Queen (band) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Queen
Top: Brian May, Freddie Mercury Bottom: John Deacon, Roger Taylor
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Rock
Years active	1970–present
Labels	EMI Parlophone Elektra Capitol Hollywood Island Virgin EMI
Associated acts	Smile Queen + Paul Rodgers Queen + Adam Lambert

Members	Brian May Roger Taylor

Past members	Freddie Mercury John Deacon See also: Early members

The two remaining members of Queen's classic line-up, Brian May and Roger Taylor (pictured in 2017), helped with the movie Bohemian Rhapsody

Queen on stage in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1984. Freddie Mercury was a great performer and could play many instruments.

Queen performing with Adam Lambert during their 2017 tour

Queen is a famous British rock band that started in London in 1970. They are one of the most successful music groups ever. They have sold over 300 million records around the world!

The original members of Queen were Freddie Mercury (who sang and played piano), Brian May (who played lead guitar and sang), Roger Taylor (who played drums and sang), and John Deacon (who played bass guitar).

Freddie Mercury passed away due to illness on November 24, 1991. In 1997, John Deacon decided to retire to spend more time with his family. The other two original members, Brian May and Roger Taylor, have continued to perform. They toured with singer Paul Rodgers from 2005 to 2009. Since 2009, they have been touring with Adam Lambert.

Some of Queen's biggest and most well-known songs include "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions". Queen was honored by being added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

How Queen Started
The Bohemian Rhapsody Movie
Queen Band Members
Popular Songs from Queen's Albums
Queen's Studio Albums
Images for kids
See also

How Queen Started

In the mid-1960s, Brian May and his friend Tim Staffell formed a band called 1984. After that band ended, Brian May decided to start a new one. He teamed up with two other college students, Tim Staffell and Roger Taylor. They named their band "Smile". Roger Taylor played drums and sang, Tim Staffell played bass and sang, and Brian May played guitar and sang.

Tim Staffell was friends with another college student named Farrokh Bulsara. Farrokh, who would later be known as Freddie Mercury, was a big fan of Smile. He encouraged them a lot. Later, Tim left Smile to join another band. In 1970, Farrokh Bulsara joined the band as the singer and piano player.

Farrokh then came up with the new name "Queen" for the band. So, they changed their name from Smile to Queen. They then started looking for a new bass player. They tried out many different bassists, but none of them seemed like the right fit. Finally, in 1971, they found John Deacon, who became their permanent bass player.

Queen's first album, also called "Queen", was released in 1973. It featured songs like "Seven Seas Of Rhye" and "Liar". Farrokh Bulsara officially changed his name to Freddie Mercury after a line in their song "My Fairy King". Did you know that Brian May also has a degree in Astrophysics? That's the study of space and stars!

The Bohemian Rhapsody Movie

The movie Bohemian Rhapsody came out in October 2018. It tells the story of Queen's early years and their journey leading up to their famous performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert.

This film has earned over $900 million worldwide. This makes it the highest-earning musical movie about a real person or band ever! Even though some people had different opinions about the movie, it won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. The actor who played Freddie Mercury, Rami Malek, was highly praised for his acting. He even won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role.

After the movie was released, the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" became popular again. It even appeared on the US Billboard Hot 100 music chart for the third time! It had been on the chart in 1976 and 1992 before.

Queen Band Members

Here are the people who have been part of the band Queen:

Current Members

Brian May – He plays lead guitar and has been with the band since 1970.
Roger Taylor – He plays drums and sings. He also joined the band in 1970.

Deceased Members

Freddie Mercury – He was the main singer and played piano. He was with the band from 1970 until 1991.

Past Members

John Deacon – He played bass guitar. He was with Queen from 1971 until 1997.

Guest Members

These singers have performed with Queen on tours and special events:

Paul Rodgers – He sang with Queen from 2004 to 2009.
Adam Lambert – He has been singing with Queen since 2009.

Popular Songs from Queen's Albums

Queen has released many albums with hit songs. Here are some of their most famous tracks from different albums:

Queen (1973) – "Keep Yourself Alive"
Queen II (1974) – "Seven Seas of Rhye"
Sheer Heart Attack (1974) – "Killer Queen"
A Night at The Opera (1975) – "Bohemian Rhapsody", "You're My Best Friend", "I'm In Love With My Car"
A Day at the Races (1976) – "Somebody to Love", "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy"
News of the World (1977) – "We Are The Champions" and "We Will Rock You" (released together)
Jazz (1978) – "Bicycle Race", "Fat Bottomed Girls" (released together), "Don't Stop Me Now"
The Game (1980) – "Another One Bites the Dust", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
Flash Gordon (1980) – "Flash's Theme"
Hot Space (1982) – "Under Pressure"
The Works (1984) – "Radio Ga Ga", "I Want To Break Free", "Hammer To Fall"
A Kind of Magic (1986) – "One Vision", "A Kind of Magic", "Who Wants to Live Forever"
The Miracle (1989) – "I Want It All"
Innuendo (1991) – "The Show Must Go On", "These Are the Days of Our Lives"
Made in Heaven (1995) – "Heaven For Everyone"
The Cosmos Rocks (2008) – "C-lebrity"

Queen's Studio Albums

Here is a list of all the studio albums Queen has released:

Queen (1973)
Queen II (1974)
Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
A Night at the Opera (1975)
A Day at the Races (1976)
News of the World (1977)
Jazz (1978)
The Game (1980)
Flash Gordon (1980)
Hot Space (1982)
The Works (1984)
A Kind of Magic (1986)
The Miracle (1989)
Innuendo (1991)
Made in Heaven (1995)

Images for kids

Queen in 1970. From left to right: Mike Grose, Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Brian May.
A special award marking Queen's first performance in London on July 18, 1970.
A Queen guitar (on the right) at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. It marks a Queen concert there on October 31, 1970.
A Queen poster for their 1977 A Day at the Races Tour.
Queen with famous Argentine football player Diego Maradona (in the middle) during their "The Game Tour" in South America.
Queen recorded six of their albums at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland, between 1978 and 1995. This studio is now open to fans.
A statue of Freddie Mercury looking over Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland.
Queen's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California.
Queen performing with Paul Rodgers during their 2005 tour.
A Queen + Paul Rodgers concert in Kharkiv's Freedom Square, Ukraine, on September 12, 2008.
A Queen + Adam Lambert concert at the TD Garden in Boston in July 2014.
Brian May playing his special guitar, the Red Special, at the O2 Arena in London in 2017. He has used this guitar almost always since the band started.
The Queen band logo (without the crest).
Freddie Mercury performing in a unique half-black, half-white outfit.
A statue of Freddie Mercury at the Dominion Theatre in London. The musical We Will Rock You, based on Queen's songs, played here for many years.
The We Will Rock You musical being performed in Tokyo, Japan, in November 2006.
A 2012 DVD and CD set of Queen's live concert in Budapest, Hungary.
Robbie Williams on stage in 2015 with a Queen image behind him. He sang "We Are the Champions" for a movie in 2001.
Gold and silver awards given by EMI in 1982 for Queen's Greatest Hits album (1981). It's Queen’s best-selling album, with over 25 million copies sold.
When he was 10 years old, Thom Yorke from the band Radiohead made his own guitar to try and be like Brian May.