Dutch country singer Danny Vera dethrones Queen in Top 2000 records

DutchNews, December 8, 2020 

A still from the video of a live recording for Stenders Platenbonanza on Radio 2

Dutch country singer Danny Vera has knocked Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody off the top of the traditional Top 2000 best-loved songs in an annual competition organised by Radio 2. 

Vera’s Roller Coaster was released last year and took the number four spot in the 2019 poll. The song has now beaten Queen, who has held the top spot for the past five years. In fact, Bohemian Rhapsody has only been ousted four times since the ranking was first organised in 1999. 

In 2005, Boudewijn de Groot topped the list with Avond, the Eagles’ Hotel California was top in 2010 and 2014, and in 2015, Imagine by John Lennon took the top spot. 

The top 10, with last year’s placement in brackets 

1. Roller Coaster – Danny Vera (4) 
2. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen (1) 
3. Hotel California – Eagles (2) 
4. Piano Man – Billy Joel (3) 
5. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin (5) 
6. Black – Pearl Jam (7) 
7. Avond – Boudewijn de Groot (6) 
8. Fix You – Coldplay (8) 
9. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd (10) 
10. Heroes – David Bowie (27)

Vera said in a reaction that he was delighted. ‘Perhaps it is indeed time for a new number one,’ he told NOS. ‘It also fits in well in a year in which everything was different.’ 

The Top 2000 is broadcast continuously on Radio 2 from December 25 to December 31.