Queen NEW Press release

QUEEN JOIN UNIVERSAL MUSIC AS BAND’S HISTORIC MILESTONE NEARS 

Island Records prepares 40th anniversary remasters of the quartet’s extraordinary catalogue 

LONDON, November 8, 2010 –

Queen and Universal Music Group have signed an exclusive, long-term agreement on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking group’s formation, in 1971. With worldwide album sales of more than 170 million, No. 1 albums, singles and DVDs the world over, inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, over 700 concerts performed in every corner of the world including their historic appearance at Live Aid, and a Guinness Book of World Records award for the most successful UK album chart act in history, Queen represent one of the most remarkable, compelling stories in popular culture.  

Their music milestones include “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Are The Champions,” “We Will Rock You,”  “Radio Ga Ga,” and “Another One Bites The Dust.” The new agreement with Universal Music covers the world outside North America, and the music of Queen will appear through Island Records from January 1, 2011.  Thus, the band joins some of the greatest names in popular music under the palm tree of the legendary label’s iconic logo. Brian May of Queen said, “We are very excited, after all this time, to be embarking on a new phase of our career – with a new record company – with new ideas, and new dreams.” Universal Music Group (UMG) co-CEO Lucian Grainge said:  “Queen rewrote the rock & roll rule book 40 years ago, and you can count at least three generations of artists who are under their influence. 

So now we’re under their influence at Universal Music, and looking forward to writing chapters together for the new rule book.” UMG International COO Max Hole commented, “A band of Queen’s stature, and a catalogue with such appeal, present an immense opportunity for a new creative approach.  We aim to apply fresh thinking and innovation to the marketing and promotion of this great body of work.  Ted Cockle, Darcus Beese and their team at Island Records are the perfect match, and everyone can’t wait to get started.” 

During the course of the anniversary year, Island will remaster and repackage, with additional content, each of Queen’s 15 studio albums.  The first five will be made available in March:  “Queen,” “Queen II,” “Sheer Heart Attack,” “A Night At The Opera” and “A Day At The Races.” After four decades, the collective work of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon continues to resonate around the globe, inspiring a host of diverse artists from Lady Gaga (who took her name from Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga”), Axl Rose and Katy Perry through to Dave Grohl. 

Two decades after the death of their phenomenal and flamboyant singer, Freddie Mercury remains an icon beyond measure. The 40th anniversary celebrations begin with a major Queen exhibition in London, “Stormtroopers in Stilettos,” opening in late February.  This will be followed by a BBC-TV documentary and the production of a major Hollywood film about the band, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury.  Acclaimed script writer Peter Morgan (“The Queen,” “Frost/Nixon”) is working on the project, which is being produced by GK Films, Robert de Niro’s Tribeca Productions and Queen Films.

Pff, I'm getting sick and tired of this band.

And here's the new 40th Anniversary Logo.

Thanks GT. Can you shed any light on what kind of addtional material we can expect? Demos/remixes/live etc?

Having all these albums already it would be great if the die hard fans were given a really good reason to buy these releases.

Great to see some real Queen activity though!

Thanks Gary, looks promising!

and I agree with Jam above ... could it be possible to, at least, know if the bonus content on the albums will be something we´ve never heard or seen before? I´m not requesting detailed info, just a generic one that maybe could be enough for many of us ....

many tks

It would be good if they re-released all the albums as double albums with the 2nd disc full of live & remix versions of the original album songs along with any none album B-sides, although I can't see that happening as usual.

If not, why should I buy any of the albums.

Sorry, no final decisions have been made yet, but when the details emerge then we can discuss.

Would it be:

Queen absolute greatest magical hits? With ofcourse 5 euro discount to the we will rock you musical when ordering at least one T-shirt at Queenonline. Including the chance to buy a luxe edition with a never heard demo of Greg Brooks saying "Property of Queen Productions' in French and German.

And the not to be missed competition to win a hair of Freddie's mustache that he shaved off during the videoshoot of the Great Pretender. Only for 50 dollars. The first 10 buyers will get the brand new album of Ol Beach for just 30 dollar and a trip to Knebworth park to remind Queen has been there in 1986.

Conclusion: Judge yourself. I'm done with it. Do I sound like a Negative Creep? :-)

2011 – QUEEN 40 – Major Exhibition, Hollywood Film, BBC Documentary, Back Catalogue re-release to celebrate 40th Anniversary

2011 sees one of the most talented, glamorous and influential bands in musical history, QUEEN, celebrate the 40th anniversary of their formation in 1971.
With over 170 million global album sales, 18 Number One Albums, 10 Number One DVD’s, 700 concerts performed in every corner of the world including their historic appearance at Live Aid, Seven Ivor Novello Awards, inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame and a Guinness Book of Records award for the most successful UK album chart artist ever, the Queen story is one of the most remarkable in modern British culture. 40 years after Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon formed Queen and the band became the epitome of rock n roll swagger and excess Queen continues to rule globally.

The 40th Anniversary year kicks off with a major exhibition, ‘Stormtroopers in Stilettos’ – a comprehensive look at the early part of Queen’s career, from before the band’s formation when various members were dreaming of success while studying astrophysics or running stalls next to Biba in Kensington Market, right up to their spectacular free gig for over 250,000 fans in Hyde Park in 1976. Taking place in Trumans Brewery in the heart of London’s East End the exhibition opens on February 25th running through to March 12th, and will cover the group’s first five albums from the first half of the 1970’s. The exhibition will aim to take visitors to the heart of Queen by combining interactive audio and visual environments with historic and never-before-seen memorabilia; themed rooms and music all created from the bands personal archive will come together to create an exciting, entertaining and engaging insight into the foundation and rise of the global super group Queen became.

Newly signed to legendary label Island Records and to coincide with the exhibition, the first five albums that Queen released – “Queen”, “Queen II”, “Sheer Heart Attack”, “A Night At The Opera” and “A Day At The Races – will be re-mastered and re-packaged into special deluxe album formats. From the pure raw rock of “Queen” through to the majestic anthems on “A Day At The Races”, the first five albums highlight the diverse talent, musical ambition and already global success of a band made up of some of the best songwriters, musicians and performers of all time. The remainder of the band’s incredible catalogue will be released during 2011.Subsequent to the exhibition there will be a major BBC TV Documentary featuring a rare interview with Roger Taylor and Brian May and many other surprises and releases to come through the rest of the year.

2011 will see filming begin of a major Hollywood movie about Queen, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury. Acclaimed script writer Peter Morgan (“The Queen”,” Frost/Nixon” ) is working on the project, which is being produced by GK Films, Robert de Niro’s Tribeca Productions and Queen Films.After four decades, the collective work of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon continues to resonate around the globe, inspiring a host of diverse artists from Lady Gaga (who took her name from Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga”), Axl Rose and Katy Perry through to Dave Grohl. Twenty years after the death of their phenomenal and flamboyant singer, Freddie Mercury remains an icon beyond measure.

Look out for further exciting Queen 40 announcements in 2011.

IT SEEMS THE SAME STUFFS..AGAIN AND AGAIN...

I DON T WANT TO DREAM ABOUT NEW SONGS OR SPECIAL EXTRA MATERIAL..I WILL BE DISAPPOINTED...AS ALREADY HAPPENED A LOT OF TIME IN THE PAST.

The first five albums that Queen released – “Queen”, “Queen II”,
“Sheer Heart Attack”, “A Night At The Opera” and “A Day At The Races –
will be re-mastered and re-packaged into special deluxe album formats.

Sounds promising....

GT wrote: Newly signed to legendary label Island Records and to coincide with the exhibition, the first five albums that Queen released – “Queen”, “Queen II”, “Sheer Heart Attack”, “A Night At The Opera” and “A Day At The Races – will be re-mastered and re-packaged into special deluxe album formats. / / / / / / / / Given the treatment Universal gives to its deluxe catalogue, I´d say .... there´s still hope for us, fellow Queen fans. Time will tell ...

VB94 wrote: The first five albums that Queen released – “Queen”, “Queen II”,
“Sheer Heart Attack”, “A Night At The Opera” and “A Day At The Races –
will be re-mastered and re-packaged into special deluxe album formats.

Sounds promising....

And what do you expect? Remaster doesn't mean they take the old mastertapes transfer them again with the latest digital equipment and release them! Just the old source and mix them again. So nothing new really.  The final mix is the final mix. We can all play with  the treble or bass buttons on our receivers.

Hey Queenman, I thought you were done with this!
Your negativity is a real drain on this forum and on anything the band release or do, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to think this. Will you ever be happy with what comes out, or is that your natural personality anyway?

Hm... the special deluxe format comment sounds very interesting ...