It could be supposed that the band “Queen” was always destined to super-stardom, but before all that happened there were many years of tough times when they struggled to even get a gig, let alone a record deal. Prior to 1971, the band had a number of different line ups and a couple of different name changes until July of that year the classic Queen line up was finalized with Mercury, May, Deacon and Taylor. In 1972 they struck their first record deal and by July of 1973 they had their first record “Queen” released which was received reasonably well by critics, but was never accepted in the main stream music as it was influenced by the progressive heavy rock of the time. In early 1974 they released Queen II which was still heavily influenced by the progressive rock but was accepted moderately by the main stream British public, reaching number 5 in the British Album charts.
It wasn’t until later in 1974 when the band released “Sheer Heart Attack” that they got their first real taste of international success. Reaching number 2 in Britain and going gold in the USA they had moved away from the progressive hard rock into some more “radio friendly” material and the public were beginning to like it. The single “Killer Queen” was their first US hit.
In 1975 the band released what was then the most expensive album ever made “A Night at the Opera” which was epic in its production and the effort showed and worked well for the band. The album went triple-platinum in the US and the big hit from it was of course “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
The other successful single from “A Night at the Opera” was “You’re My Best Friend” which was released in 1976 to very good results all around the world.
The next big album release was “A Day at the Races” which came in late 1976, the big hit from that “Somebody to Love” peaked in 1977 at number 2 in Britain and number 13 in the US.
The sixth album from Queen was “News of the World” which went four times platinum in the US with two monster “anthem tracks” included. The first, “We Will Rock You” has evolved many times over the years; it originally began as a moderately fast-paced rock song.
The second big “anthem track” from “News of the World” was “We are the Champions”, which is still used today all over the world in many sporting arenas. It is an absolute Queen classic!
In 1978, the band released “Jazz”, which at the time was not so well received, but over time has become to be revered as another great Queen Album. It featured songs like “Fat Bottom Girls” and “Bicycle Race”, but arguably the best and most successful single to come off “Jazz” was “Don’t Stop me Now” which showcased the bands amazing vocal harmonies.
In 1979, Queen released a single that wasn’t on any album yet. It would be later included on the album “The Game”. The song was inspired by the band touring the USA and done in the Elvis Presley style. The song was called “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and it went number 1 almost everywhere!
In 1980 the band released the album “The Game” which included the already released single “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” but also included “Another One Bites the Dust” which was never intended to be released as a single, but back stage at a Queen concert, Michael Jackson suggested to Freddy Mercury that it should be, and it was, to great success, reaching number 1 in the US.
In 1981 the band began working with David Bowie and they released “Under Pressure” a single that was always destined for super-stardom. It was later included on the 1982 album “Hot Space”. “Under Pressure was the first time that Queen had collaborated with another artist.
In 1982 they released “Hot Space” to a very luke-warm reception. Under Pressure was the stand out single on it, but the rest of the album was a mixture of funk and r&b. It was a major step away from the style of 70s rock that had delivered them the success in the past. They stopped touring in 1983 and Taylor and May began working on some individual work. The band did some recording in 1983 and by 1984 they had enough material to release another album, “The Works” which was a step back towards their rock-roots, without giving up the new “electric” sound that had begun to gain popularity. Unfortunately the album was a failure in the US, but back home in Britain it was a roaring success with the main single “Radio Gaga” going to number 2 on the charts.
The other big hit to come off the album “The Works” was “I Want to break Free” which undoubtedly gain a lot of popularity through the very innovative music video where the band dress up as women and parody the popular soap opera of the time, Coronation Street. “I Want to Break Free” was also a staple at a Queen concert as it suited the style of the band very well
The bands rise back to super-stardom from the low that was 1983 continued on. In 1985 they played two concerts in Rio in front of a combined crowd of 600,000 people. The”Queen: Live in Rio” video that was broadcast by MTV and later released is a mesmerizing concert. In July of 1985 they played Live Aid alongside Status Quo, The Boomtown Rats, Spandau Ballet, Elvis Costello, Sade, Sting, Phil Collins, U2, Dire Straits, The Who, Elton John and Paul McCartney. According to concert organizer, Bob Geldof, they absolutely stole the show and many have called their performance that day as the greatest rock performance of all time. Revitalized by this, they released their next single “One Vision” later in 1985. It would be later included on their next album, but it gained moderately good success for a rock song in what had become a very “pop culture” music industry.
In 1986 Queen recorded the album “A Kind of Magic” which included the already released “One Vision”, but also included a string of hits, including the title track “A Kind of Magic”.
Through 1987 and 1988 the band again took a break and many of them again pursued some solo work. They came together again in 1989 with the release of their next album “The Miracle” which created a nice balance between the popular “rock-pop” songs and the heavier numbers that Queen was famous for. The stand out single from “The Miracle” was undoubtedly “I Want it All” which suited Queen’s live performances well.
It was during 1988 that fans began to notice that Freddie Mercury looked ill. He continued working on the music even though he had been diagnosed with AIDS, something he denied in public. His performances in “The Miracle” were stellar as always, but by 1991, during the recording of their next album “Innuendo” his health had deteriorated to such an extent that he was only able to add an hour of recording a day. The album was released to international acclaim with chart success worldwide. Freddie however was very ill. On the 23rd of November he released a press statement confirming that he had AIDs and within 24 hours he was dead.
Queen has continued on in various different formats with May, Deacon and Taylor and various other front men, but for many Queen Fans, the magic died with Freddy.
I hope you liked the history lesson, the puzzle and the geocache.
