Brian May - Queen CDs, DVDs and Guitar Tablature Online at UKguitars.com

Arguably Britain's most consistently successful band of the past three decades, Queen began life as a glam rock unit in 1972. Astronomy student

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Brian May (b. 19 July 1947, Twickenham, Middlesex, England; guitar) and Roger Taylor (b. Roger Meddows-Taylor, 26 July 1949, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, England; drums) had been playing in Johnny Quale And The Reactions, Beat Unlimited and a college group called Smile with bass player Tim Staffell. When the latter left to join Humpty Bong (featuring former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen), May and Taylor elected to form a new band with vocalist Freddie Mercury (b. Frederick Bulsara, 5 September 1946, Zanzibar, Africa, d. 24 November 1991, London, England).

Early in 1971 bass player John Deacon (b. 19 August 1951, Oadby, Leicestershire, England) completed the line-up. Queen were signed to EMI Records late in 1972 and launched the following spring with a gig at London's Marquee club. Soon after the failed single, "Keep Yourself Alive", they issued a self-titled album, which was an interesting fusion of 70s glam and late 60s heavy rock (it had been preceded by a Mercury "solo" single, a cover of the Beach Boys' "I Can Hear Music", credited to Larry Lurex). Queen toured extensively and recorded a second album, which fulfilled their early promise by reaching the UK Top 5. Soon afterwards, "Seven Seas Of Rhye" gave them their first hit single (UK number 10), while Sheer Heart Attack consolidated their commercial standing by reaching number 2 in the UK album charts. "Killer Queen" from the album was also the band's first US hit, reaching number 12 in May 1975.

The pomp and circumstance of Queen's recordings and live act were embodied in the outrageously camp theatrics of the satin-clad Mercury, who was swiftly emerging as one of rock's most notable showmen during the mid-70s. 1975 was to prove a watershed in the group's career. After touring the Far East, they entered the studio with their producer Roy Thomas Baker and completed the epic "Bohemian Rhapsody", in which Mercury succeeded in transforming a seven-minute single into a mini-opera. The track was both startling and unique in pop and dominated the Christmas charts in the UK, remaining at number 1 for an astonishing nine weeks. The power of the single was reinforced by an elaborate video production, highly innovative for its period and later much copied by other acts. An attendant album named after a Marx Brothers movie, A Night At The Opera, was one of the most expensive and expansive albums of its period and lodged at number 1 in the UK, as well as hitting the US Top 5. Queen were now aspiring to the superstar bracket. Their career thereafter was a carefully marketed succession of hit singles, annual albums and extravagantly produced stage shows.