over 29 million copies to date. In spite of their recording career
as a full band coming to an unscripted end over twenty-five years
ago, the sales show little sign of slowing down, and the band are as
influential today as when ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ first hit the charts
all those moons ago.
Queen’s career falls into quite distinct stages thanks, in part,
to the release dates of their three greatest hits albums, Freddie
Mercury’s eventual passing in the autumn of 1991, and the very
distinct styles the band employed during the three decades of
their output. This account, therefore, also falls into convenient
chronological sections. From the early, pre-Queen days, the likes
of Smile, Wreckage and Reaction are explored, as Queen’s sound
begins to take shape.
In the early 1970s, their eponymous first album was released,
followed in relatively quick succession by both ‘Queen II’ and
‘Sheer Heart Attack’. From here, Queen really took off, and since
that time the band never looked back as the group took both sides
of the Atlantic by storm. With the 1970s claiming most of the
band’s most critically acclaimed work, studio albums ‘A Night at
the Opera’, ‘A Day at the Races’, ‘News of the World’, ‘Jazz’, ‘The
Game’ and ‘Flash Gordon’ are also explored, as well as various
major tours with the likes of Thin Lizzy and Mott the Hoople,
before ‘Greatest Hits I’ heralds in the 1980s.
The 1980s sees the band veering away from the glam rock and
operatic styles of their 1970s releases, instead experimenting
more with disco, funk and pop, garnering more of a mainstream
audience, but losing some of their critical acclaim. During this
time, we also see the band perform at Live Aid in 1985, as well
as collaborating with the likes of David Bowie and playing sell-
out gigs all over the world. A second greatest hits album was also
released, featuring the bands biggest and best from the decade.
In 1991, Queen released their last album – ‘Innuendo’ – before
the tragic death of exuberant front man Freddie Mercury would
chris devlin
(Chris Devlin)
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