The three tracks - led by Journey's vintage Don't Stop Believin' at 25 - meant rock had a 3% share of the top 100, down from 13% last year - far behind hip hop / R&B (47%), pop (40%) and dance (10%).

This was its lowest tally in 50 years and underlines what has been a difficult year for new rock acts, with few commercial breakthroughs; a phenomenon that led Absolute Radio COO Clive Dickens to proclaim guitar-based music was ...