The moody Whiter Shade of Pale was voted the top song again in the Boom All Time Chart – for the sixth time.  

Its success is no surprise as the moody track been part of so many lives. The single rose to Number One in the UK for a staggering six weeks shortly after release - even with little promotion – and it caught the zeitgeist of 1967, a year so loved by our generation. Few singles do that - not least a debut single - and it fascinated both Lennon and Hendrix. It's one of the rare records that has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and it was judged the most played song in public places in 75 years by the needletime body PPL. 

The song was played at the climax of our Easter Top 200 - which was the most popular programme ever broadcast on Boom Radio.

Thanks for the huge number of lovely comments about the sixteen hour marathon. We've also received some questions, so we're happy to share more about how we compile it.

Many thousands of listener votes were received - more than ever this year - and you were invited to choose your five favourite tracks.

As the poll closed, we noted every vote and allotted points, dependent on whether a song was your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th choice. Then the calculations got underway as we began the job of assembling all the tracks and accompanying information ready for broadcast right across the four days of the Easter break. It's always a mammoth additional task for our small hard-working team.

The idea of a chart is to identify the most popular songs - so it's no surprise when the most popular tracks rise to the top!

The distinctiveness of Whiter Shade of Pale generates high passion and loyalty among a sizeable core of supporters, which is exactly what listener polls like this represent. 

Similarly, of course, that distinctiveness will be the very reason some people don't like it! Some folk have suggested we should ring the changes by not allowing votes for it in future – but to forbid people from voting for their favourite song would seem a puzzling approach.  We're sure there were Number One singles you probably didn't like! 

As the votes came in, it was not always Number One – so who knows what next year may bring. And rest assured, we take steps to identify mischievous voting - so those who voted more than once likely wasted their time!

And, of course, it’s not just about the Number One - this was a four day journey through our listeners’ favourite records ever – a great Easter soundtrack.

Alongside the huge songs which always do well in charts such as this, there are always a few surprises - given we allowed you to vote for absolutely anything rather than choosing from a list. It was great to include those in our chart which gave it a fitting Boom feel.

It makes us smile when listeners say ’how on earth did 'X group' appear at Number Y?’ or 'why is there no Z group in the chart?' etc, given the answer is always the same. They were - or were not - voted for by many listeners and that's how these charts work. Sometimes the tastes of others can surprise – and it's always dangerous to presume everyone shares your personal view of what is 'good' or 'bad'. Music tastes differ from age group to age group, male to female, person to person. This is a chart of what most people agree on.

We have been bowled over by the response yet again this year. The audiences for these four days are always the highest of the year and it’s great to watch the listening figures climb in real time as we reach the climax.  Afterwards, it’s always interesting to hear a lively debate  about the results amongst some listeners - we’d be very upset if no-one talked about it - but forgive us for not leaping into any changes!

We're often asked if the Chart affords us any insight generally in deciding what to play on Boom. Actually, it's more just a bit of fun. We don't know how old voters are, nor often what gender - it's just a snapshot of favourite songs from those who choose to vote rather that a representative sample of general Boom listeners.

This year, the programmes was hosted proudly by Rob Jones, Dave Brown, Peter Quinn and David Lloyd. Alas, we were without our chart supremo John Peters this year. We miss him - but he was very much in our minds.

Whilst it's great fun to present, the pace, detail and precision is quite a feat given we play each record in its entirety. Timing is a real headache, given specific tracks must be included in a specific order and not replaced by others.  So, we sometimes play a shorter officially-released 7" version, rather than the longest version –  but you'll hear the latter on other occasions on our Boom stations.

We don't labour the detail of last year's positions too much - but you can check those here. Similarly, we choose not to clutter the programme further with voting numbers or points allocated or explanations - much like the record sales charts don't include actual sales figures. Let’s just enjoy the music!

As ever - we mentioned a selection of voter names. It would be a challenge to mention more without the programme sounding like the 'phone directory - but we thank you hugely for taking part. You are part of something very special; and it wouldn’t be possible without you.

Once the Number One was revealed on Easter Monday, Peter Quinn returned with two hours of the songs that attracted appreciable numbers of votes, but not quite sufficient to qualify for the Top 200. Those fine underdogs always attract a great deal of interest.

Whilst the All Time Chart is the largest of our charts, we’ve conducted many others – from the Beatles Chart to the Elvis Chart, the Bacharach Chart to the Instrumentals Chart - and, earlier this year, we had the Boom Rock Album Chart. Check them all out here.

More on the way too! On the late May Bank Holiday across on our Boom Light station, we'll have our first ever  Boom Light '50s chart, so if that's your era, vote for your three favourites now! Vote here. 

Thank you again so much for being part of our All Time Chart. It was a lot of fun. See you next year!