We spotlight British rock band ‘Queen’ this week

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Queen is a British rock band formed in London in 1970. The classic line-up for the band was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, pianist), Brian May (guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals) and John Deacon (bass).

 

4. Somebody to Love: With over 411 million views on it’s official video on YouTube, the song was released in the year 1976 and was written by Freddie Mercury; the lead vocalist of the band. It debuted on the band’s 1976 album A day at the Races and also appears on their 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits It was a huge hit that year, reaching Number 13 in America.

 

Before forming the band; Queen, May and Taylor had played together in the band called Smile. Mercury was a fan of Smile and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques. He joined in 1970 and suggested the name “Queen”. Deacon was the last to be recruited in February 1971, before the band released their eponymous debut album in 1973.

 

3. We Will Rock You: Written by Brian May, It was Released on the 7th of October 1977 off their album; News of the world. It has over 518 million views on YouTube till date. Rolling stone ranked it number 330 of “The Greatest songs of all time” in 2004, it also peaked at number 146 on the songs of the Songs of the Century list in 2001. This song was and has been the official anthem for sporting events and it went as far as being inducted  to the Grammy Hall of fame in 2009.

 

2. Don’t Stop Me Now: Don’t Stop Me Now” is a song by the British rock band that featured on their 1978 album Jazz that was released as a single in 1979. The video garnered over 754 million views on YouTube and was Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was recorded in August 1978 at Super Bear Studios in France, and released on the 26th of January,1979 making it the twelfth track on the album. Although the song didn’t quite live up to expectations, it peaked at Number 86 in America but was, however, a Top 10 hit in England.

 

FYI

In August 1986, Mercury gave his last performance with Queen at Knebwoth England and In 1991, he died of bronchopneumonia; a complication of AIDS. Deacon retired in 1997. Since 2004, May and Taylor have toured under the “Queen +” name with new vocalists Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert.

 

Bonus Track

Another one bites the Dust: Off the Album “The Game” garnered over 532 million views on YouTube. Having the award for Juno Award for International Single of the year in 1980 and American Music award for favorite pop/rock single in 1981. This sound has also been used frequently on Tiktok for various trends.

 

1. Bohemian Rhapsody: Written by Freddie Mercury and released on  the 31st of October 1975, Off the album “A Night at the Opera”; this songs official video has garnered over 1.4 billion views on YouTube, 195 million UK streams as the most played song of the 20th Century.

 

The only song to have made it to Christmas Number 1 twice. It first topped the Christmas charts in 1975 and pulled it off again 16 years later, after Freddie’s death. As a result, it is one of the longest-reigning Number 1 hits of all-time. The song won Brit Award song of the Year in 1977, Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004, MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a film in 1992, Outstanding Contributions to Music in 1990 amongst others.