This section describes the important Queen-related places in London that are worth visiting. It is based on a similar section from the 'Queen Heaven' web site but this is of course an improved version compiled by myself. Please note this list was compiled 15 years ago and some of the buildings may not exist anymore!

Judit from Barcelona launched a special site dedicated to Queen-related places in London or Barcelona and she wants to do a Munich or Tokyo section. Visit her QueenLocations website, it's basically an updated version of what I did many years ago ;-)

Hammersmith Odeon, Queen Caroline Street W6

Used to be called Hammersmith Odeon, then Hammersmith Apollo, Labbats Apollo, London Apollo and now it's Carling Apollo. It's a very famous London live venue, Queen have played several concerts here incl. the now legendary Xmas concerts in 1975 and 1979. You can't miss it!

Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo

St. Osmunds Church, Castlenau, Barnes SW13

Brian and Chrissie married here on May 29th 1976. Brian claims he doesn't remember it properly so maybe it was in Holy Triniti which is opposite.

Get off the tube at Hammersmith. Follow the signs for the bus station, that is very near the tube station. Take bus 209. You will pass on Hammersmith Bridge. While descending along Castelnau, look at your right and you will see St Osmund Church.

St. Osmunds Church
St. Osmunds Church

Olympic Studios, 117 Church Road, Barnes SW13

Famous London recording studio. Queen have recorded part of A Night At The Opera The Miracle here. Also Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven was done here. Here also Brian, Roger and Paul Rodgers recorded together for the very first time (Rock Aid Armenia).

Directions as above - after you pass St Osmund Church, the bus 209 will turn right and will follow Church Road. Just after the junction keep looking at your right and you will see the Olympic Studios.

Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios

54 Suffolk Road, Barnes SW13

This used to be Brian's house in the 1980s (I think). Nowadays he has a house in Surrey and a flat somewhere on Holland Road.

54 Suffolk Road
54 Suffolk Road

White Hart Lane, Barnes SW13

This used to be Roger's house - this is NOT the house where the Spread Your Wings and WWRY videos were shot (those were shot in his second house in Surrey).

White Hart Lane - Roger's house

Kensal Green Crematorium, Harrow Road, Kensal Green W10

Freddie was cremated here on 27th November 1991. His ashes were partially given to his parents and partially (as the legend says) buried under the cherry tree in front of his Garden Lodge house.

Kensal Green Crematorium

Wembley Stadium, Empire Way, Wembley

This is the famous concert venue where Queen played in 1985 (Live Aid) and twice in 1986 (+ FM Tribute was held here in 1992). It was apparently a terrible stadium so despite the long tradition, it's currently being rebuilt (as the first photo shows).

Get off the tube at Wembley Park. Follow Olympic Way, that is a long large avenue closed to traffic and leading straight to Wembley Stadium. Unfortunately the mosaic mural with Freddie singing live (second photo) has been already destroyed/rebuilt; nowadays it displays only a drummer and members of audience.

Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium

De Lane Lea Music Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley

Queen recorded many demos in early 1970s here (those five recorded here in September 1971 were probably the most famous Queen demos). Not to be confused with De Lane Lea Studios! The DLL Music Centre was built in 1971 because the De Lane Lea Studios were originally made for film dubbing so the plan was to have DLL Studios for that purpose and DLL Music Centre for music recording; in 1972 DLL Music Centre was sold to CBS and kept the name 'Music Centre'. And guess what? Queen returned there! (1980 - the Flash Gordon soundtrack).

Directions as above (Wembley stadium). Keep following Olympic Way till the junction with Engineers Way. Turn right and you can see the studios. Update: from what I heard, the De Lane Lea studios are gone, they have been flattened and the studio is now locateed in 75 Dean Street.

De Lane Lea

Wembley Arena, Empire Way, Wembley

When Queen played here for the first time in May 1978, it was called Empire Pool. When Queen came back in 1980, it was already Wembley Arena. Do not confuse with the Wembley stadium! The arena is much smaller.

Directions as above (De Lane Lea). Keep following Engineers Way westward until you reach the front of Wembley Arena.

Wembley Arena

Ealing College, St Marys Road, Ealing W5

Freddie studied here when he came to the UK. He met Tim Staffell, who was in the same class, and played his first gig with Wreckage here.

Get off the tube at Ealing Broadway. Follow the signs for the Shopping Centre and then walk southward following High Street. Keep walking southward following Ealing Green, until you reach the junction with Warwick Road. On the right side of Ealing Green is The Castle Inn (fourth photo) where Freddie, Tim and their friends used to drink. On the left side of Ealing Green you can see Thames Valley University, that is the old Ealing College (first photo). On the left side of the building there is a path - follow it until you reach the Students Union. Enter the Students Union North Building and you will see Freddie's Bar (second and third photo).

Ealing College
Ealing College - Freddie's bar
Ealing College - Freddie's bar
Ealing College - The Castle

Metropolis Studios, Chiswick High Road W4

Part of the Innuendo album was recorded here and it was the last English studio that Freddie worked in. The video for Headlong was filmed here and the outside of the studio was used as the backdrop for the opening section of the Innuendo video. Part of Made In Heaven was recorded here in March 1994.

Get off the tube at Turnham Green. Take Turnham Green and walk southward till the junction with Chiswick High Road. Turn left and walk eastward following Chiswick High Road. Watch out the north side of Chiswick High Road. Leave the Post Office behind you, go on till you reach the Powerhouse. Turn left. Metropolis Studio is just near the bus depot.

Metropolis Studios

Townhouse Studios, Goldhawk Road, Shepherds Bush

Get off the tube at Goldhawk Road. Walk downstairs and turn left. Walk westward following Goldhawk Road, until you see the Townhouse Studios on the north side of Goldhawk Road. It's a famous London recording studio, Queen have worked here many times.

Many parts of the Flash Soundtrack as well as some A Kind Of Magic (Princes Of The Universe, Who Wants To Live Forever) and The Miracle (Party, Miracle, Hang On In There) tracks, all of Barcelona except for How Can I Go On, part of The Cross' Shove Ir and Brian's songs The Dark and Rollin' Over. Yes used to record a lot in those studios, and that's how Steve and Freddie became friends. That friendship lead to a casual meeting between the guitarist and the pianist in summer 1989 in Switzerland, in which Steve ended up doing the much celebrated flamenco solo of Innuendo.

Townhouse Studios
Townhouse Studios

Shepherds Bush Empire, Shepherds Bush Green W12

Apparently it was NOT the home of the BBC show 'Top Of The Pops' where Queen recorded their first ever UK TV performance of Killer Queen (that was at Lime Grove - which is actually just some 200m away from Shepherds Bush Empire). SBE is now a live venue - Roger Taylor has played here several times as have the SAS Band.

Directions as above (Townhouse studios) but walk till the end of Goldhawk Road, passing below the flyover and leaving the tube station behind you. You can't miss SBE, it's a big building.

Shepherds Bush Empire
Shepherds Bush Empire

100 Holland Road, W14

Freddie once lived here with Mary in the early seventies. The band's first proper photo session was done by Doug Puddifoot here - and many of those photos were used on the back of the bands first album.

100 Holland Road - Freddie's flat

36 Sinclair Road, W14

All of the band members shared a flat here in the early 70s.

36 Sinclair Road - the band's flat
36 Sinclair Road - the band's flat

Lansdowne Studios, Lansdowne Road

They don't exist anymore and the building was used for apartments. English singer Remi Nicole lives there now and she's happy to claim that Freddie wrote Bohemian Rhapsody in her loo which may or may not be true but the fact is Freddie did use those studios a lot during the ANATO sessions since they were very close to his flat and he could go and add things quickly when he felt like it.

Lansdowne Studios

Nomis Studios, 45-53 Sinclair Road, W14

This small studio was used for many rehearsals of Queen and the Brian May Band.

Nomis Studios

Kensington Pub, Russell Gardens, W14

Many band meetings took place in this pub, as the band members lived nearby. It was the pub where Freddie met Brian and Roger, where Freddie met Mary and where Roger met John Harris.

Get off the tube at Kensington Olympia. Cross the rails walking on the pedestrian flyover. When you reach Russell Road, turn left and follow Russell Road till the end of the road when you see 'The Kensington' in front of you.

Update [2011]: the pub seems to be shut (the windows are blacked out and the doors are padlocked with a chain).

Kensington Pub

Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road, W8

Another legendary concert venue. Queen played here two famous concerts on 6th and 7th June 1977.

Earls Court
Earls Court

Garden Lodge, 1 Logan Place

Freddie lived here many years and he also died here. Mary Austin now lives here with her husband and children. The walls are much higher than they used to be (and also much cleaner). Please respect the privacy of people living in this area, don't climb anywhere, don't write anything on the walls.

Get off the tube at Earls Court. Follow the signs for 'Earls Court Road Exit'. Out of the station turn left and walk northward following Earls Court Road. Cross the junction with Cromwell Road and keep following Earls Court Road. Soon after the junction with Cromwell Road, on the west side of Earls Court Road you will find Logan Place. Walk almost till the end of Logan Place, until you reach Logan Mews, and on the left side you will find a red-bricked wall with a dark-green door - that's it.

Garden Lodge
Garden Lodge
Garden Lodge
Garden Lodge

Logan Mews

Right at Freddie's house there's a very short blind alley with a couple of houses. The first photo shows the house where Freddie's friends lived (on the right part of the photo you can see the wall of Garden Lodge). The second photo is taken from the other side of the Logan Mews street (you can see Garden Lodge in the back).

Logan Mews

12 Stafford Terrace, Kensington W8

This used to be Freddie's first flat. A man called Edward Linley Sambourne lived there and died there in 1910. Please note that the photo shows 18 Stafford Terrace while Freddie lived in 12 Stafford Terrace (sorry).

12 Stafford Terrace - Freddie's first flat

Carmelite Church, Kensington Church Street

John and Veronica married here on 18th January 1975.

Carmelite Church

Kensington Market, 49 Kensington High Street W8

Freddie and Roger both had a stall on the top floor of the Market in the early seventies, selling clothes and art (Freddie sold many of his own paintings and drawings here). Freddie remained at the market, selling shoes, even as Queen released their first album. Note: the market was completely demolished a couple of years ago and replaced by offices and a branch of PC World :-(

Kensington Market
Kensington Market

The Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, W8

Another famous London concert venue :-) Queen have never played here (one of the reasons being that the weight of the lighting rig would pull down the roof) but Brian May Band did (1993, 1998) and so did Smile (1969). Also the Princes Gala Trust concert with Brian and John took place here in 1988.

The Royal Albert Hall

Imperial College, Imperial College Road SW7

And you're asking who played here? Here we go: Queen, Smile, 1984 and Wreckage. Imperial College saw the first ever gig under the name "Queen". John Deacon was auditioned here in 1971. Brian studied here. It's truly a legendary place, isn't it?

(The photo shows the Imperial College of Science and Technology where Brian studied - that's not in Imperial College Road but in Prince Consort Road. The gigs were in the Imperial College Students Union which is also a different building. A good map is available here.

Reach the Royal Albert Hall. Walk down the flight of steps in front of the Albert Hall and walk towards the Royal College of Music. Walk westward following Prince Consort Road on the left of Royal Albert Hall. On the north side of Prince Consort Road, just besides a little church, there is Beit Quadrangle, with the Imperial College Students Union (where Queen played). Now walk back to the Royal College of Music and keep walking eastward. On the south side of Prince Consort Road - near the junction with the Exhibition Road - you will see the Imperial College of Science and Technology (where Brian studied).

Imperial College

Dominion Theatre, Tottenham Court Road W1

This is the venue of Freddie's very last live performance - in the 'Time' musical on 14th April 1988. A couple years ago it was where the heavily promoted (in)famous We Will Rock You musical took place.

Get off the tube at Tottenham Court Road. The Dominion Theatre is on the junction of Oxford Street with Tottenham Court Road.

Dominion Theatre
Dominion Theatre

Trident Sound Studios, 17 St. Anne's Court W1

Queen recorded here all songs from their first two albums except for Night Comes Down. Also Now I'm Here, In The Lap Of The Gods, Lily Of The Valley and some Brian's overdubs (both vocal and guitar) in Killer Queen, She Makes Me and Brighton Rock. Sorry, it's impossible to take a photo of the whole building - St. Anne's Court is about two metres wide!

Get off the tube at Leicester Square. Follow Charing Cross Road walking northward towards Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. When you reach Cambridge Circus, turn left and walk westward following Shaftesbury Avenue. After a while, turn right and walk northward following Wardour Street. Then look for St. Anne's Court on the east side of Wardour Street. Enter St. Anne's Court, and walk just a few metres until you see the door of Trident Sound Studios on the left side of St. Anne's Court.

Trident Studios

Associated Independent Recording Studios, 214 Oxford Street

Less than a mile from Trident, owned by George Martin and used by Queen for Sheer Heart Attack.

Marquee Club, 90 Wardour Street

Queen played there some memorable early gigs and Tim Staffell also had a solo concert there around those days. The club has moved to a different address in the past years.

Marquee Club

Rainbow Theatre, Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, N4

Queen played here three time in 1974 and all three gigs were sold out. All of these concerts were filmed and an edit from two of them was even released officially. Queen also shot their Save Me video here. Apparently it's the headquarter of The United Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) now.

Rainbow Theatre
Rainbow Theatre

Wessex Sound Studios, 106 Highbury New Park

Originally owned by George Martin and then sold to the Chrysalis Group; Queen recorded loads of things there, including most of vocals, orchestral guitar and additional percussion for Sheer Heart Attack, A Day at the Races and News of the World albums (for example We Will Rock You). This is also the place where Roger laid down the I Wanna Testify single and where Freddie met Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious. In spite of the SOS October '95 article (and as a result, Wikipedia), it was NOT used for Bohemian Rhapsody.

Wessex Sound Studios

Abbey Road Studios, 3 Abbey Road NW8

Get off the tube at St. John's Wood. Follow Grove End Road until you reach a junction with a monument (a sort of white little obelisk). The road starting at your right is Abbey Road. Abbey Road Studios are just a while from the junction, on the left side of Abbey Road, when you see a white wall signed by fans. You cannot visit the studios inside unless you use it to record. This studio is probably one of the world's most famous studios.

Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios

Sarm West Studios, 8 Basing Street W11

Studios used for We Are The Champions or Get Down Make Love. Brian would use it years later to record the basis for Last Horizon and Let Your Heart Rule Your Head.

Get off the tube at Ladbroke Grove. Walk southward following Ladbroke Grove until you reach the junction with Westbourne Park Road. Turn left, take Westbourne Park Road and keep walking eastward. Leave behind you the junction with Portobello Road. Then turn left and follow Basing Street walking northward until you see a light-blue-painted building on the right, that is Sarm West Studios.

Sarm West Studios
Sarm West Studios

Sarm East Studios, 9 Osborn St. E1

The Prophet's Song and Somebody To Love were recorded here (also perhaps for some other ANATO and ADATR session work). Freddie's work as session pianist and arranger for Eddie Howell was also held here. You can see the indoor of the studio in the Somebody To Love video.

Sarm East Studios

Brixton Academy, 211 Stockwell Road, SW9

Brian played here in 1993 and the concert was later released on CD and VHS ('Live At Brixton Academy'). It's perhaps my all-time favourite concert.

Get off the tube at Brixton. Out of the tube station turn right and follow Brixton Road. When you reach the junction with Stockwell Road, turn left and you will see Brixton Academy.

Brixton Academy

Capital Radio, Leicester Square

Capital Radio is a Queen-friendly radio; Brian also had his guitar masterclass here in November 1983 which perhaps counts as his very first solo performance.

Leicester Square is also the place where you can buy half priced tickets for all London theatres - it's the left building on the photo.

Capital Radio

Covent Garden Royal Opera House, Bow Street

You can reach Covent Garden in two ways. If you get off the tube at Covent Garden, you just have to walk down James Street. Yet, if you are near Leicester Square it's faster if you walk southward following Charing Cross Road and keep the east side till you see St. Martin's Court on the left. Walk eastward along St. Martin's Court and keep walking following the same direction, along King Street, until you reach Covent Garden.

The front of the Royal Opera House is in Bow Street. Take a tour of Covent Garden. When you are near the London Transport Museum, take Russell Street and then turn left in Bow Street. You will see the Royal Opera House where Freddie used to go and met Montserrat Caballé.

Covent Garden Royal Opera House
Covent Garden Royal Opera House

Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue

From Trafalgar Square walk down Northumberland Avenue, almost until you reach Embankment. On the left side of Northumberland Avenue you will find the Playhouse Theatre, where A Kind Of Magic video was filmed.

Playhouse Theatre

Lyceum Ballroom, Catherine Street WC2

Queen played here on 13th December 1979 during their Crazy Tour of London. The Lion King is currently playing there.

Lyceum Ballroom

New London Theatre, Parker Street WC2

The famous 'We Are The Champions' video shoot with the impromptu concert was held here on 6th October 1977.

New London Theatre

Madame Tussauds, Marylebone Road

Museum with waxy figurines. Freddie is there too, as are Beatles, David Bowie, Lady Diana or Margaret Thatcher. Apparently the ticket is too expensive and not worth it. If you still want to go there (and have a photo of you together with waxy Freddie), get off the tube at Baker Street and follow the signs.

There was also a Madame Tussauds Circus in London with figurines of rock stars incl. Freddie but it was closed in September 2001.

Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds

Buckingham Palace

This place needs no directions. And the Queen connection? Brian and Roger played here at the Queen Jubilee concert on 3rd June 2002. The concert was launched by Brian who played the national anthem on the roof of the palace.

Buckingham Palace

Harrods

Harrods is a world famous big London store near the Knightsbridge tube station. On the 3rd floor you can see and even play the Bechstein grand pianos - the same brand was used to record Bohemian Rhapsody and some other Queen songs. No other Queen connection here :-)

Harrods

Hyde Park

Queen played their famous huge, free gig here on 18th September 1976. Apparently it was somewhere in the Marble Arch quadrant.

Hyde Park

Advision Studios, 23 Gosfield Street, W1

Advision was at 23 Gosfield Street, W1, which is just off Great Portland Street, near the BBC at Portland Place and also just near Oxford Circus. Queen have recorded most of Flash Gordon there.

Advision Studios
Advision Studios

Scorpio Studios, 286 Euston Road, Camden (the famous Euston tower)

The studios don't exist anymore but they used to be on the ground floor. Originally used for live Capital Radio broadcasts, they were also occasionally used for recordings, including parts of Bohemian Rhapsody (mostly lead vocals). Kenny Everett worked in the same building and used the same studios occasionally, so there's a connection as well.

Roundhouse Studios, Chalk Farm Road, Camden

Close to Scorpio Studios. Queen recorded there parts of ANATO (including overdubs for BoRhap) there and also launched the album from there. Great sound for live backing tracks.

Roundhouse Studios