Queen stand as one of the most inventive and ambitious rock bands in history. Formed in London in 1970, the group merged hard rock, glam, opera, funk, and pop into a sound that was entirely their own. At the center was Freddie Mercury, whose four-octave vocal range and magnetic stage presence made him one of the greatest frontmen to ever live. Brian May's orchestral guitar work, Roger Taylor's thunderous drumming, and John Deacon's melodic bass lines completed a lineup where every member contributed hit songs.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" shattered the rules of pop songwriting, "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" became universal stadium anthems, and their legendary 1985 Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium is widely regarded as the greatest live rock performance of all time. Mercury's death from AIDS in 1991 ended the classic lineup, but Queen's music has only grown in stature. With over 300 million records sold, they remain one of the best-selling acts in history.
Farrokh Bulsara — born in Zanzibar (now Tanzania) to Parsi Indian parents. He moved to England as a teenager and legally changed his name to Freddie Mercury before Queen became famous.
A PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London — awarded in 2007, a full 37 years after he started the degree. He put it on hold when Queen took off, eventually returning to complete his thesis on "A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud."
Queen's 20-minute set at Wembley Stadium — seen by an estimated 1.9 billion TV viewers worldwide — is routinely ranked #1 in polls of the greatest live rock performances. Critically, they were reportedly the only act that day who didn't use a backing tape.
Nearly 6 minutes — unheard of for a commercial pop single in 1975. Queen's label wanted it cut down significantly. The band refused. It hit #1 in the UK and stayed there for 9 straight weeks.
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