Queen 40th Anniversary
The legions of Queen fans across the world are in for a real treat in 2011 with the year long events for the Queen 40th Anniversary.
It is 40 years since Freddie Mercury joined a band called Smile, formed in 1968 by guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, the arrival of John Deacon completed the group and the legendary rock band Queen was born. In 1973 Queen signed a contract with EMI and that was when the world of rock was stunned by what many still believe to be the greatest rock band ever.
Mercury was the mesmeric frontman. The man with the amazing voice with incredible range , at once operatic and powerful, or exquisitely sensitive He was flamboyant, eccentric, outrageous yet charismatic. Then there is the superb bass guitarist and lyricist John Deacon, the unique guitarist Brian May and the power of drummer Roger Taylor. This was a mix of such powerful talent that it could not fail. Their popularity and success was phenomenal, they were a worldwide rock sensation which resulted in sales of over 300million albums. The band received seven Ivor Novello Awards, a place in the Guiness Book Of Records for "Bohemian Rhapsody" the top British single of all time and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The world of rock was deeply saddened by the premature death of Freddie Mercury almost 20 years ago and the retirement from the band of John Deacon in 1997. However, determined to keep the legend group alive Brian May and Roger Taylor signed a new contract with Universal Music in August 2010 and are at the forefront of the Queen 40th Anniversary celebrations. The re-mastered Queen's Greatest Hits and Greatest Hits2 were re-issued on 1st January 2011 and there is a lot more to come.
The highlight of the 40th anniversary celebrations is the re-issue of Queen's 15 album studio catalog. Each one will be released in a two cd edition, the first a re-issue and re-mastered edition of original tracks and the second a delight of unheard gems.
March saw the release of Queen's first five albums –"Queen", "Queen11", "Sheer Heart Attack", "A Night At The Opera" and A "Day at the Races." more
Each has been perfectly re-mastered by Bob Ludwig so they are fresh and clear without loss of authenticity. This is quality re-mastering. Even if you already own your Queen collection the quality of these re-releases will astound you. There is a clarity of sound there with the vocals, drums, bass and guitar which was not evident in the originals. Thanks to the mastery of Bob Ludwig and modern technology we can rediscover the talent, sounds and sensations of Queen brought bang up to date for Queen 40th anniversary 2011.
Queen 40 by Queen will be released on 4th April and is available to pre-order now
The Queen 40 Box Set will be available in May. This contains the first five studio albums and room for the further ten albums to be released throughout 2011.