The Appeal of the Classic Rock Band "Queen"

I say classic rock band because they have been around since the early 70's. The era of classic rock. One of the earliest Queen songs, "Fat Bottom Girls" was released in 1978 as part of the "Jazz" album. Queen is a classic band whose appeal is timeless proven by the fact that their music is still in use today, on radio and featured in hit movies.

The songs "Who wants to live forever" and "Princes of the universe" were written exclusively for the soundtrack to the original "Highlander" movie. And continued to be be used in the following TV series. Queen was the Top favorite 80's band second only to Metallica.They produced several albums that made it big in the U.K and also In the U.S The band was originally named "Smile", but the name was later changed by lead singer Freddie Mercury to "Queen". Freddie Mercury was responsible for a lot of the bands success.

Part of their appeal is the way the bands vocals blend to create a wonderful harmony, demonstrated in songs like Bohemian Rhapsody. And also for their stage presence. Audiences loved Freddie Mercury and the bands' concerts always sold out.They also collaborated with other artists on duets that became hits later on. One of those collaborations was with singer David Bowie on "Under Pressure". It was a totally spontaneous event, as he just happened to come into the studio while they were recording.

Some little known facts about the band are that the band was originally the idea of guitarist Brian May while he was in college. He started advertising for band members and was introduced to Freddie Mercury by another friend. He later became their lead singer. Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on the island of Zanzibar to Persian parents. He was educated in an English boarding school and later attended the same college where he met Brain May. Freddie's favorite musicians at the time were Jimmy Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.

Queen songs featured in Movies:Flash Gordon (1980, directed by Mike Hodges) and Highlander (the original 1986 film, directed by Russell Mulcahy). The theme song, "Princes of the Universe", was also used in the Highlander TV series (1992-1998). "One Year of Love" can be heard in "Highlander 2".

"On April 20th, 1992, some of the greatest musical talent in the world gathered at London's Wembley Stadium to pay tribute to Freddie Mercury who died of AIDS on 24th November 1991. The aim of the concert was to celebrate his life, to mourn his passing, to increase public awareness of the disease that prematurely ended his life, and to raise much needed funds to help AIDS sufferers worldwide. The concert was broadcast live on television and radio in 76 countries around the world."

Excerpted from: Amazon.com's Freddy Mercury Tribute Concert (1992)

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_(band)
http://www.queenonline.com/home