Lennon died aged 40, having found fame as a Beatle and solo artist

The anthem narrowly beat Chris De Burgh's Lady In Red, which took second place in the survey of 3,760 over-50s conducted by the Smooth Radio network.

Crazy, a number one hit for US hip-hop duo Gnarls Barkley last year, also made the list - but nearly half of the top 50 came from the 1960s.

The Beatles failed to make the top 10, but scored five entries in total.

TOP 10 SONGS FOR OVER-50S 1. John Lennon - Imagine 2. Chris De Burgh - Lady in Red 3. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven 4. Ben E King - Stand By Me 5. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy 6. Lou Reed - Perfect Day 7. Beach Boys - Good Vibrations 8. Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water 9. Katie Melua - Closest Thing to Crazy 10. Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love Source: Smooth Radio

Their first placing was at number 15, with Hey Jude, and Yesterday, A Day In The Life, I Want To Hold Your Hand and In My Life also made appearances.

The third most popular song was Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven, with Ben E King's Stand By Me at number four and Gnarls Barkley in fifth position.

"What this survey shows is that the baby boomer generation has a very wide musical taste," said Smooth London DJ Mark Goodier.

"They might be a nostalgic generation, but they are clearly not stuck in the past and love recent music as well."

Smooth Radio is a commercial radio network broadcasting adult contemporary music on five stations across the UK.