The history of the musical group Queen ("Queen")
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It's no secret that throughout Queen's career they were hounded by harsh and negative reviews from critics. Especially the vocalist and frontman Freddie Mercury was in trouble. And as funny as it sounds, even now critics continue to be outraged and to tarnish their fame. Critics recently ranked the band at #213 on their "Worst Rock Bands Ever," calling them "the most overrated band in the history of pop music." Funny, isn't it? Let's try to figure out what this is all about.
The origin of the group "Queen"
A story so unique, so alive, so delightful - truly Royal - could only be sustained by the Queen group, led by the charming vocalist and showman Freddie Mercury.
Freddie Mercury: "I will be a Legend!"
Farrukh Balsara (the name "Freddy" was given to him by classmates at school because it was easier) came to us from the south. He was born in Zanzibar, studied in India, and immigrated with his family to the UK.
Despite domestic difficulties, he entered the Illing College of Art in London and immediately moved out of his parents and settled in a rented apartment with his friend Chris Smith.
One of Freddie's friends recalls:
“Freddie told everyone that he was going to be a pop star, but we didn’t take him seriously ... And one evening in a pub he was sitting at a table, covering his face with his hands. He looked very depressed. Chris approached him and asked what was the matter, and he replied: "Don't be a pop star..." Then he stood up slowly and said: "I will be a legend!"
The beginning of the journey and great hopes
When vocalist and bandleader Tim Staffel left the then band Smile, Freddie came to them, who was constantly backstage at all their performances, and said: “Come on guys… Don’t give up! I will sing!". Then he proposed the name, which, in his opinion, trampled on all the shrines, namely "Queen".
The first publicized performance of the band took place in the hall of London Imperial College in 1973. And then there was also their first contact with the press in the person of Rosemary Hordy from the then Disc magazine.
First real success and first difficulties
Their first album failed miserably. It was a valuable lesson, of which there will be many in the creative path of the band.
The album "Queen II" took them to a new level. It was on this album that the band was one of the first to use multitrack recording. Their first success was through the TV program "Top of the Pops". The band was ranked #10 on the list. After a successful tour of the United Kingdom, where they were opening for Mott the Hoople, they began their first tour of America.
Then the band ran into financial difficulties. The managers were fooling the guys, and the band was getting nothing from their songs. John Reed (Elton John's manager) came to the rescue, and things went up for the band.
When creating the album "At Night At The Opera" the situation was make or break. Not only did the band have no money, they were also in debt. All the staff worked for it.
It didn't take long for Queem to become popular
They reached their limit. Eventually, the emotion started to flow out into something bigger... That's how the all-time song "Mama, just killed a man" ("Bohemian Rhapsody") was born.
Relations with critics, press and journalists
This song took them to a completely different level. Now they led the ball. As for the critics, they missed the Queen's ascent to Olympus. Since their first performance in 1973, the press has still not been able to figure out who Queen is. Most of all, they disliked the style in which the group performed. They did not understand this music, but, of course, they could not deny their success.
The album "A Day At The Races" was released immediately after "At Night At The Opera". And, of course, to become a sequel to such a masterpiece is very difficult.
Critics who had a grudge against Queen could now frolic to their heart's content. The entire press was against them. They didn't understand...
Guitarist Brian May: "Maybe because we made it on our own, they wanted to get back at us. Because they didn't take part in it.
The story of the devastating article about Freddie and Queen
Then there was a story with a scandalous interview with Freddie. New Musical Express music reviewer Tony Stewart:
“We took the biggest music icons, if you will… and mixed them with shit… And then the idea came to interview Freddie Mercury… Then I went to John Reed’s house on Knights Bridge… And it wasn’t a house, but a whole mansion… There was a butler , there was a bodyguard ... At a time when the world was ruled by punk, Freddie Mercury preached some completely extraterrestrial concept, namely ballet! He told me that his main goal in life was to bring ballet to the masses."
The next day, a devastating article came out ...
Freddie was tearing and metal... They called him an idiot. Then the group realized that talking to the press is a utopia. They didn't go anywhere...
“We all have our pros and cons. Some things we can do and some things we can't. But I know this even without pissing journalists! ”, - Freddie about the press.
The band certainly could not succumb to the trends of the crowd, who listened to tasteless punk. They realized that all their grandiose ideas were not suitable for the time. And so the guys decided to make a more mainstream record. They didn't feel constrained and, therefore, easily decided on a new experiment.
Quinn's most important masterpieces
It was with new inspiration that guitarist Brian May came up with the idea of the song "We Will Rock You" at night, which he tapped on the floor, and Freddie "We Are The Champions".
"We just wanted to make a connection between the listener and the band", and "we had no idea that they would become national sports anthems".
The song "We Are The Champions" can be interpreted as an anthem to the elite.
Recognition of success and the coronation of Queen
In 1977, in America, the group was finally crowned. She was at her peak. "Queen" captured the halls and listeners, not letting them go until today.
“But all our concerts in 77th in America were sold out, and in the middle we gave 2 concerts at the famous Madison Square Gardon in New York. And you know… a milestone for any performer.”
Top speed...
The single "Don't Stop Me Now" followed. It was Freddie's songs. She was from his entourage. It perfectly reflects what happened to him at that time. Freddie at the time took up exploring the gay scene "with the same zeal that the BBC does with wildlife films".
Freddie loudly declared:
“I just take everything from life and enjoy myself the way I like it.”
Not the best album
Their next album "Jazz" was not a total failure. It did make it to number six in the chart. "Don't Stop Me Now", which is still a hit in the UK, reached number 80 in the US chart.
Freddie is on fire! New success
In 1979 the band went to Munich, to the city that would stay with Freddie until the end of his days...then they came literally with one or two ideas for songs. It was then that they recorded the song and the video for it "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". Freddie came up with it in the bathroom in 10 minutes. He asked for a guitar and played the chords.
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" became the first hit overseas in America. It hit Billboard, Cashbox and Record World Singles. Roger:
“We haven't finished the record yet. We were only halfway through the album when we were told we were number one in America. "Hooray! Champagne to all!”
New direction and bass player talent
Suddenly the talent of dark-horse bassist Johnny Deacon showed up:
"I've always wanted to do something in the Disco style, even though it was very out of fashion at the time."
The word Funk wasn't even in the band's lexicon. But John made everyone play their own way. Thus was born the hit of all time "Another One Bites The Dust". He even made Roger the drummer play tape-wrapped drums, and Roger hated it. Freddie was very imbued with the idea, he sang this song until he felt bad. He really wanted to embody John's idea. After all, this song had more "black" music.
Michael Jackson stopped by for a couple of shows in Los Angeles. He adored Freddie.
And he pointed out: "Guys..! You should release this song!" The song never became a single and somehow got on the album. But the song got on the radio, and it was heard by people who had no idea about the group.
Surprisingly, "Another One Bites The Dust" became popular only thanks to black listeners. One New York radio station that thought Queen was a black band started playing the song and it became a hit. It reached number one on 9 different charts and sold over 3 million copies. She was in the "Top 100" for eight months! She was included in boxing rings, at sporting events. The song has become a hymn to triumph!
Drummer Roger Taylor:
“I remember people pointing their fingers at the car and shouting: “You guys are bad!”, but “What does this mean?”, It means that “You are good!” Bottom line: "We've been successful in America, which means we've been successful worldwide."
Guitarist Brian May:
“Then we became the biggest band in the world. At that moment, we ruled the world."
The sales speak for themselves: people wanted to listen to Queen even when the critics didn't want to listen to them."
The band "Queen" about their journey:
“Now we can say with confidence that we have never been a Fashion Group, we have never been part of Hype, a one-time group ... We just became popular, although no one expected this ...”
Queen has beaten the critics forever!
The band's ascent to the Olympus of fame, contrary to everyone's opinion, which beat them at every step, made the band not only hit back with double force, but also improve the sound, the lyrics and, finally, the performance itself, the Show for which the Quinn is so famous. And, indeed, this was exactly what Freddie Mercury was showing the world, that you shouldn't look up to anyone else if you had already chosen your way, and were sure that it was the right one!
