Queen, The #51 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

 Queen released the album The Game in 1980, which featured another huge hit, "Another One Bites The Dust".  It gave the group another #1 hit of three weeks and helped The Game go to #1 on the Album chart for five weeks.

The song won an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single and Queen was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group.  Queen also earned Grammy nominations for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Producer of the Year.

"Dragon Attack" was a Top Track*.  Another one penned by May, it is about a love for music, written at a time when fans wanted more songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody" (the "dragon on my back") and the group wanted to evolve and grow.

 

May wrote and played piano on this song after he was witness to the painful breakup of a friend's marriage--"Save Me".

 

The Game has now sold over four million copies.  "Play The Game" was a hit in some countries and is a worthy track.  The dominant sounds in the instrumental section are from an Oberheim OB-X synthesizer.

Queen expanded their 1981 tour to include South America, playing before 300,000 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  They then recorded the single "Under Pressure" with David Bowie, which was a Top 10 hit in some European countries but success did not spread, falling far short at #29 in the United States.  

No less than 26 consecutive singles failed to reach the Top 10 in the U.S. until the re-release of "Bohemian Rhapsody".  Eighteen singles have failed since then.

The band released their compilation album Greatest Hits, now the best-selling album in the history of the U.K. charts.  It has sold over eight million copies in the U.S. and over 25 million worldwide.

In 1982, Queen released the album Hot Space which was a giant letdown.  The band had to cut an American tour short due to lack of interest.  After the tour, they switched from Elektra Records to EMI/Capitol.

Unable to fill venues, Queen took a year off from touring.  May and Taylor released solo projects before the group released the album The Works in 1984.  Once again, it failed in the U.S. but was a successful seller in the U.K.  Europe loved "Radio Ga Ga" but it stopped at #11 in Canada and #16 in the U.S.

May wrote this one about the trigger-happy leaders of the world.  "Hammer To Fall".

Similarly, "I Want To Break Free" reached the Top 10 everywhere except North America.  Session musician Fred Mandel played the famous solo on a Roland synthesizer keyboard.

Queen's tour included dates in South Africa, a violation of the cultural boycott of the apartheid country.  When they returned, the group was placed on the United Nation's blacklisted artists.

In 1985, Queen played before 300,000 people on consecutive nights at the Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro.  They then played at Live Aid in London's Wembley Stadium later in the year and released the boxed set The Complete Works.

In 1986, Queen released the album A Kind of Magic before going on tour.  They played before one million people, including a then-record 400,000 in the U.K.

 

"One Vision" is a great rocker from the album, inspired by their experience at Live Aid, where the world really could come together.

Contrast that song with the haunting ballad "Who Wants To Live Forever" and fans are treated to the versatility of this amazing group.  May wrote this for the movie Highlander.

 

The band released the album The Miracle in 1989.  The single "I Want It All" reached the Top 10 everywhere except Austria (where it was #11) and the United States, with a peak of #50.

"Breakthru", the union of the song "A New Life Is Born" (an unreleased song by Mercury) and a song written mostly by Taylor with contributions from the rest of the group, is a Top Track*.

Meanwhile, Mercury was diagnosed as being HIV positive back in 1987, although he denied to the media that anything was wrong.  Mercury and Queen continued to record and perform as if that was the case, releasing the album Innuendo, now on Hollywood Records, in 1991.  The last great Mercury-penned song is "The Show Must Go On".  May was worried Freddie wouldn't be able to sing it, but he came through in flying colors.

Later in the year, the band released the compilation Greatest Hits II, which has sold over 16 million copies around the world.  

Finally, Mercury admitted that he had AIDS on November 23.  Within 24 hours, he died.  

In 1992, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was included on the soundtrack to Wayne's World and renewed popularity led to the re-release of the single.  This time, it rocketed up to #2 for five weeks in the United States and Queen earned an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a movie.  The compilation Classic Queen reached #4 and sold over three million copies.

 

In 1995, Queen released the album Made in Heaven, which contained work done by Mercury prior to his death.  The single "Heaven For Everyone" did not generate significant worldwide interest, but it is still a worthy track.

 

May wrote "Too Much Love Will Kill You" between the albums A Kind of Magic and the Miracle while he was going through marital problems.  Of all the songs he has written, he is proudest of this one.

 

"I Was Born To Love You" was originally a solo Mercury song.

After performing "The Show Must Go On" with Elton John in Paris, Elton encouraged Queen to go out on tour again.  In 1999, the group released the album Greatest Hits III.  Queen were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.  

In 2002, Queen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6358 Hollywood Boulevard and "Bohemian Rhapsody" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004.  

May and Taylor announced a reunion and that they would tour with Paul Rodgers, lead singer of Bad Company and Free, replacing Mercury as lead vocalist.  Deacon decided to stay in retirement.  Queen performed in the U.S., Europe and Japan.  

The arrangement with Rodgers worked out well and the new lineup released the album The Cosmos Rocks in 2008.  In 2011, Queen received the BMI Icon Award.  

Queen then hired Adam Lambert to sing lead onstage and they played in England, Russia, the Ukraine and Poland in 2012. Queen performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and with Lambert aboard, toured the U.S. in 2014.

The band released the album Queen Forever with three new tracks.  They toured Europe and Asia in 2016.

Queen collected 24 career hits, with four of those reaching the Top 10 and two going to #1.

Estimates of Queen sales range from 100 million to 300 million.  

The group won one American Music Award out of two nominations, was nominated for five Grammy Awards and won one MTV Video Music Award.