AN academic from the University of York has found that Queen’s classic ‘We are the Champions’ is the most catchy song ever.

Expert musicologist Dr Alisun Pawley, of the University of York, and music psychologist Dr Daniel Mallensiefen, from Goldsmiths University of London, monitored the behaviour of thousands of people as they sung along to over a thousand tunes. Scientific analysis was then able to identify four core elements which trigger people’s inclination to sing.

These included longer and detailed musical phrases, a greater number of pitches in the chorus’s hook, with male vocies being the favourite, especially if they are higher pitched, showing noticeable vocal effort like Freddie Mercury and Jon Bon Jovi.

The top ten sing-along-able songs of all time were, in order: We Are The Champions by Queen; YMCA by The Village People; Fat Lip by Sum 41; The Final Countdown by Europe; Monster by The Automatic; Ruby by The Kaiser Chiefs; I’m Always Here by Jimi Jamison; Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison; Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus and Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi.