Angels, by Stoke-on-Trent pop superstar Robbie Williams, has been voted the Best Song of the last 25 years in this year's Brit Awards.
The award, presented by Little Britain stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas, was presented at the ceremony in London following a vote by radio listeners.
The song, reputedly written in just 20 minutes, did not top the charts, however, rising only to number four in December 1997.
Tunstall-born Williams, a proud Port Vale fan, was struggling with a solo career before the song was released following his high-profile split with boy band Take That in 1995.
But Angels was a winner, a consistent seller that shifted more than one million copies, despite being kept off number one by The Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!
Williams, 30, has said: "Angels is what made me who I am. It gave me a career. I was going nowhere until that song came out."
The song triumphed over a shortlist of five finalists, including Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division, Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights and We Are The Champions by Queen.
An initial list of 25 songs, drawn up by industry experts, was whittled down to five by Radio 2 listeners, who then vied for their overall favourite.
Last year Angels topped a poll of songs which should have made it to number one but never did.
