Queen - Music Artist Band Bio

Biography

Arguably Britain's most consistently successful band from the mid-70s onwards, Queen began life as a glam rock unit in 1972. Astronomy student Brian May (Born 19 July 1947, Twickenham, Middlesex, England; guitar) and Roger Taylor (Born Roger Meddows-Taylor, 26 July 1949, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, England; drums) had been playing in Johnny Quale And The Reactions, Beat Unlimited and a college group called Smile with bass player Tim Staffell. When the latter left to join Humpty Bong (featuring former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen), May and Taylor elected to form a new band with vocalist Freddie Mercury (Born Frederick Bulsara, 5 September 1946, Zanzibar, Africa, d. 24 November 1991, London, England). Early in 1971 bass player John Deacon (Born 19 August 1951, Oadby, Leicestershire, England) completed the line-up.

The newly minted Queen was signed to EMI Records late in 1972 and launched the following spring with a gig at London's Marquee cluBorn Soon after the failed single, "Keep Yourself Alive", they issued a self-titled album, which was an interesting fusion of 70s glam and late 60s heavy rock (it had been preceded by a Mercury "solo" single, a cover version of the Beach Boys' "I Can Hear Music", credited to Larry Lurex). Queen toured extensively and recorded a second album, which fulfilled their early promise by reaching the UK Top 5. Soon afterwards, "Seven Seas Of Rhye" gave them their first hit single (UK number 10), while Sheer Heart Attack consolidated their commercial standing by reaching number 2 in the UK album charts. "Killer Queen" from the album was also the band's first US hit, reaching number 12 in May 1975.

The pomp and circumstance of Queen's recordings and live act were embodied in the outrageously camp theatrics of the satin-clad Mercury, who was swiftly emerging as one of rock's most notable showmen during the mid-70s. 1975 was to prove a watershed in the band's career. After touring the Far East, they entered the studio with their producer Roy Thomas Baker and completed the epic "Bohemian Rhapsody", in which Mercury succeeded in transforming a seven-minute single into a mini-opera. The track was both startling and unique in pop and dominated the Christmas charts in the UK, remaining at number 1 for an astonishing nine weeks. The power of the single was reinforced by an elaborate video production, highly innovative for its period and later much copied by other acts. An attendant album named after a Marx Brothers movie, A Night At The Opera, was one of the most expensive and expansive albums of its period and lodged at number 1 in the UK, as well as hitting the US Top 5.

Queen were now aspiring to the superstar bracket. Their career thereafter was a carefully marketed succession of hit singles, annual albums and extravagantly produced stage shows. With yet another Marx Brothers title A Day At The Races continued the bombast, while the catchy "Somebody To Love" and "We Are The Champions" (the latter from the follow-up News Of The World) both reached number 2 in the UK. Although Queen seemed in danger of being stereotyped as over-produced glam rock refugees, they successfully brought eclecticism to their singles output with the 50s rock 'n' roll pastiche of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and the disco-influenced "Another One Bites The Dust" (both US number 1s). Despite this stylistic diversity, each Queen single seemed destined to become an anthem, as evidenced by the continued use of much of their output on US sporting occasions. Meanwhile, The Game gave Queen their first US number 1 album in July 1980. The band's soundtrack for the movie Flash Gordon was another success, but was cited by many critics as typical of their pretentious approach. By the close of 1981, Queen were back at number 1 in the UK for the first time since "Bohemian Rhapsody" with "Under Pressure" (a collaboration with David Bowie).

After a flurry of solo ventures, the band returned in fine form in 1984 with one of their best collections, The Works. The album included the satirical "Radio Gaga", a UK number 2 hit promoted by a classy video utilising footage from Fritz Lang's classic Metropolis. The album spawned another UK Top 5 hit with the histrionic "I Want To Break Free", which was accompanied by a hilarious cross-dressing video. A stunning performance at the following year's Live Aid displayed Queen at their most professional and many acclaimed them the stars of the day, though there were others who accused them of hypocrisy for breaking the boycott of apartheid-locked South Africa. Coincidentally, their next single was "One Vision", an idealistic song in keeping with the spirit of Live Aid. The band's recorded output lessened during the late 80s as they concentrated on extra-curricular ventures. The space between releases did not affect the band's popularity, however, as was proven in 1991 when "Innuendo" gave them their third UK number 1, and the album of the same name also topped the UK charts. By this time they had become an institution. Via faultless musicianship, held together by May's guitar virtuosity and the spectacular Mercury, Queen were established as one of the great theatrical rock acts.

The career of the band effectively ended with the death from AIDS of Mercury on 24 November 1991. "Bohemian Rhapsody" was immediately reissued to raise money for AIDS research projects, and soared to the top of the British charts. The song also climbed to US number 2 in March 1992 after featuring in the movie Wayne's World (it had originally reached number 9 in January 1976). A memorial concert for Mercury took place at London's Wembley Stadium on May 20 1992, featuring an array of stars including Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Guns N'Roses, George Michael, David Bowie and Annie Lennox. Of the remaining members Brian May's solo career enjoyed the highest profile, while Roger Taylor worked with the Cross.

Queen never announced an official break-up, so it was with nervous anticipation that a new Queen album was welcomed in 1995. The Mercury vocals were recorded during his last year while at home in Switzerland, and the rest of the band then worked on the remaining songs. While Mercury must be applauded for the way he carried his illness with great dignity, it is fair to say that May, Taylor and Deacon performed wonders in crafting an album from slightly inferior material. It will never be known whether all the tracks on Made In Heaven would have found their way onto an album had Mercury been with us today.

In 2002, May, Deacon and Taylor collaborated with comedian and novelist Ben Elton on a musical featuring Queen's songs. Developed in association with Robert De Niro's Tribeca Productions, We Will Rock You opened at London's Dominion Theatre on 14 May.

Discography:
Queen (EMI 1973)***, Queen II (EMI 1974)****, Sheer Heart Attack (EMI 1974)****, A Night At The Opera (EMI 1975)****, A Day At The Races (EMI 1976)***, News Of The World (EMI 1977)**, Jazz (EMI 1978)**, Live Killers (EMI 1979)**, The Game (EMI 1980)***, Flash Gordon film soundtrack (EMI 1980)**, Hot Space (EMI 1982)*, The Works (EMI 1984)****, A Kind Of Magic (EMI 1986)***, Live Magic (EMI 1986)**, The Miracle (EMI 1989)**, At The Beeb (Band Of Joy 1989)*, Innuendo (EMI 1991)***, Live At Wembley '86 (EMI 1992)**, Made In Heaven (EMI 1995)***, On Fire: Live At The Bowl (Hollywood 2004)***.

Compilations:
Greatest Hits (EMI 1981)*****, The Complete Works 14-LP box set (EMI 1985)***, Greatest Hits II (EMI 1991)***, Queen Rocks (EMI 1997)***, Queen + Greatest Hits III (EMI 1999)***, Greatest Hits I II & III: The Platinum Collection (Parlophone 2002)***, Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You (Hollywood 2004)****.

Videography:
Queen's Greatest Flix (PMI 1984), We Will Rock You (Peppermint Music Video 1984), The Works Video EP (PMI 1984), Live In Rio (PMI 1985), Live In Budapest (PMI 1987), The Magic Years Volume One: Foundations (PMI 1987), The Magic Years Volume Two: Live Killers In The Making (PMI 1987), The Magic Years Volume Three: Crowning Glory (PMI 1987), Rare Live: A Concert Through Time And Space (PMI 1989), The Miracle EP (PMI 1989), Queen At Wembley (PMI 1990), Greatest Flix II (PMI 1991), Box Of Flix (PMI 1991), Champions Of The World (PMI 1995), Rock You (Music Club 1995), Made In Heaven: The Films (Wienerworld 1996), Queen Rocks: The Video (Queen Films 1998), Greatest Flix III (PMI 1999), Greatest Video Hits Vol 1 (Hollywood 2002), The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (Capitol 2002), Greatest Video Hits 2 (Parlophone 2003), Becoming Queen (Passport 2004), On Fire: Live At The Bowl (Hollywood 2004).

Bibliography:
Queen, Larry Pryce. The Queen Story, George Tremlett. Queen: The First Ten Years, Mike West. Queen's Greatest Pix, Jacques Lowe. Queen: An Illustrated Biography, Judith Davis. Queen: A Visual Documentary, Ken Dean. Queen: Greatest Pix 2, Richard Gray (ed.). A Kind Of Magic: A Tribute To Freddie Mercury, Ross Clarke. Freddie Mercury: This Is The Real Life, David Evans and David Minns. The Show Must Go On: The Life Of Freddie Mercury, Rick Sky. Queen: As It Began, Jacky Gun and Jim Jenkins. Queen Unseen, Michael Putland. Mercury And Me, Jim Hutton with Tim Wapshott. Queen And I, The Brian May Story, Laura Jackson. Queen: The Early Years, Mark Hodkinson. The Complete Guide To The Music Of Queen, Peter Hogan. Mercury: The King Of Queen, Laura Jackson. Queen Live: A Concert Documentary, Greg Brooks. Freddie Mercury: More Of The Real Life, David Evans and David Minns. Queen Live: A Concert Documentary, Greg Brooks. Freddie Mercury: The Definitive Biography, Lesley Ann Jones. The Ultimate Queen, Peter Lewry and Nigel Goodall. Living On The Edge: The Freddie Mercury Story, David Bret. Queen: The Definitive Biography, Laura Jackson. God Save My Queen: A Tribute, Daniel Nester. Killer Queen, Mick Rock.



Source: Encyclopedia of Popular Music