There’s not much to be said that hasn’t already been said when it comes to Queen. Simply put, it’s a legendary rock band led by perhaps the most flamboyan Though Brian May is among rock’s guitar greats, and and Roger Taylor solely created some of the group’s most memorable music.t and vocally gifted frontmen in Freddie Mercury. It’s not easy piecing together the perfect Queen playlist. But we’ll give it a try.
Sure, Queen is responsible for some of the most intricate and creative rock music of all time. However, the band also produced a truly memorable theme to 1980’s Flash Gordon. There are a couple of versions, including one that offers dialogue from the movie itself, but either one features a stellar opening bass line from John Deacon. While the song failed to crack the Top 40 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 in the United States, it was a top-10 hit in the United Kingdom.
It might be a surprise for some to learn that 1980’s The Game is the only Queen album to top the Billboard200 in the U.S. Then again, the band’s popularity was growing thanks to both classic rock and Top 40 radio playing their music. “Play the Game” is the opening number from the album, and it sounded a bit strange to longtime Queen fans since it incorporated the synthesizer into the band’s repertoire — something not done on previous records. Still, Freddie Mercury is vocally at his best, those legendary Queen harmonies are tight, and Brian May continued to shred on lead guitar.
Reportedly, the famed Tour de France cycling race inspired Freddie Mercury to write what became one of Queen’s most recognizable hits. “Bicycle Race” is a quirky track, much like the rest of the Jazz (1978) album on which it resides. The song has almost a Broadway musical flare to it. Still, it reached No. 24 on the Hot 100 in the U.S. and was a top-15 hit in the United Kingdom.
