Bowie beat the Beatles and alternative rockers Radiohead in a survey that asked hundreds of top rock and pop stars to name their biggest musical influence.The year-long "Under the Influence" survey, conducted by British weekly New Musical Express, put 52-year-old Bowie ahead of an eclectic mix of groundbreaking rap, jazz, techno and rock artists.Bowie, who stretched rock music's boundaries in the 1970s with his hits "Space Oddity", "Changes" and "Suffragette City", has had his songs covered by many groups, including Nirvana and Oasis.Among the musicians who voted - several of them stars in their own right - were British groups Radiohead and Suede, Irish rockers U2 and U.S. Artist Marilyn Manson."Today there seems to be a lack of icons and rock stars in general," said Manson. "When I grew up, there was David Bowie and Iggy Pop - people who had something to say and had quite an impact on music and society," he said.Radiohead came second in the poll, while the Beatles - still riding high around the world with their singles collection "1" - were named the third most influential.U2 lead singer Bono voted for Radiohead, a group who were called "The Pink Floyd of the 1990s"."I saw the new Radiohead show and it was beautiful, so beautiful, perfect sound, beautiful songs.They've made some extraordinary music and they can do what they like," he said.The rest of the top 10 are: rap group Public Enemy, jazz great Miles Davis, German techo group Kraftwerk, punk pioneers the Sex Pistols, controversial rapper Eminem, singer-songwriter Nick Drake and moody alternative band The Smiths.Other big names on the list were Bob Dylan at number 16, Beck at 19 and Stevie Wonder, who was voted 11th most influential."I was brought up with a lot of Stevie Wonder," said Spice Girl Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham. "I think he's brilliant. I've always listened to him and I always will".The full list of the 20 most influential artists will be published by the NME.
