Queen History

Early days (1969-1973)

Smile, late 1960s

“	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.	”
—Freddie Mercury

In 1969, guitarist Brian May, a student at London's Imperial college, and bassist Tim Staffell decided to form a group. May placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Mitch Mitchell/ Ginger Baker type" drummer, and Roger Taylor, a young dental student, auditioned and got the job. They called the group Smile and served as a support act for bands such as Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Yes and the original Genesis. Smile were signed to Mercury Records in 1969, and had their first experience of a recording studio in Trident Studios that year. Staffell was attending Ealing Art College with Farrokh Bulsara, later known as Freddie Mercury, and introduced him to the band. Bulsara soon became a keen fan. When Staffell left Smile in 1970 to join another band, Humpy Bong, Smile effectively disbanded. Bulsara persuaded May and Taylor to continue, changing the band's name from "Smile" to "Queen" in the process. The band had a number of bass player 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 the first album.

Queen (1973)

Queen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Queen in 1974. Clockwise from top: May, Taylor, Mercury, Deacon
Members
Roger Taylor Brian May
Former members
Freddie Mercury John Deacon

Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. Queen rose to prominence during the 1970s and are one of Britain's most successful bands of the past three decades.

The band is noted for its musical diversity, multi-layered arrangements, vocal harmonies and incorporation of audience participation into their live performances. They are regarded as one of the most accomplished rock acts to ever be on stage.

Queen had moderate success in the early 1970s, with the albums Queen and Queen II, but it was with the release of Sheer Heart Attack in 1974 and A Night at the Opera the following year that the band gained international success. From that album forward, all of the band's studio albums reached number one on numerous charts around the world. Since 1973, they have released fifteen studio albums, five live albums, and numerous compilation albums and have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, including more than 35.5 million in the United States alone (as of 2004), making them one of the world's best-selling music artists.

Following Mercury's death and Deacon's retirement in the 1990s, May and Taylor collaborated with Paul Rodgers, under the moniker Queen + Paul Rodgers.