be considered for this title. The contest should be who is 2nd to The Beatles. I dont consider it an arogant statement to say that no band or artist comes close to The Beatles, British or any other nationality. Closest would be Mozart.

neil boswell warrington
the beatles are the greatest band that ever walked the face of the earth, you will never ever beat a singer song relationship like lennon and mcartney

Brett, Leicester
Seeing as I can no longer vote for Pink Floyd, there is no competition, even though I quite like Queen too. VOTE BEATLES!

terry small dundee
oasis try to be the beatles with their music but no one ever will. the were so ground breaking it's difficult to imagine anybody else could equal them

Abraham Rojas/Mexico
There's no a band who gave us a lot of songtracks in our lives like the beatles, they really changed the world with the music, lyrics and way of think. His music and history will stay with us, forever....

Javier Perez , Mexico City
Hello,I think that the beatles is the great'est band of all the times, because they made a musical revolution, but not only in these concept their influence had cultural, social and behaivor effects. thanks

Jeanette Howlett, Manchester
Objectively, I believe The Beatles remain quite simply the single most universally and globally influential band of the 20th century, continuing to influence music well into the 21st century and I expect they always will. There was something for everyone in their repertoire, appealing to people of all ages, nationalities and musical tastes. Subjectively (aged 4 in 1962), the Beatles provided the soundtrack and backdrop to my childhood. The Radio 2 Messageboards confirm that I am by no means on my own in this. There will be no justice if any other band wins this title.

Dave Rhodes, Wolverhampton
Nothing has ever touched me in quite the same way. 40 years on, they still excite and inspire. It's hard to imagine a world without their music now.

Lou, Aruba
Together with Queen the greatest band ever, worldwide!!!! I vote for Queen, but I realise that without The Beatles there wouldn't be Queen. The Beatles where great in songwriting and recording with the techniques from then. I personaly think Abbey Road is their best album. Great development in songwriting there. Queen followed them logicaly and went on with that kind of songwriting. Saw Paul McCartney two times in concert. Very very impressive. Britain produced the greatest pop/rockbands!!! Thanks!!!!!!

sicon
how many artists have sold a billion records worldwide, had in the US over 19 Number one singles, plus all their later albums also reaching number 1. In the UK no other act compares to their achievements. They were the most adventurous, consistent and high quality. All other british pop and rock acts and most American Rock acts from the mid sixties onwards owe their success to the gates opened by the beatles.

Marcie, USA
How can you compare the Beatles to Queen? Not in the same class as Queen. The Beatles didn't stay together long enough to be considered the best band of all time. Some of their music now seems a little outdated - "she loves you yeah yeah yeah" etc. They had their moments of brilliance, but not as many as Queen. Separately, Lennon and McCartney both produced better music solo.

David Coles
The Beatles were fantastic in all respects, but I think their originallity is over emphasised. It's far more difficult to be original now more than 40 years after The Beatles started than it was in the early 1960's when pop music was, really, still in its infancy.

Aubrey Harrison
Without The Beatles the world would have been a lesser place. We who are now approaching bus-pass age can only feel sorrow for those who were not there and do not understand why a handful of of notes still spark the electricity and bring a tear to our eyes. (I know "While my guitar gently weeps" is loud enough when the wing mirrors vibrate!

carl buttigieg pimlico london
what can you say that hasn't been said before. The Beatles are simply the greatest band there ever was. From their songwriting, and their performances. They were the forerunners of all music. Simply the greatest. x

Joe D'Alessio...Clinton Connecticut ...USA
For me there is no greater band than the Beatles. Just look at the songs they wrote and how they changed the course of history. They were 4 lads who shook the world. There has never been and never will be a band to catch them.The rolling stones can't even come close ... what did they write that anybody even knows.To me the BEATLES will always be the #1 true band in the world. BEATLE FOREVER

Peter Corfield
On a personal level the group changed my thinking completely. Whilst there were many other groups and singers that have influenced me, the Beatles from Love Me Do to the sad and bitter ending were simply the best and most enduring.

andrew murgatroyd, Huddersfield
Definitely earned the right to be included as one of the best, and out of this line-up of 5 entires, is easily the best. They wrote fantastic songs and were pioneers.

simon forster ....co.durham..........
the beatles YES ...........THEY WERE THE BEST JUST LIKE SPAGHETTI IS TO PAVAROTTI they were respected and loved .... back in the days and ever more so NOW just ask liam gallagher whom i am also a fan now in my late 30's i can appreciate them both how wonderfull that i was born in the 60's....

joe shaw in coatbridge
their success says it all and their ability in song writing and experimental sound is still second to none and will remain second to none..there will never be another beatles. , and to have oasis in the same category is astonishng, considering they are beatles wannabe's.I am 26 years old and still appreciate what they have done for music in the last 50 years. you had hendrix, cream, zeppelin, eagles, stones, dylan, the who, the list goes on, but the beatles are on another level than all these and they are all superb acts in their own right.As the muppets put it Phenomenal!

Gary Townsend - Lichfield
Before the Beatles bands didn't write their own songs. Before the Beatles British music was unheard of in the USA. Before the Beatles albums were just a collection of songs. Before the Beatles B sides were fillers. 40 years after the Beatles a remix of just a few of their songs can still top the charts. Can any other band in the world, let alone Britain boast that. The answer is simply no, the Beatles are the best band worlwide by any yardstick you can think of. Oh and their music is excellent too !.

Louisa from W5
The Beatles were the best, not only was the music wonderful, but their characters so likeable and fascinating too.

Katie Hudson, SW18
How can you beat the Beatles as the best band ever...? They changed the way a whole generation of teenagers thought, dressed and behaved...no other band can top that surely?!

margaret wood
There music goes on forever.

Jeff Stevens
In 100 years from now The Beatles will still be greatest band ever. You cannot rewrite history.

Mike Wa
If you were a teenager in the 60's you'd know why they were the greatest. They changed not just music but the world. Before there was mono black & white they gave us surround sound technicolour. Never again shall we see such an amazing influence on our culture and especially our music. They are not just the best british band they are the best band ever anywhere.

Gillian Webber
The Beatles were the influence for the British music scene. They have a hugh following, fans that have grown up with them. Their lyrics were great, songs which all are still played now, loved now. Look how many people copy their songs, none of which comes anywhere near the standard of the Beatles. The Beatles will always be at the top.

Raymond Howells.
They changed the face of music twice,pushed the boundaries,broke all the rules and brought pleasure to countless millions.

jason poyser
as much as i think oasis are awesome there is simply no group that has influenced world music more than the beatles. after all, without the beatles there would not be oasis, queen or the stones (certainly not in the form that they were and are) from the early days of the pop classics like please please me and love me do through to some of the experimental stuff on 2 of the greatest albums ever made in rubber soul and revolver, the beatles are simply the greatest band ever! (yes, even better than led zep, oasis, the stones and queen)

Bobby Hill
The Beatles ARE the sound track to MY life.simple as that!!!

Keith Hughes
The greatest band ever, and the eagles don't come close, and certainly not Take That.

Jenny Brown
I was 14 when the Beatles released their first record, it was life-changing! At last we had a pop-group that was "ours", not our Mums or Dads but truely ours!

Keith Hughes
The greatest band ever, and the eagles don't come close, and certainly not Take That.

Paul Bartlett
Absolutely the best ever. Maybe some of their music sounds dated (to some, not me), but if you remix or remodel for todays youth it still sounds brilliant and completely original. No group has been anywhere as prolific in terms of QUALITY output for a short period, and maintain that reputation for 40 years.

Jonathan Bonnell
The Beatles should not be in this list, niether in terms of musicality nor in terms of influence do they deserve to be there. They were fortunate to make it big in a vacumm, however in the same tinme frame a number of much greater groups were coming to promience. The list is slong and distinguished, even John Lennon recognised their short comings!

Sue Baker
no question - The Beatles are, and always will be, the very best!! Their music stands the test of time and has had the most influence of any other band. I've loved them since I was 13!!

Melanie Dawson
They would have been if they had kept together.

David Boon
Great band? No way. The only reason the Beatles had any sucsess is the fact that they could write material. As muscians forget it. As solo artists forget it.

jacqueline longhurst
beatle mania in the sixties was great, we all loved them and you could buy their records without hearing them before and know that they were brilliant.

Reg Bishop
They changed pop music forever,their influence was globel,no over band as had such an impact.30yrs on their music is still fresh and copied(ask oasis).The Beatles was,are and always will be No1.....