Fans campaign for heavy metal to be recognised as religion

Heavy metal fans are being urged to keep the faith - by lobbying for their love of rock to be recognised as a ''religion''.

They are being asked to officially register their faith as ''heavy metal'' while filling in the next Census questionnaire.

In the last census, a similar campaign led to 390,000 UK residents listing their religion as Jedi - the fictional creed created for the Star Wars movie saga.



Rock magazine Metal Hammer launched its campaign last week and has already attracted nearly 10,000 followers to a Facebook group.

It has even gained the backing of a metal figurehead, Saxon frontman Biff Byford, whom the magazine says will become the proposed faith's ''world metal peace ambassador'' if the campaign proves successful.

Metal can trace its roots back at least four decades, probably to the release of Black Sabbath's debut album, although many have argued that Helter Skelter by The Beatles may well be among the earliest tracks.