Sheer Heart Attack

“We aimed for the top slot and we were not going to be satisfied with anything less.” Freddie MercuryMarch 2011 sees the re-release of Queens first five albums - one of the most exciting and influential back catalogues of all time. Recorded in the maelstrom of the early 1970’s London music scene Queen created a groundbreaking and unique soundtrack that remains globally influential today. Theatrical, imaginative, diverse, melodic and unpredictable they had a sound and a look all of their own. Sitting alongside their contemporaries like Led Zep and David Bowie, Queen set the standard for British rock in the 1970’s and became one of the most thrilling, glamorous and downright rock n roll bands of all time, directly influencing a contemporary roll call of artists from Foo Fighters & Axl Rose to Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.‘Sheer Heart Attack’, Roger Taylor’s favourite Queen album, was released in 1974 and reached Number 2 in the UK. Prior to this Queen were mostly considered a heavy rock band, but this album experimented with a variety of musical genres, including music hall, heavy metal, ballads and ragtime. At this point Queen started to move away from the progressive tendencies of their first two releases into a more radio-friendly, song-orientated style, illustrated by ‘Killer Queen’, which was their biggest hit at that point reaching No 2 in the UK. It also went to No 12 in the US Billboard Charts, the first of many hits there. A song about a high-class call girl, it contains the guitar solo that Brian May is most proud of and won Freddie his first Ivor Novello Award.