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.
The band drew artistic influences from British rock acts of the 1960s and early
1970s, such as the Beatles, the Kinks, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the
Who, Black Sabbath, Slade, Deep Purple, David Bowie, Genesis and Yes, in
addition to American guitarist Jimi Hendrix, with Mercury also inspired by the
gospel singer Aretha Franklin. May referred to the Beatles as being "our
bible in the way they used the studio and they painted pictures and this wonderful
instinctive use of harmonies."
At their outset in the early 1970s, Queen's music has been characterised as
"Led Zeppelin meets Yes" due to its combination of
"acoustic/electric guitar extremes and fantasy-inspired multi-part song
epics". They have been recognised as having made significant contributions
to such genres as hard rock, and heavy metal, among others. Hence, the band
have been cited as an influence by many other musicians.
Many scholars consider the "Bohemian Rhapsody" music video ground-breaking,
and credit it with popularising the medium.
