The World Cup of Classic Rock: Queen crowned greatest rock band ever

They triumph over Guns N' Roses in the final

Queen vs. Guns N' Roses

Author: Scott ColothanPublished 31st Mar 2021
Last updated 31st Mar 2021

After weeks of intense voting, Queen have been crowned the WINNERS of the World Cup of Classic Rock after triumphing against Guns N' Roses in the final.

32 of the biggest names in rock music made the World Cup of Classic Rock shortlist - and we called on YOU, our incredible listeners to decide who is the greatest rock band of all time by taking part in votes on Absolute Classic Rock’s Twitter page.

In true knockout competition style, the initial Round of 32 were whittled down to the Round of 16 with big names including Genesis, Foo Fighters, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Heart, Def Leppard and Deep Purple falling at the very first hurdle.

Literally thousands of you voted each and every weekday throughout March with some of the votes – including Iron Maiden vs. Black Sabbath in the opening round – separated by just 1% of votes.

Queen win the World Cup of Classic Rock

The round of 16 saw some huge heavyweight tussles including Queen vs. Pink Floyd, Metallica vs. AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin vs. Fleetwood Mac and Eagles vs. Rolling Stones with more sumptuous ties in the quarter finals such as Aerosmith vs. Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC vs. Led Zeppelin.

However, testament to their legendary status, it was Queen who triumphed overall seeing off Genesis, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden and AC/DC throughout the competition before emerging victorious against Guns N’ Roses with a whopping 76% of the vote.

Fellow finalists Guns N’ Roses beat Van Halen, The Who, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix on their path to the final before eventually falling to the might of Queen.

AC/DC eventually came third after beating Jimi Hendrix in the Third Place Final.

It’s not the first time Queen have triumphed in an Absolute Radio poll. In May 2020, Queen were voted the Greatest Live Act of All Time by Absolute Radio listeners.

You can check out all the World Cup of Classic Rock results below.

The World Cup of Classic Rock results:

Queen vs. Meat Loaf

Round of 32 - Match 1 winners Queen (89% of vote)

The Who vs. Heart

Round of 32 - Match 2 winners: The Who (74% of vote)

Bruce Springsteen vs. Foo Fighters

Round of 32 - Match 3 winner: Bruce Springsteen (71% of vote)

Eagles vs. Janis Joplin

Round of 32 - Match 4 winners: Eagles (80% of vote)

Metallica vs. Joan Jett

Round of 32 - Match 5 winners: Metallica (76% of vote)

Aerosmith vs. Def Leppard

Round of 32 - Match 6 winners: Aerosmith (53% of vote)

Led Zeppelin vs. Thin Lizzy

Round of 32 - Match 7 winners: Led Zeppelin (70% of vote)

The Doors vs. Tina Turner

Round of 32 - Match 8 winners: The Doors: (64% of vote)

Pink Floyd vs. Genesis

Round of 32 - Match 9 winners: Pink Floyd (73% of vote)

Guns N' Roses vs. Van Halen

Round of 32 - Match 10 winners: Guns N' Roses (72% of vote)

Iron Maiden vs. Black Sabbath

Round of 32 - Match 11 winners: Iron Maiden (51% of vote)
The match went into extra time after a 50/50 tie in the game.

The Rolling Stones vs. Deep Purple

Round of 32 - Match 12 winners: The Rolling Stones (65% of vote)

AC/DC vs. KISS

Round of 32 - Match 13 winners: AC/DC (86% of vote)

Dire Straits vs. Status Quo

Round of 32 - Match 14 winners: Dire Straits (55% of vote)

Fleetwood Mac vs. Bon Jovi

Round of 32 - Match 15 winners: Fleetwood Mac (53% of vote)

Jimi Hendrix vs. Motörhead

Round of 32 - Match 16 winner: Jimi Hendrix (58% of vote)

Queen vs. Pink Floyd

Round of 16 - Match 1 winners: Queen (71% of vote)

The Who vs. Guns N' Roses

Round of 16 - Match 2 winners: Guns N' Roses (51% of vote)

Bruce Springsteen vs. Iron Maiden

Round of 16 - Match 3 winners: Iron Maiden (55% of vote)

Eagles vs. The Rolling Stones

Round of 16 - Match 4 winners: The Rolling Stones (65% of vote)

AC/DC vs. Metallica

Round of 16 - Match 5 winners: AC/DC (64% of vote)

Aerosmith vs. Dire Straits

Round of 16 - Match 6 winners: Aerosmith (51% of vote)

Led Zeppelin vs. Fleetwood Mac

Round of 16 - Match 7 winners: Led Zeppelin (58% of vote)

The Doors vs. Jimi Hendrix

Round of 16 - Match 8 winner: Jimi Hendrix (65% of vote)

Queen vs. Iron Maiden

Quarter Final - Match 1 winners: Queen (78% of vote)

AC/DC vs. Iron Maiden

Quarter Final - Match 2 winners: AC/DC (54% of vote)

Guns N' Roses vs. The Rolling Stones

Quarter Final - Match 3 winners: Guns N' Roses (51% of vote)

Aerosmith vs. Jimi Hendrix

Quarter Final - Match 4 winner: Jimi Hendrix (53% of vote)

Queen vs. AC/DC

Semi Final - Match 1 winners: Queen (67% of vote)

Guns N' Roses vs. Jimi Hendrix

Semi Final Match 2 winners: Guns N' Roses (56% of vote)

AC/DC vs. Jimi Hendrix

Third place play-off winners: AC/DC (69% of vote)

Queen vs. Guns N' Roses

World Cup of Classic Rock final winners: Queen (76% of vote)

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