The phrase ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ might have been coined for the rock world it seems. Queen was a heavy metal band formed in London, 1972. It was a very strong name which had gay connotations. The band knew this, but went ahead with it. The band developed out of a college outfit, Smile – a heavy rock trio which featured Brian May on guitars, Roger Taylor on drums and a bassist / vocalist called Tim Sufell.

The final lineup of Queen was formed after May and Taylor recruited their college friend Freddie Mercury on vocals and John Deacon on bass. The Queen logo, also known as the Queen Crest, was designed by Mercury who also became the focal point of the band. Farrokh or Faridus Bulsara aka Freddie Mercury, was a Mumbai Parsi boy who was way beyond the ordinary, the music an extension of the person he was. Freddie had offbeat good looks and the most outspoken set of teeth ever to have found their way on to a pop fans wall.

He also enjoyed the lifestyle of a true superstar. His dress sense was sensational. Satin was his favourite fabric, with silk a close second. The band was pretty much successful from the very beginning. Their debut ‘Queen’ (1973) received good feedback, as did Mercury’s inimitable vocal style. One cannot miss out on May’s guitar work and his guitar in particular. It was a hand built beauty, crafted from the wood of a five - hundred year - old fireplace mantel which came to be known as the The Red Special. It was designed by May and his father, while its fret markers were fashioned out of old pearl buttons and the spring in the vibrato tailpiece, made out of parts of a motorbike’s kick starter.

The bands albums ‘Queen II’ (April 1974) and their third effort ‘Sheer heart Attack’ gave them a reasonable name for themselves and made their impressionable mark on the rock world. Tours followed and 1975 saw ‘A Night at the Opera’ that featured the complex hit Bohemian Rhapsody that became their first major video single and biggest hit ever claiming the #1 spot on British charts for a record breaking nine weeks. After a tour to Japan and Australia in 1976, the band returned home to record and later release ‘A day at the races’ (1976) that deflected their sound from hard rock to more pop. Next came in ‘News of the world’ (1977) and ‘Jazz’ (1978) that got them more recognition. Freddie’s flamboyant behaviour and parties thrown by the band achieved legendary notoriety.

Their next album ‘Live Killers’ (1979) a double live album, saw them using synthesizers while ‘The Game’ (1980) well remembered for the hit Another one bites the dust became their largest selling single. Their next album ‘Hot Space’ had an even more refined sound, a very definite funk feel and a little disco that showed Queen moving in a new direction which disappointed their fans.

Realising this band sprung back in action with ‘The Works’ (1984) that produced hits like Radio GaGa that got them the Silver Clef Award for outstanding contribution to British Music. The song earned the band the title as video creators which featured the legendary hand clapping chorus performed by members of the Queen fan club. The same also went for ‘We are the champions’ with its elemental stamping and clapping pattern is pure rock arena material. If you listen closely the band never used drums on the piece and instead it was just the band members stamping on boards and clapping that went on to make a very powerful song still loved even today.

I want to break free saw the whole band in the music video donning women’s clothing. The band was never afraid of self – mockery, least of all their singer Freddie Mercury. In 1986 the band released A Kind of Magic an album and single of the same name that gave them a # 1 position. The track had outstanding guitar work and is every rock enthusiast party favorite. Freddie’s solo ‘The Great Pretender’ had an unforgettable music video that showcased Mercury dressed in drag.

Queen ushered the nineties with their seventeenth album ‘Innuendo’ (1991). Sadly this was the last album the band did together for 21^st November 1991 will always be remembered in the annals of rock history as the day the rock world lost Freddie Mercury to AIDS. But during the time of his illness, Mercury often visited the studio for a few hours to sing, write and give his band material which they could use after his demise. Thus you had ‘Made in Heaven’ (1996) and intensely personal album of material left by Freddie Mercury. A year earlier, John Deacon retired from the band, paving the way for Paul Rogers to join Queen.

After making the music for the masses, Queen also had a couple of soundtracks to their credit. Among the main ones are the adventure film ‘Flash Gordon’, a monster hit with their single ‘Flash’, followed by One Vision used in ‘Iron Eagle’, while they recorded and released the music to the film ‘Highlander’ in 1986.

Their album, their first in thirteen years ‘The Cosmos Rocks’ sees Paul Rogers, Brian May, Roger Taylor as the members of Queen.

-- By Verus Ferreira