You are on page 1of 29

TRAIAN NATIONAL COLLEGE

DROBETA TURNU SEVERIN






ENGLISH ATESTAT PAPER
QUEEN







CANDIDATE: COORDINATORS:
GREERU NATALIA DANIELA TEFAN MARINESCU
CLASA XII A MIHAELA IORDACHE



MAY 2014
1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 2
Chapter I: Queen The Band ................................................................................ 3
1.1. Queen between 1968-1978 ............................................................................. 3
1.2. Continued success (1976-1979) ..................................................................... 6
1.3. May, seen live in concert in 1978 ................................................................... 6
Chapter II: After 1978 ........................................................................................... 7
2.1. New sound and synthesisers (1980-1984) ...................................................... 7
2.2. Live Aid and later years (1985-1990) ............................................................ 9
2.3. Mercurys deadth and beyond (1991-2003) ................................................. 10
2.4. Queen + Paul Rodgers (2004-2009) ............................................................. 11
2.5. Since 2009 .................................................................................................... 12
Chapter III: Career ............................................................................................... 13
3.1. Musical style ................................................................................................. 13
3.2. Logo The Queen Logo ............................................................................... 13
3.3. Influence ....................................................................................................... 14
3.4. Legacy .......................................................................................................... 14
3.5. Digital realm ................................................................................................. 15
3.6. Film and television ....................................................................................... 16
3.7. Musical theatre ............................................................................................. 18
3.8. About members ............................................................................................ 19
3.8.1. Freddie Mercury ........................................................................................ 19
3.8.2. Brian May .................................................................................................. 21
3.8.3. Roger Taylor .............................................................................................. 23
3.8.4. John Deacon .............................................................................................. 25
Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 27
Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 28






2

INTRODUCTION

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970, originally consisting
of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano),Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar),
and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen's earliest works were influenced by progressive
rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and
radio-friendly works, incorporating further diverse styles into their music.
Before joining Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor had been playing together in a band
named Smile with bassist Tim Staffell. Freddie Mercury (then known by his birth name of
Farrokh "Freddie" Bulsara) was a fan of Smile, and encouraged them to experiment with more
elaborate stage and recording techniques after Staffell's departure in 1970. Mercury himself
joined the band shortly thereafter, changed the name of the band to "Queen", and adopted his
familiar stage name. John Deacon was recruited prior to recording their eponymous debut
album in 1973. Queen enjoyed success in the UK with their debut and its follow-up, Queen II in
1974, but it was the release of Sheer Heart Attack later in 1974 and A Night at the Opera in
1975 that gained the band international success. The latter featured "Bohemian Rhapsody",
which stayed at number one in the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks; it charted at number one in
several other territories, and gave the band their first top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Their 1977 album, News of the World, contained two of rock's most recognisable anthems, "We
Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions". By the early 1980s, Queen were one of the
biggest stadium rock bands in the world, and their performance at 1985's Live Aidis regarded
as one of the greatest in rock history. In 1991, Mercury died of bronchopneumonia, a
complication of AIDS, and Deacon retired in 1997. Since then, May and Taylor have
infrequently performed together, including a collaboration with Paul Rodgers under the
name Queen + Paul Rodgers which ended in May 2009. In 2013, May and Taylor will tour
with Adam Lambert under the name of Queen + Adam Lambert.








3

Chapter I: Queen-The Band

1. 1 Queen between 1968-1978
In 1968, guitarist Brian May, a student
at London's Imperial College, and bassist Tim
Staffell decided to form a band. May placed
an advertisement on the college notice board
for a "Mitch Mitchell/Ginger Baker type"
drummer; Roger Taylor, a young dental
student, auditioned and got the job. The group
called themselves Smile. Smile signed to Mercury Records in 1970 and had their first session in
a recording studio in Trident Studios that year.
While attending Ealing Art College Tim Staffell became friends with Farrokh Bulsara, a
fellow student who had assumed the English name of Freddie. Mercury felt that he and the band
had the same tastes and soon became a keen fan of Smile. In late 1970, after Staffell left to join
the band Humpy Bong, the remaining Smile members, encouraged by Freddie, changed their
name to "Queen" and continued working together. When asked about the name, Freddie
explained, "I thought up the name Queen. It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it
sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential
and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of gay connotations, but that
was just one facet of it."
The band had a number of bass players during this period who did not fit with the band's
chemistry. It was not until February 1971 that they settled on John Deacon and began to
rehearse for their first album. They recorded four of their own songs; "Liar", "Keep Yourself
Alive", "The Night Comes Down" and "Jesus" for a demo tape, however no record companies
were interested. It was also around this time Freddie changed his name to 'Mercury', inspired by
the line "Mother Mercury, look what they've done to me," in the song My Fairy King.
In 1973, after a series of delays, Queen released their eponymous debut album, an effort
influenced by the heavy metal and progressive rock of the day. The album was received well by
critics; Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone said "their debut album is superb", and Chicago's
Daily Herald called it an "above average debut". However, it drew little mainstream attention
and the lead single "Keep Yourself Alive", a Brian May composition, sold poorly.
The group's second LP Queen II was released in 1.9*74. The album reached number
five on the British album charts and became the first Queen album to chart in the UK. and the
4

Freddie Mercury-written lead single "Seven Seas of Rhye", reached number ten in the UK,
giving the band their first hit. Their heaviest and darkest release, the album features long
complex instrumental passages, fantasy-themed lyrics and musical virtuosity. The band toured
as support for Mott the Hoople in the UK and US during this period, and they began to gain
notice for their energetic and engaging stage shows.
Brian May was absent when the band started work on their third album, Sheer Heart
Attack, released in 1974. The album reached number two in the United Kingdom, sold well
throughout Europe, and went gold in the United States. It gave the band their first real taste of
commercial success. The album experimented with a variety of musical genres, including
British music hall, heavy metal, ballads, ragtime and Caribbean. At this point Queen started to
move away from the progressive tendencies of their first two releases into a more
radio-friendly, song-oriented style. Sheer Heart Attack introduced new sound and melody
patterns that would be refined on their next album A Night at the Opera.
The single "Killer Queen" reached number two in the British charts, and became their
first US hit, reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It combines camp, vaudeville,
British music hall with May's guitar virtuosity. The album's second single, "Now I'm Here", a
more traditional hard rock composition, was a number eleven hit in Britain. In recent years, the
album has received acclaim from music publications: In 2006, Classic Rock ranked it number
28 in "The 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever", and in 2007, Mojo ranked it #88 in "The
100 Records That Changed the World." It is also the second of three Queen albums to feature in
the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
In 1975, the band left for a world tour with
each member in Zandra Rhodes-created costumes
and accompanied with banks of lights and effects.
They toured the US as headliners, and played in
Canada for the first time. While the band toured
Japan in April, the band's manager Jim Beach
successfully negotiated the band out of their
Trident contract. Of the options they considered was an offer from Led Zeppelin's manager,
Peter Grant. Grant wanted them to sign with Led Zeppelin's own production company, Swan
Song Records. The band found the contract unacceptable and instead, contacted Elton John's
manager, John Reid, who accepted the position.
In late 1975 Queen recorded and released A Night at the Opera. Taking its name from
the popular Marx Brothers' movie, At that time, it was the most expensive album ever
5

produced. Like its predecessor, the album features diverse musical styles and experimentation
with stereo sound. In "The Prophet's Song", an eight-minute epic, the middle section is a canon,
with simple phrases layered to create a full-choral sound. The album was very successful in
Britain, and went triple platinum in the United States. The British public voted it the 13th
greatest album of all time in a 2004 Channel 4 poll And has also ranked highly in international
polls: in a worldwide Guinness poll, it was voted the 19th greatest all time, while an ABC poll
saw the Australian public vote it the 28th greatest of all time. A Night at the Opera has
frequently appeared in "greatest albums" lists reflecting the opinions of critics. Among other
accolades, it was ranked number 16 in Q Magazine's "The 50 Best British Albums Ever" in
2004, and number 11 in Rolling Stone's "The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time" as featured in
their Mexican edition in 2004. It was also featured as one of Rolling Stone's "500 greatest
albums of all time" in 2003. A Night at the Opera is the third and final Queen album to be
featured in the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
The album also featured the hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody"
which was number one in the UK for nine weeks, and is Britain's
third-best-selling single of all time; beaten only by Band Aid's "Do
They Know it's Christmas?" and Elton John's Candle in "The Wind"
1997 - making it the best selling commercial single in the UK. It also
reached number nine in the United States (a 1992 re-release reached
number two). It is the only single ever to sell a million copies on two
separate occasions, and became the Christmas number one twice in the
UK; the only single ever to achieve this. Bohemian Rhapsody has been voted, numerous times,
the greatest song of all time. The band decided to make a video to go with the single; the result
is generally considered to have been the first "true" music video ever produced. Although other
bands, including The Beatles, had made short promotional films or videos of songs prior to this,
generally those were specifically made to be aired on specific television shows). "Bohemian
Rhapsody" was the first to be available to any TV station willing to play it, for promotional
purposes. The second single from the album, "You're My Best Friend", the second song
composed by John Deacon, and his first single, peaked at sixteen in the United States and went
on to become a worldwide Top Ten hit.




6

1 . 2 Continued success (1976-1979)
By 1976, Queen was back in the studio recording A Day at the Races, which may be
seen by some as a companion album to A Night at the Opera. It again borrowed the name of a
Marx Brothers' movie, and its cover was similar to that of A Night at the Opera, a variation on
the same Queen Crest. Musically, the album was by both fans' and critics' standards a strong
effort, and reached number one on the British charts. The major hit on the album was
"Somebody to Love", a gospel-inspired song in which Mercury, May, and Taylor multi-tracked
their voices to make a 100-voice gospel choir. The song went to number two in the United
Kingdom, and number thirteen on the US singles chart.. The album also featured one of the
band's heaviest songs, Brian May's "Tie Your Mother Down", which became a staple of their
live shows.
During the same year Queen played one of their most famous gigs, a 1976 free concert
in Hyde Park, London. It set an attendance record, with 150,000 people confirmed in the
audience.
News of the World was released a year later. It contained many songs tailor-made for
live performance, including "We Will Rock You" and the rock ballad "We Are the
Champions", both of which reached number four in the United States and became enduring
international sports anthems.

1. 3 May, seen live in concert in 1978
In 1978 the band released Jazz, which included the hit single double a side single "Fat
Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race". This album was "the target of a bizarre marketing
campaign, in which sixty-five naked women were perched atop bicycles rented from Halford's
Cycles and sent racing around Wimbledon Stadium." The word "jazz" was not used in a strict
sense, and the album was noted by critics for its collection of different styles, jazz not being one
of them. Rolling Stone Magazine criticized it for being "dull", saying "Queen hasn't the
imagination to play jazz - Queen hasn't the imagination, for that matter, to play rock & roll"
Notable tracks from the album include "Dead on Time", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Let Me
Entertain You", and "Mustapha", in which Arabesque music is combined with heavy rock
guitar.
The band's first live album, Live Killers, was released in 1979; it went platinum twice in
the United States. They also released the very successful single "Crazy Little Thing Called
Love", a rockabilly song done in the style of Elvis Presley. The song made the top 10 in many
countries, and was the band's first number one single in the United States.
7

Chapter II: After 1978

2. 1 New sound and synthesisers (1980-1984)
Queen began the 1980s with The Game. It featured the singles "Crazy Little Thing
Called Love" and "Another One Bites the Dust", both of which reached number one in the
United States. The album stayed number one for four weeks in the United States, and sold over
four million copies. It was also the only album to ever top the Billboard rock, dance, and R&B
charts simultaneously and marked the first appearance of a synthesiser on a Queen album.
Heretofore, their albums featured a distinctive "No Synthesisers!" sleeve note. The note is
widely assumed to reflect an anti-synch, pro- "hard"-rock stance by the band, but was later
revealed by producer Roy Thomas Baker to be an attempt to clarify that those albums'
multi-layered solos were created with guitars, not synchs, as record company executives kept
assuming at the time.
1980 also saw the release of the soundtrack Queen had recorded for Flash Gordon.
In 1981, Queen became the first major rock band to play in Latin American stadiums.
Queen played to a total audience of 479,000 people on their South American tour, including
five shows in Argentina and two in Brazil where they played to an audience of more than
130,000 people in the first night and more than 120,000 people the following night at Sao Paulo
(Morumbi Stadium). In October of the same year, Queen performed for more than 150,000 fans
on October 9 at Monterrey (Estadio Universitario) and 17 and 18 at Puebla (Estadio Zaragoza),
Mexico.
Queen worked with David Bowie on the single "Under Pressure". The first-time
collaboration with another artist was spontaneous, as Bowie happened to drop by the studio
while Queen was recording. The band were immediately pleased with the results, but Bowie did
not play the song live for several years, [citation needed] Upon its release, the song was
extremely successful, reaching number one in Britain. The bass line was later used for Vanilla
Ice's 1990 hit "Ice,Ice Baby".
Later that same year, Queen released their first compilation album, entitled Greatest
Hits, which showcased the group's highlights from 1974-1981. It was highly successful, and as
of 2007, it is the United Kingdom's best selling album. Taylor became the first member of the
band to release his own solo album in 1981, entitled "Fun In Space".
8


In 1982 the band released the funk album Hot Space. The bands had stopped North
America after their Hot Space Tour, as their success there had waned, although they would
perform on American television for the only time during the eighth season premiere of Saturday
Night Live. Queen left Elektra Records, their label in the United States, Canada, Japan,
Australia, and New Zealand, and signed onto EMI/Capitol Records.
After working steadily for over ten years, Queen decided that they would not perform
any live shows in 1983. During this time, they did however record a new album, and several
members of the band explored side projects and solo work. May released a mini-album entitled
Star Fleet Project, on which he collaborated with Eddie Van Halen.
In 1984, Queen released the album The Works, which included the successful singles
"Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want to Break Free". Despite these hit singles, the album failed to do well
in the United States. "Radio Ga Ga" was the band's last original American Top Forty hit until
1989's "I Want It All".
Queen embarked that year on the "The World's Tour",.the first tour to feature
keyboardist Spike Edney as an extra live musician. The tour featured several dates in
Bophuthatswana, South Africa, at the arena at Sun City. Upon returning to England, they were
the subject of outrage, having played there during the height of apartheid and in violation of
worldwide divestment efforts. The band responded to the critics by stating that they were
playing music for fans in that country, and they also stressed that the concerts were played
before integrated audiences.



9

2. 2 Live Aid and later years (1985-1990)
On 12 January 1985, the band headlined two nights of the first Rock in Rio festival at
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). They were the main act on the 11 and 18 January lineups. On each
night, they played in front of over 300,000 people. A selection of highlights of both
performances was released on VHS on May with the title Queen Live in Rio.
At Live Aid, held at Wembley on 13 July 1985, Queen performed some of their greatest
hits in what has been considered their best performance to date. The band, now revitalised by
the response to Live Aid and the ensuing increase in record sales, ended 1985 by releasing the
single "One Vision". The song was used in the film Iron Eagle. Also, a limited-edition boxed set
containing all Queen Albums to date was released under the title of "The Complete Works".
The package included previously unreleased material, most notably Queen's non-album single
of Christmas 1984, titled Thank God it's Christmas.
In early 1986, Queen recorded the album "A Kind of Magic", containing several
reworking of songs written for the Russell Mulcahy film Highlander. The album was very
successful, producing a string of hits, including the title track, "A Kind of Magic." Also
charting from the album were "Friends Will Be Friends", "Who Wants to Live Forever?", and
the de facto theme from Highlander, "Princes of the Universe".
Later that year, Queen went on a sold-out tour in support of A Kind of Magic, once
again they hired Spike Edney, leading to him being dubbed the unofficial fifth member. The
Magic Tour's highlight was at Wembley Stadium in London and resulted in the live double
album, Queen Live At Wembley Stadium, released on CD and as a live concert film. They
could not book Wembley for a third night, but they did play at Knebworth Park. The show sold
out within two hours and over 120,000 fans packed the park for what proved to be Queen's final
live performance with Mercury. More than 1 million people saw Queen on the tour - 400,000 in
the United Kingdom alone, a record at the time.
After working on various solo projects during 1988 (including Mercury's collaboration
with Montserrat Caball, Barcelona) the band released The Miracle in 1989. The album
continued the direction of A Kind of Magic, using a pop-rock sound mixed with a few heavy
numbers. It spawned the European hits "I Want It All", "Breakthru", "The Invisible Man",
"Scandal", and "The Miracle".
The Miracle also began a change in direction of Queen's song writing philosophy. Since
the band's beginning, nearly all songs had been written by and credited to a single member, with
other members adding minimally. With The Miracle, however, the band's song writing became
more collaborative, and they vowed to credit the final product only to Queen as a group.
10

2. 3 Mercury's death and beyond (1991-2003)
"There was all that time when we knew Freddie was on the way out, we kept our heads
down." Brian May
After fans noticed Mercury's gaunt appearance during 1988, rumours began to spread
that Mercury was suffering from AIDS. Mercury flatly denied these, insisting he was merely
"exhausted" and too busy to provide interviews. However, the band decided to continue making
albums free of internal conflict and differences, starting with The Miracle and continuing with
Innuendo. Despite his deteriorating health, Mercury continued to contribute. The band released
Innuendo in early 1991, followed by their second greatest hits compilation, Greatest Hits II in
the October of that year.
On 23 November 1991, in a prepared statement made on his deathbed, Mercury
confirmed that he had AIDS. Within 24 hours of that statement, he died of bronchial
pneumonia, which was brought on as a complication of ADDS. His funeral service was private,
held in accordance with the Zoroastrian religious faith of his family.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" was re-released as a single shortly after Mercury's death, with
"These Are the Days of Our Lives" as the double A-side. The single went to number one for the
second time in the UK. Initial proceeds from the single - approximately 1,000,000 - were
donated to the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Queen's popularity increased once again in the United States after "Bohemian
Rhapsody" was featured in the comedy film Wayne's World, helping the song reach number
two for five weeks in the US charts in 1992. The song was made into a Wayne's World music
video, with which the band and management were delighted.
The statue of Freddie Mercury in Montreux is also featured on the cover of the album
Made in Heaven (1995).
On 20 April 1992, The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was held at London's
Wembley Stadium. Performers, including Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Elton John, David
Bowie, Annie Lennox and Metallica performed various Queen songs along with the three
remaining Queen members. The concert is listed in The Guinness Book of Records as "The
largest rock star benefit concert". It was televised to over 1.2 billion viewers worldwide, and
raised over 20,000,000 for AIDS charities.
The band also terminated their Capitol Records contract and signed a deal with
Hollywood Records as their new US label.
Queen's last album featuring Mercury, titled Made in Heaven, was released in 1995,
four years after his death. It was constructed from Mercury's final recordings in 1991, plus
11

material left over from their previous studio albums. In addition, re-worked material from May,
Taylor and Mercury's solo albums were included. May and Taylor have often been involved in
projects related to raising money for AIDS research. In 1997, Queen returned to the studio to
record "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)". It was the last song recorded by Queen
with John Deacon, and was released as a bonus track on the Queen Rocks compilation album
later that year. The song was later released as a single reaching number 13 in the UK chart.
Brian May and Roger Taylor performed together at several award ceremonies and
charity concerts sharing vocals with various guest singers. During this time they were billed as
Queen + followed by the name of the guest singer. Several of the guest singers recorded new
versions of Queen's hits under the Queen + name,
including Robbie Williams and Britney Spears.
In 1999, a Greatest Hits III album was
released. This featured, among others, "Queen +
Wyclef Jean" on a rap version of "Another One Bites
the Dust". A live version of "Somebody to Love" by
George Michael; and a live version of "The Show
Must Go On", recorded in 1997 with Elton John and
features the last live performance of John Deacon,
who retired shortly after.
In 2003, four new songs by May and Taylor were performed under the Queen name for
Nelson Mandela's 46664 campaign against AIDS.

2. 4 Queen + Paul Rodgers (2004-2009)
At the end of2004, May and Taylor announced that they would reunite and return to
touring in 2005, with Paul Rodgers (founder and former lead singer of Free and Bad Company).
Brian May's website also stated that Rodgers would be 'featured with' Queen as Queen + Paul
Rodgers, not replacing the late Freddie Mercury. The retired John Deacon would not be
participating.
Between 2005 and 2006 Queen + Paul Rodgers embarked on a world tour, the first leg
in Europe and the second, Japan and then the US in 2006. On 15 August 2006, Brian May
confirmed through his website and fan club that Queen + Paul Rodgers would begin producing
their first studio album beginning in October, to be recorded at a "secret location". The album,
titled The Cosmos Rocks, was released in Europe on 12 September 2008 and in the United
States on 28 October 2008. Following the album the band again embarked on a tour through
12

Europe. Opening on Kharkiv's Freedom Square in front of 350,000 Ukrainian fans, the show in
Ukraine was later released on DVD.
Queen and Paul Rodgers officially split up without animosity on 12 May 2009. Rodgers
did not rule out the possibility of working together again.

2. 5 Since 2009
On 20 May 2009, Brian May and Roger Taylor performed We Are the Champions live
on the season finale of American Idol with winner Kris Allen and runner up Adam Lambert
providing a vocal duet.
In mid-2009 after the split of Queen + Paul Rodgers, the Queen online website
announced a new Greatest Hits compilation named Absolute Greatest. It was released on 16
November and peaked at 3 in the official UK chart. The album contains 20 of Queen's biggest
hits spanning their entire career and was released in four different formats: single disc, double
disc , double disc with feature book and a vinyl record. Prior to its release, a competition was
run by Queen Online to guess the track listing, as a promotion for the album.
On 30 October 2009, Brian May wrote a fan club letter on his website stating that Queen
had no intentions to tour in 2010 but that there is a possibility of a performance. Brian is quoted
as saying "The greatest debate, though, is always about when we will next play together as
Queen. At the moment, in spite of the many rumours that are out there, we do not have plans to
tour in 2010. The good news, though, is that Roger and I have a much closer mutual
understanding these days - privately and professionally ... and all ideas are carefully considered.
Music is never far away from us. As I write, there is an important one-off performance on offer,
in the USA, and it remains to be decided whether we will take up this particular challenge.
Every day, doors seem to open, and every day, we interact, perhaps more than ever before, with
the world outside. It is a time of exciting transition in Rock music and in "The Business". It's
good that the pulse still beats."
On 15 November 2009, Brian May and Roger Taylor performed Bohemian Rhapsody
live on the British TV show The X Factor alongside the finalists.

13

Chapter III: Career

3. 1 Musical style
Queen composed music that drew inspiration from many different genres of music,
often with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. Among the genres they have been associated with are:
progressive rock, hard rock, glam rock, heavy metal, pop rock, dance/disco, blues-rock and
psychedelic rock. Queen also wrote songs that were inspired by genres that are not typically
associated with rock, such as country, ragtime, opera, gospel, vaudeville and folk.
Sonic experimentation figured heavily in Queen's songs. A distinctive characteristic of
Queen's music are the vocal harmonies which are usually composed of the voices of May,
Mercury and Taylor best heard on the studio albums A Night at the Opera and A Day at the
Races. Some of the ground work for the development of this sound can be attributed to their
former producer Roy Thomas Baker as well as their engineer Mike Stone. Besides vocal
harmonies, Queen was also known for multi-tracking voices to imitate the sound of a large
choir through overdubs. For instance, according to Brian May, there are over 180 vocal
overdubs in "Bohemian Rhapsody". Many Queen songs were also written with audience
participation in mind, such as "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions".

3. 2 Logo-The Queen Logo
The Queen logo, also known as the Queen Crest, was designed by Mercury shortly
before the release of their first album. The logo features the zodiac signs of all four members:
two lions for Leo (Deacon and Taylor), a crab for Cancer (May), and two fairies for Virgo
(Mercury). The lions are embracing a stylised letter
Q, the crab is resting atop the Q with flames rising
directly above it, and the fairies are each sheltering
below a lion. There is also a crown inside the Q and
the whole logo is over- shadowed by an enormous
phoenix. The whole symbol bears a passing
resemblance to the Royal coat of arms of the United
Kingdom, particularly with the lion supporters. The
original logo, as found on the reverse-side of the
first album cover, was a simple line drawing but more intricate colour versions were used on
later album covers.
14

3. 3 Influence
Queen has been recognised as having made significant contributions to such genres as
hard rock and heavy metal, amongst others. Hence the band has been cited as an influence by
many other musicians. Moreover, like their music, the bands and artists that have claimed to be
influenced by Queen are diverse and span different generations, countries and genres.
Some of the musicians that have cited the band as an influence include: Anthrax, Ben
Folds Five, Kurt Cobain, Def Leppard, Extreme, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Guns N' Roses,
Helloween, Iron Maiden, , Kansas, Keane, Lady GaGa, Manic Street Preachers, Metallica,
George Michael, Mika, Muse, My Chemical Romance, Radiohead, Trent Reznor. Styx, The
Killers and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Queen have been cited as a major influence on the "neo-classical metal" genre by
Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. Metallica recorded a cover version of "Stone Cold
Crazy", which first appeared on the "Rubaiyat Elektra's 40th Anniversary" album in 1990,
and won their first Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1991. In the early 70s,
Queen helped spur the heavy metal genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence;
the New Wave of British Heavy Metal followed in a similar vein, fusing the music with a punk
rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed.

3. 4 Legacy
As of 2005, according to The Guinness Book of World Records, Queen Albums have
spent a total of 1,322 weeks or twenty-seven years on the United Kingdom album charts; more
time than any other musical act. Also in 2005, with the release of their live album with Paul
Rodgers, Queen moved into third place on the list of acts with the most aggregate time spent on
the British record charts.
In 2006 the Greatest Hits album was the United Kingdom's all-time best selling album,
with sales upwards of 5,407,587 copies, over 604,295 more copies than its nearest competitor,
The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Their Greatest Hits II album came in
seventh with sales upwards of 3,631,321 copies.
The band has released a total of eighteen number one albums, eighteen number one
singles, and ten number one DVDs worldwide making them one of the world's best- selling
music artists. Their total album sales have been estimated at over 300 million worldwide
including 32.5 million in the United States alone as of 2004. The band is also the only group in
which every member has composed more than one chart-topping single.
15

One aggregate site declared 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as the greatest song of all time, from
an average of numerous industry polls.
Queen is one of the most bootlegged bands ever, according to Nick Weymouth, who
manages the band's official website. A 2001 survey discovered the existence of 12,225 websites
dedicated to Queen Bootlegs, the highest number for any band. Bootleg recordings have
contributed to the band's popularity in certain countries where Western music is censored, such
as Iran. In a project called Queen: The Top 100 Bootlegs, many of these have been made
officially available to download for a nominal fee from Queen's website, with profits going to
the Mercury Phoenix Trust.
Queen were named 13 th on VHl's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock list.

3. 5 Digital realm
In conjunction with Electronic Arts, Queen released the computer game Queen: The
Eye in 1998, to commercial and critical failure. The music itself tracks from Queen's vast
catalogue, in many cases remixed into new instrumental versions was by and large well
received, but the game experience was hampered by poor game play. Adding to the problem
was an extremely long development time, resulting in graphic elements that already seemed
outdated by the time of release.
Under the supervision of May and Taylor, numerous restoration projects have been
underway involving Queen's lengthy audio and video catalogue. DVD releases of their 1986
Wembley concert (titled Live At Wembley Stadium) and 1982 Milton Keynes concert (Queen
on Fire - Live at the Bowl), and two Greatest Video Hits (Volumes 1 and 2, spanning the 1970s
and 1980s) have seen the band's music remixed into 5.1 and DTS surround sound. So far, only
two of the band's albums, A Night at the Opera and The Game, have been fully remixed into
high-resolution multichannel surround on DVD- Audio. A Night at the Opera was re-released
with some revised 5.1 mixes and accompanying videos in 2005 for the 30th anniversary of the
album's original release (CD+DVD-Video set). In 2007, a BluRay edition of Queen's
previously released concerts Queen Rock Montreal & Live Aid was released together marking
their first project in 1080p HD.
Queen have been featured multiple times in the Guitar Hero franchise: a cover of "Killer
Queen" in the original Guitar Hero, "We Are The Champions", "Fat Bottomed Girls," and the
Paul Rodgers collaboration "C-lebrity" in a track pack for Guitar Hero World Tour, and "Under
Pressure" with David Bowie in Guitar Hero 5. On 13 October 2009, Brian May revealed there
was "talk" going on "behind the scenes" about a dedicated Queen Rock Band game.
16

In March 2009, Sony Computer Entertainment released a Queen branded version of the
company's karaoke franchise, "SingStar". The game, which is available on Playstation 2 and
Playstation 3, is titled "SingStar Queen" and has 25 songs on the PS3 and 20 on the PS2.
The band also appeared in the video game, Lego Rock Band, as playable Lego avatars.
"We Will Rock You" and other songs by Queen also appear in DJ Hero.

3. 6 Film and television
Queen contributed with music directly to the movies "Flash Gordon" (1980, directed by
Mike Hodges) and "Highlander" (the original 1986 film, directed by Russell Mulcahy). The
songs, "A Kind of Magic, "One Year of Love", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Hammer to
Fall", and the theme "Princes of the Universe" can be heard in the film. It was also used in the
"Highlander" TV series (1992-1998). "A Kind of Magic" can be heard in the beginning bar
scene of "Highlander 2".
In the United States, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was re-released as a single in 1992 after
appearing in Wayne's World. The single subsequently reached number two on the US Billboard
chart (with "The Show Must Go On" as the first track on the single) and helped rekindle the
band's popularity in North America.
Several films have featured their songs performed by other artists. A version of
"Somebody to Love" was done by Anne Hathaway in the 2004 film Ella Enchanted. In 2006,
Brittany Murphy also recorded a cover of the same song for the 2006 movie Happy Feet. In
2001, a version of "The Show Must Go On" was performed by Jim Broadbent and Nicole
Kidman in the movie musical "Moulin Rouge". The closing credits of A Knight's Tale released
in 2001 has a version of "We Are the Champions" performed by Robbie Williams and Queen;
the introduction to the same movie features We Will Rock You played by the medieval
audience. In 1992, the film "Gladiator" featured snippets of "We Will Rock You" performed by
Warrant whereas their full version was released as a single. In 2004 "Don't Stop Me Now" was
featured in the bar fight scene in the cult movie Shaun of the Dead, and "You're My Best
Friend" played during the end credits, as well as during the 2006 film "The Break-Up".
In May 2004, The Japanese live-action version of Sailor Moon, called Pretty Guardian
Sailor Moon. In Act 29: "Minako's Rival, Mio Kuroki, is a Transfer Student?", used "I Was
Born To Love You" in a volleyball game scene between the shows hero Usagi Tsukino/Sailor
Moon (Miyuu Sawai) and Mio Kuroki (Alisa Yuriko Durbrow) a Dark Kingdom minion and
"Rival" to J-Pop Idol Minako Aino/ Sailor Venus (Ayaka Komatsu).
17

Keeping in the tradition (since Season Five) of
naming each season's episodes after songs from a
famous 1970s era rock band (Led Zeppelin for the fifth
season, The Who for the sixth and The Rolling Stones
for the seventh), the eighth and final season of That
'70s Show consisted of episodes named after Queen
songs. "Bohemian Rhapsody" served as the season
premiere.
On 11 April 2006 Brian May and Roger Taylor
appeared on the American singing contest television
show American Idol. Each contestant was required to
sing a Queen song during that week of the competition.
Songs which appeared on the show included "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Fat Bottomed Girls",
"The Show Must Go On", "Who Wants to Live Forever", and "Innuendo". Brian May later
criticised the show for editing specific scenes, one which made the group's time with contestant
Ace Young look negative, despite it being the opposite.
Taylor and May again appeared on the American Idol Season 8 finale in May 2009,
performing "We Are the Champions" with finalists Adam Lambert and Kris Allen.
A1 Murray's Happy Hour has a Queen theme, as it uses "Don't Stop Me Now" for the
introduction and features guest performers along with host A1 Murray singing different Queen
songs each episode. The remainder of Queen did appear at the end of a series of the show.
"I Was Born to Love You" was used as the theme song of the Japanese drama Pride on
Fuji Television in 2004, starring Takuya Kimura and Yuko Takeuchi. The show's soundtrack
also contained other songs by Queen, including "We Will Rock You, "We Are the Champions"
and "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The band made tentative plans to provide material for use in "The Hotel New
Hampshire" but this project was abandoned. However, "Keep Passing the Open Windows"
(which is an important catch-phrase line in the movie) did survive. The Simpsons has also made
storylines in which they use Queen songs such as 'You're My Best friend'.
On 15 November 2009 Brian May and Roger Taylor appeared on the singing contest
television show "X Factor".
In the autumn of 2009, the Fox television show Glee featured the fictional high school's
show choir singing "Somebody to Love" as their second act performance in the episode The
18

Rhodes Not Taken. The performance was included on the show's Volume One soundtrack CD,
and is available as a single via digital download.

3. 7 Musical theatre
In 2002, a musical or "rock theatrical" based on the songs of Queen, titled We Will Rock
You, opened at the Dominion Theatre on London's West End. The musical was written by
British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Brian May and Roger Taylor, and
produced by Robert De Niro. It has since been staged in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain;
Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane, Australia; Cologne, Germany; Vienna, Austria;
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; South Africa, Las Vegas United States; Zurich, Switzerland; Tokyo,
Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Moscow, Russia; Varberg, Sweden; Auckland, New Zealand;
Toronto, Canada; Hong Kong and Singapore; Milan, Italy.
The original London production was scheduled to close on Saturday, 7 October 2006 at
the Dominion Theatre, but due to public demand, the show has now been extended indefinitely.
We Will Rock You has become the longest running musical ever to run at this prime London
theatre, overtaking the previous record holder, the Grease musical.
The launch of the musical coincided with Queen Elizabeth ITs Golden Jubilee. As part
of the Jubilee celebrations Brian May performed a guitar solo of "God Save the Queen", [128]
as featured on Queen's A Night at the Opera, from the roof of Buckingham Palace. The
recording of this performance was used as video for the same song on the 30th Anniversary
DVD edition of A Night at the Opera.
Sean Bovim created "Queen at the Ballet", a tribute to Freddie Mercury, which uses
Queen's music as a soundtrack for the show's dancers, who interpret the stories behind tracks
such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Radio Ga Ga" and "Killer Queen". Brian May has confirmed
that they are considering writing a sequel to the musical. The musical is touring around the UK
in 2009, playing at Manchester Palace Theatre, Sunderland Empire, Birmingham Hippodrome,
Bristol Hippodrome, Edinburgh Playhouse.






19

3. 8 About members
3.8.1 Freddie Mercury


Real Name: Farookh Bulsara
Birthday: September 5, 1946
Birthplace: Zanzibar, Tanzania
Died: November 24, 1991
Height: 5' 9" (175.2 cm)
Instruments: Vocals, piano, guitar, keyboards
Favorite singer: Aretha Franklin
Favorite actress: Marilyn Monroe
Favorite drink: Champagne, iced Vodka
Favorite food: Indian
While in Bombay at St Peters Boarding School, Fred joined his first band, "The Hectics"
in 1959. They only performed at the school, but young Freddie would be sitting at the piano
totally enjoying being a performer and on stage.
After moving to London he started making friends - who happened to be in various
bands. He eventually worked with one of these friends Roger Taylor and they set up a stall in
Kensington Market.
He was so keen to be in a band himself he hooked up with a group who had travelled
from Liverpool seeking fame in fortune in the capital.
During August of 1969 Freddie joined the group called Ibex as their lead singer.
Concerts had been arranged in the North West of England and Freddie travelled out of London
to perform in his new band. August 23rd their first show at Bolton Octagon Theatre gave
Freddie the chance to show his skills.
20

At one of the shows on September 9th history was in the making at Liverpool The Sink.
Brian and Roger travelled to see him play and before the end of the show both guys joined him
on stage! For the first time anywhere Liverpool was the city where Freddie, Brian and Roger
played together on a stage. One week later Freddie played his last show with Ibex at St Helens
College of Technology.
Back in London he couldn't not be in a band and found himself in a group called
Wreckage. The following month on Guy Fawkes Night played his first gig with them at
Imperial College supporting Iron butterfly.
Two months later it was the end of the line for Wreckage. On December 12th Freddie
played his final gig at Widnes Wade Deacon Grammar School. Once again history would be in
the making in Mersey side. Freddie lifted his microphone and the top bit broke away from the
main stand and he carried on the show with his shortened mic stand - this would later become
his trademark!
The following year on March 1st Freddie auditioned to join a band Sour Milk Sea - he
was successful. Within 20 days he was performing live with them at Oxford Headington Parish
Hall. He only lasted for 3 shows and on April 3rd at London Temple he bid them goodbye.
No band again and he found that his two best friends Brian and Roger had split from
their band - this was his chance now to join them - he was keen to do so and attended many of
Smiles shows and wanted to be on stage with the two of them.
He asked them to join him to form a new band that would be majestic and go on to big
things.. Brian and Roger had nothing to lose and agreed!
Freddie/Brian/Roger
The first they realised was they would need a bass player. Roger asked his old friend
from Truro Mike Grose would he consider joining. Mike agreed and travelled to London. He
had already met Brian and Freddie.
The big discussion was what to call this band and they eventually choose the name
Queen.
On June 27th 1970 Queen gave their inaugural performance at Truro City Hall - even
though the gig was billed as Smile. Roger promised his mother the band would play at a charity
gig she was organising - he didn't want to let her down!
The band went on from strength to strength. Though they couldn't keep a bass player!
At one show on October 16th a certain bass player was in the audience at College of
Estates Management Hall - his name was John Deacon.
21

The following year in 1971 Brian and Roger attend a disco at Maria Assumpta Teaching
Training College and John Deacon was at the same disco. The guys were introduced to him.
They told him they were looking for a bass player and asked if he would like to audition with
them and their lead singer - he agreed...
Freddie tragically died on November 24th, 1991 at the age of 45, of AIDS related
bronchial pneumonia.
Interesting Facts:
Freddie had 30 pets Japanese carp fish worth at the time he bought them 1,000 pounds
each. However the poor fancy fish met a tragic end when they died after their pool being
cleaned.
Freddie had an extravagant taste in art. He once bought a set of hand-painted china for
250,000 pounds and went to Geneva to learn how to make the stuff himself.

3.8.2 Brian May

Birthday: July 19, 1947
Birthplace: Twickenham, England
Height: 6' 1.5" (186.7 cm)
Instruments: Guitars, synths, vocals
Favorite song: "Tracks of My Tears" by Smoky Robinson and The Miracles
Favorite actor: Clint Eastwood
Favorite drinks: Guinness
Brian joined his first band in July 1964 and they named themselves 1984. Brian played
lead guitar. At one of their shows at Whitton Murray Parkhill Brian met a chap called Tim
Staffell.

22

The group rehearsed at Chase Bridge Primary School. Tim eventually joined the group
to play harmonica and take on the job of lead vocalist.
On October 28th the band gave their first performance at Twickenham St Mary's Church
Hall. Through constant hard work they became very popular and played many shows. Their
first show at Imperial College was during October of their first year together as 1984.
The group recorded some songs onto a tape recorder and used these recordings to enter a
competition.
In 1967 on May 13th they returned to Imperial College to support the legendary Jimi
Hendrix.
A month later on 28th June Brian was at London Abbey Road studios working with
Left-Handed Marriage on some recordings. A month later on July 31 st he went into London
Regent Sound Studios for more recordings with this group.
On 29th September thanks to the tape recordings they performed at Croydon Top Rank
Club and won the competition!
Christmas Eve that year they performed at the huge London Olympia at 5 in the
morning!
Three months into 1968 the band decided to go their separate ways. 1984 split!
Later that year in the October Brian and Tim decided to forma new group and placed an
ad on the notice board of Imperial College asking for a drummer. Later that month a guy named
Roger Meddows Taylor applied and became the third an final member of the trio they were to
name Smile.
Smile
Smile's first show was on October 26th 1968 at Imperial College supporting Pink Floyd.
They went down a storm.
February 27th the following year they played at London's Royal Albert Hall. This was in
aid of the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child. The show was arranged by
Imperial College.
Roger took the group down to his home territory in Truro and there they played many
shows.
They used to take along a friend of theirs called Fred Bulsara and he would attend as
many of their shows as possible,
On April 19th at a show at London speakeasy Club they met up with Mercury Records
A & R man Lou Reizner who signed them up to the label. In June they were in Trident Studios
recording their own material.
23

In August a single was released Earth but only in the USA. The following month they
were asked to record once again - this time at De Lane Lea Studios.
By the end of the year they performed at the infamous Marquee in London.
Spring of 1970 Tim decided to leave the band and Brian and Roger were gutted!
They weren't down for long as their friend Freddie had a bigger idea for the three of
them to form a new band!
Interesting Facts:
Brian and his father literally built his famous guitar, Red Special partly from a fireplace.
Brian is so overprotective of his Red Special that when he was travelling by plane once
he bought a seat for specifically for it.
Brian was seriously ill in 1974, when he collapsed with Hepatitis in the middle of their
US tour, which had to be cancelled. Recovering from the illness, Brian recorded his bits on
Sheer Heart Attack in-between rushes to the bathroom.
No one who knew him believed Brian wrote "Son and Daughter" because it had the
word "shit" in it.
Not a follower of fashion, Brian is also famous for his long curls and clogs which he's
been wearing for so long that he actually saw them come back into fashion. Brian is a collector
of early stereographs and still partakes in astronomy.
Brian is a vegetarian.

3.8.3 Roger Taylor
Birthday: July 26, 1949
Birthplace: King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
Height: 5' 10.5" (179.1 cm)
Instruments: Drums, percussion, synths,
vocals
Favourtie actor: John Hurt
Favourite actress: Maggie Smith
Favourite singer(s): Bruce Springsteen, U2
Favourite drink: Vodka, and good expensive
white wine
In July 1957 he joined his first band The Bubblingover Boys. It was a skiffle group and
he played ukulele. They didn't last long and their final performance was at Rogers school
Bosvigo School in Truro.
24

Six years later in 1963 he joined The Cousin Jacks and this time played rhythm guitar.
They played a handful of gigs including some for the local Liberal Party.
The following year he joined a trio named Beat Unlimited. This time he played drums
and occasional guitar. The groups name changed to The Falcons. He left this group in February
1965.
Within a month he joined Johnny Quale and The Reactions. He played drums and
immediately performed with them at Truro City Hall on March 15th at the 'Rock N Rhythm
Championships'. He performed in front of 1,000 people - his biggest audience to date. The
group came 4th in the competition.
By the end of September he was their lead vocalist as well as their drummer. The group
then changed their name to The Reaction. The band became quite established on the Cornwall
circuit.
Roger became psychedelic and on New Years Eve poured petrol on his cymbals and lit
them during the show!
In March 1966 the band once again entered the 'Rock N Thythm Championship'
competition and won! The group then became known as Reaction. By end of September it was
back to The Reaction!
During November of that same year Roger went into "Wadebridge Sound Studios" for
his first experience at recording.
The whole of 1967 was spent gigging with the band.
Sadly on 1st September 1968 Roger left The Reaction and his final show was at
Trevallas Port in a thunderstorm.
In October once Roger had moved to London a friend of his told him their was an ad at
Imperial College asking if a drummer was interested in joining a new band....
Smile went on to play many gigs and earned a great reputation.
Sadly in April 1970 it all came to an end and Smile split and Roger was left with no band
to play in. But - a friend of his had an idea...
Interesting Facts
Roger has a fear of spiders.
Roger shaved his legs for the "I Want To Break Free" video.
The woman in the "Breakthru" video is Debbie Leng, Roger's future girlfriend and
mother of three of his children.

25

3.8.4 J ohn Deacon

Birthday: August 19, 1951
Birthplace: Leicester, England
Height: 5' 9" (175.2 cm)
Talents: Bass guitar, double bass, keyboards, and having kids!
Favourite actress: Jean Alexander
Favourite drink: Tea
On September 21st in 1965 John joined his first group and they were called Opposition.
He was their rhythm guitarist.
Four days later he gave his first performance with the group in the bass players house!
In May of 1966 the band changed their name to The New Opposition and played many
shows in this name.
By January 1967 they were bored with "new" in the name and went back to The
Opposition. On 29th of the month they played at Leicester London Road Casino in a 'Midland
Beat Championship' and earned a place in the final the following March. Sadly that event never
happened because someone forgot to book the hall!
March 1968 saw another name change - now to Art. They played lots of shows and had
a good name in the area.
During May 1969 Art recorded acetate at Wellingborough Beck Studios. August 29th
was John's last gig with Art at Great Glen Youth & Sports Centre. He was moving down to
London.
During 1970 John was asked to play a show and he formed the group Deacon for a one
off appearance at London Chelsea College on November 21st.
He scoured the pages of 'Melody Maker' looking to see if any band wanted a bass player
but no joy.
26

February 1971 he attended a disco and was introduced to 2 guys Brian May and Roger
Taylor who had formed a band and needed a bass player. They asked him to audition and he
agreed. John had already seen Queen Play and thought they were reasonable.
He went along to Imperial College and after playing was offered the job to join this band
Queen.
He had to wait until July 2nd to perform with them at "London Surrey College".
Interesting Facts:
Though he is the least prolific lyricist on the band, John is credited with writing Queen's
biggest hit to date; "Another One Bites The Dust".
























27

CONCLUSION


With hit tracks like "Under Pressure", "Bohemian Rhapsody", and "Queen Killer",
Queen is still one of the most played bands of all time.
Today, the band continues to perform many of the hits that made them famous,
including "One Vision", "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You", and of course, the
anthem of all Rock n Roll anthems, "We are the Champions". I must admit, I am looking
forward to the new queen album with great anticipation. It may not be the Queen we left behind
with the tragic death of Freddie Mercury, but it's a fresh sound and a fresh start for one of the
greatest bands in the history of modern music.























28

BIBLIOGRAPHY


1. http://www.queenonline.com
2. http://www.queenworld.com
3. http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.poprockbands.com
4. Jacky Gunn, Jim Jenkins, As it began
5. George Tremlett, Queen
6. Judith Davis, An Illustrated Biography

You might also like