Queen was founded in 1969 by Brian May (guitar), Roger Meddowes-Taylor (drums) and Freddie Mercury (lead singer, piano). All the band members were from two groups - Rockpile (Mercury) and Smile (Taylor, May). May designed his guitar, the Red Special, from a fireplace he and his father, Harold, dismantled. the guitar took six years to build and was finished when Brian was 16. Freddie had released a single, "I Can Hear Music" under the name Larry Lurex in 1969. Their bassist, John Deacon, answered a classified ad and joined the band in 1971. All were British except Mercury, who was born in Zanzibar and emigrated to Britain as a teenager. The group decided not to sign any record deals until they completed college. Brian May has a doctorate in astrophysics. Roger Taylor (he dropped the "Meddowes" in 1974) is a medical doctor. John Deacon has a master's in literature and Mercury had a degree in interior decorating.
Their first album, Queen, did not chart in the UK or in America, but their debut single "Keep Yourself Alive", scraped the British Top 40. During the next six months Mott the Hoople befriended the band, and Queen opened for them on their 1973 tour. By the end of 1973, Queen released a second album, Queen II, and that album charted at #14 a year later, eventually going gold.
It wasn't until their third album, Sheer Heart Attack, and the song "Killer Queen", that America began to take notice. They first toured the US as headliners in 1974, but had to cut it short due to May contracting hepatitis. The album entered the top twenty and gave Queen its first gold album, in 1974.
In 1975, A Night at the Opera was released to critical uncertainty. The music was half operatic, half hard rock, and included the 6 minute opus "Bohemian Rhapsody". The song skyrocketed up the charts and Queen became an overnight sensation, five years in the making. Their next album, A Day at the Races, in 1976, performed almost as well. (Both of the album titles, incidentally, were from Marx Brothers movies of the same names, and the group asked Groucho Marx for permission to use the names. "I offered to name their next album as well," he said. "I'll call it Rolling Stones' Greatest Hits".)
The hits continued. 1977 saw the chart topping "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" and its accompanying album News of the World, while 1978 brought "Bicycle Race/Fat Bottomed Girls" and the album Jazz. To promote "Fat Bottomed Girls", Queen staged a nude bicycle race down the streets of London. 1979 brought Queen their largest success in America, though. They traded their hard rock sound for a more dance oriented mix and released the album The Game. Three singles from it - "Another One Bites the Dust", "Play the Game" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (which was written in a Paris bathtub by Mercury) hit #1 worldwide. The group had changed their image as well, sporting haircuts and leather jackets. They recorded an iffy soundtrack for the movie Flash Gordon, entitled Flash, which came and went. But their Greatest Hits album went platinum quickly and their next album, Hot Space, went gold. Arif Mardin produced part of Hot Space, and this is the album which includes the single "Under Pressure".
Dissention was tearing the group apart, and in 1983 they took a break from each other. Brian May released his first solo album Starfleet Project with the help of Jeff Beck, while Roger Taylor formed the band The Cross and toured. John Deacon raised his family. But Freddie Mercury became a rather promiscuous tax exile. It was said that his questionable sexuality grew into an overt homosexuality and he dated many men. Artistically, he performed with the London Ballet Company onstage at this time.
In 1984 the group members resolved enough of their differences to continue recording and released The Works. Their worldwide tour was one of the largest grossing tours in history. They made a seven show stop in South Africa when the country was still under UN sanctions, and lost a great deal of professional respect. But the next year, their fortunes reached an all-time high with an appearance on LiveAid. "Freddie stole the show, and it was his finest hour," commented May. Later that year the band recorded material for their next album, A Kind of Magic, and released it the next year. This album featured their best known soundtrack music, for the Highlander.
In 1988, Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS. He kept it a secret from everyone in the band until the following year, when they were recording for their next album The Miracle. "We all lied to everyone about Freddie," said Roger Taylor in an interview. The album was a smash, yielding five top ten singles in the UK, including the #1 single "I Want it All", which became an anthem for the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. But rumors were persistent about Freddie and his health. While he publicly denied every statement, his health was declining.
1991 saw the release of Queen's final album, Innuendo. It entered the British charts at #1. But Freddie could deny his sickness no longer and on November 23, 1991, he released a press statement confirming that he had AIDS. He died the next day. He was cremated according to the tenets of his faith, Zoroastrianism, a week later. Over 20,000 attended the cremation, including friends such as Elton John, David Bowie and Liza Minelli.
In 1992, The Freddie Mercury Phoenix Trust was initiated by his other band members. The same year, many of the artists that Queen influenced such as Guns N' Roses, George Michael, Seal, Def Leppard and Roger Daltrey (of the Who) gathered together on April 20 at Wembley Stadium to celebrate the life and work of Freddie Mercury. The show was aired via satellite all over the world, and one billion viewers tuned in - a world record. All the proceeds went to AIDS research.
The remaining members of Queen continue to perform solo albums and have vowed not to continue as Queen. They have collaborated on only one single since 1991 and released a greatest hits album in 1998.