Queen

Q U E E N

    Queen's roots can be traced back to 1968 when Brian Mays and Roger Taylor formed the group Smile while both were students at Imperial College in London. In April 1970 Freddie Mercury was recruited to replace Tim Staffell and the new line-up was christened Queen. John Deacon was added in 1971 to complete the quartet.
     1973 saw the release of their first album and within two years they had their first American hit with "Killer Queen." The group was already known for their campy style and glam-rock antics when the song hit #-11 on the charts. The following year "A Night At The Opera" gave them a twice charting hit single and a triple platinum success. When "Bohemian Rhapsody" was released the single hit #-9 and upon it's re-release in 1992, (for the movie "Wayne's World"), it went to number two. A music video released in 1975 helped the song go global and ranks as one of pop music's earliest videos. A second single, "You're My Best Friend," also charted at #-14 and showed yet another side of this multi-facted group.
     Back in the studio and unable to really top "A Night At The Opera" in sales or quality, Queen recorded what essentially was a companion album 1976's "A Day At The Races." Both albums borrowed their titles from Marx Brothers movies. The cover was the same as "Operas," only with the colors inverted. Plans were made to eventually release the two together as a package, but those plans never came to fruition. The album had two minor hit singles which did not chart as high as their previous efforts.
     1977 saw the release of "News Of The World," an album that was critically panned at the time but has gained recognition over time. The album produced the anthemic "We Will Rock You" and the famous rock ballad "We Are The Champions" (both of which combined together gave Queen their first number one single in the U.S.), and have since become stadium staples. The songs, nearly 30 years later, are considered among their most classic recordings.
     In 1978 the band released the "Jazz" album, including their first 12" single "Fat Bottomed Girls." Needless to say the song was not a club hit and their fans overall response to the album were lukewarm at best. Freddie and his bandmates decided to take the following year off from their one-album-a-year schedule and cut back on touring to focus and regroup for the next phase in their careers.
     Queen kicked off the 1980's with the hugely successful album, "The Game." The album turned out to be their highest selling (barring greatest hits collections) ever. The album featured their first club hit, (though not on a 12" single), "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." as well as the monster 12" single hit "Another One Bites The Dust." The track was released in 1981 after Michael Jackson suggested that it would make a great single. Inspired by the Sugar Hill Gang's hit, "Rapper's Delight," it combined Queen's rock sensibilities with a funky minimalism that resulted in a discofied rock/dance classic. It stayed at number one for four weeks in the United States, and the album went four times platinum States-side. The former 1970's rock band was now a club sensation and that newfound fame would continue throughout the 1980's.
     1980 also saw them do the innovative and critically-acclaimed soundtrack for the movie "Flash Gordon." The album sold poorly, but served to showcase, for yet another type of audience, Queen's dynamic talents. 1981 saw Queen collaborate with David Bowie for the single "Under Pressure." The single netted them a number one in Britain and a fan-favorite of both Queen and Bowie legionnaires. The memorable riff showed up on Vanilla Ice's hit, "Ice, Ice Baby," prompting a lawsuit over the use of the sample.
     The response to "Another One Bites The Dust" was overwhelming, so the band decided to do an entire album of disco/funk influenced songs. The result was the horribly received 1982 album "Hot Space." The album was especially disappointing to the hard-rock faithful that followed them throughout the 1970's. Nonetheless, the album included "Under Pressure," the only real highlight, and "Body Language," a single that only gained attention in the U.S., netting a surprise number 11 hit.
     In 1984, Queen successfully bridged the gap between hard rock and dance/pop with the album "The Works." The album included the incredibly successful club 12" singles "Radio Ga-Ga," and "I Want To Break Free." The latter would become an anthem of the democracy movement in Brazil and later Coca-Cola "C2" commercials. Despite these hit singles, the album failed to sell well, contributing to tensions within the band.
     The music video for "I Want To Break Free" parodied a British soap opera, and was popular there, but because it showed the band in drag attire, was thought to work against them elsewhere, where viewers didn't get the joke. Mercury was booed when he performed the song at the "Rock In Rio" concert wearing stockings and suspenders as in the video, because he was seen to be degrading the democratic anthem. May claimed that the video hurt the band's sales in the United States in subsequent years.
     During this period the group members decided to all go on to seperate ventures, Freddie would have the greatest success by scoring several 12" single club hits. Then came 1985, and the benefit concert "Live Aid," at which Queen were invited to perform. In the eyes of critics and fans alike, the group stole the show at the worldwide extravaganza, performing some of their greatest hits and wowing audiences with their energy and showmanship.
     Revitalised by the reponse to "Live Aid" and the resulting increase in record sales, Queen ended 1985 by releasing the single "One Vision", an uptempo guitar-based song credited, to the four members of the band. It was used in the film "Iron Eagle."
     In early 1986 Queen recorded the album "A Kind Of Magic," inspired by the Russell Mulcahy film "Highlander" of the same year. This album was very successful, producing a string of hits including the title track, "Who Wants To Live Forever?" and "Friends Will Be Friends."
     Later that year, Queen went on a sold-out final tour, known as "The Magic Tour," in support of the album, whose highlight was at Wembley Stadium in London and resulted in the triumphant live double album, "Queen Live At Wembley Stadium," which has become for many fans and critics, Queen's ultimate live document, released both on CD and as a live concert film on VHS and later DVD. Freddie teased the capacity crowd of 89,000 that Queen might be breaking up, only to tell the crowd that it was just a silly rumor, and that Queen would be together until "we fucking well die, I'm sure!" much to the delight of the crowd.
     After working on various solo projects during 1988 (including Freddie´s collaboration with Montserrat Caballé, "Barcelona") the band released "The Miracle" in 1989. This record continued in there direction of a polished pop-rock sound and had three hits "Invisible Man," "The Miracle" and "Breakthru."
     In 1991, rumors started spreading in the tabloid press and elsewhere that Freddie Mercury was suffering from AIDS. Although they were true, Mercury flatly denied these rumors. However, the band decided to make a new album that would challenge the rumors. That album became "Innuendo." Although his health began to deteriorate, Mercury was courageous in handling his contributions. Highlights of the album were the epic title track, the rollicking powerhouse "Headlong;" and the anthems "The Show Must Go On" and "These Are The Days Of Our Lives". On November 23, 1991, in a prepared statement made on his deathbed, Freddie Mercury finally acknowledged he had AIDS. Within 24 hours of the announcement, Mercury was dead at the age of 45. (See our tribute in the DiscoMausoleum)
     Queen never actually disbanded, although their last album of original material (not including compilations) was released in 1995, entitled "Made In Heaven,." It was put out four years after Freddie Mercury's death, and constructed from Freddie's final recording sessions in 1991, plus material leftover from their previous studio albums.
     At the end of 2004, it was announced that Queen would reunite and return to touring in 2005, with Paul Rodgers (founder and former lead singer of Free, Bad Company, and The Firm) who will be singing in Freddie Mercury's place, as frontman, but will not be in the band as Brian May has announced recently to the Queen fan club, that Paul Rodgers will be "featured with" Queen, not replacing the late Freddie Mercury. The tour which is currently leading the band through Spain, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Britain, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Sweden features both classic Queen tracks as well as material from Paul Rodgers. Some speculation has been made about a possible U.S. tour, following the relative success that the tour has garnered in Europe. A statement on the tour's web site confirms that the band is considering dates in the U.S., but did not confirm any as of yet.
     Our love and thanks to Mercury and Queen for their contributions to the club scene and for one of it's all-time classics....thanks guys!