VHI CLASSIC RADIO REPORT
2011 marked the 40th anniversary of Queen and the band made sure to celebrate with a slew of releases of all kinds and plans for something big. Starting in March, the group re-issued their records and included bonus material. They also put out some previously unreleased tracks and discussed doing it more with unheard archived material, including old demos with singer Freddie Mercury and a collaboration with Michael Jackson. Some big news came from the band in September when drummer Roger Taylor announced plans for the Queen Extravaganza, an upcoming tour featuring what the rocker describes as an ultimate Queen tribute band, with the members of it chosen in an online competition. Also this year, Freddie Mercury would have celebrated his 65th birthday.
TIDBIT: A biopic about Freddie Mercury is also in the works with Sacha Baron Cohen starring as the singer.TIDBIT: Queen interacted with their fans in a few ways this year. Along with the Queen Extravaganza, they also held a contest for the best remix of their song “Don’t Stop Me Now,” and asked fans to help them by submitting videos for their 1977 track “Sheer Heart Attack.”
TIDBIT: In October, researchers at Goldsmiths University studying what makes songs catchy named the band’s 1977 hit “We Are the Champions” the catchiest tune ever.
TIDBIT: Queen were honored with the Global Icon Award at the 2011 MTV European Music Awards.
TIDBIT: Guitarist Brian May said in an interview this year that he was so upset after Freddie Mercury died that he considered suicide.