News of the World – Queen box set with unreleased material

The most interesting part of the new Queen box set is probably the newly created ‘alternative’ version of the whole album – Raw Sessions.
It features never-before-heard alternative versions of each of the album’s 11 tracks.

"Every lead vocal is different, as are most of the lead guitar parts and a great many other instrumental details.  Here we experience We Are The Champions anew, with many unfamiliar vocal and instrumental elements, and for the first time at its full-recorded length rather than the edited 1977 album cut.  Here also is the chance to discover peak era Freddie Mercury vocals on a track that nobody outside Queen’s inner circle has heard him sing before at all – Brian May’s All Dead, All Dead.  The original album version features May himself on vocals. Roger Taylor’s Sheer Heart Attack can be heard with its original long-lost guitar intro and uncut ending.  Taylor’s other song, Fight From The Inside, is more remarkable in that we hear his demo vocal worked on in his home studio in preparation for the next sessions, ‘homework’ that all of the band members would regularly carry out."

http://www.queenonline.com/news/press-release-news-of-the-world-40th-anniversary-edition

Queen and David Bowie recorded unreleased music together

1981 David Bowie and Queen had a big hit with Under Pressure. In an article in The Guardian this week Peter Hince, who was head of Queen's road crew, says he was present in the studio when they recorded the hit song but also more music that hasn't been released so far. Hince describes the music as proper full-length rock 'n roll tracks. Raw but good.

The article go on quoting Neil Cossar, a music historian currently writing a book on Bowie, saying that Bowie and Queen were just jamming in the studio playing covers and some original songs. But everything was recorded.

UK all time best selling albums: ABBA inches past The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper!

It's old news. But we never got around to reporting it in May, so here it is two months later:

ABBA's Greatest Hits collection Gold has passed The Beatles Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and is now the second best-selling UK album of all time. Queen's Greatest Hits is still #1.

Click this link for the current top 5.

Queen celebrates 40 years with exhibition

The rock group Queen celebrates its 40th anniversary.
On February 25 band members Roger Taylor and Brian May opened an exhibition in The Old Truman Brewery in London to mark the anniversary.
BBC News
The exhibition Stormtroopers In Stilettos

Freddie Mercury's mum whips it out

BBC has a nice interview with Jer Bulsara, 87, mother of rock star Freddie Mercury:
"He knew we wanted him to be a lawyer or an accountant or something like that, because most of his cousins were. But he'd say, 'I'm not that clever mum. I'm not that clever'".
Read the interview here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8369895.stm

Photo: http://www.queenonline.com

First Queen CD without Mercury

BBC reports that the group Queen will release its first studio album for 13 years, and the first without the vocals of Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991.
The CD, Cosmos Rocks, will feature ex-Free singer Paul Rodgers, who has toured with Queen since 2005.
In September the band will go on tour in Europe (including Russia).