Queen
Epoch-making rock band Queen to perform at Party in the Park.
Brian May
With a musical career spanning three decades, Queen founding member Brian May has earned himself a place in rock history worldwide. As guitarist and performer, respected and admired by fans and fellow musicians alike, his influence on a new generation of musicians, from Guns N Roses to Extreme to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is a tribute to his unique style and musicianship.
He is also one of the most successful songwriters and producers of his generation, providing Queen with many of their finest musical moments, among them the anthemic 'We Will Rock You', 'The Show Must Go On', 'I Want It All', 'Fat Bottomed Girls' and some of their finest ballads, including 'Who Wants To Live Forever', No-One But You', and 'Save Me'. To date Brian May has penned 22 top 20 hits worldwide.
He developed an interest in film scoring when Queen became the first rock group to score a major film, 'Flash Gordon'. Definitive music for 'Highlander' followed, and later an Opera for Steve Baron's 1996 'Pinnochio'. Brian is no stranger to the theatrical world, having written and performed the music for the Red and Gold Theatre Company's 'Macbeth', at London's Riverside Theatre in 1987 (later revived in two other productions), as well as contributions to his wife Anita Dobson's live performance work.
As an accomplished solo artist, Brian has recorded two highly successful solo albums - 1991's Back To The Light, including 'Too Much Love will Kill You' and 'Driven By You', both Ivor Novello Award winners, and 1998's Another World. Brian's songs continue to provide a rich source of material for other vocalists and bands, with versions recorded by such a diverse artists as Def Leppard, George Michael, Ted Nugent, Elaine Paige, Five, Shirley Bassey, and Metallica.
Brian also retains his keen interest in astronomy - a contributor to Patrick Moore's ' Sky at Night" - and is currently working on a book on T. R. Williams, a prominent stereo photographer of the 1850's. More recently Brian has created a complete film soundtrack for the French art film 'Furia' and designed a Planetarium show in Munich. He also worked on Surround Sound mixes in Los Angeles, a stream of collaborations with young artists, including Robbie Williams, the Foo Fighters, and Joe Botross, themes for TV shows 'The Stretch' and 'Fun At The Funeral Parlour', played featured guitar on the Winter Olympics 2002 Opening music for his good friend, composer Michael Kamen, and lent his inspirational skills to "The Greatest Air Guitar Album in the World Ever!"
Roger Taylor
Since first teaming up with Brian May, and later Freddie Mercury, in the late 60s, Roger Taylor has become one of rock's most successful musicians, combining his role as the world-renowned drummer/singer for Queen with that of accomplished singer and songwriter in his own right.
Born in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, on July 26th 1949, Roger became fascinated with music in the early 50s, when his family moved to Cornwall. He learned his first instrument, the ukulele, at a tender age, and enjoyed a brief taste of things to come in a pre-teen skiffle band whose collective talent survived just two public performances. His music took on a different direction in 1960, when he became an unwilling member of the Truro Cathedral School choir -- a prerequisite of his scholarship. He taught himself the guitar around this time, but by the following year had moved over to drums.
By 1966 Roger had not only progressed to drumming in Cornwall's most popular band, the Reaction, but had also become their lead singer, with his drum kit placed -- where else? -- in the principal position, at the front of the stage. That year, the Reaction won a hotly-contested local talent contest and, according to newspaper reports, were duly "mobbed by young girls".
While maintaining his keen interest in music, Roger decided his professional career lay in dentistry, and in 1967 moved to London to enroll at the London Hospital Medical College, where he studied biology, obtaining a BSc in the subject.
In 1968 Roger joined another group, Smile, led by Middlesex guitar ace Brian May. Smile played sporadically over the next few years and even issued a single in the United States. By 1971, Roger had long abandoned any desire to become a dentist, and with new additions to the line-up John Deacon and Freddie Mercury, Smile became known as Queen. Roger began writing songs for Queen from day one, and each of the band's fifteen studio albums included at least one of his compositions. His most famous credits include "I'm In Love With My Car" (a live favourite and the original B-side to "Bohemian Rhapsody") and the Top 3 singles "Radio Ga Ga" and "A Kind Of Magic". 1977 was the landmark year in which Queen released "We Are The Champions" and "We Will Rock You". Roger bought a Ferrari, and became the first member of Queen to launch a solo career with the release of the single "I Wanna Testify".
His hit debut album "Fun In Space" followed in 1981, and was succeeded by 1984's rock-based "Strange Frontier". Both LPs reached the Top 30. In 1987 Roger formed his own band The Cross, in which after more than 20 years he finally resumed the role of lead singer. The Cross released three distinctive albums and toured extensively in the UK and Europe.
After the tragic death of Freddie Mercury, Roger returned to his solo career with 1994's "Happiness?", an album on which he explored the theme of "dealing with life and looking for happiness". The success of the album prompted further tours of the UK and Italy. Roger Taylor's last album, "Electric Fire", was released in the UK and Europe on September 28th 1998 and featured eleven self-penned songs, together with his version of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero".