Queen epitomized all the glittery excess of album-oriented rock in the 1970s, marrying the crunch of heavy metal to the pomp of prog rock then leavening the heady mixture with camp humor. It was an eccentric blend that proved surprisingly versatile, allowing for the mock-operatic "Bohemian Rhapsody," soaring arena rock like "Somebody to Love," thumping rockers like "Fat Bottomed Girls," the neo-rockabilly "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," and the disco excursion "Another One Bites the Dust." Queen's range proved that they were a deceptively egalitarian band: they're the only classic rock group where each member wrote at least one of the group's signature songs. Despite this division of labor, frontman Freddie Mercury commanded attention both during his life and after his death. A powerful singer with a penchant for drama, Mercury possessed an exaggerated charisma and a devilish sense of humor, qualities that made him one of the great rock stars of his generation. Queen's reign began in earnest with 1975's A Night at the Opera and lasted through The Game in 1980, a half-decade filled with big hits that turned into enduring standards. Although the hits weren't as big in the '80s, the group retained its international popularity through Mercury's death in 1991. After his passing, Queen's original LPs found a new audience, partially cultivated by surviving members Brian May and Roger Taylor tending to archival releases and staying on the road, either with Paul Rodgers or Adam Lambert as Mercury's replacement. Queen's legacy also was assisted by the 2018 release of Bohemian Rhapsody, a biopic of the band featuring Rami Malek in an Oscar-winning turn as Freddie Mercury.

The origins of Queen lay in the hard rock psychedelic group Smile, which guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor joined in 1967. Following the departure of Smile's lead vocalist, Tim Staffell, in 1971, May and Taylor formed a group with Freddie Mercury, the former lead singer for Wreckage. Within a few months, bassist John Deacon joined them, and they began rehearsing. Over the next two years, as all four members completed college, they simply rehearsed, playing just a handful of gigs. By 1973, they had begun to concentrate on their career, releasing their debut album, Queen, that year and setting out on their first tour. Produced by the band, along with Roy Thomas Baker and John Anthony, Queen was more or less a straight metal album and drew favorable comparisons to Led Zeppelin.

However, it was with their sophomore album, Queen II, that the band unexpectedly broke through in Britain in early 1974. Before its release, the band played Top of the Pops, performing "Seven Seas of Rhye." Both the song and the performance were smash successes, and the single rocketed into the Top Ten, setting the stage for Queen II to reach number five. Following its release, the group embarked on its first American tour, supporting Mott the Hoople. On the strength of their campily dramatic performances, the album climbed to number 43 in the States.

Queen released their third album, Sheer Heart Attack, before the end of 1974. The music hall-meets-Zeppelin "Killer Queen" climbed to number two on the U.K. charts, taking the album to number two as well. Sheer Heart Attack made some inroads in America, setting the stage for the breakthrough of 1975's A Night at the Opera. Queen labored long and hard over the record; according to many reports, it was the most expensive rock record ever made at the time of its release. The first single, "Bohemian Rhapsody," became Queen's signature song, and with its bombastic, mock-operatic structure punctuated by heavy metal riffing, encapsulated their ambitious, genre-bending musical vision. To support "Bohemian Rhapsody," Queen shot one of the first conceptual music videos, and the gamble paid off as the single spent nine weeks at number one in England, breaking the record for the longest run at number one. The song and A Night at the Opera were equally successful in America, as the album climbed into the Top Ten and quickly went platinum.

Following A Night at the Opera, Queen were established as superstars, yet they continued to work at a rapid rate. In the summer of 1976, they performed a free concert at London's Hyde Park that broke attendance records, and they released the hit single "Somebody to Love" a few months later. It was followed by A Day at the Races, which was essentially a scaled-down version of A Night at the Opera that reached number one in the U.K. and number five in the U.S. They continued to pile up hit singles in both Britain and America over the next five years, as each of their albums went into the Top Ten, always going gold and usually platinum in the process. Featuring the Top Five double-A-sided single "We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You," News of the World became a Top Ten hit in 1977. The following year, Jazz nearly replicated that success, with the single "Fat Bottomed Girls"/"Bicycle Race" becoming an international hit.

Queen were at the height of their popularity as they entered the '80s, releasing The Game, their most diverse album to date, in 1980. On the strength of two number one singles -- the rockabilly-inspired "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and the disco-fied "Another One Bites the Dust" -- The Game became the group's first American number one album. Their largely instrumental soundtrack to Flash Gordon arrived later that same year. With the help of David Bowie, Queen were able to successfully compete with new wave with the 1981 hit single "Under Pressure" -- their first U.K. number one since "Bohemian Rhapsody" -- which was included both on 1981's Greatest Hits and 1982's Hot Space. Hot Space proved a moderate hit and paved the way for the more rock-oriented The Works, which arrived in 1984. Also a minor hit, it was buoyed the singles "Radio Ga Ga," "Hammer to Fall," and "I Want to Break Free." Shortly afterward, Queen left Elektra and signed with Capitol.

During this period, Queen began touring foreign markets, cultivating a large, dedicated fan base in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. In 1985, they returned to renewed popularity in Britain in the wake of their show-stopping performance at Live Aid. The following year, they released A Kind of Magic to strong European sales. It debuted at number one in the U.K. and remained there for over 60 weeks, spawning the singles "A Kind of Magic," "One Vision," "Friends Will Be Friends," and "Who Wants to Live Forever." The Miracle followed in 1989 and proved similarly successful, debuting at number one in the U.K. and cracking the Top 30 of the Billboard 200.

The group's 14th studio album, 1991's Innuendo, was greeted even more favorably, going gold and peaking at number 30 in the U.S. It was a far bigger success in Europe, entering the U.K. charts at number one. However, by 1991, Queen had drastically scaled back their activity, causing rumors to circulate about Freddie Mercury's health. On November 23, the singer issued a statement confirming that he had AIDS. Mercury died the next day from bronchial pneumonia resulting from his illness. The following spring, the remaining members of Queen held a memorial concert at Wembley Stadium that was broadcast to an international audience of more than one billion. Featuring such guest artists as David Bowie, Elton John, Annie Lennox, Def Leppard, and Guns N' Roses, the concert raised millions for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which was established for AIDS awareness. The concert coincided with a revival of interest in "Bohemian Rhapsody," which climbed to number two in the U.S. and number one in the U.K. in the wake of its appearance in the Mike Myers comedy Wayne's World.

Following Mercury's death, the remaining members of Queen were fairly quiet. Brian May released his second solo album, Back to the Light, in 1993, ten years after the release of his first record. Roger Taylor cut a few albums with the Cross, which he had been playing with since 1987, while Deacon essentially retired. The three reunited in 1994 to record backing tapes for vocal tracks Mercury recorded on his deathbed. The resulting album, Made in Heaven, was released in 1995 to strong sales, particularly in Europe. Crown Jewels, a box set repackaging their first eight LPs, followed in 1998. Archival live recordings, DVDs, and compilations continued to appear into the new millennium.

The Queen name was revived in 2005, but this time with "+ Paul Rodgers" appended to it. Rodgers, the former lead singer of Free and Bad Company, joined Brian May and Roger Taylor (John Deacon remained retired) for several live shows, one of which was documented on 2005's Return of the Champions, a double-disc release issued by the Hollywood label. International touring continued, as did a new studio album featuring Rodgers' vocals. Released under the "Queen + Paul Rodgers" tag, The Cosmos Rocks appeared in September 2008, followed by an American release one month later. Reception was decidedly mixed. Rodgers departed Queen in 2009 and in his wake came a new compilation called Absolute Greatest.

TV appearances followed over the next two years, including a spot on the 2009 American Idol finale where they performed with Adam Lambert, and in 2010 Queen wound up leaving their home of EMI for Island, which brought all of the group's recordings to Universal Records. A new round of reissues followed in 2011, along with a performance with Lambert at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and the vocalist soon became a fixture with the band, as Queen performed several big concerts and television performances in 2012 and 2013, followed by a full tour in 2014. Also that year, Queen released another compilation, Queen Forever, which was anchored by reworked versions of three old songs, including a solo number by Mercury where he duetted with Michael Jackson. The archival live album, A Night at the Odeon, featuring the band's 1975 Christmas Eve performance at London's Hammersmith Odeon, appeared in 2015.

Over the next two years, the band stayed active, appearing live with Lambert. In 2018, Queen was the subject of the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which starred Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. The band contributed to the soundtrack, which featured classic tracks as well as live recordings and several songs reworked for the film. Bohemian Rhapsody became an international hit and took home four Academy Awards, including Malek's award for Best Actor.

A concert collection featuring Lambert, Live Around the World, arrived in October 2020 but the next major Queen project was an elaborate Collector's Edition reissue of The Miracle. The 1989 album was expanded into a five-CD set containing additional Blu-Rays, DVDs and LPs, all featuring previously unheard material, such as the Mercury-sung "Face It Alone," which was released as a single prior to the box's October 2022 release. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Adam Lambert is a dynamic performer known for his soaring tenor vocals and flair for matching his theatrical training with classic rock, glitter, and dance-pop sensibilities. A star since he first rose to fame as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol in 2009, he has garnered chart success and critical acclaim for his solo albums, including 2009's For Your Entertainment and 2015's Original High, both of which hit number three on the Billboard 200; For Your Entertainment also spawned the Grammy-nominated hit "Whataya Want from Me." An LGBTQ+ artist, Lambert is a two-time GLAAD Award winner and the first openly gay performer to top the Billboard 200 chart, as he did with 2012's Trespassing. Along with his own work, Lambert stepped into the shoes of his idol, the late Freddie Mercury, as the main singer with legendary rock group Queen, regularly touring with them since 2011. In 2020, he brought all of his varied glam rock, pop, and funk influences to bear on his fourth studio album, Velvet, then he saluted his musical idols on 2023's High Drama.

Born Adam Mitchell Lambert in 1982 in Indianapolis, Indiana, he grew up in San Diego, where he first began performing around age nine in local theater productions. By his teens, he was a dedicated singer and stage actor attending Mesa Verde Middle School and Mount Carmel High School, where he excelled at theater, choir, and as a singer with the jazz band. While in high school, he continued to perform locally, appearing in productions of Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, and more. Following graduation, Lambert spent roughly a month at California State University, Fullerton, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his career. Subsequently, he worked on a cruise ship, acted in light opera, and appeared in various productions. In 2004, he got his break appearing alongside Val Kilmer in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre. From there, he toured nationally from 2005 to 2008 as a cast member and understudy in a production of Wicked. Away from theater, he also sang in a rock band and worked as a session and demo vocalist.

In 2009, Lambert successfully auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody." While on the show, his flair for neo-goth clothing and eclectic arrangements made him a critical favorite, as did his dramatic tenor vocals. Following performances of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," Tears for Fears' "Mad World," and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," Lambert found himself pitted against Kris Allen in the grand finale, which he ultimately lost by a slim margin. Lambert was unanimously praised by the American Idol judges, however, who all but guaranteed him a successful recording career following the show's conclusion.

Although he didn't win the Idol competition, Lambert received far more attention than his castmates during the following months, during which he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in June ("I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay," he stated in the accompanying article, thus putting an end to the public's speculation) and elicited standing ovations during the summer-long American Idol tour. He also signed with RCA and began recording his debut album, working alongside producer Rob Cavallo while soliciting material from the likes of Lady Gaga, Linda Perry, Justin Hawkins, and RedOne.

One month before For Your Entertainment's release, Lambert unveiled his first single, a track from the 2012 soundtrack titled "Time for Miracles." His debut album followed in late November (arriving one week after the release of Kris Allen's own debut) and sold close to 200,000 copies during its first week, outdoing new releases by Rihanna and Lady Gaga in the process. Meanwhile, a risqué performance at the American Music Awards -- during which Lambert kissed his male keyboardist and danced suggestively with both sexes -- helped gather additional headlines, not to mention a fair amount of controversy.

Lambert's five-song EP Acoustic Live!, featuring stripped-down versions of songs from For Your Entertainment as well as the Tears for Fears cover "Mad World," was released in December 2010. The following year, he delivered the concert album/DVD Glam Nation Live, featuring performances recorded during the Indianapolis stop of his 2010 Glam Nation tour. Lambert's full-length sophomore effort, Trespassing, was released in 2012, with the album featuring a bevy of big-name collaborators including Bruno Mars, Nikka Costa, Sam Sparro, and Pharrell Williams. It hit number one but sold fewer copies than For Your Entertainment, and Lambert announced in 2013 that he was leaving RCA. He returned several times to American Idol, however, and announced in 2014 that he would tour with Queen, where he would front the band in place of the late Freddie Mercury.

In 2015, Lambert returned as the first former contestant to appear as a judge on American Idol. His next studio release would be The Original High -- his first on Warner Bros. following his departure from RCA -- on which he had worked with Swedish songwriter/producers Max Martin and Shellback. The album appeared in June of 2015. Coming off his Original High tour, Lambert stayed busy in 2016 touring with Queen and appearing as a judge on The X Factor Australia. He was also featured that year on the Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home." A standalone single, "Two Fux," arrived in 2017. The following year, he joined Melissa Etheridge in a performance opening the 29th GLAAD Media Awards. He also reunited with Queen for a ten-date Las Vegas residency.

In March 2020, Lambert released his fourth studio album, Velvet, which found him diving even deeper into his '70s- and '80s-style glam and funk influences. Prior to the record's release, he had teased his fans with the six-track EP Velvet: Side A, which showcased the songs "Feel Something" and "Superpower." Along with those tunes, Velvet also included the spotlight tracks "New Eyes," "Comin' in Hot," and "Roses," the latter of which featured legendary Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers. In 2023, Lambert returned with a covers album called High Drama that featured bold, colorful reinterpretations of songs by Duran Duran, Billie Eilish, Culture Club, Lana Del Rey, and Jobriath. ~ Andrew Leahey