QUEEN
Read about them!!! Listen about them!!!
About The Band
Queen formed in 1971 and in 1973 signed their
first recording contract for EMI. That year they released their first album,
QUEEN. The same year saw their first major UK tour, and in 1974 they released
QUEEN II as well as making their first UK headlining tour. They made their
first US tour, and in November released SHEER HEART ATTACK which was a hit on
both sides of the Atlantic.
1975 saw their new release, A NIGHT AT THE
OPERA, and – significantly – the single Bohemian Rhapsody. At 5’ 55” it should
have been too long for successful radio play but it became one of the greatest
singles of all time, staying at No. 1 in the UK chart for nine weeks. The
video, directed by Bruce Gowers, is credited with being the first genuine
promotional video. The song has regularly featured in all major pop polls and
was recently named again as the best single of all time. The success of A NIGHT
AT THE OPERA was equally stunning, giving the band their first platinum album.
In 1976 they toured the US and Japan and by
spring all four albums resided in the UK Top Twenty. Later that year they
released A DAY AT THE RACES, and gave a free concert in Hyde Park to an
estimated crowd of 200,000 fans. The album was a huge success, advance orders
alone amounting to over 500,000. The following year saw two major US tours, the
band’s sixth album, NEWS OF THE WORLD and the legendary double A side single,
WE WILL ROCK YOU and WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.
1978’s JAZZ, included another huge hit single in
Bicycle Race and Queen toured the US and Canada. They spent much of 1979
touring in Europe and Japan, as well as releasing their first live album, LIVE
KILLERS. They were also approached to write the score for a forthcoming feature
film, FLASH GORDON. Before that they released THE GAME in 1980 which went five
times platinum in Canada alone! Another One Bites The Dust became the band’s
biggest selling American single. Later that year the soundtrack for FLASH
GORDON was released and by the end of the year Queen had sold over 45,000,000
albums worldwide.
In 1981 they toured the Far East and were the
first band to make a stadium tour of South America. They played to 131,000
people in Sao Paolo, the largest paying audience for any band anywhere in the
world. GREATEST HITS, GREATEST FLIX and GREATEST PIX were released
simultaneously later in the year and Greatest Hits has rarely been out of the
UK album charts since. Greatest Flix was the first collection of promo-videos
released commercially by any band. Next year saw the release of the band’s
twelfth album, HOT SPACE whilst they were in the middle of a European tour.
1984 saw THE WORKS and the single Radio Ga Ga
became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in 19 countries. Another huge hit was I
Want To Break Free, featuring one of their most famous videos, all dressed in
drag. In 1985 they were the headlining act at Rock in Rio, the biggest festival
to be held anywhere in the world. They again made history that year with the
show-stealing performance at Live Aid from Wembley Stadium, which proved to be
a turning point for the band, One Vision being the first post Live Aid release.
1986 saw their 14th album, A KIND OF MAGIC,
which was the soundtrack to the Russel Mulcahy film, Highlander. The title
track became another worldwide smash and the album entered the UK charts at No.
1; later in the year the 2nd live album, LIVE MAGIC, went into the charts at
No. 3. Between 1988 and 1991 Queen released three more albums, THE MIRACLE in
1989 and in 1991 INNUENDO and GREATEST HITS TWO. All three entered the UK
charts at No. 1, as did the single Innuendo.
On 23rd November 1991 Freddie Mercury announced
to the world that he had AIDS and the next day he died peacefully at his home,
surrounded by family and friends. He remains the most high profile loss from
the disease in the entertainment world and the news shocked fans throughout the
world. As a tribute Bohemian Rhapsody /These Are The Days Of Our Lives was
released as a double A-sided single to raise funds for the Terence Higgins
Trust. It entered the UK chart at No. 1, where it stayed for five weeks,
raising over £1,000,000 for the charity and Queen became the first band to have
the same single top the uK charts twice. In December of that year Queen had 10
albums in the UK Top 100. In 1992 Freddie was awarded posthumously the BRIT’s
“Outstanding Contribution to British Music” and Days Of Our Lives won Best
Single. On 20th April many of the world’s top stars joined Brian, Roger and
John on stage at Wembley for an emotional tribute to Freddie.
In 1995 the tracks that Queen had begun in 1991
were completed by Brian, Roger and John and the long-awaited MADE IN HEAVEN was
released worldwide. It was the end of an era. Since then the phenomenon of
Queen has remained, however, with continuing sales for their recorded output on
CD and video. A ballet of their music by famous French choreographer Maurice
Bejart was premiered at the National Theatre in Paris in 1997 and in May 2002
the hit musical We Will Rock You opened to sell-out audiences in London’s West
End and continues to play to packed houses and standing ovations every night.
Queen’s first DVD Greatest Video Hits Vol.1 was released at the end of October
2002, and yet another piece of Queen product entered the UK charts at number 1.
October 2002 also saw Queen receive their own star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame, Los Angeles, joining The Beatles as only one of a handful of non-US bands
to receive the much coveted honour. Last year, 2004 they were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Walk of Fame, and in the UK were voted by the public into the first
UK Music Hall of Fame.
Queen’s musical has since opened in Australia,
Spain, Las Vegas,USA, Russia, Germany and is scheduled to open in Japan this
May.
Brian and Roger continue to be ambassadors for
Nelson Mandela’s 46664 HIV/AIDS awareness campaign and this month, March,
played a second benefit concert for 46664 in Fancourt, South Africa.
Brian and Roger took Queen back onto the touring
circuit for the first time since 1986 in 2005 and 2008, joined by former
Free/Bad Company singer, songwriter and musicial Paul Rodgers playing concerts
across the UK and throughout Europe.
My favorite band is QUEEN. I love them because all their songs are well done. Freddie had an amazing voice. Brian, John and Roger are still spectacular musicians. If I were you, I'd listen to their discography to find out why they still belong to the world royalty.
By Miriam
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