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Queen

Queen

Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. Queen rose to prominence during the 1970s and are one of Britain's most successful bands of the past three decades.

The band is noted for its musical diversity, multi-layered arrangements, vocal harmonies and incorporation of audience participation into their live performances. Their 1985 Live Aid performance was voted the best live music performance of all time in a BBC poll.

Queen had moderate success in the early 1970s, with the albums Queen and Queen II, but it was with the release of Sheer Heart Attack in 1974 and A Night at the Opera the following year that the band gained international success. All of the band's studio albums reached number one on numerous charts around the world. Since 1973, they have released fifteen studio albums, five live albums, and numerous compilation albums. According to OhmyNews, the band have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, including more than 32.5 million in the United States alone, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists.

Following lead vocalist Freddie Mercury's death and bassist John Deacon's retirement in the 1990s, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor collaborated with Paul Rodgers, under the moniker Queen + Paul Rodgers.

History

Early days (1969-1973)

“ I thought up the name Queen. It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. ”

In 1969, guitarist Brian May, a student at London's Imperial College, and bassist Tim Staffell decided to form a group. May placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Mitch Mitchell/Ginger Baker type" drummer; Roger Taylor, a young dental student, auditioned and got the job. They called the group Smile and served as a support act for bands such as Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Yes and the original Genesis. Smile were signed to Mercury Records in 1969, and had their first session in a recording studio in Trident Studios that year. Staffell was attending Ealing Art College with Farrokh Bulsara, later known as Freddie Mercury, and introduced him to the band. Bulsara soon became a keen fan. Staffell left in 1970 to join another band, Humpy Bong; the remaining Smile members, encouraged by Bulsara, changed their name to "Queen" and continued working together. The band had a number of bass players during this period who did not fit with the band's chemistry. It was not until February 1971 that they settled on John Deacon and began to rehearse for the first album.

In 1973, after a series of delays, Queen released their first album, a self-titled project influenced by the heavy metal and progressive rock of the day. The album was received well by critics; Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone said "their debut album is superb," and Chicago's Daily Herald called it an "above average debut".However, it drew little mainstream attention and the lead single "Keep Yourself Alive," a Brian May composition, sold poorly. Greg Prato of All Music Guide called it "one of the most underrated hard rock debuts of all time."

The album Queen II was released in 1974. The album reached number five on the British album charts, while the Freddie Mercury-written lead single "Seven Seas of Rhye," reached number ten in the UK, giving the band their first hit. The album is their heaviest and darkest release, with long complex instrumental passages, fantasy-themed lyrics and musical virtuosity. The band toured as support to Mott the Hoople in the United States during this period, and they began to gain notice for their energetic and engaging stage shows. However, album sales in the US were, like its predecessor, low.

Breakthrough era (1974–1979)

“ Our albums just tend to be collections of songs really, because we all write in the group, all four of us.”

Because of medical complications, May was absent when the band started work on the band's third album, Sheer Heart Attack, released in 1974. Considered by many fans as the band's first true classic,[15] the album reached number two in the United Kingdom,[16] sold well throughout Europe, and went gold in the United States.[17] It gave the band their first real taste of commercial success. The album experimented with a wide variety of musical genres, including British Music Hall ("Killer Queen"), heavy metal ("Flick of the Wrist", "Brighton Rock", "Tenement Funster", "Now I'm Here", and "Stone Cold Crazy" – a song which Metallica would later cover and earn a Grammy for), ballads ("Lily Of The Valley" and "Dear Friends"), ragtime ("Bring Back That Leroy Brown") and Caribbean ("Misfire"). At this point Queen started to move away from the progressive tendencies of their first two releases into a more radio-friendly, song-oriented style. Sheer Heart Attack introduced new sound and melody patterns that would be refined on their next album A Night at the Opera.

The single "Killer Queen" reached number two on the British charts, and became their first U.S. hit, reaching number twelve in the Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. It combines camp, vaudeville, British music hall with May's guitar virtuosity. The album's second single, "Now I'm Here", a more traditional hard rock composition, was a number eleven hit in Britain.

In 1975, the band left for a world tour with each member clad resplendently in Zandra Rhodes-created costumes and banks of lights and effects. They toured the US, headlining for the first time, and played in Canada for the first time in April with supporting act Kansas. Also at this time, the band's manager Jim Beach negotiated the band out of their Trident contract, leaving the band without a manager. They had a number of options, one of which was Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant. Grant wanted them to sign with Led Zeppelin's own production company, Swan Song Records. This was unacceptable to Queen, so instead they contacted Elton John's manager, John Reid, who accepted the position.[citation needed] In April 1975 the band toured Japan for the first time, causing a nationwide hysteria.

Later that year the band recorded and released A Night at the Opera. At the time, it was the most expensive album ever produced. Like its predecessor, the album features diverse musical styles and experimentation with stereo sound. In "The Prophet's Song", an eight-minute epic, the middle section is a canon, with simple phrases layered to create a full-choral sound. The album was very successful in Britain, and went triple platinum in the United States. It is considered their magnum opus; in 2003, it was ranked number 230 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The album also featured the hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody", which was number one in the United Kingdom for nine weeks, and is Britain's third-best-selling single of all time; it also reached number nine in the United States (a 1992 re-release reached number two). Bohemian Rhapsody has been voted, several times, the greatest song of all time. The second single from the album, "You're My Best Friend", peaked at sixteen in the United Statesand went on to become a worldwide Top Ten hit.

By 1976, Queen were back in the studio, where they recorded A Day at the Races, what may be mistaken simply as a companion album to A Night at the Opera. It again borrowed the name of a Marx Brothers' movie, and its cover was similar to that of A Night at the Opera, a variation on the same Queen Crest. Musically, the album was by both fans' and critics' standards a strong effort, and reached number one on the British charts. The major hit on the album was "Somebody to Love", a gospel-inspired song in which Mercury, May, and Taylor multi-tracked their voices to make a 100-voice gospel choir. The song went to number two in the United Kingdom, and number thirteen on the U.S. singles chart. The album also featured one of the band's heaviest songs, Brian May's "Tie Your Mother Down", which became a staple of their live shows.

Also in 1976, Queen played one of their most famous gigs, a 1976 concert in Hyde Park, London. It set an attendance record, with 150,000 people confirmed in the audience. Some put the number closer to 180,000, and is usually reported between 150,000 and 200,000.

News of the World was released a year later; although it was critically panned at the time, it has since gained recognition as one of the stand-out hard rock albums of the late 1970s, as well as a significant influence in creating stadium rock. It contained many songs tailor-made for live performance, including "We Will Rock You" and the rock ballad "We Are the Champions", both of which reached number four in the United States and became enduring international sports anthems. Deacon also wrote his first Hard Rock song "Spread Your Wings", for News of the World unlike in previous three albums, where he wrote pop songs. Roger Taylor released his first solo effort in 1976 in the form of a single: the A-side was a cover of a song by The Parliaments "I Wanna Testify", and the B-side was a song by Taylor called "Turn On The TV".

In 1978 the band released Jazz, including the hit singles "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race", which were also released as a double-A-side single. The word "jazz" was not used in a strict sense, and the album was noted by critics for its collection of different styles, jazz not being one of them.[citation needed] Rolling Stone criticized it for being "dull", saying "Queen hasn't the imagination to play jazz – Queen hasn't the imagination, for that matter, to play rock & roll".The album cover was inspired by a painting on the Berlin Wall.[citation needed] Important tracks of the album include "Dead on Time", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Let Me Entertain You", and "Mustapha", in which Arabesque music is combined with heavy rock guitar.

The band's first live album, Live Killers, was released in 1979; it went platinum twice in the United States. They also released the very successful single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", a rockabilly song done in the style of Elvis Presley. The song made the top 10 in many countries, and was the band's first number one single in the United States.

New sound and synthesizers (1980–1989)

Queen began the 1980s with The Game, which became their highest-selling album ever.[citation needed] It featured the singles "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites the Dust", both of which reached number one in the United States.[18] The album stayed number one for four weeks in the United States,[30] and sold over four million copies. It was also the only album to ever top the Billboard rock, dance, and R&B charts simultaneously. The album also marked the first appearance of a synthesizer on a Queen album.

1980 also saw the release of the soundtrack Queen had recorded for Flash Gordon. It sold poorly compared to the band's other albums, but reached number ten in the United Kingdom.

In 1981, Queen became the first major rock band to play in South American stadiums. The band broke the attendance world record for a single concert and venue, at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, where 131,000 people attended on the first night, followed by 251,000 in attendance over the next two days.[31] Queen played to a total audience of 479,000 people on their South American tour, including five shows in Argentina. In October 1981, Queen performed for more than 150,000 fans at Monterrey (Estadio Universitario) and Puebla (Estadio Zaragoza), Mexico.

Also in 1981, Queen worked with David Bowie on the single "Under Pressure". The first-time collaboration with another artist was spontaneous, as Bowie happened to drop by the studio while Queen were recording.[32] The band were immediately pleased with the results, but Bowie did not play the song live for several years.[citation needed] Upon its release, the song was extremely successful, reaching number one in Britain. The bass line was later used for Vanilla Ice's 1990 hit "Ice Ice Baby", prompting the threat of a lawsuit over the use of the sample. The lawsuit did not make it to court and was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Later that year, Queen released their first compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits, which showcased the group's highlights from 1974-1981. It was highly successful, and as of 2007, it is the United Kingdom's best selling album.[34] Taylor became the first member of the band to release his own solo album in 1981, entitled Fun In Space.

In 1982 the band released the funk album Hot Space. The band stopped touring North America after their Hot Space Tour, as their success there had waned, although they would perform on American television for the first and only time during the eighth season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Queen left Elektra Records, their label in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and signed onto EMI/Capitol Records.

After working steadily for over ten years, Queen decided that they would not perform any live shows in 1983. During this time, they recorded a new album, and several members of the band explored side projects and solo work. May released a mini-album entitled Star Fleet Project, on which he collaborated with Eddie Van Halen. A computer musician composer in Canada, Kevin Chamberlain, helped with vocals and background music for Freddie Mercury's solo project, which was later canceled due to creative differences.

In 1984, Queen released the album The Works, which included the successful singles "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want to Break Free". Despite these hit singles, the album failed to do well in the United States. "Radio Ga Ga" was the band's last original Stateside Top Forty hit until 1989's "I Want It All", which reached number three.

Queen embarked that year on a set of dates in Bophuthatswana, South Africa at the arena at Sun City.[35] Upon returning to England, they were the subject of outrage, having played there during the height of apartheid and in violation of worldwide divestment efforts. The band stated that they were playing music for fans in that country, and stressed that the concerts were played before integrated audiences.

In 1985, the band played two performances at the Rock in Rio festival. On January 12, Queen began their performance as headliners of the festival's opening day, playing in front of 325,000 people, breaking the previous world record.[36] They also played on January 19 for a capacity-crowd of 325,000 fans. Mercury also released his first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, in April. At Live Aid, held at Wembley on July 13, 1985, Queen performed some of their greatest hits in what has been considered their best performance to date.

Revitalized by the response to Live Aid and the resulting increase in record sales, Queen ended 1985 by releasing the single "One Vision". The song was used in the film Iron Eagle.

In early 1986, Queen recorded the album A Kind of Magic, containing several songs written for the Russell Mulcahy film Highlander. The album was very successful, producing a string of hits including the title track "A Kind of Magic", which contains the key lyrics 'There can be only one', a reference to the movie's plot; "Friends Will Be Friends", "Who Wants to Live Forever" and "Princes of the Universe". However, like The Works, it sold poorly in the United States.[citation needed]

Later that year, Queen went on a sold-out tour (the band's largest) in support of A Kind of Magic. The tour's highlight was at Wembley Stadium in London and resulted in the live double album, Queen Live At Wembley Stadium, released on CD and as a live concert film. They could not book Wembley for a third night because it was already booked, but they did play at Knebworth Park. The show sold out within two hours and over 120,000 fans packed the park for what was to be Queen's final live performance with Mercury.[38] More than 1 million people saw the show – 400,000 in the United Kingdom alone, a record at the time.

After working on various solo projects during 1988 (including Mercury's collaboration with Montserrat Caballé, Barcelona) the band released The Miracle in 1989. The album continued the direction of A Kind of Magic, using a pop-rock sound mixed with a few heavy numbers. It spawned the European hits "I Want It All", "Breakthru", "The Invisible Man", "Scandal", and "The Miracle". Queen announced that there would be no tour for this album, with Mercury declaring that he was the sole reason, wishing to break the typical cycle of album/tour.[citation needed] Speculation returned of a possible breakup of the band in the near future, or that Mercury might be suffering from health problems.[citation needed]

The Miracle also began a change in direction of Queen's songwriting philosophy. Since the band's beginning, nearly all songs had been written by and credited to a single member, with other members adding minimally. With The Miracle, however, the band's songwriting became more collaborative, and they vowed to credit the final product only to Queen as a group.[citation needed]

Mercury's death and final albums (1990–1997)

“ There was all that time when we knew Freddie was on the way out, we kept our heads down. ”

—Brian May

Rumours began to spread in the tabloid press and elsewhere in 1988 that Mercury was suffering from AIDS. Although the rumours were true, Mercury flatly denied them at the time.[citation needed] However, the band decided to continue making albums free of internal conflict and differences, starting with The Miracle and continuing with 1991's Innuendo. Although his health was deteriorating, Mercury continued to contribute, working in a creative fervor.[citation needed] The band released their second Greatest Hits compilation, Greatest Hits II, in October 1991.

On 23 November 1991, in a prepared statement made on his deathbed, Mercury finally confirmed that he had AIDS. Within twenty-four hours of the announcement, Mercury died. His funeral services were private, held in accordance with the Zoroastrian religious faith of his family.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was re-released as a single shortly after Mercury's death, with "These Are the Days of Our Lives" as the B-side. Initial proceeds from the single – approximately £1,000,000 – were donated to the Terrence Higgins Trust.[39]

On 20 April 1992, the public shared in the mourning of Mercury's passing at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, held at London's Wembley Stadium. Performers included Lisa Stansfield, Elton John, David Bowie, Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin), Tony Iommi, Annie Lennox, Guns N' Roses, Extreme, Roger Daltrey, Def Leppard, George Michael, Mick Ronson, Zucchero, Metallica and Liza Minnelli. Spinal Tap, along with the three remaining members of Queen, performed many of Queen's major hits. It was a successful concert that was televised to over 1 billion viewers worldwide.[35] The concert is listed in The Guinness Book of Records as "The largest rock star benefit concert."[40] It raised over £20,000,000 for AIDS charities.[39] Queen's popularity increased once again in the United States after "Bohemian Rhapsody" was featured in the comedy film Wayne's World, helping the song reach number two for five weeks in the United States charts in 1992. The song was made into a Wayne's World music video, with which the band and management were delighted.

The band also terminated their Capitol Records contract and signed a deal with Hollywood Records as their new U.S label.

Queen never actually disbanded, although their last album of original material, titled Made in Heaven, was released in 1995, four years after Mercury's death. It was constructed from Mercury's final recording sessions in 1991, plus material left over from their previous studio albums. In addition, re-worked material from Mercury's solo album Mr. Bad Guy and a track originally featured on the first album of Taylor's side-project The Cross were included. May and Taylor have often been involved in projects related to raising money for AIDS research. John Deacon's last involvement with the band was in 1997, when the band recorded the track "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)". It was the last original song recorded by all three remaining members of Queen, and it was released as a bonus track on the Queen Rocks compilation album later that year.

"Queen + …" projects

Several Queen + projects were developed in the following years, a few of them mere remixes with no artistic involvement from the band. In 1999, a Greatest Hits III album was released. This album featured, among others, "Queen + Wyclef Jean" on a rap version of "Another One Bites the Dust"; a live version of "Somebody to Love" by George Michael; and a live version of "The Show Must Go On", performed live in 1997 with Elton John.

Brian May and Roger Taylor performed together as Queen on several occasions (award ceremonies, charity concerts, and the like), sharing vocals with various guest singers. They also recorded several covers of Queen's hits, including "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions".

In 2003, four new songs were recorded by Queen for Nelson Mandela's 46664 campaign against AIDS. The studio versions of Invincible Hope (Queen + Nelson Mandela, feat. Treana Morris), 46664 - The Call, Say It's Not True, and Amandla (Anastacia, Dave Stewart and Queen) have not yet been released on album.

Queen + Paul Rodgers

At the end of 2004, May and Taylor announced that they would reunite and return to touring in 2005, with Paul Rodgers (founder and former lead singer of Free and Bad Company). Brian May's website also stated that Rodgers would be 'featured with' Queen as Queen + Paul Rodgers, not replacing the late Freddie Mercury. The retired Deacon would not be participating;[6] Danny Miranda of Blue Öyster Cult replaced him on bass. Other members of the tour included keyboardist Spike Edney, who played guitar and keyboards in Queen live shows since 1984, and additional guitarist Jamie Moses, who began working with May on solo efforts in the early '90s.

A live double CD album, Return of the Champions, was released on September 19, 2005. It featured Paul Rodgers and was recorded live in May 2005 during the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England. A DVD from the concert was also released.

In March 2006, Queen + Paul Rodgers set out to tour the United States and Canada. This tour, apart from the two United States dates from the first Queen + Paul Rodgers tour, marks Queen's first full-on United States tour since Hot Space in 1982.[clarify] Queen + Paul Rodgers debuted their first new song, a collaboration called "Take Love", while on the United States tour. On April 28, 2006, Queen + Paul Rodgers released a second live DVD, Super Live in Japan; the show was filmed at Saitama Super Arena on October 27, 2005.

On August 15, 2006, Brian May confirmed through his website and fan club that Queen + Paul Rodgers would begin producing a new studio album beginning in October, to be recorded at a "secret location".

When Bohemian Rhapsody was revealed as Radio 1's most played song ever at the end of JK and Joel's last Chart Show before leaving, Roger Taylor told them via a phonelink to the studio that the band are currently halfway through the new album. It will be released sometime in 2008, with a tour to follow.

Live performances

Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (tagged since September 2007)

Queen's live performances were consistently at the forefront of rock shows from bands of their generation.[clarify] The band amassed a diverse catalogue of songs and made use of massive sound systems, lighting rigs, pyrotechnics, and various extravagant costumes to help create entertaining theatrical events. As lead vocalist, Mercury was able to immerse himself in the audience's adulation and thrived off their excitement. Queen also helped provide an impetus for regarding stadiums and large arenas as rock concert venues. The band's reputation for impressive live performances led to a number of concerts being released on both album and video. Bootleg copies of Queen concerts are traded on websites and through fanzines.

In the digital realm

In conjunction with Electronic Arts, Queen released the computer game Queen: The Eye in 1998, to commercial and critical failure. The music itself — tracks from Queen's vast catalogue, in many cases remixed into new instrumental versions — was by and large well received, but the game experience was hampered by poor game play. Adding to the problem was an extremely long development time, resulting in graphic elements that already seemed outdated by the time of release.

Under the supervision of May and Taylor, numerous restoration projects have been underway involving Queen's lengthy audio and video catalogue. DVD releases of their 1986 Wembley concert (titled Live At Wembley Stadium) and 1982 Milton Keynes concert (Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl), and two Greatest Video Hits (Volumes 1 and 2, spanning the 1970s and 1980s) have seen the band's music remixed into 5.1 and DTS surround sound. So far, only two of the bands albums, A Night at the Opera and The Game, have been fully remixed into high-resolution multichannel surround on DVD-Audio. A Night at the Opera was re-released with some revised 5.1 mixes and accompanying videos in 2005 for the 30th anniversary of the album's original release (CD+DVD-Video set).

In the fighting game series Guilty Gear, there is a character named for each member of Queen.

In film and television

Queen contributed music directly to the movies Flash Gordon (1980, directed by Mike Hodges) and Highlander (the original 1986 film, directed by Russell Mulcahy). The theme song, "Princes of the Universe", was also used in the Highlander TV series (1992–1998).

In the United States, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was re-released as a single in 1992 after appearing in Wayne's World. The single subsequently reached number two on the US Billboard chart (with "The Show Must Go On" as the first track on the single) and helped rekindle the band's popularity in North America.

Several films have featured their songs performed by other artists. A cover of "Somebody to Love" by Anne Hathaway featured in the 2004 film Ella Enchanted. In 2006, Brittany Murphy also recorded a cover of the same song for the 2006 movie Happy Feet. In 2001, a version of "The Show Must Go On" was performed by Jim Broadbent and Nicole Kidman in the movie musical Moulin Rouge!. The closing credits of A Knight's Tale released in 2001 has a version of "We Are the Champions" performed by Robbie Williams and Queen.

Many other films have featured their songs or sections of their songs. These include:

* FM

* Iron Eagle

* Kicking & Screaming

* Moulin Rouge

* National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon

* The Break-up

* Small Soldiers

* Son in Law

* Encino Man

* Stepmom

* High Fidelity

* Super Size Me

* The Girl Next Door

* Mr. Wrong

* Revenge of the Nerds

* Wayne's World

* The Mighty Ducks

* How High

* Happy Feet

* Chicken Little

* Cheaper By The Dozen 2

* Grosse Pointe Blank

* Blackball

* Shaun of the Dead

* Blades of Glory

* A Knight's Tale

* Mickey Blue Eyes

* I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

* Ella Enchanted

* The Heartbreak Kid

Keeping in the tradition (since Season five) of naming each season's episodes after songs from a famous 1970s era rock band (Led Zeppelin for the fifth season, The Who for the sixth and The Rolling Stones for the seventh), the eighth and final season of That '70s Show consisted of episodes named after Queen songs. "Bohemian Rhapsody" served as the season premiere.

On April 11, 2006 Queen appeared on the American singing contest television show American Idol. Each contestant was required to sing a Queen song during that week of the competition. Songs which appeared on the show included "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Fat Bottomed Girls", "The Show Must Go On", "Who Wants to Live Forever", and "Innuendo". Brian May later criticized the show for editing specific scenes, one which made the group's time with contestant Ace Young look negative, despite it being the opposite.

Al Murray's Happy Hour has a Queen theme, as it uses "Don't Stop Me Now" for the introduction and features guest performers along with host Al Murray singing different Queen songs each episode. The remainder of Queen did appear at the end of a series of the show.

"I Was Born to Love You" was used as the theme song of the Japanese drama Pride on Fuji Television in 2004, starring Takuya Kimura and Yūko Takeuchi. The show's soundtrack also contained other songs by Queen, including "We Will Rock You, "We Are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody".

A cover version of "I Was Born to Love You" is also featured in the fourth level of the Nintendo DS video game Elite Beat Agents as well as in an episode in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

The band made tentative plans to provide material for use in " The Hotel New Hampshire" but this project was abandoned although "Keep Passing The Open Windows" (which is an important catch-phrase line in the movie) did survive.

In musical theatre

In 2002, a musical or "rock theatrical" based on the songs of Queen, titled We Will Rock You, opened at the Dominion Theatre on London's West End. The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Brian May and Roger Taylor, and produced by Robert De Niro. It has since been staged in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane, Australia; Cologne, Germany; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; South Africa, Las Vegas United States; Zurich, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan; Moscow, Russia; Varberg, Sweden and Toronto, Canada.

The original London production was scheduled to close on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at the Dominion Theatre, but due to public demand, the show has now been extended indefinitely. We Will Rock You has become the longest running musical ever to run at this prime London theatre, overtaking the previous record holder, the Grease musical.

The launch of the musical coincided with Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. As part of the Jubilee celebrations Brian May performed a guitar solo of "God Save the Queen",as featured on Queen's A Night at the Opera, from the roof of Buckingham Palace. The recording of this performance was used as video for the same song on the 30th Anniversary DVD edition of A Night at the Opera.

Sean Bovim created "Queen at the Ballet", a tribute to Freddie Mercury, which uses Queen's music as a soundtrack for the show’s dancers, who interpret the stories behind tracks such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Radio Ga Ga" and "Killer Queen."

Sound and style

Queen composed music that drew inspiration from many different genres of music, often with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. Among the genres they have been associated with are: arena rock, dance/disco, glam rock, hard rock, heavy metal, pop rock, progressive rockand psychedelic rock. Queen also wrote songs that were inspired by genres that are not or barely associated with rock, such as country, ragtime, opera, gospel, vaudeville and folk. They also experimented with rock-genres such as punk rockand speed metal[citation needed], amongst others.

Sonic experimentation figured heavily in Queen's songs. A distinctive characteristic of Queen's music are the vocal harmonies which are usually comprised of the voices of May, Mercury and Taylor best heard on the studio albums A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races. Some of the ground work for the development of this sound can be attributed to their former producer Roy Thomas Baker as well as their engineer Mike Stone. Besides vocal harmonies, Queen were also known for multi-tracking voices to imitate the sound of a large choir through overdubs. According to Brian May, there are over 180 vocal overdubs in "Bohemian Rhapsody".[52] Many Queen songs were also written with audience participation in mind, such as "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions".

Influence on other musicians

Initially dismissed by the majority of music critics, especially those in the United States, Queen have more recently been recognized as having made significant contributions to such genres as arena rock, glam rock, hard rock, heavy metal, pop rock and progressive rock, amongst others. Hence the band has been cited as an influence by many other musicians. Moreover, like their music, the collection of bands and artists that have claimed to be influenced by Queen, is diverse and span different generations, countries and genres.

Metallica recorded a cover version of the song, which first appeared on the "Rubaiyat — Electra's 40th Anniversary" album in 1990, and won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1991. In the early '70s, Queen helped spur the heavy metal genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence; the New Wave of British Heavy Metal followed in a similar vein, fusing the music with a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed.

Historical success

As of 2005, according to The Guinness Book of World Records, Queen albums have spent a total of 1,322 weeks or twenty-seven years on the United Kingdom album charts; more time than any other musical act including The Beatles and Elvis Presley. Also in 2005, with the release of their live album with Paul Rodgers, Queen moved into third place on the list of acts with the most aggregate time spent on the British record charts.

In 2006, the Greatest Hits album was found to be the United Kingdom's all-time best selling album, with sales upwards of 5,407,587 copies, over 604,295 more copies than its nearest competitor, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Their Greatest Hits II album came in seventh with sales upwards of 3,631,321 copies.[79] In January 2007, their Greatest Hits I & II was the #1 most downloaded album on iTunes in North America.

One of rock's most successful and influential acts, the band have released a total of eighteen number one albums, eighteen number one singles, and ten number one DVDs worldwide making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. They have sold over 300 million albums[4] and 180 million singles[citation needed] worldwide including 32.5 million albums in the United States alone as of 2004.[5] The band are also the only group in which every member has composed more than one chart-topping single.

Ritchie Blackmore

Ritchie Blackmore

Richard Hugh Blackmore, (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist. He has been a founding member of both Deep Purple and Rainbow and is currently a member of the band Blackmore's Night. He was ranked 55 on Rolling Stone's the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003.

Biography

Early life

Blackmore was born in Weston-super-Mare, England, but moved to Heston, Middlesex at the age of two. He was 11 when he got his first guitar. His father bought it for him on certain conditions: "He said if I was going to play this thing, he was either going to have someone teach it to me properly, or he was going to smash me across the head with it. So I actually took the lessons for a year – classical lessons - and it got me on to the right footing, using all the fingers and the right strokes of the plectrum and the nonsense that goes with it."

He was influenced in his youth by early rockers like Hank Marvin and Gene Vincent, and later, country pickers like Chet Atkins. His playing improved and in the early 1960s he started out as a session player for Joe Meek's music productions and performed in several bands. He was member of instrumental combo The Outlaws and backed Heinz (playing on his top ten hit "Just Like Eddie"), Screaming Lord Sutch, Glenda Collins and Boz among others. While working for Joe Meek, he got to know engineer Derek Lawrence, who would later produce Deep Purple's first three albums. With organist Jon Lord he co-founded hard rock group Deep Purple in 1968, and continued to be a member of Deep Purple from 1968-1975 and again from 1984-1993.

The first Deep Purple years, 1968-1975

Blackmore co-founded the hard rock group Deep Purple in 1968 with Rod Evans (vocals), Nick Simper (bass), Jon Lord (keyboards), and Ian Paice (drums). The band had a hit US single with its remake of the Joe South song "Hush". After three albums Evans and Simper were replaced by Ian Gillan (vocals) and Roger Glover (bass).

The second line-up's first studio album, In Rock, changed the band's style, turning it in a hard rock direction. Blackmore's guitar riffs, Jon Lord's distorted Hammond organ, and Ian Paice's jazz-influenced drums were enhanced by the vocals of Ian Gillan, who Blackmore has described as being "a screamer with depth and a blues feel."

The next release was titled Fireball and continued in the same hard rock style established on the previous release, with Blackmore's guitar remaining a prominent feature of the band's style.

Deep Purple's next album was titled Machine Head. The band originally intended to record the album at a casino in Montreux, but the night before recording was to begin the casino hosted a Frank Zappa concert (with members of Deep Purple in attendance) at which an audience member fired a flare gun which ignited a fire inside the building and the casino burned down. The entire tragedy is documented in the lyrics of what was to become Deep Purple's historic anthem "Smoke on the Water".

The California Jam explosion.

In 1973, shortly after the release of the album Who Do We Think We Are, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left Deep Purple. Gillan was roommates with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore during the early days of the band, and in a 2006 interview Gillan said Blackmore "turned into a weird guy and the day he walked out of the tour was the day the clouds disappeared and the day the sunshine came out and we haven't looked back since." [3] He added that "there are certain personal issues that I have with Ritchie, which means that I will never speak to him again. Nothing I'm going to discuss publicly, but deeply personal stuff.

They were replaced by former Trapeze bassist Glenn Hughes and an unknown singer named David Coverdale. The album recorded by the new line-up was entitled Burn. Deep Purple continued to perform concerts worldwide, including an appearance at the 1974 'California Jam', a televised concert festival that also included many other prominent bands. At the moment Deep Purple were due to appear, Blackmore locked himself in his dressing room and refused to go onstage. Previous performers had finished early, and it was still not sundown, the time at which the band had originally been scheduled to start. Blackmore felt this would dull the effect of the band's light show. After ABC brought in a sheriff to arrest him, Blackmore agreed to perform. At the culmination of the performance he destroyed one of his guitars and threw several amplifiers off the edge of the stage. He also struck one of the ABC cameras with a guitar, and in recorded footage can be seen arranging for his road crew to set off a pyrotechnic device in one of his amplifiers, creating a brief but large fireball.

Deep Purple's next album, Stormbringer, was publicly denounced by Blackmore himself, who disliked the funky soul influences that Hughes and Coverdale injected into the band. Following its release, he departed Deep Purple to front a new group, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, which was originally thought to be a one-off collaboration by Blackmore and the Ronnie James Dio-fronted band "Elf," but was later revealed to be a new band project.

The first Rainbow years, 1975-1984

After Deep Purple, Blackmore formed the hard rock band Rainbow. The name of the band Rainbow was inspired by a Hollywood bar and grill called the Rainbow that catered to rock stars, groupies and rock enthusiasts. It was here that Blackmore spent his off time from Deep Purple and met vocalist Ronnie James Dio, whose band Elf had toured regularly as an opening act for Deep Purple.

The band's debut album, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, was released in 1975. The band's musical style differed from Blackmore's previous band and much of Blackmore's inspiration came from his love of Classical music to pair up with Dio's lyrics about medieval themes.

Blackmore fired every original band member except Dio shortly after the first album was recorded, and recruited a new lineup to record the album Rainbow Rising.

For the next album, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Blackmore kept drummer Cozy Powell and Dio but replaced the rest of the band. Blackmore had difficulty finding a bass player for this record so he handled bass duties himself on three songs: Gates of Babylon, Kill the King, and Sensitive To Light. After the albums release and supporting tour, Ronnie James Dio left Rainbow due to "creative differences" with Blackmore.

Blackmore continued with Rainbow and the band released a new album entitled Down To Earth. The album contained Blackmore's first chart successes since leaving Deep Purple, as the Graham Bonnet-fronted single "Since You Been Gone" became a huge hit. In 1980 Blackmore's Rainbow headlined the inaugural Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in England.

The title track from the band's next album, Difficult to Cure, was an arrangement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, a personal favourite of Blackmore.

Rainbow's next studio album was Straight Between the Eyes and included the hit single "Stone Cold". It would be followed by the album Bent Out of Shape, which featured the single "Street Of Dreams". The song's video was banned by MTV for its supposedly controversial hypnotic video clip.[4] The resulting tour saw Rainbow return to the UK and also to Japan where the band performed with a full orchestra.

By the mid-1980s, Blackmore and his former Deep Purple bandmates had reconciled past differences and a reunion of the successful "Mark II" lineup took place. A final Rainbow album, Finyl Vinyl, was patched together from live tracks and "b" sides of singles.

The second Deep Purple years, 1984-1993

In April 1984, it was announced on BBC Radio's Friday Rock Show that the "Mark Two" line-up of Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, and Paice was reforming and recording new material. The band signed a deal with Polydor in Europe and Mercury in North America. The album Perfect Strangers was released in October 1984. A tour followed, starting in Perth, Australia and wound its way across the world and into Europe by the following summer. It was the highest-grossing group tour of the year. The UK homecoming proved mixed as they elected to play just one festival, 'The Return of the Knebworth Fayre', at Knebworth Park on June 22 1985. Despite poor weather conditions, an audience of 80,000 attended the show that also featured The Scorpions, Mama's Boys and Meat Loaf amongst others.

In 1987, the line-up recorded and toured in support of the album, The House of Blue Light. A live album, Nobody's Perfect was released in 1988. A new version of "Hush" was also released to mark the band's twenty year anniversary. In 1989, Ian Gillan was fired from the band because of a poor working relationship with Blackmore. His replacement was former Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. The new lineup recorded one album titled Slaves & Masters (1990). Blackmore and his bandmates were disappointed with the efforts of the album and tours.

Neither the album nor the tour were critically or commercially successful. Following its conclusion, Turner was fired from the band. Both Jon Lord and Ian Paice argued that Deep Purple needed Ian Gillan as the band's frontman. Blackmore relented and Gillan returned prior to recording The Battle Rages On in 1993. During the support tour in late 1993, tensions between Gillan and Blackmore reached a climax and Blackmore left the band permanently, his last show with the band was in Helsinki, Finland on 17 November 1993.

Gillan said: "Joe Satriani came in at the last minute. Blackmore walked out and the tour was taking off to Japan...it was all very dramatic. He said: 'Alright, that's the end of the band', and assumed because he left that we were going to fold up." [3] Satriani was asked to join full time but had to decline as he was tied into a long recording contract. A permanent replacement for Blackmore was eventually found in another guitar legend, Steve Morse of Dixie Dregs, who joined the band in 1994. Gillan noted that after Blackmore "walked out, things picked up and recovered unbelievably, remarkably well and the band's in great shape now".

The second Rainbow years, 1993-1997

Ritchie Blackmore reformed Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple a second time in 1993. This Rainbow line up with Doogie White lasted until 1997 and produced the disc Stranger in Us All.

The Blackmore's Night years, 1997-present

In 1997, Blackmore teamed up with Candice Night to create the Renaissance-style group Blackmore's Night. They have also performed the music for Magi Quest, a live simulation game located along the east coast. Their manager, Carole Stevens is Candice Night's mother.

Musical style

With Deep Purple and Rainbow, Blackmore almost exclusively played a Fender Stratocaster. He is also one of the first guitarists to use a "scalloped" fretboard where the wood is shaved down between the frets. It requires the player to play with a lighter touch as pressing hard will cause the note to sound sharp. The result is increased control of vibrato and bending at the cost of making chordal playing more difficult. Other scalloped neck users include John McLaughlin, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Uli Jon Roth, and also Steve Vai, whose signature Ibanez is scalloped above the 20th fret.

One of Blackmore's best-known guitar riffs is from the song "Smoke on the Water". He plays the riff without a pick, using two fingers to pluck the D and G strings in fourths.

In his soloing, Blackmore combines blues scales and phrases with minor scales and ideas from European classical music. His resulting style has been referred to as "neo-classical" and has been emulated by many modern heavy metal guitarists.While playing he would often put the pick in his mouth to play with his fingers.

He has two guitar solos ranked on Guitar World magazine's "Top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos" (Highway Star at #19 and Lazy at #74, both from the album Machine Head).

Gear set up

During the 1960s Blackmore played a Gibson ES-335 but switched to a Fender Stratocaster after seeing Jimi Hendrix playing one in concert. He bought a second hand model from Eric Clapton's roadie. Since then and right up until his Blackmore's Night project Blackmore has used Stratocasters almost exclusively. The middle pickup is screwed down and not used, with only the bass and treble pickup selector set. Blackmore has also occasionally used a Fender Telecaster Thinline during recording sessions.

His amplifers were originally 200W Marshall Major stacks which were modified by Marshall with an additional output stage (generated approximately 278W) to make them sound more like Blackmore's favourite Vox AC-30 amp, cranked to full volume.

Since 1994 he has used Engl valve amps. He has cited that one of his reasons was that his Marshall heads did not sound as good as the Engls at low volume.

Blackmore did use effects very often during his time with Deep Purple and Rainbow, (despite claims for the opposite). He used a Hornby Skewes Treble Booster in the early days. Around the time for the Burn sessions he experimented with an EMS Synthi Hi Fli guitar synthesizer. He would sometimes use a wah-wah pedal and a variable control treble-booster for sustain. Taurus bass pedals were used during solo parts of concerts. He also had a modified Aiwa tape machine built to supply echo and delay effects. The tape deck was also used as a pre-amp. Other effects that Blackmore used were a Schulte Compact Phasing A, a Unicord Univibe and an Octivider. In the mid 80s he also experimented with Roland guitar synths. ( A Roland GR-700 that was seen on stage as late as 95-96, later replaced with the GR-50)

His strings used during his tenure's with Deep Purple and Rainbow were Picato brand (.010, .011, .014, .026, .036, .042) Ritchie has experimented with many different pickups in his strats. In the early Rainbow era they were still stock Fenders, later Dawk installed Overwound Fender (dipped). He has also used Schechters, Velvet Hammer "Red Rhodes", DiMarzio "HS-2", OBL "Black Label", Bill Lawrence L-450, XL-250 (bridge), L-250 (neck) and since the late 80s he has used Lace Sensor (Golds), which are noiseless. Blackmore's gear was modified by John "Dawk" Stillwell of Dawk Sound Limited Dawk modified his Marshall Majors as well as his Fender Stratocasters. Dawk designed the Master Tone Circuit that was installed in all the guitarist's guitars. Dawk worked for Elf with Ronnie James Dio when Elf toured with Deep Purple.

Plagiarism claim

Nick Simper, the bassist with DP Mk I, claims that he showed Ritchie Blackmore the riff from Ricky Nelson's "Summertime" and that it was the basis for the first Mk II Deep Purple single "Black Night." Roger Glover agrees in an interview with Rumba Magazine, November 1993 and says that he (Glover) insisted that they write new words and put it out as the single the record company wanted them to make. In mitigation he claims that they were all drunk. Nick Simper also identifies It's a Beautiful Day's Bombay Calling as a tune "which Mark II borrowed, and turned it into Child in Time"; Ian Gillan confirmed this in several interviews. It's a Beautiful Day in return borrowed Purple's "Wring that Neck" and turned it into "Don And Dewey" on their album Marrying Maiden. Blackmore also confirmed some of these claims in a Japanese TV interview.

Eddie Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen

Edward Van Halen (born Edward Lodewijk van Halen on January 26, 1955 in Nijmegen, Netherlands), is a guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer most famous for being the lead guitarist and a co-founder of the hard rock band, Van Halen.

Biography

Childhood

Edward Van Halen was born to Jan Van Halen, a Dutch father, and Eugenia, a Javanese mother, in Amsterdam, Netherlands and spent his early childhood in Nijmegen in the east of the country. The Dutch Van Halen family moved to Pasadena, California, United States, from the Netherlands in 1962. Edward immediately started classical piano training, and won several talent competitions as a child. Upon their arrival in United States, his parents immediately sought a piano tutor for him and his older brother, Alex Van Halen.

However, playing the piano, did not prove sufficiently engaging - he once said in an interview, "Who wants to sit in front of the piano? That's boring." Consequently, whilst Alex began playing the guitar, Eddie bought a drum kit and began practicing drumming. According to Eddie, while he was delivering newspapers (to pay for his drum kit) Alex would practice on it.[citation needed] After Eddie heard Alex's performance of the The Surfaris' drum solo in the song "Wipe Out", he grew annoyed that his brother had overtaken his ability and decided to switch and begin learning how to play the electric guitar.

Eddie was approximately twelve years old when he started playing guitar, and practiced constantly.[citation needed] He has stated that he would often walk around at home with his guitar strapped on and unplugged, practicing. He once claimed that he had learned almost all of Eric Clapton's solos in the band Cream "note for note" by age 14; in later interviews he stated he could never play the solos precisely, instead he would modify them slightly to suit his style.

In April 1996, in an interview with Guitar World, when asked about how he went from playing his first open A chord to playing "Eruption", Eddie replied:

“ Practice. I used to sit on the edge of my bed with a six-pack of Schlitz Malt talls. My brother would go out at 7pm to party and get laid, and when he'd come back at 3am, I would still be sitting in the same place, playing guitar. I did that for years — I still do that. ”

Eddie has many influences; most notably Eric Clapton, however he has also acknowledged the influence of Queen guitarist Brian May and fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth as well as the likes of Montrose guitarist Ronnie Montrose.

Van Halen formation

Van Halen, originally called "Mammoth," was formed in 1972 in Pasadena, California, United States. The band consisted of Eddie Van Halen on guitar and vocals, his brother, Alex on drums, and bassist Mark Stone. They had no P.A. system of their own, so they rented one from David Lee Roth[4] (who had auditioned for the band, but failed) - a service for which he charged $50 a night. Eddie quickly became frustrated singing lead vocals,[4] and decided they could save money by letting Roth into the band.[4] Soon, Michael Anthony replaced Mark Stone on bass. They opted to change the name of the band, reportedly due to another band operating with the same name - Roth is normally attributed with suggesting the name 'Van Halen'. Roth stated "If you name a band "Electric Blotz" in two years you are expected to play electric blotz." Naming a band after a person [or people] does not have limits.

In 1977 Gene Simmons saw one of Van Halen's shows and subsequently financed their first demo tape, flying the band to Electric Ladyland studios in New York to record "House of Pain" and "Runnin' With the Devil". Eddie disliked his playing on the demo, because he wasn't using his own equipment, and had to overdub guitar parts (which he had never done before.)

In 1977, Van Halen was offered a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Later that year, they recorded their first album, "Van Halen", which was released on February 10, 1978. Eddie claims that their first single, "You Really Got Me", a cover of the original Kinks song, was not his first choice. The band was forced to release the song before other bands who heard Van Halen's rendition were trying to beat them to the punch.

Roth years

Van Halen went on to achieve great success, releasing a total of 6 albums: Van Halen (1978), Van Halen II (1979), Women and Children First (1980), Fair Warning (1981), Diver Down (1982), and MCMLXXXIV (1984); however, the band had trouble working together as a cohesive unit; according to Gene Simmons' book Kiss and Make Up, Eddie Van Halen approached Simmons in 1982 about possibly joining Kiss as a replacement for Ace Frehley, who was suffering from severe substance abuse problems. According to Simmons, Eddie did so chiefly due to his personality conflicts with Roth.

Simmons persuaded Eddie to return to Van Halen, and shortly afterwards the band released the album 1984; which yielded the band's first #1 pop hit, "Jump". Other singles released from the album also sold well; particularly "Hot for Teacher", the video for which featured a skimpily dressed model playing the part of elementary-school teacher and school-age boys portraying younger versions of the band members.[citation needed] The album was praised by critics[citation needed], peaking at #2 on the Billboard charts behind Thriller by Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen played the guitar solo on the song "Beat It" which is widely speculated that he was not paid for his part, from that album - see below).

David Lee Roth left Van Halen on April 1, 1985, citing personal differences with Eddie. He stated in Kerrang! magazine, "Eddie Van Halen isn't happy unless he's unhappy."

Hagar years

With the arrival of former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar, the band's sound changed somewhat, as Eddie's keyboard playing became a permanent fixture, heard in songs such as "Dreams" and "Love Walks In". The change in sound prompted many fans, both positively and negatively, to refer to the band as "Van Hagar." This was a very successful time for Van Halen - eclipsing the success of the Roth years commercially.[citation needed] All four studio albums produced during this period reached #1 on the Billboard pop music charts. However, tensions within the band again rose, and Hagar departed in 1996.

Following Hagar's departure, the group briefly reunited with original singer David Lee Roth and released a Greatest Hits package in 1996. Two new songs were recorded for the album, with the single "Me Wise Magic" reaching #1 on the mainstream rock chart. However, previous disagreements resurfaced and the reunion did not last.

The band auditioned many prospective replacements for Hagar, finally settling on Gary Cherone, former frontman for Extreme, a band also represented by Van Halen's manager. Cherone predicted that the new line-up would last 'ten years'; unfortunately this would not prove to be the case; the album (Van Halen III) was received poorly. Cherone soon left the band; his departure was amicable. Once again without a lead singer, Van Halen went into hiatus.

Hagar reunion

In 2004, after several years on hiatus, Van Halen returned with Hagar as their lead singer. A greatest hits package, The Best Of Both Worlds, was released to coincide with the band's reunion tour. All bass parts on the new material on the album were played by Eddie Van Halen rather than Michael Anthony; this would prove a serious point of contention between the two[citation needed].

The band toured the US, covering 80 cities. Despite taking $55 million dollars, it was revealed in Rolling Stone that the promoters had actually lost money on the tour. The final date on the tour appeared to bring tensions between Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar to the surface, culminating in Eddie violently smashing his guitar before leaving the stage on the last date.

Reviews of the tour differed - some reviews were enthusiastic, whereas many stated the band had poor musicianship and the concerts contained apparently drunken behaviour. Michael Anthony stated that Eddie regularly performed in an alcoholic stupor:

“ I hate to talk smack about anyone in the band or whatever, but, y'know, Eddie, you know, he's still doing a bit of drinking and everything. There were nights where it was kind of like a rollercoaster, up or down, and myself, I would have liked to have seen him totally clean up if we were gonna take this further.”

Roth reunion

On February 2, 2007, it was officially announced on the band's website that David Lee Roth would rejoin Van Halen for their summer tour. The excitement regarding the tour waned when on February 20, 2007 reports surfaced that the tour was indefinitely postponed, and that a previously planned compilation of Roth era Van Halen hits was likewise shelved. However, after a long waiting-period of 6 months, which had been complicated by such issues as Eddie's time in rehab, it was finally confirmed by the band on August 13th at a press conference in Los Angeles that they would do a tour with the new lineup in late 2007 across North America, with further worldwide touring and a new album proposed to follow later on in 2008. There was no mention of the status of the previously planned compilation, but it can be assumed that with a new album in mind, such a collection need not be necessary.

Persistent rumors had long indicated the Van Halen brothers were in talks with Roth to rejoin the band for a tour and/or new material. In the February 2007 edition of Guitar World magazine, Van Halen had talked about working with Roth during the summer of 2006:

“ I'm telling Dave 'Dude get your ass up here and sing, bitch! Come on!' As it stands right now, the ball is in Dave's court. Whether he wants to rise to the occasion is entirely up to him, but we're ready to go. ”

Regarding the news that Van Halen's 15-year old son Wolfgang was to play bass in Van Halen in the fall (replacing Michael Anthony), Van Halen claimed his son's presence would have a positive effect on the band:

“ Wolfgang breathes life into what we're doing. He brings youthfulness to something that's inherently youthful. He's only been playing bass for 3 months, but it's spooky. He's locked tight and puts an incredible spin on our shit. The kid is kicking my ass! He's spanking me now, even though I never spanked him. To have my son follow in my footsteps on his own, without me pushing him into it, is the greatest feeling in the world. ”

Van Halen also stated in a Howard Stern interview that although Roth was a "loose cannon," he was willing to deal with that. David Lee Roth had previously stated that reuniting with the band was "inevitable":

“ I see (the reunion) absolutely as an inevitability. There's contact between the two camps, and they have legitimate management. To me, it's not rocket surgery. It's very simple to put together. And, as far as hurt feelings and water under the dam... so what? It's showbiz! So I definitely see it happening. ”

Recent events

Eddie Van Halen underwent hip replacement surgery in 1999, after an existing degenerative condition became unbearable.

Since the 2004 tour, Eddie Van Halen has largely disappeared from the public eye, with the exception of occasional appearances such as the 14th annual Elton John Academy Awards party, and a performance at a Kenny Chesney concert. In the time between the departure of Gary Cherone and the 2004 tour, Eddie publicly stated that he has "ten albums worth of material"; however this material has yet to see the light of day.

In December 2004 at Dimebag Darrell's funeral, Eddie donated his famous black and yellow guitar from the Van Halen II album inlay, stating that Dimebag had always said that was his all time favorite guitar. The guitar was put in Darrell's Kiss coffin, and he was buried with it.

On December 5, 2005, Eddie's wife, Valerie Bertinelli filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court. The Complaint for Divorce revealed that the couple separated on October 15, 2001. In an interview on Howard Stern's radio show on September 8, 2006, Eddie stated that he and Valerie share custody of their son, and that he sees him every day.

On March 8, 2007, Van Halen announced that he was entering rehab on the official Van Halen website, for unspecified reasons. However, both Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony have made statements indicating that Ed's personality had changed due to alcohol abuse. Hagar, Anthony and David Lee Roth have repeatedly stated their support and well wishes towards Ed's recovery since the announcement. Hagar stated at the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, "I hope he gets through this and we can have our buddy back" with Anthony visibly agreeing in the background. As of March 11, rumors were circulating that Van Halen checked himself out of the rehab center where he was initially presented.

Van Halen emerged from rehab and appeared publicly as an honorary official during the April 21, 2007 NASCAR event at Phoenix International Raceway, looking much more fit and healthy than he had been in recent years beforehand, with a look similar to that of his from Van Halen's Balance era. He also unveiled a new EVH Fender Stratocaster guitar before the ceremony.

In 2007, Eddie was honored in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II. A player receives the "Eddie Van Halen" award for hitting 500 or more notes in succession.

Cancer

During the late 1990s Van Halen was treated twice for tongue and mouth cancer. During an interview with Howard Stern on Sirius satellite radio channel 100 on September 8, 2006, Eddie claimed that holding a metal pick in his mouth 12-14 hours per day while immersed in the electromagnetic radiation of his music studio caused his tongue cancer. He said he continues to smoke because "cigarettes didn't cause the cancer",despite the fact that they could in fact contribute to the cancer's potential for resurgence.

Eddie also revealed that he stopped the cancer via an illegal method (the nature of which he declined to specify) in conjunction with a pharmaceutical lab with which he's affiliated in New York state. He said a portion of his tongue was removed and experimented on, and then the technique was performed on him. He said he has lost one third of his tongue, though his speech sounds virtually unaffected. Despite his battles with oral cancer, Eddie has been photographed in public as recently as July 2006 smoking cigarettes.[18] He appeared in public several times that month to promote the film. After coming out of rehab, he appeared on the cover of Guitar World magazine, which did a comparison with a cover that had been shot before he entered rehab.[citation needed]

Technique

Edward Van Halen's approach to the guitar involves several distinctive components. His innovative use of two-handed tapping, natural and artificial harmonics, vibrato, and tremolo picking - combined with rhythmic sensibility and a melodic approach - have influenced an entire generation of guitarists.

Whilst relatively commonplace today, Van Halen's ground-breaking techniques were originally a closely guarded secret; before the release of the band's eponymous first album, the guitarist would often play solos and more complex riffs with his back to the live audience. This was done at the advice of his bandmates to prevent any guitar players from stealing his style and technique before the album came out in 1978.[citation needed]

Tapping

Van Halen has claimed he developed his signature tapping approach after studying the guitar solo from the Led Zeppelin song "Heartbreaker" (played by Jimmy Page):

“ I think I got the idea of tapping watching Jimmy Page do his "Heartbreaker" solo back in 1971. He was doing a pull-off to an open string, and I thought wait a minute, open string ... pull off. I can do that, but what if I use my finger as the nut and move it around ?" ... I just kind of took it and ran with it. ”

although early stage photographs, demo and bootleg recordings, and an Ace Frehley January 2005 Guitar World interview claim that he started tapping in late 1976/1977 after seeing Ace Frehley from Kiss tap with a pick just before the Gene Simmons demo tapes were being made. Ace Frehley had been tapping with a pick (similar to Frank Zappa) from at least 1973 as early Kiss television appearances show.

Although Van Halen popularized the approach, he did not, despite popular belief, invent this technique; Steve Hackett from the group Genesis used a tapping technique as early as 1971 (in the album Nursery Cryme), Frank Zappa did this with a pick in 1973 and also Brian May of Queen used the tapping technique. Van Halen is known for holding the pick between his thumb and middle finger; this leaves the index finger free for easy transition between picking and two handed tapping.

In support of his large variety of two-handed tapping techniques, Van Halen also holds a patent for a flip-out support device which attaches to the rear of the electric guitar.[19] This device enables the user to play the guitar in a manner similar to the piano by orienting the face of the guitar upward instead of forward.

String boiling

Van Halen is well known for boiling new string sets before installation. This contributes to both the playability and tone of the strings.

I boil the strings so they stretch, because if you just put them on and clamp it down, the strings stretch out on the guitar. I just take a pack and let it boil for 20 minutes in the hot water. And then I dry them in the sun, because otherwise they rust. But I only use them one night anyway, so who cares if they rust?

Tone

Another critical aspect of Eddie's playing has been his guitar tone, the Brown sound. Van Halen achieved his distinctive tone by using a stock 100-watt Marshall amp, a Variac to lower the voltage of the amp to change the tone, and a "Frankenstrat" guitar Van Halen constructed using a Charvel factory 2nd body and neck, a vintage Gibson P.A.F. humbucker pickup sealed in paraffin wax (to reduce microphonic feedback), a pre-CBS Fender tremolo bridge (later to be a Floyd Rose bridge) and a single volume control (with the volume knob labelled as 'tone' )

The now famous, single pickup, single volume knob guitar configuration was arrived at due to Van Halen's lack of knowledge in electronic circuitry and his failure to find a decent bridge and neck pick-up combination. Upon installing the humbucking pickup, he did not know how to wire it into the circuit, so he wired the simplest working circuit to get it to function. His later guitars include various Kramer models from his period of endorsing that company (most notably the Kramer "5150", from which Kramer in its Gibson-owned days based their Kramer 1984 design, an unofficial artist signature model) and three signature models: the Ernie Ball/ Music Man Edward Van Halen Model (Which continues as the Ernie Ball Axis), the Peavey EVH Wolfgang (which has been succeeded by a similar guitar called the HP Special), and the Charvel EVH Art Series, on which Eddie does the striping before they are painted by Charvel.

Tuning

Though rarely discussed, one of the most distinctive aspects of Van Halen's sound was Eddie Van Halen's tuning of the guitar. Before Van Halen, most distorted, metal-oriented rock consciously avoided the use of the major third interval in guitar chords, creating instead the signature power chord of the genre. When run through a distorted amplifier, the rapid beating of the major third on a conventionally tuned guitar is distracting and somewhat dissonant.

Van Halen developed a technique of flattening his B string slightly so that the interval between the open G and B reaches a justly intonated, beatless third. This consonant third was almost unheard of in distorted-guitar rock and allowed Van Halen to use major chords in a way that mixed classic hard rock power with "happy" pop. The effect is pronounced on songs such as "Runnin' With the Devil", "Unchained", and "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?".

With the B string flattened the correct amount, chords in some positions on the guitar have more justly intonated thirds, but in other positions the flat B string creates out-of-tune intervals. As Eddie once remarked to Guitar Player:

Eddie also was one of the first guitarist to use the technique made popular in the "grunge" days of tuning his guitar down 1/2 step.

“ A guitar is just theoretically built wrong. Each string is an interval of fourths, and then the B string is off. Theoretically, that's not right. If you tune an open E chord in the first position and it's perfectly in tune, and then you hit a barre chord an octave higher, it's out of tune. The B string is always a motherfucker to keep in tune all the time! So I have to retune for certain songs. And when I use the Floyd onstage, I have to unclamp it and do it real quick. But with a standard-vibrato guitar, I can tune it while I'm playing.''

Equipment
Guitars

Eddie Van Halen's "Frankenstrat" guitar
Van Halen built his trademark red and white striped "Frankenstrat" guitar (originally black and white) by hand, using an imperfect body and a used neck picked up at Wayne Charvel's guitar shop. The body and neck were constructed by Lynn Ellsworth of Boogie Bodies guitars, who was working for Wayne at the time. In his guitar he wanted to get a Gibson sound with the Fender feel. In 1979, Eddie began to play a black, rear loaded Charvel with yellow stripes. This was later replicated by Charvel along with the black and white striped model and the red white and black model (EVH Art Series Guitars). Also, in 1979 Eddie's original guitar was repainted with Frankenstein artwork. Edward also changed the neck, removed part of the scratchplate and eventually installed a Floyd Rose vibrato unit. The guitar itself is known both as a "Frankenstrat" and as THE "Frankenstrat." Fender, through the Charvel company, reissued the guitar in relic form in 2007, the limited run selling at $25,000 a guitar. However, a "new" (non-reliced) Frankenstrat is currently available through the Charvel company for significantly less, the first time Van Halen has consented to the commercial release of a guitar with his signature graphics on it.

In 1983, Eddie began to use a brand new Kramer guitar with artwork similar to its predecessor and with a hockey-stick or "banana" headstock, which came to be known as the "5150." This guitar was rear-loaded (no scratchplate), had a Floyd Rose vibrato unit and a neck that was later electronically mapped in order for it to be copied on the later Music Man and Peavey signature models. This guitar was last used on the track "Judgment Day" on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album. It can be seen in the music videos for "Panama", "Hot for Teacher", "When It's Love", "Feels So Good" and the concert video, Live Without a Net. The guitar itself was a variant of a Kramer Pacer, although not a model that was technically available at the time. It was painted with Krylon paints by Van Halen himself and used through the OU812 tour, after which it was "retired." However, Edward did break out the guitar for use on the 2004 reunion tour, although the neck had finally given out had apparently been replaced. A copy of this guitar is available today (although not with Van Halen's permission) through the current manufacturer of Kramer's, Music Yo, a subsidiary of the Gibson company. However, the commercially available copy does NOT feature the custom graphics, as the "Frankenstein" graphics are trademarked by Edward Van Halen.

In the mid 1990s, Ernie Ball produced an EVH signature "Music Man" guitar, and Eddie used this on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Balance albums. This guitar is still commercially available under the "Axis" name, and retains all of the original features of the Edward Van Halen model. Edward was allegedly upset that Ernie Ball could not produce enough of this guitar to meet demand, and subsequently moved his endorsement to the Peavey Electronics corporation.

Eddie named his line of signature Peavey Guitars after his son Wolfgang (currently Van Halen's bassist). The guitar itself was similar to the previous Axis line, but with a slightly altered shape and many additional options available in Peavey's much larger custom shop. These guitars included a revolutionary device called the D-Tunner which enabled a guitarist to tune the low E string down to D with a slight turn of a knob attatched to the end of the bridge. In 2004 the Peavey company parted ways with Van Halen, reportedly because Eddie launched an on-line sale of hand patterened (by Edward) Charvel guitars, sold by the name of the "EVH Art Series Guitars", while he was still contractually obliged to Peavey. The guitars sold for large sums on eBay, and were essentially replicas of his famous "Frankenstrat" guitars, played by Van Halen mainly during the David Lee Roth era of the band. Edward also launched Frankenstein replicas as noted above, which are the only Van Halen guitars currently endorsed by Edward.

Most recently Eddie has collaborated with Fender guitars to produce a replica of the Frankenstrat. Eddie and Chip Ellis of the Fender Custom Shop teamed up to produce a guitar priced at $25,000 each. Also, Eddie has collaborated with Fender to launch his own EVH brand of guitars, amps, and musical instrument equipment, starting with his new EVH Brand 5150 III amplifier. In spite of this, Eddie still uses newer versions of the older Peavey Wolfgang guitars and they remain his primary guitars for live shows.

Amplifiers

It's been widely claimed that Eddie Van Halen's #1 Marshall amplifier has either been completely stock or heavily modified. Techs who claim to have seen inside his amp such as Chris Merren and Doug Roccaforte allegethat at the time of recording Van Halen's first album, the Marshall amplifier was completely stock. However, amp tech Mark Cameron claimed he found a schematic of EVH's amp in amp tech Jose Arredondo's shop after he died that showed numerous modifications that had been performed by Jose. As well as the "Jose" 16 Ohm load box, it had a transformer-coupled line out that was used to create a line out signal, which was then run into another Marshall amp's input. Basically it uses the first amp like a tube stompbox, and getting increased distortion, feedback, and gain that way. Regardless of whether the amp was modded, its serial number was 12301, which dates it to the transitional period at Marshall of 1967-1968 when the circuit of the 100 watt Marshall 1959 changed gradually from the 'Bass' circuit to the 'SuperLead' circuit. The fact that most '12000 series' (serial number in the twelve thousand range) transitional amps made during this period were a mixture of the two circuits makes it more plausible that Ed's amp was in fact stock, since the mixture of the two circuits provides a tone not dissimilar to Eddie's.

The infamous use of a variac with this amp has caused great confusion among guitarists and fans alike. Sending the reduced mains voltage of 90v into the amp does not increase distortion but actually reduces the amount the amp can produce. It is also unlikely that it was used to lower volume, since the actual reduction in volume from running a fully cranked Marshall 100w amplifier at 90v is slight. The most likely use of the variac was to produce the high end roll off and increased compression in the preamp distortion that is a result of a lower B+ voltage in the preamp and phase inverter sections of the amp, but also presumably to reduce the harmful effects of the "resistor mod" that was performed on the amp in the early days of Van Halen.

The "resistor mod" performed on the amp was the inclusion of a very high wattage (and thus physically large) resistor that was placed in between the output transformer primaries (pins 3) of the inner two output tubes of Eddie Van Halen's amp. This not only greatly reduced the volume, it also dramatically changed the tone and was responsible for the unprecedented amount of distortion from the power tubes that can be heard from the amp. This modification was also the reason for the large amount of power tube and output transformer failures that Eddie Van Halen's amp has become famous for. Several pictures exist today of Eddie's amp in the club days with a large resistor hanging out the back. By using a variac to lower the plate voltage being sent to the output tubes, less stress was placed on the tubes and therefore reduced the incidence of tube failure.

Between 1993 and 2004 Eddie was sponsored by Peavey Electronics to use their 5150 Amplifiers, which he had a part in designing. Following the ending of this relationship, Peavey renamed the amplifier as the 'Peavey 6505', with slightly updated styling but original circuitry. Eddie is now sponsored by Fender and has debuted his new amp called the 5150 III. The 5150 III features 3 channels with their own independent controls, a 4-button foot-switch and his famous striped design on the head.

Floyd Rose system

A crucial component of Van Halen's personal style is his use of the fulcrum vibrato for electric guitars. Developed in the mid-20th century, early versions of this device allowed the guitarist to impart a vibrato (slight, wavering pitch change) to a chord or single string via movement of the bar with the picking hand. Pressure on the bar, attached to the guitar's bridge, slackened the strings and momentarily lowered the pitch. This vibrato device is often mistakenly referred to as a tremolo, due to an early Fender nomenclature error (tremolo correctly refers to a fluctuation in volume, rather than pitch).

Typical versions of this device are prone to tuning problems, and are generally finicky, unstable, and limited in their pitch-changing capability. Leo Fender's development of the fulcrum vibrato for his Stratocaster line of guitars in the 1950s imparted greater tuning stability and range. This technology was exploited by guitarists in the Surf music genre, as well as other artists such as Jimi Hendrix, who pioneered the use of the Stratocaster's vibrato bar for dive-bomb effects and feedback manipulation.

The Fender vibrato unit still suffered from a lack of tuning stability that would not be addressed until the late 1970s by Floyd Rose. The key to Rose's innovation was the introduction of a string clamp located near the nut of a guitar's neck; these new systems are referred to as double-locking vibrato units, and the clamp unit referred to as a 'locking nut'. This device allowed Van Halen far greater latitude in vibrato use than was possible with previous designs, and without the dramatic loss in tuning stability. With a proper setup and periodic maintenance, the double-locking vibrato is an extremely stable and reliable device.

Consequently, Van Halen was able to forge a whole new level of musical expression with the vibrato unit, expanding greatly on techniques developed by earlier players such as Jimi Hendrix. His music incorporated a vast array of never-before-heard guitar sounds, such as shrieks, growls, dive-bombs, chirps, squeals and grunts.

Van Halen went on to collaborate with Floyd Rose on improvements to Rose's device. Among Van Halen's suggestions were the supplemental (fine) tuner knobs on the vibrato unit itself which allow the player to fine-tune the pitch of the guitar after the locking nut was engaged; these fine-tuners are now a feature on virtually all such vibrato systems.

Though Rose incorporated many of Van Halen's suggestions, he was slow to give credit for the guitarist's technical contributions, ultimately resulting in a degree of animosity between the two former collaborators. More recently, Van Halen designed and patented the D-Tuna device, which enables a player to quickly detune the lowest string on a Floyd Rose vibrato-equipped guitar down a full step, extending the effective tonal range of the guitar.

Eddie plays with a non-floating vibrato configuration that allows lowering of pitch only; he shuns the full floating configuration due to its inherent lack of tuning stability. The floating vibrato configuration is particularly susceptible to tuning degradation when a broken string sets the unit into imbalance on its pivot point; typically, the tuning will go sharp from the loss of tension previously supplied by the broken string. To counter this, Van Halen's vibrato unit is configured (by slightly over-tensioning the return springs) to rest on the surface of the guitar when not in use. This serves as a stopping point for the fulcrum rotation, thereby compensating for any loss of tension due to a broken string. Moreover, this setting makes the bridge transmit much more vibration to the guitar body, thus obtaining a better sound.

Van Halen also pioneered the mainstream use of the Trans-Trem system on the Steinberger line of guitars on "5150", most notably on the songs "Summer Nights" and on "Me Wise Magic" off of "Best of Volume I" where the song goes through several key changes while retaining the same chord voicings. The Trans-Trem system allows for the effect of an instant "capo", increasing the pitch of all strings by up to a minor third or lowering the pitch by as much as a perfect fourth.