Queen Illustration

$95.00$495.00

Queen Illustration shown here in a composite of the group from October 28, 1976 with Freddie Mercury age 30, Brian May age 29, John Deacon age 25 and Roger Taylor age 27.

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals and piano), Brian May (lead guitar and vocals), Roger Taylor (drums and vocals) and John Deacon (bass guitar). Their 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.

Before forming Queen, May and Taylor had played together in the band Smile. Mercury was a fan of Smile and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques. He joined in 1970 and suggested the name “Queen”. Deacon was recruited before the band recorded their eponymous debut album in 1973.

Having attended art college, Mercury also designed Queen’s logo, called the Queen crest, shortly before the release of the band’s first album. The logo combines the zodiac signs of all four members: two lions for Leo (Deacon and Taylor), a crab for Cancer (May), and two fairies for Virgo (Mercury). The original logo, as found on the reverse-side of the cover of the band’s first album, was a simple line drawing. Later sleeves bore more intricate-colored versions of the logo.

In late 1975, Queen recorded and released A Night at the Opera, taking its name from the popular Marx Brothers movie. At the time, it was the most expensive album ever produced. The album also featured the hit single “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which was number one in the UK for nine weeks.
It is the only single ever to sell a million copies on two separate occasions and has also been voted the greatest song of all time in three different polls.

On the impact of the “Bohemian Rhapsody” promotional video, Rolling Stone states: “Its influence cannot be overstated, practically inventing the music video seven years before MTV went on the air.”

In mid-1986, Queen went on the Magic Tour, their final tour with Freddie Mercury. The Magic Tour’s highlight was at Wembley Stadium in London and resulted in the live double album Queen at Wembley, released on CD and as a live concert VHS/DVD, which has gone five times platinum in the US and four times platinum in the UK.
Queen could not book Wembley for a third night, but played at Knebworth Park. The show sold out within two hours and over 120,000 fans packed the park for what was Queen’s final performance with Mercury. More than one million people saw Queen on the tour—400,000 in the UK alone, a record at the time.

Queen’s greatest hits: “Killer Queen”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “You’re My Best Friend”, “Somebody to Love”, “We Are the Champions”, “We Will Rock You”, “Fat Bottomed Girls”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust” to name a few.

After fans noticed Mercury’s increasingly gaunt appearance in 1988, the media reported that Mercury was seriously ill, with AIDS frequently mentioned as a likely illness. Mercury denied this, insisting he was merely “exhausted” and too busy to provide interviews; he was now 42 years old and had been involved in music for nearly two decades. Mercury had in fact been diagnosed as HIV positive in 1987, but did not make his illness public, with only his inner circle of colleagues and friends aware of his condition.

On November 23, 1991, in a prepared statement made on his deathbed, Mercury confirmed that he had AIDS. Within 24 hours of the statement, he died of bronchial pneumonia, which was brought on as a complication of AIDS.

He was 45.

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Description

All prints are produced using Giclee printing process which is used for archival art reproduction. This process uses fade-resistant archival pigment-based ink which lasts over 100 years. All prints are printed on 310GSM, Luxurious mould-made, 100% cotton rag Archival Certified watercolor paper.

Archival Conservation Mat is included with your purchase. Mat is a high quality, 4 ply (1/16″) surround mat. These frame mats are acid-free & Lignin-free made with 100% virgin alpha-cellulose surface, core and backing papers. So your caricature with mat will fit into a standard comparable frame either “20” x 24″ or “16” x 20″ depending on the print size, (frame not included). Price also includes a Backer Board.

32″ x 40″ stretch canvas print is produced by Giclee printing process and are hand stretched over heavy duty American made white pine. The canvas print is varnished twice after printing. The canvas prints are ready to hang (complete with hanging wire).

Additional information

Weight .25 lbs
Dimensions 16 × 20 × .25 in
Print Size

32" x 40" Stretched Canvas Print $495, 20" x 24" Stretched Canvas Print $330, 11" x 14" Watercolor Print $95, 16" x 20" Watercolor Print $185