No. 011973
Queen
Queen
The debut
Recorded at Trident Studios. Heavy, proggy, ambitious — announcing a band that would never be fashionable but would always be grand.
The show must go on — inside my heart is breaking, my makeup may be flaking, but my smile still stays on.
A British colonial subject born on a spice island became the most electrifying frontman rock had ever seen — and never stopped being theatrical about it.
He was born Farrokh Bulsara on 5 September 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar, to Parsi parents from western India. His father was a cashier at the British Colonial Office; the family were Zoroastrians. From age eight, Farrokh attended St. Peter's, a British boarding school in Panchgani, India, where he formed his first band — the Hectics — at twelve, and where friends started calling him Freddie.
In 1964 the family fled the Zanzibar Revolution and settled in Feltham, Middlesex. Freddie studied art at Isleworth Polytechnic, then graphic design at Ealing Art College, graduating in 1969. He sold second-hand Edwardian clothes at Kensington Market with a drummer named Roger Taylor.
In April 1970, after Smile's lead singer left, Freddie stepped up. He renamed the band Queen — "very regal, obviously, and splendid" — designed its heraldic crest using the four members' zodiac signs, and legally changed his surname from Bulsara to Mercury. John Deacon joined on bass in March 1971. The line-up never changed again.
I won't be a rock star. I will be a legend. — Freddie Mercury
Queen's breakthrough came with Sheer Heart Attack (1974) and then a six-minute mock-opera that nobody could classify: "Bohemian Rhapsody." It topped the UK charts for nine weeks. The band went on to give the world "Somebody to Love," "We Are the Champions," "Don't Stop Me Now," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," and "Under Pressure" with David Bowie.
On 13 July 1985, at Wembley Stadium, Queen played a 21-minute set at Live Aid that is still cited as the greatest live performance in rock history. Mercury had the 72,000-strong crowd in his hand before he'd sung a line.
In April 1987, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS. He kept it private, continuing to write and record through his illness. Queen's Innuendo came out in February 1991. He recorded vocals for what would become Made in Heaven right up to the end. On 23 November 1991, he issued a public statement confirming his diagnosis. He died the following evening at home in Kensington, aged 45.
"When I'm dead," he once said, "I want to be remembered as a musician of some worth and substance." He need not have worried.
From the debut Queen (1973) to the posthumous Made in Heaven (1995). Plus his solo detour into disco and a full-blown opera collaboration in Barcelona.
The debut
Recorded at Trident Studios. Heavy, proggy, ambitious — announcing a band that would never be fashionable but would always be grand.
White side / Black side
Famously split between a "White Side" and "Black Side." Featured "Seven Seas of Rhye" — Queen's first chart single.
The breakthrough
Recorded in a single month. "Killer Queen" hit No. 2 in the UK, breaking Queen onto the world stage.
The masterpiece
Then the most expensive album ever made. Contains "Bohemian Rhapsody" — six minutes that rewrote what a pop single could be.
Opera's sister
Companion to Opera, same Marx Brothers homage. "Somebody to Love" and "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy".
The stadium anthems
The one-two punch of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions". Designed, literally, to be sung by crowds.
Bicycle Race
Features "Don't Stop Me Now" — Freddie at his most joyful — and the ornate "Bicycle Race."
First US No. 1 album
Queen's first chart-topper in America. Contains "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites the Dust."
The disco pivot
A funk and dance detour that divided fans. Includes "Under Pressure" with David Bowie — recorded in a single evening.
Back to form
Return to rock. "Radio Ga Ga," "I Want to Break Free," "Hammer to Fall". The setlist that would conquer Wembley.
Highlander
Effectively the soundtrack to the film Highlander. Includes "Who Wants to Live Forever" and the title track.
First co-written by all four
The first Queen album where all songs were credited to the entire band. "I Want It All," "Breakthru," "The Invisible Man."
The last album in his lifetime
Released nine months before his death. Contains "The Show Must Go On" — recorded in a single take when the band wasn't sure he could stand.
Posthumous
Finished by Brian, Roger, and John using vocals Freddie had recorded through his illness. "Heaven for Everyone," "Too Much Love Will Kill You."
His only true solo studio album. Recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich over nearly two years. Pure Freddie: disco, dance, pop, a splash of reggae, one operatic moment pointing to Barcelona. Dedicated, famously, "to my cat Jerry — also Tom, Oscar and Tiffany, and all the cat lovers across the universe."
A collaboration with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé. An operatic crossover unlike anything else in Freddie's catalogue, and one of the projects he was proudest of. The title track became the official anthem of the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics — a year after he died.
72,000 people in the stadium. 1.9 billion watching on television. And a 38-year-old in a white vest and blue jeans who had them all in the palm of his hand from the first piano chord.
"Queen were absolutely the best band of the day. They just went and smashed one hit after another. It was the perfect stage for Freddie — the whole world." — Bob Geldof, Live Aid organiser
From the Brit Awards to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, from an English Heritage blue plaque to an asteroid named after him — the recognitions keep arriving.
In life and long after — a chronological list of the most significant recognitions.