Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of the late Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), 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 have 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.
Early days (1968–1974)
In 1968, guitarist Brian May, a student at London's Imperial College, and bassist Tim Staffell decided to form a band. May placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Mitch Mitchell/Ginger Baker type" drummer; Roger Taylor, a young dental student, auditioned and got the job. The group called themselves Smile.[3]
While attending Ealing Art College,
Tim Staffell became friends with Farrokh Bulsara, a fellow student who
had assumed the English name of Freddie. Bulsara felt that he and the
band had the same tastes and soon became a keen fan of Smile. In late
1970, after Staffell left to join the band Humpy Bong, the remaining Smile members, encouraged by Bulsara, changed their name to "Queen" and continued working together.[4]
When asked about the name, Bulsara explained, "I thought up the name
Queen. It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds
splendid. It's a stro
Early days (1968–1974)
In 1968, guitarist Brian May, a student at London's Imperial College, and bassist Tim Staffell decided to form a band. May placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Mitch Mitchell/Ginger Baker type" drummer; Roger Taylor, a young dental student, auditioned and got the job. The group called themselves Smile.[3]
While attending Ealing Art College,
Tim Staffell became friends with Farrokh Bulsara, a fellow student who
had assumed the English name of Freddie. Bulsara felt that he and the
band had the same tastes and soon became a keen fan of Smile. In late
1970, after Staffell left to join the band Humpy Bong, the remaining Smile members, encouraged by Bulsara, changed their name to "Queen" and continued working together.[4]
When asked about the name, Bulsara explained, "I thought up the name
Queen. It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds
splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot
of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was
certainly aware of gay connotations, but that was just one facet of
it."[4]
The band had a number of bass players during this period who did not
fit with the band's chemistry. It was not until February 1971 that they
settled on John Deacon and began to rehearse for their first album. They
recorded four of their own songs, "Liar", "Keep Yourself Alive", "The
Night Comes Down" and "Jesus", for a demo tape; no record companies were
interested.[5]
It was also around this time Freddie changed his surname to "Mercury",
inspired by the line "Mother Mercury, look what they've done to me," in
the song My Fairy King.[6]
On 2 July 1971, Queen played their first show in the classic line-up of
Mercury, May, Deacon and Taylor at a Surrey college outside London.