This document provides a history of the British rock band Queen from their formation in 1968 until 1978. It details their early years as Smile, their name change and addition of Freddie Mercury. Their first two albums received critical acclaim but little commercial success. Their third album Sheer Heart Attack in 1974 was their breakthrough, featuring the hit singles "Killer Queen" and "Now I'm Here". It began their move to a more radio-friendly sound and introduced melodic and stylistic elements that would define their later, most popular work.
This document provides a history of the British rock band Queen from their formation in 1968 until 1978. It details their early years as Smile, their name change and addition of Freddie Mercury. Their first two albums received critical acclaim but little commercial success. Their third album Sheer Heart Attack in 1974 was their breakthrough, featuring the hit singles "Killer Queen" and "Now I'm Here". It began their move to a more radio-friendly sound and introduced melodic and stylistic elements that would define their later, most popular work.
This document provides a history of the British rock band Queen from their formation in 1968 until 1978. It details their early years as Smile, their name change and addition of Freddie Mercury. Their first two albums received critical acclaim but little commercial success. Their third album Sheer Heart Attack in 1974 was their breakthrough, featuring the hit singles "Killer Queen" and "Now I'm Here". It began their move to a more radio-friendly sound and introduced melodic and stylistic elements that would define their later, most popular work.
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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".
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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.
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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