Released in July 1973, 50 years ago, Queen’s first album was the result of a long process. The band had to knock on many doors to get a break, and they only managed to record at night, during off hours in a studio. Worse still, they had to wait months for the release because they didn’t have a label to back them up. Although in music it was an LP entirely of its time, it already displayed something of the creative ambition that would make Freddie Mercury and company famous.
True to its determined personality, the young salesman Farrokh Bulsara (the real name of Freddie Mercury of What in ) did not hesitate to approach david bowie when he looked a pair of suede boots in a shop window.
At that time, Bulsara had a Saturday stall at Kensington Market. An adventure to earn money, kill time and surround yourself with outrageous clothes. While Bowie was trying on the boots (and not taking them), Bulsara asked him about life in the music industry. The answer surprised him: “Why would you want to get into this business? Right from the start, the “chameleon” warns him of a stormy course.
But the singer was not intimidated. By then he was already spending several hours rehearsing with his buddies Brian May and Roger Taylor in their rock band project. An idea they had tested with more heartache than fortune. “I conceived the idea of Queen while I was studying at university”, Freddie told Melody Maker in 1973. “Brian, who was also in college, liked the idea and we joined forces.”
Strictly speaking, Freddie Mercury joins Smile, a group without much projection in which Taylor and May were. One evening he showed them that he was a competent singer and that the stage was his natural place. Since then, already under the name of Queen, the friends began to test bassists. A few passed, but none seemed to fit until they found John Deacon, an austere electrical engineer (a Beatles fan) who wasn’t too keen on joining at first. They end up convincing him and he plays for the first time with them in 1971. The circle is complete.
So they took the route that the rock and roll handbook sends; touch, touch and touch. Club nights helped shape their identity and establish themselves as a band, but they still absorbed some of what was playing at the time. They were struck by the stage presence with which the glam rock of Marc Bolan and Bowie strutted, as well as the creed in the heavy riffs of Led Zeppelin. Some of that was heard in songs like Stay alivewith Brian May – already discovering the benefits of overdubbing multiple guitar solos at the same time – scoring a fierce counterpoint to Mercury’s vocals on his Red Special guitar.
Driven by the ambitious Freddie Mercury, the group begins to look for opportunities. Producers John Anthony and Roy Thomas Baker invited them to record some demos with them. Cassettes in hand, they knocked on doors, approached the executives of all the London record companies, to no avail. They finally had a chance.
They managed to access studio hours at the Trident, the same one where the Beatles had recorded part of the single Hey Jude. Of course, they only managed to record at dawn when the real stars were gone. However, Mercury radiated deep conviction in the band. “Queen has been running for about three years , but until recently we didn’t have a real outlet for our music. Trident accepted us and our debut album, which has been on the shelves for almost a year, will be released via EMI,” he told Melody Maker.
The 10 song album, Signed primarily by Mercury and May, it was recorded in several batches between December 1971 and November 1972. In general, it sounded like a rock record of the time, i.e. the majestic queen of later works such as A night at the opera (1975). But in songs like Roll, my fairy king And Jesus, The band’s spirit of finding their own voice from the use of studio tricks, vocal overlays, guitars and effects was already noticeable. Also, in the tone of those years, the songs were structured into very different parts, and Mercury was already encouraged to include piano sections.
Freddie Mercury was very clear about what he wanted to achieve. “Queen’s concept is to be regal and majestic. he said in the same interview with Melody Maker, possibly calling on his days as a clothing salesman. Glamor is part of us and we want to be dandy. We want to shock and scandalize instantly. We don’t want people to have to wonder if they like us or not, but to make up their minds the moment they see us.”
Despite it being ready by the end of 1972, the people running the Trident studio had to go to great lengths to find a record label willing to release the LP, because much to their chagrin, the material didn’t was not convincing. They finally succeeded in concluding an alliance with EMI in July 1973. “His first album, ‘ What about is an incredibly different series of songs , faster rockers than smooth ballads. You can also find traces of Yes and Black Sabbath, but structurally it seems to sound original,” Melody Maker said of the work.
All the hype to release the album frustrated the band. Especially since it barely climbed to 47th place in the UK charts, while in the United States it only climbed to 87th place on the Billboard 200. Perhaps to get rid of their anger, at that time they were already composing material for their second album. Mercury, as always, has not lost its optimism. Like he somehow knew what was coming. “The Teenyboppers will probably like us and we might get a little ‘pop’ tag, but that won’t last.” -he emphasized in the same interview-. For the moment, we are only interested in making those who come to see us react”.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
