IF FUNERALS were once sombre occasions carried out to the strains of Chopin or Bach, today they are more likely to be drowned out by the screech of an electric guitar solo.

In a survey of Europe’s favourite send-offs, hits by the rock bands Queen, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC are the tunes most likely to be requested at funerals across Britain and the Continent.

The Germans’ long-standing weakness for rock and heavy metal was reflected in their preference for the bands Metallica, Led Zeppelin and

AC/DC. Lyrics such as a, “Hey Satan, payin (sic) my dues, playing in a rockin band” — some of the words to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell — do not apparently disqualify the song from being played in church.

In Britain, Robbie Williams’s Angels was voted the song most likely to be played at a funeral.The ballad, also a favourite in Denmark, is requested so frequently at British weddings that some register offices have tried to ban it. Eric Idle’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life came a close second.

The trend for popular music over classical at funerals has gathered pace since the 1960s. Hymns, such as Abide with Me or Amazing Grace, are more likely to be overlooked in favour of a glam-rock anthem by Queen.

Alan Slater, of the National Association of Funeral Directors, said that an increasingly secular society explained why only the Italians and the Spanish opted for classical music — Mozart’s Requiem — in the poll. “We live in a much more secular society and as a result we have seen a change to music content at funerals,” he said.

“Music is all part of popular culture and families like to play something they associate with the deceased. I dare say most people nowadays are more familiar with Robbie Williams than with Chopin.”

Of the nine European countries polled, only Denmark showed an interest in home-grown talent, with Kim Larsen’s Om Lidt Bli’r Her Stille nominated as the most popular funeral tune. The Spaniards, it would seem, favour a bleak approach to their funerals. The End, by the American band the Doors, scored highly in Spain, one of nine polled.

Paul Rees, editor of the music magazine Q, said: “You just have to look at German football fans to know that they are in a time warp as far as music is concerned. They all have mullets and wear jean jackets and their taste in music is not far off. Angels, for better or for worse, will be around for ever. If I hear it again, I might have to think about planning my own funeral.”

TOP TEN SEND-OFFS

EUROPE

1 Queen The Show Must Go On
2 Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven
3 AC/DC Highway to Hell
4 Frank Sinatra My Way
5 Mozart Requiem
6 Robbie Williams Angels
7 Queen Who Wants to Live Forever
8 The Beatles Let it Be
9 Metallica Nothing Else Matters
10 U2

BRITAIN

1 Robbie Williams Angels
2 Frank Sinatra My Way
3 Monty Python Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
4 Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven
5 Queen Who Wants to Live Forever
6 Green Day Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
7 REM Everybody Hurts
8 Oasis Live Forever
9 Bette Midler Wind Beneath My Wings
10 Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Amazing Grace

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