Quoted Text

Pop star Pauls take pole position


More pop stars have been called Paul than any other name, a study has found.

From McCartney to Weller, people called Paul have appeared on 57 number one singles since the UK chart began in 1953, according to Yahoo! Music. John was the second most common name for chart-toppers, with the likes of Lennon and Queen bassist Deacon appearing on 54 best-selling songs. David was third thanks to the success of artists like Bowie, while Brian - as in May and McFadden - came fourth.


TOP 10 POP NAMES
1. Paul - 57
2. John - 54
3. David - 53
4. Brian - 43
5. George - 38
6. Mark - 37
7. Peter - 32
8. Tony - 30
9. Andy - 27
10. Shane - 24

(Number of UK number one singles by acts featuring people with the above names. Source Yahoo! Music)

George Harrison, George Michael and Boy George helped their name into fifth place. Mark came sixth, with 37 number ones, including tracks featuring Take That's Mark Owen and Mark Feehily of Westlife. But despite Paul's popularity with musicians' parents, the name no longer features in the UK's top 100 boys' names. Ventura Barba from Yahoo! Music Europe said: "When you think of rock 'n' roll names, you instantly recall the unique ones like Bono, Prince and Slash. "It's surprising to discover that an everyday name can lay claim to such an accolade."

Quoted from Kevin

Gosh.
I've been racking my brain, but apart from The Pogues (who maybe had a number 1 with Fairytale of NYC) I can't think of a single Shane. Oooh - and their must be one in the Bay City Rollers.

Quoted from BlueMeanie

Unless they are considering Alvin Stardust as Shane Fenton? And that wasn't his real name either.

Quoted from Kevin

I think they're only counting number ones.

Quoted from Kevin

There were no Shanes in the BCR's.
What number 1's do we have? Neither Shane Fenton or The Pogues had a number 1.

Quoted from BlueMeanie

Like I said, Shane Filan in Westlife. 13 No.1's.