Re-live the very first time Queen were heard on radio in this archive BBC John Peel session performance of ‘My Fairy King’.
John Peel “this is the first broadcast the group’s had, so it’s nice to have them along.”
Recorded: Monday 5th February 1973 at Langham 1 studio, London.
Broadcast: Thursday 15th February 1973.
Queen On Air – My Fairy King (Lyric Video)
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEIfjRpM1jI
ORDER QUEEN ON AIR:
Box Set: | 2-CD Queen On Air The Complete BBC Radio Sessions Available as 2-CD set and 3-LP set
Collector’s Edition 6-CD set with added live concert broadcasts and radio interviews
Released globally November 4 on Virgin EMI. Hollywood Records for North America.
Queen’s meteoric ascendancy during the 1970s has been well documented. From their gloriously ambitious self-titled debut album of 1973 through to the album that put them in the superstar bracket, 1975’s A Night At The Opera, and beyond, this unique group carved out a singular path as the most visionary, inventive and charismatic band of that epic decade.
But there is another side to Queen’s rise that has been largely overlooked. Between February 1973 and October 1977, the band recorded six radio sessions exclusively for the BBC. The twenty four landmark recordings include alternate versions of the debut single, unique takes of classic album tracks and a radically reworked reimagining of one of their best known anthems that has never previously appeared on any Queen studio release.
Now, for the very first time, all six Queen BBC sessions – meticulously restored by Queen engineer Kris Fredriksson and mastered by Grammy Award winner Adam Ayan – have been brought together on Queen On Air, released on November 4 by Virgin EMI. North America through Hollywood Records. Available as a 2-CD set and a 3-LP vinyl edition, plus a Deluxe 6-disc edition featuring a CD of live broadcasts and 3 CDs of radio interviews, Queen On Air is an essential addition for connoisseurs of the band.
Queen’s very first session for the BBC, which opens Queen On Air, dates from February 1973, five months before the release of the band’s debut album and single.
Imagine that you are listening to the radio in February 1973; no-one in the world has heard any Queen recordings EVER! John Peel plays ‘My Fairy King’, the very first Queen song to be broadcast on radio anywhere, and the story begins. He follows with ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, the laidback ‘Doing All Right’ and the epic rock-operetta ‘Liar’ – all of which serve notice of the arrival of a major new musical force, five months before the release of their debut album and single.
This version of ‘My Fairy King’ has a less polished feel about it than the album cut, offering a subtle alternative. The lead and backing vocals are clearer and more defined. Having played this version, John Peel makes a significant observation: “That’s the first from Queen and, as far as I know, this is the first broadcast the group’s had, so it’s nice to have them along.” He is right, ‘My Fairy King’ from this session was Queen’s worldwide radio debut.
Brian May describes ‘My Fairy King’ – one of Freddie’s often overlooked compositions – as being an early predecessor to the iconic Baroque and avant-garde stylings of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ that would set the band apart from their peers.
Brian May:
“This was the first time we’d really seen Freddie working at his full capacity. He’s virtually a self-taught pianist, and he was making vast strides at the time, although we didn’t have a piano on stage at that point because it would have been impossible to fix up. So, in the studio was the first chance Freddie had to do his piano things and we actually got that sound of the piano and the guitar working for the first time which was very exciting. ‘My Fairy King’ was the first of these sort of epics where there were lots of voice overdubs and harmonies. Freddie got into this, and that led to ‘The March of The Black Queen’ on the second album and then ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ later on.”
Queen had been playing the UK live circuit for less than three years by early 1973, yet were fast becoming an accomplished live act. Though they had signed a publishing contract, they were still looking for a record deal and so a session broadcast on prime-time national radio offered invaluable exposure.
BBC radio’s profile afforded new bands like Queen – who had not yet released an album or single and were largely unknown – the rare opportunity to showcase themselves nationally and to reach new fans and record company scouts alike.
The venue for this session was Langham 1 studio, owned by the BBC and situated next door to Broadcasting House in Portland Place, London. Though booked for just this one session, the response from Radio 1 listeners was such that the band was invited back numerous times, recording a total of six sessions – twenty four new and alternative recordings – between 1973 and 1977. The release of Queen On Air sees the very first time they have all been available together.
Queen On Air Full Tracklisting
2-CD Edition:
The Complete BBC Radio Sessions:
Available formats: Physical + digital & streaming
CD1
Session 1:
1. My Fairy King
2. Keep Yourself Alive
3. Doing All Right
4. Liar Session 2:
5. See What A Fool I’ve Been
6. Keep Yourself Alive
7. Liar
8. Son And Daughter Session 3:
9. Ogre Battle
10. Modern Times Rock’n’Roll
11. Great King Rat
12. Son And Daughter
CD2
Session 4:
1. Modern Times Rock’n’Roll
2. Nevermore
3. White Queen (As It Began) Session 5:
4. Now I’m Here
5. Stone Cold Crazy
6. Flick Of The Wrist
7. Tenement Funster
Session 6:
8. We Will Rock You
9. We Will Rock You (Fast)
10. Spread Your Wings
11. It’s Late
12. My Melancholy Blues
3-LP Vinyl Edition: The Complete BBC Radio Sessions:
Side 1 – Session 1
1. My Fairy King
2. Keep Yourself Alive
3. Doing All Right
4. Liar
Side 2 –Session 2
1. See What A Fool I’ve Been
2. Keep Yourself Alive
3. Liar
4. Son And Daughter
Side 3 – Session 3
1. Ogre Battle
2. Modern Times Rock’n’Roll
3. Great King Rat
4. Son And Daughter
Side 4 – Session 4
1. Modern Times Rock’n’Roll
2. Nevermore
3. White Queen (As It Began)
Side 5 – Session 5
1. Now I’m Here
2. Stone Cold Crazy
3. Flick Of The Wrist
4. Tenement Funster
Side 6 – Session 6
1. We Will Rock You
2. We Will Rock You (Fast)
3. Spread Your Wings
4. It’s Late
5. My Melancholy Blues
Deluxe 6-CD Edition
CD1: The Complete BBC Radio Sessions
Session 1:
1. My Fairy King
2. Keep Yourself Alive
3. Doing All Right
4. Liar
Session 2:
5. See What A Fool I’ve Been
6. Keep Yourself Alive
7. Liar
8. Son And Daughter
Session 3:
9. Ogre Battle
10. Modern Times Rock’n’Roll
11. Great King Rat
12. Son And Daughter
CD2:
The Complete BBC Radio Sessions
Session 4:
1. Modern Times Rock’n’Roll
2. Nevermore
3. White Queen (As It Began)
Session 5:
4. Now I’m Here
5. Stone Cold Crazy
6. Flick Of The Wrist
7. Tenement Funster
Session 6:
8. We Will Rock You
9. We Will Rock You (Fast)
10. Spread Your Wings
11. It’s Late
12. My Melancholy Blues
CD3: Queen Live On Air
Golders Green Hippodrome, London, 13th September 1973:
1. Procession (Intro Tape)
2. Father To Son
3. Son And Daughter
4. Guitar Solo
5. Son And Daughter (Reprise)
6. Ogre Battle
7. Liar
8. Jailhouse Rock
Estádio Do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil, 20th March 1981:
9. Intro
10. We Will Rock You (Fast)
11. Let Me Entertain You
12. I’m In Love With My Car
13. Alright Alright
14. Dragon Attack
15. Now I’m Here
16. Love Of My Life
Maimmarktgelände, Mannheim, Germany, 21st June 1986:
17. A Kind Of Magic
18. Vocal Improvisation
19. Under Pressure
20. Is This The World We Created
21. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care
22. Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)
23. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
24. God Save The Queen
CD4: Queen On Air: The Interviews (1976-1980)
Freddie Mercury With Kenny Everett (November 1976) / Queen with Tom Browne (Christmas 1977) / Roger Taylor with Richard Skinner (June 1979) / Roger Taylor with Tommy Vance (December 1980) / Roy Thomas Baker ‘The Record Producers’
CD5: Queen On Air: The Interviews: (1981-1986)
John Deacon, South American tour (March 1981) / Brian May ‘Rock On’ with John Tobler (June 1982) / Brian May ‘Saturday Live’ with Richard Skinner and Andy Foster (March 1984) / Freddie Mercury ‘Newsbeat’ (August 1984) / Brian May ‘Newsbeat’ (September 1984) / Freddie Mercury ‘Saturday Live’ (September 1984) / Freddie Mercury with Simon Bates (April 1985) / Brian May ‘The Way It Is’ with David ‘Kid’ Jensen (July 1986)
CD 6: Queen On Air: The Interviews (1986-1992)
Roger Taylor ‘My Top Ten’ with Andy Peebles (May 1986) / ‘Queen For An Hour’ with Mike Read (May 1989) / Brian May ‘Freddie And Too Much Love Will Kill You’ with Simon Bates (August 1982) / Brian May ‘Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert’ with Johnnie Walker (October 1992)