Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band. It was formed in London in 1970. They are among the most commercially successful bands in history. They have sold over 300 million albums worldwide. The first members of the band were Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (lead guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), and John Deacon (bass guitar). their current guest lead singer is Adam Lambert.
Queen | |
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Background information | |
Origin | London, England |
Genres | Rock |
Years active | 1970–present |
Labels | |
Members | |
Past member(s) |
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Website | queenonline |
Freddie Mercury died of an AIDS-related bronchopneumonia on November 24, 1991 aged 45.[1] In 1997 John Deacon retired to spend more time with his family. The other two former members toured with Paul Rodgers from 2005 to 2009. In December 2018 it was announced Queen & Lambert will bring its Rhapsody Tour to The Forum[2] in 2019. Three of their biggest hits were "Bohemian Rhapsody”, "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions".[2]
Formation
With his friend Tim Staffell, Brian May started a band called 1984 in the mid-1960s. The band broke up after a little bit and then May decided to make another band and teamed up with two other college students named Tim Staffell and Roger Taylor. They called themselves "Smile" with Roger Taylor on drums and vocals, Tim Staffell on vocals and bass and Brian May on guitar and vocals. They did a few hits such as "April Lady". Tim Staffell became friends with another college student, Farrokh Bulsara (to be later known as Freddie Mercury) and Farrokh became a big fan of Smile and encouraged them a lot. Later on, Tim left Smile to join Humpy Bongs and Farrokh Bulsara subsequently joined the band on vocals and piano in 1970. Then Farrokh came up with the name Queen, so they changed it from "Smile" to "Queen". They then started auditions for a new bassist. They were going through several bassists during this time and none of them stuck, only lasting for about a few minutes. None of the auditioners managed to suit the place of the new bassist, but finally in 1971, they settled on John Deacon. Queen's first album was released in 1973 and it was called Queen with songs such as "Seven Seas of Rhye" and "Liar". Farrokh Bulsara changed his name to Freddie Mercury after the lyrics "Mother Mercury, look what they've done to me" in "My Fairy King".
Personnel
- Current member
- Brian May – lead guitar, vocals (1970–present)
- Roger Taylor – drums, vocals (1970–present)
- Deceased members
- Freddie Mercury – vocals, piano (1970–1991)
- Past members
- John Deacon – bass guitar (1971–1997)
- Guest members
- Paul Rodgers – vocals (2004–2009)
- Adam Lambert – vocals (2009–present)
Album Hits
- Queen – "Keep Yourself Alive" – 1973
- Queen II – "Seven Seas of Rhye"– 1974
- Sheer Heart Attack – "Killer Queen" – 1974
- A Night at The Opera – "Bohemian Rhapsody", "You're My Best Friend", "I'm In Love With My Car "– 1975
- A Day at the Races – "Somebody to Love", "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" – 1976
- News of the World – "We Are The Champions" / " We Will Rock You" (Double A side single) – 1977
- Jazz – "Bicycle Race" / "Fat Bottomed Girls" (Double A side single), "Don't Stop Me Now"– 1978
- The Game – "Another One Bites the Dust", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"– 1980
- Flash Gordon – "Flash's Theme" – 1980
- Hot Space – "Under Pressure" – 1982
- The Works – "Radio Ga Ga", "I Want To Break Free", "Hammer To Fall"– 1984
- A Kind of Magic – "One Vision", "A Kind of Magic", "Who Wants to Live Forever"– 1986
- The Miracle – "I Want It All"– 1989
- Innuendo – "The Show Must Go On", "These Are the Days of Our Lives"– 1991
- Made in Heaven – "Heaven For Everyone" – 1995
- The Cosmos Rocks – "C-lebrity"– 2008
Studio albums
- Queen (1973)
- Queen II (1974)
- Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
- A Night at the Opera (1975)
- A Day at the Races (1976)
- News of the World (1977)
- Jazz (1978)
- The Game (1980)
- Flash Gordon (1980)
- Hot Space (1982)
- The Works (1984)
- A Kind of Magic (1986)
- The Miracle (1989)
- Innuendo (1991)
- Made in Heaven (1995)
References
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/24/newsid_2546000/2546945.stm BBC
- "Queen honoured with Hollywood star". 18 October 2002 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
one of the best bands in the 60s and 70s