THE METAL CURTAIN:

East Berlin pop fans aren’t the only ones excited about hearing heavy metal music. According to a new poll commissioned by a leading vodka manufacturer, Soviet youths also worship a wide variety of headbanger heroes. In a survey of 400 Moscow adults, aged 18 to 39, six of the top 15 groups were metal bands (something of a surprise since under-18 teens were excluded from the poll). In fact, while Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd led the voting, an obscure New York metal band called Man o’ War tied (!) the Beatles for third place as the poll participants favorite Western artist. Other groups who received a healthy assortment of votes included Deep Purple, Queen, the Rolling Stones, the Scorpions, Bon Jovi, Madonna and Metallica.