News

Queen are going back into the archives for the holidays, unearthing their complete radio sessions for the BBC and beyond.

Queen On Air: The Complete BBC Sessions will be available in a variety of formats collecting just about every note by the band ever transmitted over the airwaves in their native country. Only a small handful of these performances have ever been released, and their place in the band’s history is hard to dispute, predating their first studio album.

Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor made six appearances on BBC’s Sounds of the Seventies radio program. Three were recorded in 1973, featuring much of their debut album (including “Keep Yourself Alive” and “Liar”) as well as the Queen II track “Ogre Battle” in the live-in-studio format. 1974 saw the band release two albums (Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack) and record “Nevermore,” “White Queen (As It Began),” “Now I’m Here,” “Stone Cold Crazy” and more for the Beeb. Their final session occurred in 1977, after “Bohemian Rhapsody” made them superstars and just after the release of their sixth studio album News of the World, from which they played four tracks (including both slow and fast versions of their stadium anthem “We Will Rock You”).

Those six sessions are collected as a 2CD/3LP set (with one session on each of the six vinyl sides). A deluxe 6CD box, however, adds even more gems. The fourth disc features highlights from three live shows, including a 1973 gig at the Hippodrome, a 1981 South American appearance and a 1986 German gig on what would become their final tour (and weeks before the acclaimed sets at Wembley Stadium that same summer). The box set version is rounded out with three discs of complete, in-depth BBC interviews with the band. These 17 segments, starting with a humorous appearance by Freddie during a DJ slot by friend Kenny Everett in 1976 and closing with Brian’s thoughts months after the sensational Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness in 1992, bring a whole new dimension of understanding to a legendary rock band.

Queen On Air is available November 4. Order links and full track details are below!

Queen On Air: The Complete BBC Radio Sessions (Virgin EMI (U.K.)/Hollywood (U.S.), 2016)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
6CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Disc 1: 1973

1. My Fairy King (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 2/5/1973)
2. Keep Yourself Alive (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 2/5/1973)
3. Doing All Right (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 2/5/1973)
4. Liar (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 2/5/1973)
5. See What a Fool I’ve Been (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 7/25/1973)
6. Keep Yourself Alive (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 7/25/1973)
7. Liar (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 7/25/1973)
8. Son and Daughter (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 7/25/1973)
9. Ogre Battle (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 12/3/1973)
10. Modern Times Rock ‘N’ Roll (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 12/3/1973)
11. Great King Rat (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 12/3/1973)
12. Son and Daughter (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 12/3/1973)

Disc 2: 1974 and 1977

1. Modern Times Rock ‘N’ Roll (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 4/3/1974)
2. Nevermore (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 4/3/1974)
3. White Queen (As It Began) (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 4/3/1974)
4. Now I’m Here (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 10/16/1974)
5. Stone Cold Crazy (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 10/16/1974)
6. Flick of the Wrist (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 10/16/1974)
7. Tenement Funster (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 10/16/1974)
8. We Will Rock You (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 10/28/1977)
9. We Will Rock You (Fast) (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 10/28/1977)
10. Spread Your Wings (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 10/28/1977)
11. It’s Late (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 10/28/1977)
12. My Melancholy Blues (Sounds of the Seventies – rec. 10/28/1977)

Disc 1, Tracks 1-4 and 9-12 released on Queen At The Beeb (Band of Joy BOJLP-001 (U.K.), 1989) and Queen At The BBC (Hollywood HR-62005-2 (U.S.), 1995)
Disc 1, Track 5 and Disc 2, Track 2 released on Queen II: Deluxe Edition (Island 2764250 (U.K.)/Hollywood D0013642-02 (U.S.), 2011)
Disc 2, Tracks 6-7 released on Sheer Heart Attack: Deluxe Edition (Island 2764411 (U.K.)/Hollywood D0013645-02 (U.S.), 2011)
Disc 2, Tracks 10 and 12 released on News of the World: Deluxe Edition (Island 2771748 (U.K.)/Hollywood D0014101-02 (U.S.), 2011)

Disc 3: Live On Air

Golders Green Hippodrome, London – 9/3/1973

1. Procession (from tape)
2. Father to Son
3. Son and Daughter
4. Guitar Solo
5. Son and Daughter (Reprise)
6. Ogre Battle
7. Liar
8. Jailhouse Rock

Estádio Do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil – 3/20/1981

9. Intro
10. We Will Rock You (Fast)
11. Let Me Entertain You
12. I’m In Love With My Car
13. Alright Alright
14. Dragon Attack
15. Now I’m Here
16. Love of My Life

Maimmarktgelände, Mannheim, Germany – 6/21/1986

17. A Kind of Magic
18. Vocal Improvisation
19. Under Pressure
20. Is This the World We Created
21. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care
22. Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)
23. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
24. God Save The Queen

Disc 4: The Interviews (1976-1980)

1. Freddie Mercury with Kenny Everett (November 1976)
2. Queen with Tom Browne (Christmas 1977)
3. Roger Taylor with Richard Skinner (June 1979)
4. Roger Taylor with Tommy Vance (December 1980)
5. Roy Thomas Baker – The Record Producers

Disc 5: The Interviews (1981-1986)

1. John Deacon – South American Tour (March 1981)
2. Brian May – Rock On with John Tobler (June 1982)
3. Brian May – Saturday Live with Richard Skinner & Andy Foster (March 1984)
4. Freddie Mercury – Newsbeat (August 1984)
5. Brian May – Newsbeat (September 1984)
6. Freddie Mercury – Saturday Live (September 1984)
7. Freddie Mercury with Simon Bates (April 1985)
8. Brian May – The Way It Is with David “Kid” Jensen (July 1986)

Disc 6: The Interviews (1986-1992)

1. Roger Taylor – My Top Ten with Andy Peebles (May 1986)
2. Queen For An Hour with Mike Read (May 1989)
3. Brian May – Freddie and Too Much Love Will Kill You with Simon Bates (August 1992)
4. Brian May – Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with Johnnie Walker (October 1992)