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Few bands embodied the pure excess of the '70s like Queen. Embracing the exaggerated
pomp of prog-rock and heavy metal, as well as vaudevellian music-hall, the British quartet
delved deeply into camp and bombast, creating a huge, mock-operatic sound with layered
guitars and overdubbed vocals. Queen's music was a bizarre yet highly accessible fusion of
the macho and the fey. For years, their albums boasted the motto "no synthesizers were
used on this record," signaling their allegiance with the legions of post-Led Zeppelin hard
rock bands. But vocalist Freddie Mercury brought an extravagant sense of camp to the band,
pushing them towards kitschy humor and pseudo-classical arrangements, as epitomized on
their best-known song, "Bohemian Rhapsody." Mercury, it must be said, was a flamboyant
bisexual, who managed to keep his sexuality in the closet until his death from AIDS in 1992.
Nevertheless, his sexuality was apparent throughout Queen's music, from their very name to
their veiled lyrics -- it was truly bizarre to hear gay anthems like "We Are the Champions"
turn into celebrations of sports victories. That would have been impossible without Mercury,
one of the most dynamic and charismatic frontmen in rock history. Through his legendary
theatrical performances, Queen became one of the most popular bands in the world in the
mid-'70s; in England, they remained second only to the Beatles in popularity and
collectibility in the '90s. Despite their enormous popularity, Queen were never taken seriously
by rock critics -- an infamous Rolling Stone review labeled their 1979 album Jazz as "fascist
." In spite of such harsh criticism, the band's popularity rarely waned; even in the late '80s,
the group retained a fanatical following except America. In the States, their popularity peaked
in the early '80s, just as they finished nearly a decade's worth of extraordinarily popular
records. And while those records were never praised, they sold in enormous numbers, and
traces of Queen's music could be heard in several generations of hard rock and metal bands
in the next two decades, from Metallica to Smashing Pumpkins.
The origins of Queen lay in the hard-rock psychedelic group Smile, which guitarist Brian May
and drummer Roger Taylor joined in 1967. Following the departure of Smile's lead vocalist
Tim Staffell in 1971, May and Taylor formed a group with Freddie Mercury, the former lead
singer for Wreckage. Within a few months, bassist John Deacon joined them, and they
began rehearsing. Over the next two years, as all four members completed college, they
simply rehearsed, playing just a handful of gigs. By 1973, they had begun to concentrate on
their career, releasing the Roy Thomas Baker-produced Queen that year and setting out on
their first tour. Queen was more or less a straight metal album and failed to receive much
acclaim, but Queen II became an unexpected British breakthrough early in 1974. Before its
release, the band played Top of the Pops, performing "Seven Seas of Rhye." Both the song
and the performance were a smash success, and the single rocketed into the Top Ten,
setting the stage for Queen II to reach number five. Following its release, the group embarked
on their first American tour, supporting Mott the Hoople. On the strength of their campily
dramatic performances, the album climbed to number 43 in the states.
Queen released their third album, Sheer Heart Attack, before the end of 1974. The music-
hall-meets-Zeppelin "Killer Queen" climbed to number two on the U.K. charts, taking the
album to number two as well. Sheer Heart Attack made some inroads in America as well,
setting the stage for the breakthrough of 1975's A Night At the Opera. Queen labored long
and hard over the record; according to many reports, it was the most expensive rock record
ever made at th
Faced with their decreased popularity in the U.S. and waning popularity in Britain, Queen
began touring foreign markets, cultivating a large, dedicated fan base in Latin America, Asia
and Africa, continents that most rock groups ignored. In 1985, they returned to popularity in
Britain in the wake of their show-stopping performance at Live Aid. The following year, they
released A Kind of Magic to strong European sales, but they failed to make headway in the
States. The same fate befell 1989's The Miracle, yet 1991's Innuendo was greeted more
favorably, going gold and peaking at number 30 in the U.S. Nevertheless, it still was a far
bigger success in Europe, entering the U.K. charts at number one.
By 1991, Queen had drastically scaled back its activity, causing many rumors to circulate
about Freddie Mercury's health. On November 23, he issued a statement confirming that he
was stricken with AIDS; he died the next day. The following spring, the remaining members
of Queen held a memorial concert at Wembley Stadium, which was broadcast to an
international audience of more than one billion. Featuring such guest artists as David Bowie,
Elton John, Annie Lennox, Def Leppard and Guns N' Roses, the concert raised millions for
the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which was established for AIDS awareness. The concert
coincided with a revival of interest in "Bohemian Rhapsody," which climbed to number two in
the U.S. and number one in the U.K. in the wake of its appearance in the Mike Myers
comedy Wayne's World. Following Mercury's death, the remaining members of Queen were
fairly quiet. Brian May released his second solo album, Back to the Light, in 1993, ten years
after the release of his first record. Roger Taylor cut a few records with the Cross, which he
had been playing with since 1987, while Deacon essentially retired. The three reunited in
1994 to record backing tapes for vocal tracks Mercury recorded on his death bed. The
resulting album, Made in Heaven, was released in 1995 to mixed reviews and strong sales,
particularly in Europe. Crown Jewels, a box set repackaging their first eight LPs, followed in
1998. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
DF wrote: [/QUOTENAME
Mercury, it must be said, was a flamboyant
bisexual, who managed to keep his sexuality in the closet until his death from AIDS in 1992.
left nut, you need too just leave! You are a trouble maker that is just getting shit started!!
We are all here to talk about how great Queen are, but you, you are just making up stories and then when we all disagree, you go and start some retaliation bullshit like this! Maybe Queen will contact YOU about making false statements abou them! Oh yeah by the way......
"Sometimes you feel like a nut...."