Queen formed in 1970 in London, initially under the name Smile , by guitarist Brian May and bassist Tim Staffell . After an audition arranged through a newspaper advertisement, drummer Roger Taylor joined the band. With the addition of vocalist Freddie Mercury , the band changed its name to Queen and auditioned several bassists before settling on John Deacon in 1971.
In 1973, Queen released their first album, which bore the band's name, immediately impressing critics. Later, the album would go gold in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1974, Queen released their second album, Queen II , which brought the band immediate success and topped the UK charts with the hit "Seven Seas of Rhye". But it was only with their third album, Sheer Heart Attack , released in the same year, that Queen achieved international fame. The hit "Killer Queen" reached number one on the US charts.
Queen then released a series of albums that were very well received by both the public and critics. A Night At The Opera (1975), the most expensive album produced up to that point, featured "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Love Of My Life," and "You're My Best Friend." A Day At The Races (1976) included "Somebody to Love," News Of The World (1977) launched "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions," Jazz (1978) featured "Don't Stop Me Now" and "Bicycle Race," and in 1980, The Game included "Another One Bites The Dust."
In 1981, Queen came to Brazil for the first time, playing at the Morumbi Stadium for over 130,000 people, at the time the largest audience for a single band in history. In '82, the band released Hot Space , an album that launched the single "Under Pressure," and in '84 , The Works , which included "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want To Break Free." In '86, Queen released A Kind Of Magic , in '89 The Miracle , and in '91, their last album before Freddie Mercury's death, Innuendo .
On October 23, 1991, Mercury confirmed rumors that he was suffering from AIDS. The statement, made on his deathbed, came a day before his death from pneumonic bronchitis, a disease he suffered as a consequence of AIDS. The following year, a tribute concert to the vocalist brought together various names in music, from Metallica to Annie Lennox , and was named in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest benefit concert in history, raising £20 million for charities supporting AIDS victims.
During the 1990s, Queen released one more album featuring vocals by Mercury recorded before his death, Made In Heaven (1995). In 1997, John Deacon announced his retirement from the band to spend time with his family. Since then, Brian May and Roger Taylor have performed numerous times under the name Queen+ , with different guest vocalists, the most enduring being Adam Lambert and Paul Rodgers , with whom the band even released an album of unreleased material, The Cosmos Rocks . In 2014, the band released Queen Forever , which featured unreleased tracks with Freddie Mercury and John Deacon.
Queen is currently considered one of the greatest rock and roll bands, and Freddie Mercury one of the most influential and important vocalists in history. The band has sold over 300 million albums worldwide, and eighteen of their singles have reached the top of the world charts.
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