George Thorogood & The Destroyers’ classic revealed to be most-streamed biker song – with AC/DC named top band for bikers overall
George Thorogood & The Destroyers’ classic anthem ‘Bad to the Bone’ has been named the most-streamed biker song of all time, according to new research.
The revelation was made in Vertu Motorcycles’ recent study – which analysed 392 tracks across Spotify biker playlists with 51,428 followers.
Often remembered as the soundtrack to the iconic motorcycle scene in Terminator 2 (1991), ‘Bad to the Bone’ topped the list of biker tracks – beating the likes of ‘Born to be Wild’ (Steppenwolf), ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ (Guns N’ Roses) and ‘Highway to Hell’ (AC/DC).
AC/DC named best-loved biker band; Bon Jovi take top album
The study also showed that AC/DC were the best-loved biker band by far.
The group featured in 5% of all songs analysed – with ‘Highway to Hell’ and ‘Thunderstruck’ regarded as their two most popular tracks.
Bon Jovi’s 1986 release Slippery When Wet was named the most popular biker album of all time – followed closely by Guns ‘N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction (1987).
Bikers favour volume over speed
Examining listening habits, Vertu’s study also found that bikers tended to favour volume – with the three most popular biker songs (‘Bad to the Bone’, ‘Born to be Wild’ and ‘Le Grange’) the three loudest tracks in the top 10.
However, the data busted the myth that bikers always prefer fast-tempo tracks – with 50% of the top 10 below the average tempo line (across analysed songs).
Interestingly, none of the top 10 most popular biker songs are the fastest or loudest of the biker genre overall. This shows that perhaps biker hits are more diverse than they are given credit for (i.e. they don’t always need to be the loudest or the fastest – but being loud helps to break through to bikers).
80s tunes dominate – but bikers also love Avicii and Calvin Harris…
Vertu’s research also revealed some surprising inclusions.
Whilst 80s soundtracks dominated the top biker tracks, there was also room for electronic artists.
Two examples are Avicii and Calvin Harris – who appeared ninth and tenth on the list of favourite biker musicians overall. The data also found that motorcycle owners prefer this pair to typical ‘biker bands’ like Motörhead and KISS.
The featured Avicii ‘biker tracks’ include ‘Wake Me Up’, ‘Levels’, ‘I Could Be the One’, ‘The Nights’ and ‘Waiting for Love’; for Calvin Harris, the most popular were ‘My Way’, ‘Slide’, ‘Summer’, ‘Feel So Close’, and ‘How Deep Is Your Love’.
Read the full study and see the results online
