19
ROCK BAND
Queen, the quartet from London took the crowd by storm when they first started making hits during the 1970’ s. This British band was formed in London in 1971 and signed their first recording contract in the year 1973. This first album was named QUEEN and from there, the rest was history.
Meet The Band Members
Queen has been known for their exceptional style in making music throughout the years. And this undeniable fame would not have been possible if not for the four band members who contributed their skills to the fullest. On lead vocals and piano is Freddie Mercury, whose real name is Farrokh Bulsara, Brian May on lead guitar and vocals, Roger Taylor is on vocals and also took over the drums, and finally, John Deacon rocking the bass guitar. These guys were the people behind the hits like Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock you, We Are The Champions and a lot more.
How these four men found each other has also been a fascinating story. Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor were from a 1967 band called Smile. Their lead vocalist was Tim Staffell. In the end, Tim decided he was not that interested in making music anymore, so he recommended his flatmate to take over who has also been a fan of the band Smile. That flatmate of his happened to be Freddie. Smile disbanded a while after that and Brian and Roger took Freddie to form a
The King of all Bands
QUEEN
new rock group. The band was then completed with the recruitment of John Deacon right before their debut album.
It was Freddie Mercury’ s suggestion to call the band QUEEN, which they all accepted. He stated in one interview, that he finds the title Queen to be very regal, strong, universal and immediate. He also said that he was well aware of the gay connotations, but stressed that it was just one facet of it.
Their band logo was designed by Freddie and he incorporated the band members’ astrological signs. This was a bit of surprise to fans since Freddie emphasised that he does not believe in astrology.
The Fame of the Queen
After more than four decades since their debut in 1971, Queen has become an important symbol in the music industry. They even made it to the Guinness Book of World Records thanks to their supporters. The International Queen Fan Club is the longest running rock group fan club in the world.
They have a couple of number 1 hits on the UK charts and the longest num-
ber 1 song that they had was Bohemian Rhapsody. Despite radio stations being sceptical in playing it at first because of its 5-minute length, Queen eventually proved that they are worth every second of air time.
The Legacy of the Queen
Sadly, all good things come to an end. It was in 1991 when the band had to put their music making to a full halt. Freddie Mercury, the band’ s iconic lead singer died on 24th of November 1991 from AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 45.
Queen has been given the 2207th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002 and in 2006, Freddie Mercury was featured in Time Asia Magazine as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years. The band’ s net worth in 2016 has risen to a whopping $ 3 million despite the members not being together anymore. Indeed, they have left a legacy through their songs and unique style. Their songs are still being played on the radios, still being bought online and are still being sung in different renditions. ■
THE ROYAL APOLLONIA MAGAZINE • 2017 summer edition
19