WE WILL ROCK YOU - THE QUEEN HISTORY

In July 13 of 1985, the band Queen presented at Live Aid. For some people that was the greatest show in rock history. But how? How Roger Tyler, Brian May, John Deacon and Freddie Mercury sold more than 150 million discs? Well, to understand that we have to come back some years in the past.

At the end of the 60’s Freddie Bulsara was finishing his art college and he knew that he would become an artist, until he met the Rock n’ Roll. In that time, bands like The Who and The Beatles were in top. However, after hearing Jimi Hendrix, he got in love and wanted music as profession.

When Freddie was at the art college, he met a person named Tim, a singer in a band called Smile. Freddie was always there watching they practice, but he never joined the group. A few months later, Tim received an offer from another band, and he said yes. Finally, Freddie got into the Smile. They were ready to make history. However, you will never find a list of the greatest rock bands of all time with the name Smile on it, where is Queen? Actually, when Freddie entered, he suggested changing the name of the band to Queen. That year one of the biggest rock bands of all time was born, with Freddie as a singer, Brian May in the guitar and Roger Tyler as a drummer.

In 1961, John Deacon entered the band playing bass. With four integrant, they were ready to record their first music and the first album consequently.

Therefore, in 1973, Queen record his first album named “Queen”. It did not sold a lot, but the critical complement it. One of the songs in it is “My Fairy King” and one a part of it says, “Mother Mercury, look what they done to me”, Freddie liked so much that sentence that he putted it in his name. Becoming Freddie Mercury.

After the failure that was their first album, in 1974, Queen II went to the stores. It sold much more, principally because of the song “Seven Seas of Rhye”, that went to the
top 10 of most playing songs.

The first big success of Queen happened to their third album called, “Sheer Heart Attack”. It brought the classical “Killer Queen”; it made a big success in the USA, something important in that time. After it, Queen became to be famous all around the world.

All of musicians today agree with one thing the fourth album of Queen it is the greatest in the rock history. In 1975, “A Night at the Opera” launched, because of that album; Queen went to first place as a rock band. In brought the classical “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Death on Two Legs”, “You’re My Best Friend” and “Love of My Life”. Love of My Life was write by Mercury for his love Mary Austin.

To talk about Bohemian Rhapsody I need a single paragraph, because it is probably, the best song ever written. Freddie Mercury wrote all of the lyrics and almost all the instrumental part. In the studio, the integrant called that music “Freddie’s thing”.  That song mixed ballade, hard rock and opera. It became the biggest symbol of Queen.

After “A Night the Opera”, it was clear that the biggest “magic” of Queen is that all of four members were great writers. In 1975, Queen was a legend rock band.

In 1976, “A Day at the Races” went to stores, which brought the classical, “Somebody to Love”. To record that song the voices of Freddie, Roger Tyler and Bryan May, had to look like a choir with 100 voices, and it did. When it finished, Mercury could not sing for weeks, because of his big effort.

Queen always presented in huge shows with thousands of people. Then, they started to write songs to play especially in this kind of shows. That brought the classical “We Will Rock you” and “We Are the Champions”, who were in the album “News of the World”.

One day, Freddie was sitting in front of his piano, trying to write songs for a new album “The Game”. In 10 minutes, he wrote a music called “Crazy Little Thing Call Love”, that song went to the Top 1 in radios, something rare at the time.

A few people know, but Freddie Mercury was a close friend of Michael Jackson. Many times, they tried to record some songs together; however, either of both could not handle each other at the studio, because Freddie was using cocaine all the time and Michael brought his pets with him. Therefore, unfortunately, there is no official album of that two legends singing together.

Another partnership that Queen made was with the singer David Bowie. They record together the song Under Pressure that is in the album “Hot Space”

In the 80’s Freddie tried to start a solo career, something that nobody in the band liked. When Fred told the group, that he would go out of the band, a sentence of Roger Tyler became famous: “You just Killed Queen”.

He got unhappy with that decision and right in time of the Live Aid, Freddie Mercury came back to his home. Two years later, he discovered something that in a few years would kill him: Freddie Mercury got AIDS. When he discovered it, he did not tell the press, only his family and integrant of Queen. He told the band that he wanted to record the max songs possible.

After that, they record the album “Innuendo”, with the song “The Show Must Go On”. In that time most people was suspecting that he was sick, but Fred never talked about it.

Then, in November 24 of 1991, Freddie Mercury stop breeding and past out. After his death, happened many tributes for him, the band record “Made in Heaven”, with the last songs that Fred record. Today we know that Queen was one the biggest rock bands in history and it will be for more decades and decades.

Gabriel Henrique Pires Rincon