Queen

Queen formed in London in 1970, built around Freddie Mercury on vocals and piano, Brian May on guitar and Roger Taylor on drums, with John Deacon joining on bass in February 1971. May and Taylor had previously played together in Smile, and Mercury, a fan of that band, pushed them towards more elaborate staging and studio ideas. The early records drew on progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal before the band moved towards arena rock and pop rock.

Their breakthrough came with Sheer Heart Attack and A Night at the Opera, which gave them "Bohemian Rhapsody" and nine weeks at the top of the UK singles chart. News of the World brought "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", while The Game gave them "Another One Bites the Dust". After Mercury's death in 1991, Made in Heaven appeared in 1995, and May and Taylor have since toured as Queen +.