Queen ("Queen") is a British rock band that achieved wide popularity in the 70s and 80s. XX century and numbering hundreds of millions of fans to this day. Queen's most famous songs include such classic rock hits as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You", "We Are The Champions", "A Kind Of Magic", "The Show Must Go On" and others. The video clips shot by Queen musicians were also widely known, and one of them (for the song "Bohemian Rhapsody") is the first clip in the history of music. In addition, "Queen" gained fame as one of the greatest live bands in the history of rock.
Composition of the group
* Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) - vocals, piano, guitar on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love".
* Brian May (1947) - guitars, harp, orchestral instruments, vocals.
* John Deacon (1951) - bass guitar, guitar, piano.
* Roger Taylor (1949) - drums, percussion, vocals.
Origin
The history of the group begins in 1968 in the UK, when students Brian May and Tim Staffel formed the group "Smile". Brian put up a notice on the walls of his Imperial College. It said that the band needed a drummer to play in the style of Mitch Mitchell and Ginger Baker (drummers for Jimi Hendrix and Cream, respectively). Dentist student Roger Taylor responded. He then appeared to May and Staffel the best option, impressing them with the precise tuning of the drums. The main achievement of "Smile" was the opening act for "Pink Floyd". However, due to intense study and the lack of any kind of management, in the spring of 1970 the trio broke up: Tim Staffel left the group.
But May and Taylor had no intention of quitting. musical career and shared their creative ambitions with Staffel's friend and classmate Freddy (Farukh) Bulsara. He often attended performances of "Smile", but May and Staffel did not even suspect that he could sing at all. Freddie had very clear plans for the performance and stage work of the band. He invented for new group the name "Queen", and took the pseudonym Freddie Mercury for himself. Now the group consisted of a vocalist-keyboardist, guitarist and drummer.
Roger Taylor's old acquaintance from the Cornish band The Reaction, Mike Growse, was originally recruited to play bass and performed at the band's first two shows (June 27 at Truro City Hall, Truro) and July 12 at Imperial College. He was subsequently replaced by the highly gifted bassist Barry Mitchell. But, tired of the music business, he left the band in early 1971. The band's next bassist, Doug Bogie, lasted only two gigs. But in February 1971, at a London discotheque, Brian May and Roger Taylor met John Deacon, an experienced bass player of those years, who had come to study in London from his hometown of Leicester. After passing the audition, John took the position of the band's bassist and became the fourth permanent link in the line-up, which lasted almost 21 years.
History of creativity
From 1971 to 1979, the influence of other groups can be traced. Every year it becomes less and less noticeable, but in the seventies it is still present. Freddie himself noted more than once that their group "grew up" on Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.
1973 - Queen's first album of the same name (1973) included the song "Doing All Right" by the Smile trio. The basis of the disc was the song "Keep Yourself Alive" - the first single from "Queen". The album was not very successful, but this did not become a reason for frustration. This album was recorded over two years, in those moments when the recording studio was free. The problem with the Queen album was exacerbated by Brian's illness - he had hepatitis. And yet, you should not call this record a failure - it did not take off in parades, but it was not rejected either. "Queen" gives the first independent concerts in the UK, Germany and Luxembourg. Prior to that, they participated in the tour of other bands as an opening act.
1974 - "Queen II" was a breakthrough and reached number 5 in the British charts, despite the fact that reviews from critics were negative. The album was accused of being unfinished and lacking independence, but, surprisingly, this is what Brian May considers him for. best album groups. "Sheer Heart Attack" peaked at number two in the UK. Best Compositions albums ("Killer Queen", "Flick Of The Wrist") refer to the best songs band, and "Stone Cold Crazy" is considered a heavy metal classic (later included in the repertoire of "Metallica"). The band participates in the Australian Sunbury Music Festival and gives the first concerts in Sweden and Finland.
Error. Queen released two albums in 1974, the stylistically coherent Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack. The text of the paragraph describes exactly Sheer Heart Attack. Also, unfortunately, there is no mention of Queen's triumphant concert tour in Japan.
1975 - "A Night At The Opera" is called the greatest work Queen. Many consider it one of the best albums in the history of rock music in general. This record turned out to be quite special - bright, melodic, with a noticeable participation of the piano - it opened up a completely different face of rock music. Today, she personifies the style of the seventies. Some of the songs were written for keyboards, however, "Love Of My Life" was never performed in the album version again, and was played live with Brian's accompaniment on a 12-string semi-acoustic. The live version turned out to be better than the album version, but this roughness was still irrelevant at that moment.
And the most famous song of this album is "Bohemian Rhapsody". It would seem that this long five-minute composition, incomprehensibly combining the features of rock and pop music, opera and individual folklore motifs, could not become popular at all, and even more so should not have soared to the first lines of the charts. A three-minute song was considered standard in those years, but Queen were not afraid to create this five-minute masterpiece, which in a quarter of a century in Britain will be called the song of the millennium. In addition to this, it is worth noting that the video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" is considered the world's first video. Videos for music have been shot before, but this case is the first example of a conscious combination of a specially created image, effects and music. The video uses now seemingly primitive optical special effects: shooting through a hexagonal prism and duplicating the faces of the musicians. But it is worth recognizing that even today not all clips are created with such taste. For the same album, "You're My Best Friend" and "Love Of My Life" were filmed, the latter, by the way, in the same live version with a guitar. In support of the album, Queen gives concerts in the USA, Canada, Japan and, of course, at home.
1976 - "A Day at the Races" again caused an uproar from critics. Queen has been accused of a fruitless attempt at repeating A Night At The Opera, and the influence of the previous album is really noticeable. Brian May said that all the songs were being prepared at the same time, just some came out in 1975, and others in 1976. In any case, there is nothing surprising in the similarity of the two albums of the same group, especially since "A Day At The Races" took 1st place in the British charts, and "Somebody To Love" became Mercury's favorite song. "Tie Your Mother Down" has since been played at most concerts. In addition, music videos were made for "Somebody To Love" and "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy". These are all the same "seventies" in the work of the group, which will dramatically change course in a year. In addition, the group gives a grandiose free concert in Hyde Park, gathering about 170 thousand people, arranges a tour of Scotland, the USA, Japan and even Australia.
1977 - "News of the World”, probably the same record in which Queen begins to see the eighties. It's not "A Day At The Races" anymore new music generally more aggressive, closer to hard rock. Still, some inconsistencies could not be avoided - the third song of the album clearly belongs in "Sheer Heart Attack", and "Sleeping On The Side Walk" cannot be attributed to the group's masterpieces. This disc brought the group two super hits "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions", but was otherwise not as successful, reaching number four in the UK and number three in the US. The band returns with shows in Sweden, touring North America and Europe.
1978 - "Jazz" - the group's most scandalous album. He was accused of some "pop", but the main reason for the flurry of criticism was the video for the song "Bicycle Race", which was banned in the States as pornographic. The group was declared soulless and lost some of its audience. The composition "Fat Bottomed Girls" also partly contributed to this.
"Mustafa", which was number one on the record, also turned out to be misunderstood. In fact, the lyrics of the song itself are written in Arabic and go almost like back-vocal. There are conflicting opinions about this work: some consider it a pop dance soundtrack, others find a secret deep meaning in it. It is difficult to find a middle ground, since it is obvious that both of them go too far. "Let Me Entertain You" is closer to heavy metal, but fits perfectly with this album. "Dreamers Ball" looks out of place, although it is very beautiful in itself. The disc's percussive track, "Don't Stop Me Now", is one of the best Queen songs written by Freddie Mercury. This is a charge of energy, which will then fall into the Greatest Hits collection. Music videos were made for "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Bicycle Race" and "Don't Stop Me Now". The stylish album cover was inspired by a pattern on berlin wall, which the musicians saw during a trip around the city. Despite criticism, "Jazz" climbed to number two in the UK and number six in the US.
1979 - "Live Killers" was released - a live collection of "Queen", which included live versions of the band's most famous songs. The new album is not released, the musicians devote themselves to concerts. Meanwhile, Freddie takes the stage for the first time with a guitar to perform "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", which will soon be featured on "The Game" and has been released as a single for now. But in a year everyone will see a completely different Queen, a group that will become the personification of rock music of the 80s and one of the most popular bands in the world to this day.
Since 1980, a new period in the work of "Queen" begins. Over the next 6 years, the band will develop their own style, completely different from what the musicians have demonstrated in the previous decade. The group gradually moved away from glam rock, and Mercury parted with his former stage image: he cut his hair, grew a mustache, stopped performing in tights and acquired the appearance by which he is known to most people.
1980 - the album "The Game" was released. He opened a new era not only in the work of the group, but in all rock music. Freddie considered it the band's best album. Finally, the group abandoned all their prejudices and recorded an album using a synthesizer. Prior to this, synthesizers were fundamentally rejected as an instrument that did not fit with the style and sound of the group, which was easily replaced by Brian's "Red Special" guitar with its unique polyphonic sound. The compositions from this disc have always sounded at every concert, and some of them are among the best created by Queen.
"Play The Game" - the title track of the disc, was accompanied by a somewhat unusual clip. In the background, a fire burns in it, from which musicians emerge - one of the first applications of graphics. The live version of "Play The Game" was played by Mercury on the piano. Deacon's song "Another One Bites the Dust" was especially successful. This thing belongs to the unusual style for Queen. You can call it disco funk. "Another One Bites The Dust" is definitely one of the band's most successful songs, memorable for its incredible bass lines and distinctive vocals. Freddie himself was very fond of this song, and the whole album was developed taking into account its character. The idea justified itself - "The Game" was built thematically, and was not just a collection of songs. At the same time, the group recorded music for the fantastic film "Flash Gordon". It was well received in the UK but flopped at the US box office. It should be noted that in "Flash Gordon" the band uses the synthesizer as a dominant instrument for the first time and does it very professionally.
1981 - Greatest Hits compilation released. Together with David Bowie, the song "Under Pressure" is being recorded, which is still being released as a single, but is already a huge success, reaching the first position both in England and in several other countries.
1982 was marked by grandiose concert tours: Queen gave about 70 concerts in the UK, Western Europe, USA, Canada and Japan). The new album "Hot Space" was released, the main hit of which was the same "Under Pressure". British television is filming the concert, which will appear in 2004 under the title Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl.
1983 - the group briefly suspends work, all musicians work on solo projects.
1984 - The Works album reached number two in the UK charts. The song "Radio Ga Ga" topped the charts in 19 (!) countries around the world. At the same time, the music video for "I Want to Break Free" was heavily criticized for the dressing up scenes. women's clothing, which, however, did not prevent the song itself from becoming the official anthem of the African National Congress. The band performs at the Golden Rose Festival in Montreux and can be seen on the Greatest Video Hits II DVD.
1985 - Queen participates in the Rock in Rio festival. Later this performance will appear on DVD, as well as the concert played on May, 11th in Tokyo. On July 14, 1985, the group triumphantly performed at the large-scale charity concert "Live Aid". After 20 years, this performance is recognized as the best sung by performers "live". After this concert, Brian May said that it was then that he felt real pride in his work. Queen is the best band in the world today! the guitarist said.
1986 - Queen wrote the soundtrack for the fantasy film "Highlander" and used it as the basis for their new album "A Kind Of Magic". The album was a huge success, Queen became one of the most popular rock bands in the world. The musicians organized the "Magic Tour" - a series of concerts throughout Europe. Three of the biggest concerts in London, Knebworth and Budapest attracted 400,000 people, and the concert in Budapest was the first performance of a Western rock band in the history of Eastern Europe in general, and Hungary in particular. The tour itself attracted about a million people across Europe. Nothing like this has been known to any rock band or rock singer since the Beatlemania of the 60s. The "Magic Tour" will be the group's last concert tour. Since that year, rumors about Freddie's illness began. Freddie denied this, citing his healthy appearance.
1989 - this year would be more correct to refer to the nineties in the work of Queen. The album "The Miracle" is very different from all previous works. Freddie's voice changed a little, he shaved off his mustache and began to dress more strictly. The album comes with five singles. The release of the clips fuels rumors about Mercury's illness, which are now actively refuted by both the band's musicians and Freddie himself. The strange cover of "The Miracle" also became a cause for controversy, but most likely because of the singer's possible illness. The title track of the album was the five-minute composition "The Miracle", but nothing makes you think about the future of "Queen" like "Scandal".
In fact, the nineties for Queen began back in 1989 with the album The Miracle. Even an ignorant person can distinguish Freddie's voice on the last two albums. Perhaps this was due to the direct influence of the disease, but it is known for certain that in early 1990 Mercury quit smoking due to developing lung disease.
1990 - no information about the group appears, all its members report that "everything is fine", however, such a sharp change in lifestyle and image caused the natural surprise and alarm of the fans. Queen received music award"Brit Awards", and this exit will be the last appearance of Freddie in public. He did not make a speech, saying simply: "Thank you, goodnight."
1991 — Last year the actual existence of Queen. Shortly before Mercury's death, the album "Innuendo" ("Indirect hint") was released. It is considered by many to be one of Queen's most outstanding works. The album opens with a song called "Innuendo". In its composition, it resembles "Bohemian Rhapsody" - all the same six minutes instead of the standard three, a combination of different musical styles.
For the second song - "I'm Going Slightly Mad" - a dark black-and-white video was shot, full of not indirect, but quite transparent hints of Freddie's impending death. However, the most famous song of the album, without a doubt, is the last one - "The Show Must Go On", in which the lyrical hero questions the meaning of existence and expresses the hope of gaining physical and mental freedom after death. Her refrain says:
Show must go on.
My heart is breaking inside
Maybe my makeup is peeling off
But my smile remains with you.
"The Show Must Go On" is by far one of the best Queen songs. But without knowing the history of the group, it is impossible to understand what efforts Freddie cost to record it. Mercury's voice does not betray his illness. It is hard to imagine what it is like to perform such a song, knowing about the imminent death. Written by Brian May, it seems to have been created especially for Freddie.
Before his death, Mercury ordered that all proceeds from the re-release of the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" be donated to the Terrence Higgins AIDS Charitable Foundation. He died on November 24, 1991.
1992 - April 20 at London's Wembley Stadium hosted a concert in memory of Freddie Mercury, organized by the remaining musicians of the group. On that day, all those whom Freddie considered his friends, with whom he worked personally: Joe Elliot, George Michael, Axl Rose, Elton John, Robert Plant, David Bowie, Seal Samuel, Roger Dartley, Ani Lennox, Liza Stansfield and Mercury's favorite actress - Liza Minnelli. Spike Edney, who has played numerous concerts with Queen on keyboards, called this concert "Fred Aid", in reference to Queen's phenomenal performance in 1985 at Live Aid. It was a concert in memory of Freddie Mercury, but, in fact, it was a farewell to the Queen group.
1995 - Queen's last studio album, Made in Heaven, was released, made up of the group's spring 1991 session recordings at Mountain Studios, two re-arranged Freddie's compositions from his solo album Mr. Bad Guy ("Made In Heaven", "I Was Born To love you”), one composition of the Roger Taylor band “The Cross” (“Heaven For Everyone”) and some previously unreleased compositions. It is noteworthy that "A Winter's Tale" is the last composition written by Mercury, and "Mother Love" was Freddie's last vocal recording.
John Deacon said it best of all about this time: “There is no point in continuing. You can't replace Freddie." After 1995, he stopped his musical career, only appearing on stage once in 1997. However, Brian and Roger continue to perform with other performers.
After the terrible death of Mercury, the Queen soloists at separate concerts and recordings were George Michael, Robbie Williams and the Five group. However, the union of musicians with the representative of the British blues-rock Paul Rodgers turned out to be the most successful. The project is called Queen + Paul Rogers. Return of the Champions". The musicians go on tour, perform traditional Queen songs and gather decent audiences.
In 2006, Brian May announced that a new studio album would be recorded with Paul Rodgers. It also became known that there will be organized new tour groups in 2008.
Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Queen en concierto en 1984 … Wikipedia Español
Queen II- Studioalbum von Queen Veröffentlichung 8. März 1974 Label EMI/Parlophone; Elektra, Hollywoo … Deutsch Wikipedia
Queen- Queen, n. n wife, queen, woman; akin to OS. qu[=a]n wife, woman, Icel. kv[=a]n wife, queen, Goth. q[=e]ns. 221. See (Quean).] 1. The wife of a king. 2. A woman who is the sovereign of … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Queen II- Album par Queen Sortie 8 mars 1974 (UK) 9 avril 1974 (US) Enregistrement Août 1973 aux Studios Trident, Londres Durée 40:50 G … Wikipédia en Français
Queen II- Álbum de Queen Publicación 8 de marzo, 1974 (Reino Unido) 9 de abril, 1974 (EE.UU.) Grabación Trident Studios Agosto, 1973 Género(s) Ópera rock … Wikipedia Español
Queen- (engl. für ‚Königin‘) bezeichnet: queen consort, eine Ehegattin eines regierenden Monarchen queen regnant, eine aus eigenem Recht als Souverän regierende Monarchin meist als Synonym die amtierende britische Königin, siehe Elisabeth II. Queen… … Deutsch Wikipedia
queen- (kwēn) n. 1. a) The wife or widow of a king. b) A woman sovereign. 2. a) A woman considered preeminent in a particular field: »the reigning queen of hip hop. b) A woman chosen as the winner o … Word Histories
queen- (n.) O.E. cwen queen, female ruler of a state, woman, wife, from P.Gmc. *kwoeniz, ablaut variant of *kwenon (source of QUEAN (Cf. quean)), from PIE *gwen woman, wife supposedly originally honored woman (Cf. Greek gyné a woman, a wife; Gaelic bean … Etymology dictionary
queen- n. 1. the wife of a king 2. a woman who rules over a monarchy in her own right; female sovereign 3. a woman foremost or judged to be foremost among others in certain attributes or accomplishments, as… … English World dictionary
queen|ly- "KWEEN lee", adjective, li|er, li|est, adverb. -adj. 1. of a queen; fit for a queen: »queenly rank or majesty. 2. like a queen; like a queen s: »a queenly bearing or presence, queenly dignity. You are a queenly creature, not to be treated as any… … Useful english dictionary
Books
- Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera, Nelson Michael. Queen Victoria fell in love with the Riviera when she discovered it on her first visit to Menton in 1882 and her enchantment with this`paradise of nature`endured for almost twenty years.…
As long as the sun shines in the sky and there is sand in the desert,
While the waves are raging in the sea, breaking on the shore,
While the wind is thinking, the stars and the rainbow are burning,
Until the mountains turn to plains
Oh yes we will continue
Walk that beautiful path!
Oh we'll keep going yeah
just pass the time
As long as we live according to race, color and faith,
While we're ruled by blind madness and pure greed
Our lives are dictated by tradition, superstition,
Fake religion
Through the centuries, on and on
Oh yes we will continue
Walk that beautiful path!
Oh yes we will continue
Until the end of time!
Until the end of time!
In sorrow, in all our splendor
Don't take my hint as an insult
You can become whatever you want -
Just turn yourself into
What do you want to become.
Be free to move, be free, be free!
Give in to your ego, be free, be free to yourself!
If there is a God or some other justice under heaven,
If there is a purpose, if there is a reason to live or die,
If there is an answer to the questions that we are forced to ask -
Show yourself, destroy our fears, take off your mask!
Oh yes we will continue
Walk that beautiful path!
Oh yes we will keep smiling
And whatever happens - come what may!
We will continue
We'll just keep going
Until the end of time!
Until the end of time!
Until the end of time!
Queen (translated from English as “queen”) is a legendary rock band from Great Britain. Founded in 1970 in London. It all started with the fact that two students Brian May and Tim Staffel formed the 1984 team in 1964, whose name comes from the title of the novel by George Orwell. After the team was renamed "Smile". They soon found drummer Roger Taylor through an ad. But the biggest result of the team was that they once warmed up the audience before the Pink Floyd concert. In the first half of 1970, Tim left the team due to a large teaching load and a lack of competent management. Smile. However, Brian and Roger were determined to continue their musical careers and revealed their far-reaching plans to fellow and roommate Staffel Freddie (Farrukh Bulsara). The guy regularly went to the performances of the team, but May and Taylor could not even imagine that he was actually a capable vocalist.
It turned out that Freddie also clearly saw what the performances and stage activities of the band should be like. Having joined the team, he renamed it "Queen", created its trademark, and came up with the stage name Freddie Mercury for himself. Not so quickly the team found its permanent fourth member - bass player John Deacon. And so, in 1973, Queen released their premiere disc, after the release of which they warmed up the audience before concerts on the British tour of the Mott the Hoople team. At the beginning of 1974, a new composition of the group "Seven Seas of Rhye" was released in a number of countries, reaching the 10th line and holding in the British charts for 2.5 months. This was Queen's first victory. In the first half of 1974, the team's second studio disc was released. It peaked at number 5 on the UK album charts. Queen's success continued to grow, and another disc, released the same year, already took the 2nd position of the UK charts.
Several hits were released from this album, among which were "Now I" m Here" with "Stone Cold Crazy". And in 1975, Queen's album was released, which was a huge success. It occupies a position among the 500 best records according to Rolling Stone. The most famous song from this album is "Bohemian Rhapsody", which later received the title of the single of the millennium in the UK. After the release of the record, the musicians went on a promotional tour that took place in North America, Japan and in the homeland of the band.The album of 1976 becomes the leader of the British charts.And from the disc of the following year, hits that have become legendary for all time - "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" came out.In 1978, the most provocative disc Queen - Jazz was released.The video for the song "Bicycle Race", which showed many naked cyclist girls, gave it the main scandal.
From the beginning of the 80s took the countdown new stage creative activity commands. Queen gradually moved away from glam rock, and Freddie changed his stage image - he cut his hair, let his mustache go and stopped giving performances in tight tights. In 1981, a collection of the band was released, as well as separately - the composition "Under Pressure" - a collaboration with David Bowie, which became the leader of the English charts, as well as charts in other countries. After a short timeout taken in 1983, in 1984 Queen released a record, from which two famous hits of the band "Radio Ga Ga" (became the leader of the charts in many countries of the world) and famous for its scandalous video "I Want to Break Free" were released. 1986 was marked for the team and its fans by the release of a track for the cult science fiction film "Highlander" and a new studio disc of the team, which received incredible popularity. After the musicians went on a grandiose European tour, which, in fact, became the final one.
Soon the first speculations about Freddie's illness appeared, which were sharply denied by him and other members of the team. And in 1989, Queen released a record that was very different from their previous work. The title track from it was "The Miracle". Mercury's voice timbre changed to a certain extent, he stopped wearing a mustache and chose a more strict style of clothing. In 1990, the team was awarded the Brit Awards - that Freddie's acceptance speech was his last public appearance. And 1991 was actually the last in the existence of the Queen team. Before the death of Freddie, a new disc of the band was released. It was on this disc that the legendary piercing "The Show Must Go On" was located - in it the lyrical character raises the question of the meaning of life and hopes that he will find the freedom of soul and body after he leaves this world. On November 21, 1991, Mercury himself made a statement that he had AIDS. And the next day he died. In April 1992, a memorial concert dedicated to Freddie was held, at which those celebrity musicians whom Mercury considered friends, among them were George Michael, David Bowie, Annie Lennox and others.
In 1970, student band Smile, formed by students Brian May and Tim Staffel, needed a vocalist and bassist. They were Tim Staffel's roommate Farukh Balsara and an old friend Mike Grose. They renamed the group "Queen" and performed for the first time in Truro's City Hall.
After two gigs, Grose leaves the band and is replaced by Barry Mitchell, who leaves at the end of the year. Farukh Balsara, meanwhile, takes on the pseudonym of Freddie Mercury. After Mitchell's departure, the band plays the next two dates with Doug Bogie. The next bass player is John Deacon. It is this composition Queen still known all over the world.
In the second half of 1971, the band negotiated with the recording studio De Lane Lea for a free demo recording of their songs in exchange for testing new equipment.
In 1972, Queen signed a recording, publishing, and management contract with Trident Audio Production, and in 1973, Trident Audio Production entered into an agreement with EMI for Queen. Debut album Queen of the same name comes out in the summer of 1973. The single from the album is the song "Keep Yourself Alive", but it, and the album as a whole, do not enjoy much success. After that, the team goes to its first tour opening act for Mott The Hoople.
In March 1974, the second album of the group "Queen II" was released, which hit the Top 5 of the British hit parade. After that, the group goes on their first independent tour of the cities of Great Britain. In April 1974, they received an invitation from Mott The Hoople to tour America with them, but they had to decline because Brian May fell ill in May. Because of this, work on the third album had to start without him. "Sheer Heart Attack" appeared in November 1974 and reached number two in the UK charts. The single "Killer Queen" becomes the band's first US hit (number thirteen on Top US).
The release of the album "A Night At The Opera" in 1975 is considered a turning point in the history of the group. The most famous song from this plastic is "Bohemian Rhapsody". Despite numerous claims that a song that lasts about six minutes (the standard for songs at the time was about three minutes) would never become a hit, Freddie believed otherwise. He gave a copy of the Bohemian Rhapsody LP to his friend, DJ Kenny Everett, who put the song on the air. Kenny's enthusiastic support and the song's groundbreaking video (considered to be the world's first music video) propelled the song to the top of the chart in the UK, where it stayed for nine weeks.
Over the next fifteen years, Queen become one of the greatest rock bands of the 20th century. They achieve worldwide fame by playing extravagant live concerts around the world, recording bright, melodic studio albums. They receive a variety of awards, and write soundtracks for films such as "Flash Gordon" and "Highlander".
Problems arose in 1984, when the group went on tour to South Africa, where apartheid rules rule. Their trip caused a dissatisfied response from the public, but the group stated that they are out of politics and perform music for the people. But next year they take part in the grandiose charity concert "Live Aid", where they become the main stars of the show. This performance is still recognized as the best of those performed "live". This work is regarded by many as their major triumph and turning point.
On November 23, 1991, Freddie Mercury announced to the world that he had AIDS. Exhausted after a long illness, he died the next day. Before his death, Mercury ordered that all proceeds from the re-release of the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" be donated to the Terrence Higgins AIDS Charitable Foundation.
The remaining members of the group, without announcing the breakup of Queen, continued to work together and separately. George Michael, Robbie Williams and the Five group managed to visit Queen's concerts and recordings.
Since 1995, John Deacon has effectively retired from Queen, stating: “There is no point in continuing. You can't replace Freddie."
In 2004, the successful Queen Paul Rogers. Return of the Champions". The musicians give concerts where they perform hits by Queen and songs by Paul Rogers.
In the spring of 2009, the musicians of the Queen Paul Rogers project announced its end, citing: "I think we have achieved excellent success in this project. We did two world tours, released a couple of live albums ... And even recorded a studio album, which, in general, became a historical event - after all, Brian and Roger had not been in the studio with anyone for a long time and had not recorded anything like this for a very long time. So it was even some kind of achievement" (queenrock s.ru). But according to the members of the group, they do not exclude any joint performances in the future.