Island Records prepares 40th anniversary remasters of the quartet’s extraordinary catalogue
With worldwide album sales of more than 170 million, No. 1 albums, singles and DVDs the world over, inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, over 700 concerts performed in every corner of the world including their historic appearance at Live Aid, and a Guinness Book of World Records award for the most successful UK album chart act in history, Queen represent one of the most remarkable, compelling stories in popular culture.
Their music milestones include “Bohemian Rhapsody,†“Crazy Little Thing Called Love,†“We Are The Champions,†“We Will Rock You,†“Radio Ga Ga,†and “Another One Bites The Dust.â€
The new agreement with Universal Music covers the world outside North America, and the music of Queen will appear through Island Records from January 1, 2011. Thus, the band joins some of the greatest names in popular music under the palm tree of the legendary label’s iconic logo.
Brian May of Queen said, “We are very excited, after all this time, to be embarking on a new phase of our career – with a new record company – with new ideas, and new dreams.â€
Universal Music Group (UMG) co-CEO Lucian Grainge said: “Queen rewrote the rock & roll rule book 40 years ago, and you can count at least three generations of artists who are under their influence. So now we’re under their influence at Universal Music, and looking forward to writing chapters together for the new rule book.â€
During the course of the anniversary year, Island will remaster and repackage, with additional content, each of Queen’s 15 studio albums. The first five will be made available in March: “Queen,†“Queen II,†“Sheer Heart Attack,†“A Night At The Opera†and “A Day At The Races.â€
After four decades, the collective work of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon continues to resonate around the globe, inspiring a host of diverse artists from Lady Gaga (who took her name from Queen’s “Radio Ga Gaâ€), Axl Rose and Katy Perry through to Dave Grohl. Two decades after the death of their phenomenal and flamboyant singer, Freddie Mercury remains an icon beyond measure.