Queen - Biography and CDs

FORMED: 1971, London, England
DISBANDED: 1995

Queen became one of the most popular bands in the world in the mid-'70s. In England, they remained second only to the Beatles in popularity. In the States, their popularity peaked in the early '80s, just as they finished nearly a decade's worth of extraordinarily popular records. The origins of Queen lay in the hard-rock psychedelic group Smile, which guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor joined in 1967. Following the departure of Smile's lead vocalist in 1971, May and Taylor formed a group with Freddie Mercury, the former lead singer for Wreckage. Within a few months, bassist John Deacon joined them, and they began rehearsing.

By 1973, they had begun to concentrate on their career, releasing Queen, a straight metal album. Queen II "Seven Seas of Rhye" was released early in 1974, and reached number five in the UK. Following its release, the group embarked on their first American tour, supporting Mott the Hoople. On the strength of their campily dramatic performances, the album climbed to number 43 in the states. Queen released their third album, Sheer Heart Attack, before the end of 1974, which reached position two on the U.K. charts.

1975's A Night At the Opera was the most expensive rock record ever made at the time of its release. The track, "Bohemian Rhapsody", which took three weeks to record, became Queen's signature song. To support it, Queen shot one of the first conceptual music videos and the gamble paid off, as the single spent nine weeks at number one in the England. The song and A Night At the Opera were equally successful in America, where the album climbed into the Top Ten and quickly went platinum.

Queen were established as superstars. A Day at the Races reached number one in the U.K. and number five in the U.S. The Game was released in 1980 and was their most diverse album yet. It featured "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites the Dust" and was the group's first American number one album. A Kind of Magic had strong European sales, but they failed to make headway in the States as did 1989's The Miracle. 1991's Innuendo reached number 30 in the U.S. but climbed the U.K. charts to number one.

By 1991, Queen had drastically scaled back its activity, causing many rumors to circulate about Freddie Mercury's health. On November 22, he issued a statement confirming he had AIDS; two days later, he died. The following spring, the remaining members of Queen held a memorial concert at Wembley Stadium, which was broadcast to an international audience of more than one billion. The concert raised millions for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which was established for AIDS awareness.

The three surviving members reunited in 1994 to record backing tapes for vocal tracks Mercury recorded on his death bed. The resulting album, Made in Heaven, was released in 1995 to mixed reviews and strong sales, particularly in Europe. Crown Jewels, a box set repackaging their first eight LPs, followed in 1998.

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