Global InformationQueen discography information
| Queen discography | |
|---|---|
 Queen live in Frankfurt, Germany in 1984 | |
| Studio albums | 15 |
| Live albums | 10 |
| Compilation albums | 16 |
| EPs | 2 |
| Singles | 73 |
| Soundtrack albums | 2 |
| Box sets | 11 |
| Other releases | 1 |
British rock band Queen have released 15 studio albums, 10 live albums, 16 compilation albums, 2 soundtrack albums, 2 extended plays, 73 singles, and 7 promotional singles. Queen was formed in London by Freddie Mercury (vocals and keyboards), Brian May (guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums), and in 1971, John Deacon (bassist) became a member.[1]
Since the 1970s, Queen has sold 300 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling artists in history.[2][3] Billboard ranked them as the 87th Greatest Artist of All Time.[4] According to RIAA, Queen has sold 97.7 million certified records in the US.[5]
Founded in 1970, Queen released their self-titled debut album in 1973. Despite not being an immediate success, they quickly gained popularity in Britain with their second album Queen II in 1974.[6] Their 1975 single, "Bohemian Rhapsody", was No. 1 in the UK charts for nine weeks (and a further five weeks in 1991 after Mercury's death) and is the third-biggest-selling single of all time in the UK.[7] In the US, "Bohemian Rhapsody" hit the Billboard Top 40 charts in three different decades, reaching No. 9 on its original release in 1975, No. 2 in 1992 after being featured in the film Wayne's World, and hitting the Top 40 once more in 2018 upon the release of the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. The 1981 compilation Greatest Hits is the biggest-selling album in UK history, with 6 million copies sold by 2014. The 1991 compilation Greatest Hits II is also one of the UK's top ten biggest-sellers of all time, with 3.8 million copies sold by 2012.[8]
In 1972, Queen signed a production deal with Trident Studios.[9] Later in their career, Queen signed a record contract with EMI, and Elektra in the United States. The band would remain with EMI for the rest of their career, although in 1983 they terminated their American contract with Elektra and signed with Capitol Records. However, in 1990, they terminated their US contract with Capitol and signed with Disney's Hollywood Records,[10] which has remained the current owner and distributor of Queen's entire music catalogue in North America.[11]
In 1991, Hollywood Records paid tribute to Queen's 20th anniversary and remastered their entire catalogue and released all albums up to 'The Miracle' on compact Disc in the US. Each album contains at least one bonus track.
Subsequently, 14 albums (all studio albums up to The Miracle, as well as Live Killers and Greatest Hits) were remastered at Abbey Road Studios and released on CD and cassette in the United Kingdom between July 1993 and March 1994. Queen's entire album back catalog was remastered and re-released in the UK and the rest of the world (excluding the US) through 2011 to commemorate their 40th anniversary (as well as being the 20th anniversary of Mercury's death). The 2011 remasters were released by Universal's Island Records label, as the band's contract with EMI ended in 2010,[12] and then on SACD by Universal Music Japan, between November 2011 and April 2012. In an interview with BBC Wales, Brian May announced a new compilation album titled Queen Forever, which was later released by Hollywood Records in November 2014.[13]
In 2012, Queen were ranked as the seventh-biggest-selling singles artist in United Kingdom, with 12.6 million singles sold.[14] In a time period stretching from 1991 up to October 1995, Queen sold five million copies in Italy alone.[15]
- ^ Blake, Mark (2010). Is This The Real Life? The Untold Story of Queen. Arum Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-84513-713-7.
- ^ "The biggest selling UK acts of all time". NME. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ Thompson, Simon. "Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Is Officially The World's Most-Streamed Song". Forbes. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Greatest of All Time Artists". Billboard. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ Thomas, Steven. "Queen Biogrewine". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ "All Time Best Selling Singles (UK)". EveryHit.com. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ^ "Adele overtakes Dire Straits to become UK's sixth biggest selling album of all-time". OfficialCharts.com. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ "Queenzone". Archived from the original on 23 November 2006. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
- ^ "Queen Signs With Disney, Raising Hope For Cd Releases". Chicago Tribune. 13 September 1990. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^ Wilker, Deborah (7 May 1992). "Queen Must Decide On Replacing Freddie Mercury". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^ Collett-White, Mike (8 November 2010). "Queen Signs To Universal, Preps Remastered Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^ Brian May - BBC Wales Interview, Retrieved 24 May 2014.
- ^ Lauren, Kreisler (4 June 2012). "The Official Singles Charts' biggest selling artists of all time revealed!". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Disco dei Queen Disco dei Queen Mother Love è l'ultimo Mercury". La Stampa (in Italian). 7 October 1995. p. 20. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
Incredibile anche la popolarità in Italia: dal 1991 ad oggi, i «Queen» hanno venduto oltre 5 milioni di copie