QUEEN – A NIGHT AT THE OPERA LP – Nr MINT FIRST PRESS UK 1975  MERCURY MAY

Queen – A Night At The Opera
(EMI Records  1975  EMTC103)
UK Pressing
Matrix No’s: YAX 5063-2  BLAIR’S   H   1  / YAX 5064-2  BLAIR’S  GG   3

G&L Embossed Gatefold Sleeve in Excellent condition
– some wear/discolouration on the front & back
Three Corner Cut Inner Sleeve has a 2.5 inch split in the bottom

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality – at the very end of God Save The Queen at the end of the record there a few light clicks)

Queen are a British rock band that formed in London in 1970. Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (lead guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), and John Deacon (bass guitar). Queen’s earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock, into their music.

Before forming Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor had played together in a band named Smile. Freddie Mercury (then known by his birth name of Farrokh “Freddie” Bulsara) was a fan of Smile and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques. Mercury joined the band in 1970, suggested “Queen” as a new band name, and adopted his familiar stage name. John Deacon was recruited before the band recorded their eponymous debut album in 1973. Queen first charted in the UK with their second album, Queen II, in 1974, but it was the release of Sheer Heart Attack later that year and A Night at the Opera in 1975 which brought them international success. The latter featured “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which stayed at number one in the UK for nine weeks and popularised the music video.

The band’s 1977 album News of the World contained “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”, which have become anthems at sporting events. By the early 1980s, Queen were one of the biggest stadium rock bands in the world. Released in 1980, “Another One Bites the Dust” is their best selling single, while their 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits is the best-selling album in the UK and is certified eight times platinum in the US. Their performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert has been ranked among the greatest in rock history by various music publications, and the best in a 2005 industry poll. In 1991, Mercury died of bronchopneumonia, a complication of AIDS, and Deacon retired in 1997. Since then, May and Taylor have performed under the name of Queen with Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert as vocalists on several tours.

The band have released a total of 18 number-one albums, 18 number-one singles, and 10 number-one DVDs. Estimates of their record sales generally range from 150 million to 300 million records, making them one of the world’s best-selling music artists. Queen received the Outstanding Contribution to British Music Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1990. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by British rock group Queen, released in November 1975. Co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen, it was the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release. A commercial success, A Night at the Opera has been voted by the public and cited by music publications as one of Queen’s finest works.

The album takes its name from the Marx Brothers film A Night at the Opera, which the band watched one night at the studio complex when recording. It was originally released by EMI in the UK, where it topped the UK Albums Chart for four non-consecutive weeks, and Elektra Records in the US, where it peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and became the band’s first platinum selling album in the US.

Track listing

Personnel

• Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, piano, jangle piano, woodwind vocalisations^{[disambiguation needed]} on “Seaside Rendezvous”
• Brian May – guitars, ukelele, backing vocals, lead vocals on “’39” and “Good Company”, toy koto on “The Prophet’s Song”, harp on “Love of My Life”
• Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, lead vocals on “I’m in Love with My Car”, brass vocalisations on “Seaside Rendezvous”, backing vocals
• John Deacon – bass guitar, double-bass, electric piano, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Mike Stone – executive engineer
• Gary Lyons – invaluable additional engineering
• John Harris – equipment supervision
• David Costa – art direction
• Rick Curtin and Brian Palmer – special thanks
• John Reid – management