Queen

Artist Image: Queen
Attribution
Image Credit: Images by Eddie, Thomas Steffan, Compadre Edua'h and Carl Lender. Compilation by KPFC based on the idea of Fronteira. (), CC BY-SA 4.0

Biography

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar, guitars, vocals), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen's earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works, incorporating more diverse and innovative styles in 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 as 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 (1973). Queen enjoyed success in the UK with their debut and its follow-up, Queen II (1974), but it was the release of Sheer Heart Attack (1974) and A Night at the Opera (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 Aid is 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. The band has released a total of 18 number one albums, 18 number one singles, and 10 number one DVDs. Estimates of their album sales generally range from 150 million to 300 million albums, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. They received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1990, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Details

Item Name Item Details
Year Formed 1971
Number of Albums 60
Record Label EMI
Website www.queenonline.com
Wikipedia Queen on Wikipedia
Social Networks

Trivia

What year did Queen release A Night at the Opera?

1975

...nearly everybody. They seemed to have run their course. After their epic 1975 album A Night at the Opera, they had piled up hit after hit in a stylist...
What was the name of Queen's 1975 album?

A Night at the Opera

...hey seemed to have run their course. After their epic 1975 album A Night at the Opera , they had piled up hit after hit in a stylistically diverse rang...
In what decade did Queen's fate change?

1980s

...om baroque pop to hard rock, disco, rockabilly and funk. Then, by the mid 1980s , their fates had shifted in part because many fans had trouble acceptin...
In what year did Queen decide to play a series of shows?

1984

...curys perceived homosexuality. After a mindstopping error of judgment in 1984 , when Queen elected to play a series of shows in apartheid South Africa,...
Queen appeared to be pariahs even in what country?

England

...rtheid South Africa, the band appeared to be pariahs even in its native England . But then, after the Live Aid performance which exemplified everything...
What performance exemplified everything extraordinary about Queen?

Live Aid

...appeared to be pariahs even in its native England. But then, after the Live Aid performance which exemplified everything extraordinary about Queen, th...
Who refuses to talk about the experience of the Mercury years?

Deacon

...wn to Freddie. When Taylor and May have talked about the Mercury years ( Deacon refuses to talk about the experience at all), its sometimes as if theyr...
What did Taylor say days after Mercurys death?

We were very close as a group

...sometimes as if theyre still mystified by how wonderful and horrible it all was. We were very close as a group , Taylor said days after Mercurys death....
Who was Queen's original vocalist?

Freddie Mercury

...he demise of the band Smile, Queen originally consisted of vocalist Freddie Mercury , guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor before being joined ...
What was the name of the band that defunct in 1970?

Smile

...Formed in London in 1970 following the demise of the band Smile , Queen originally consisted of vocalist Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May and drumm...
Queen was joined by whom?

John Deacon

...ist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor before being joined by bassist John Deacon . The band became popular with audiences via their hit singles, live ...
How many albums have Queen sold?

more than 300 million

... time in an industry poll. According to the BBC, Queen have sold more than 300 million albums as of 2009. Queen's first album Queen was a commercial f...
Queen's Live Aid performance was voted what?

best live rock performance of all time

...C poll. Their Live Aid (1985) performance was voted the best live rock performance of all time in an industry poll. According to the BBC, Queen have s...
Queen's first album was a commercial flop in what year?

1973

...on albums as of 2009. Queen's first album Queen was a commercial flop in 1973 , failing to chart and producing no hit single, but their second album Qu...
What was Queen II's top ten hit?

Seven Seas of Rhye

...t single, but their second album Queen II produced a top ten hit, Seven Seas of Rhye . It was with the release of Sheer Heart Attack in 1974 and A Nigh...
How many live albums have May and Taylor released?

five

... gained international success. They have released fifteen studio albums, five live albums and numerous compilation albums. Since Mercury's death and D...
What year did Mercury die?

1991

...Marx Brothers of the same titles. Following Mercury's death from AIDS in 1991 , they have performed with singers including Paul Rodgers and Adam Lamber...
What year was A Day at the Races released?

1976

...16) Their two albums A Night at the Opera (1975) and A Day at the Races ( 1976 ) were titles based upon the films with The Marx Brothers of the same tit...
Queen embodied the fearless creativity and attitude of what decade?

1970s

...Few bands embodied the fearless creativity and attitude of 1970s rock like Queen. Embracing the exaggerated pomp of prog rock and heavy metal and the ...
What did Queen color their complex arrangements with?

camp and bombast

...asure, the British quartet colored their complex arrangements with camp and bombast , creating a huge, mockoperatic sound layered with guitars and over...
What was Queen's best known song?

Bohemian Rhapsody

...seudoclassical arrangements as epitomized in their bestknown song, Bohemian Rhapsody . Blessed with an extensive range and perfect pitch, Mercury was o...
Who was one of the most charismatic and technically gifted rock singers of his generation?

Mercury

..., Bohemian Rhapsody. Blessed with an extensive range and perfect pitch, Mercury was one of the most charismatic and technically gifted rock singers of...
Who was Queen's Bad Company singer in the 2000s?

Paul Rodgers

...en eventually returned to the stage, touring with Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers in the 2000s and later paired with former American Idol runnerup Ada...
Where did Queen's origins lie?

British

...tal and the quaintness of vaudevillian music hall in equal measure, the British quartet colored their complex arrangements with camp and bombast, crea...
Who was the drummer for Smile?

Roger Taylor

... rock psychedelic group Smile, which guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor joined in 1967. Within a few months, bassist John Deacon joined them...
When did Brian May and Roger Taylor join Smile?

1967

...roup Smile, which guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor joined in 1967 . Within a few months, bassist John Deacon joined them, and they began re...
What was Freddie Mercury's nationality?

Tanzania

....S. and British charts in the 1970s and 1980s. Born Farrokh Bulsara in Tanzania , Mercury studied piano in boarding school in India, then befriended nu...
What was the name of the boarding school where Freddie was educated?

Bombay

...52. At the age of 8, Mercury's parents sent him to a boarding school in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, where he studied piano and spent his free time wit...
Who was Mercury's parents?

Bomi and Jer Bulsara

...al pneumonia on November 24, 1991, at age 45. Mercury's parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara , were Parsees, or followers of the Zoroastrian religion whose an...
Where did Bomi and Jer Bulsara move to after marrying?

Zanzibar, Tanzania

...stors came from Persia. After Bomi and Jer married, they moved to Zanzibar, Tanzania , where Bomi worked as a cashier for the British government's High...
What was the name of the college where Mercury died?

Ealing College of Art

... school in India, then befriended numerous musicians at London's Ealing College of Art . Mercury died of AIDSrelated bronchial pneumonia on November 24...
What was the name of Mercury's sister?

Kashmira

...luent life, with a nanny and other domestic workers. Mercury's sister, Kashmira , was born in 1952. At the age of 8, Mercury's parents sent him to a bo...
When was Kashmira born?

1952

...anny and other domestic workers. Mercury's sister, Kashmira, was born in 1952 . At the age of 8, Mercury's parents sent him to a boarding school in Bom...
What was Mercury's first band called?

Hectics

...as not long before the charismatic young man joined his first band, the Hectics . Following a bloody revolution on the islands in 1964, the family fled...
When did Tim Staffell leave Smile?

1970

...In 1970 , Tim Staffell left the group 'Smile' and a keen follower of the group, Farookh Bulsara, convinced the remaining members Roger Taylor and Brian...
When did John Deacon become their fourth bass player?

February 1971

...ld be their new singer. The group tried out three bass players until February 1971 , when John Deacon became their fourth and final permanent member. T...
What was the name of the new recording studio that the band tried to test?

De Lane Lea

... they were offered the chance to test a new recording studio, called ' De Lane Lea '. In return for testing the studio and equipment, they could make th...
Who did Queen play support to on a tour?

Mott The Hoople

...ed, after which they were offered a big break by playing support to Mott The Hoople , on a tour which began in November. The second album 'Queen II', w...
What was the name of the second Queen album?

Queen II

... Mott The Hoople, on a tour which began in November. The second album ' Queen II ', was released in March 1974, delayed due to a minor printing error. T...
When was Queen's second album released?

March 1974

...which began in November. The second album 'Queen II', was released in March 1974 , delayed due to a minor printing error. The band then embarked on a f...
What caused the group to cancel their tour dates?

Brian collapsed with Hepatitis

... as support to Mott The Hoople, beginning in April. In May, Brian collapsed with Hepatitis , so the group were forced to cancel the remaining tour date...
What genres were Queen's earliest works influenced by?

progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal

...Their earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal , but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radiof...
Which two members of Queen played together in the band Smile?

May and Taylor

...ther styles, such as arena rock and pop rock. Before forming Queen, May and Taylor had played together in the band Smile. Mercury was a fan of Smile a...
When did Queen first chart in the UK?

1974

...973. Queen first charted in the UK with their second album, Queen II, in 1974 . Sheer Heart Attack later that year and A Night at the Opera in 1975 bro...
Where did Mercury perform with Queen in 1986?

Knebworth, England

...ions. In August 1986, Mercury gave his last performance with Queen at Knebworth, England . In 1991, he died of bronchopneumonia a complication of AIDS....
When was Smile formed?

1968

...ohn Deacon on bass. Brian May and Roger Taylor founded the band Smile in 1968 , with Tim Staffell as the vocalist. He studied with Freddie Mercury at E...
In what city were they first presented in 1970?

Truro

..., they were presented for the first time in the City Hall of the city of Truro in 1970 and then, that same year, in the Imperial College. This one app...
In what year did they first appear in the Imperial College?

1971

... the Imperial College. This one appeared with them for the first time in 1971 . A friend of Brian May told him that he had a studio and that he needed ...
How many songs did Queen record in 1971?

four

...needed to prove it. So Queen tried the studio out and ended up recording four songs, with which they began to look for a label, but without any succes...