QUEEN – DEBUT LP – Nr MINT UK  FREDDIE MERCURY BRIAN MAY

Queen – Debut
(EMI/Fame Records  1982  FA3040)
Matrix No’s: YAX 4623-6  GG  NICK XX / YAX 4624-5 BLAIR 7 3 – UK Pressing

Sleeve in Excellent/Very Good+ condition
– scuffing/tearing along spine edge

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)

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 Smile. Mercury, then known by his birth name, Farrokh “Freddie” Bulsara, was a fan of Smile and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques. Mercury joined in 1970, suggested the name “Queen”, and adopted his familiar stage name. 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 also helped to popularise 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. “Another One Bites the Dust” (1980) became 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. In 1991, Mercury died of bronchopneumonia, a complication of AIDS, and Deacon retired in 1997. May and Taylor have performed under the Queen name with Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert as vocalists on tours since.

Estimates of their record sales 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. Each member of Queen has composed multiple hit singles, and all four band members were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003.

Queen is the eponymous debut album by the British rock group, released in July 1973. It was recorded at Trident Studios and De Lane Lea Music Centre, London, with production by Roy Thomas Baker (as Roy Baker), John Anthony and Queen.

The album was influenced by the progressive rock, hard rock, and heavy metal of the day and covers subjects such as folklore (“My Fairy King”) and religion (“Jesus”). Lead singer Freddie Mercury composed five of the ten tracks, guitarist Brian May composed four songs, including “Doing All Right”, which was co-written by Smile band-mate Tim Staffell, and drummer Roger Taylor composed and sang “Modern Times Rock and Roll”. The final song on the album is a short instrumental version of “Seven Seas of Rhye”. The band included the comment ‘And nobody played synthesiser’ on the album sleeve, a purist principle of May’s, as some listeners had mistaken their elaborate multi-tracking and effects processed by guitar and vocal sounds as synthesisers. Bassist John Deacon was credited on the sleeve notes of the original vinyl release as “Deacon John”.

Track listing

Personnel

• Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, piano, Hammond organ on “Liar”
• Brian May – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, vocal bridge on “Keep Yourself Alive”, piano on “Doing All Right”
• Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll”, vocal bridge on “Keep Yourself Alive”, percussion
• John Deacon (“Deacon John”) – bass guitar, acoustic guitar

Additional personnel

• John Anthony – producer, backing vocals on “Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll”
• Roy Thomas Baker – producer, sound engineer
• Mike Stone – sound engineer
• Ted Sharpe – sound engineer