Freddie Mercury has Been Voted the Ultimate Rock God

Queen legend Freddie Mercury has been voted the Ultimate Rock God.

Flamboyant front man Mercury, who sold 300 million records before he died in November 1991 of bronchopneumonia induced by HIV, beat Elvis Presley into second place.

The tragic star formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor who were later joined by bass player John Deacon.

During his 21 years with the band Mercury, who was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946, was renowned for his charismatic stage presence.

American rock icon Jon Bon Jovi came third in the survey of 4,000 rock fans by internet market research website www.onepoll.com.

A spokesman for www.onepoll.com said: ''Everybody loved Freddie Mercury, his theatrical performances on-stage were incredible and set him apart from other rock stars.

''He combined his ear for music with an ability to deliver to stadium audiences across the world, and as such millions of fans were devastated when HIV finally killed him in 1991.''

Elvis - dubbed 'The King of Rock 'n' Roll' - is one of the biggest selling artists of all time.

Famed for hits such as 'Jailhouse Rock' and 'Suspicious Minds', he also filmed 31 musical films including Blue Hawaii and Love Me Tender.

The star died in his bathroom in 1977.

Bon Jovi - founding member and front man of hard rock band Bon Jovi - has enjoyed record sales worldwide for over 25 years.

In the 80s the band produced the albums Slippery When Wet (1986) which sold  29 million copies, and New Jersey (1988) which has shipped 18 million.

Fourth place in the poll went to David Bowie, who has been making music for over 40 years. Fifth was Jimi Hendrix, one of the greatest rock guitarists of our time.

In the top 20 list a whopping five of the rock stars are deceased - including Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison.

Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl appears at number 12 in the list.  The front man originally played drums for Nirvana until Kurt Cobain shot himself in the head in 1994.

The band then split up and Grohl formed the Foo Fighters, and recruit other band members for the first album release in June 1995.

A spokesman for www.onepoll.com continued: ''The list of top 20 Rock Gods is a diverse mix of front men, guitarists and performers.

''There are some legendary acts in the list, but it's also good to see that modern day artists such as Dave Grohl earn respect from rock fans.''

TOP 20 ROCK GODS
1.            Freddie Mercury, Queen
2.            Elvis Presley
3.            Jon Bon Jovi, Bon Jovi
4.            David Bowie
5.            Jimi Hendrix, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
6.            Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath
7.            Kurt Cobain, Nirvana
8.            Slash, Guns and Roses
9.            Bono, U2
10.          Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones
11.          Axl Rose, Guns and Roses
12.          Dave Grohl, The Foo Fighters
13.          Jim Morrison, The Doors
14.          Paul McCartney, The Beatles
15.          Steven Tyler, Aerosmith
16.          Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin
17.          Brian May, Queen
18.          James Hetfield, Metallica
19.          Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin
20.          Bruce Dickinson, Iron Maiden