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.
Freddie Mercury performing onstage wearing a harlequin one-piece at Brøndby Hallen, Copenhagen in 1977
Freddie Mercury and Brian May photographed on Queens first solo British tour on October 30th 1974 at Manchester’s Palace Theatre.
Freddie Mercury onstage with Queen at the Brøndby Hallen, Copenhagen in 1977 on their A Day At The Races Tour
The first ever studio shoot with Queen. Photographer Johnny Dewe Mathews captures the early days of Freddie Mercurys vision.
Freddie live at the Rainbow Theatre in March 1974 wearing a Zandra Rhodes creation.
With Freddie it was immediately apparent that I was in the presence of a charismatic visionary, he set the dress sense for the whole band.
Freddie Mercury onstage with Queen at the Brøndby Hallen, Copenhagen in 1977 on their A Day At The Races Tour
This shoot of Madness in New York City in February 1980 was for Issue No.1 of a new magazine that developed cult status, The Face.
Jimi Hendrix after performing on Lulu's TV show in London in January 1969
Rare contact sheet by David Corio with a fantastic selection of images of Bob Marley performing in London in 1980.
Joy Division (originally named Warsaw), an English rock band formed in 1976 were one of the pioneers of the post-punk movement.
Madonna transcended the term 'pop star' into a global icon & is regarded as the most influential female recording artist of all time.
Oasis were an English rock music band formed in Manchester in 1991, to date the band have sold over 70 million records worldwide.
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. they have dubbed their music simply "rock and roll".
Here are the very latest prints we have added to our collection. We hope you love them as much as we do.
The Rolling Stones have been entertaining audiences for more than 50 years. Our collections share the best images spanning their career
Our contact sheet collection is a rare opportunity to look back at the hidden moments surrounding some of rocks most iconic images.
Welcome to our Jazz & Blues Print Collection - over 50 years of iconic images of the world's greatest Jazz & Blues musicians
