Black Sabbath voted most important British hard rock band ever

New poll places Birmingham band above Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin.

The Birmingham band were named the most important hard rock group in a BPI poll of 3,600 hard rock and metal fans. Sabbath were far ahead of their competition, taking almost half of all votes cast.

Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin came in second and third respectively. Speaking about coming out on top of the poll, Sabbath stated: “We are honoured and flattered to be acknowledged in a poll like this which is voted for by the fans. We thank you.”

The BPI poll list of the most important hard rock bands is:

1 – Black Sabbath (45%)

2 – Iron Maiden (22.6%)

3 – Led Zeppelin (21.6%)

4 – Motorhead (2.9%)

5 – Deep Purple (2.3%)

6 – Judas Priest (1.9%)

7 – Other (3.6%)