Queen (band)

Queen are  a British rock band formed in London in 1970. They are one of the most commercially successful bands in history, selling over 300 million records worldwide. The original lineup consisted of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (lead guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), and John Deacon (bass guitar).

Freddie Mercury died of an AIDS-related bronchopneumonia on November 24, 1991 aged 45. 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 in 2019. Three of their biggest hits were "Bohemian Rhapsody”, "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions".

Formation
With his friend Tim Staffell, Brian May started a band called 1984 in the mid 1960's. 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". Brian May has a degree in Astrophysics.

Personnel
Current members

 Brian May – lead guitar (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 

1970 establishments in England
1970s British music groups
1980s British music groups
1990s British music groups
2000s British music groups
2010s British music groups
English rock bands
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups from London
 
one of the best bands in the 60s and 70s