time.[37] The band then played eight times in seven cities in Japan from mid-April to the beginning of May.

[38] In September, after an angry split with

Trident, the band negotiated themselves out of their Trident Studios contract and searched for new management. One of the options they considered
was an offer from Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant. Grant wanted them to sign with Led Zeppelin's own production company, Swan Song
Records. The band found the contract unacceptable and instead contacted Elton John's manager, John Reid, who accepted the position.[39]
In late 1975, Queen recorded and released A Night at the Opera, taking its name from the popular Marx Brothers movie. At the time, it was the most
expensive album ever produced.[40] 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 Mercury penned
ballad, "Love of My Life", featured a harp and overdubbed vocal harmonies.[41] The album was very successful in Britain,[18] and went triple platinum in
the United States.[19] The British public voted it the 13th greatest album of all time in a 2004 Channel 4 poll.[42] It has also ranked highly in international
polls; in a worldwide Guinness poll, it was voted the 19th greatest of all time,[43] while an ABC poll saw the Australian public vote it the 28th greatest of
all time.[44] A Night at the Opera has frequently appeared in "greatest albums" lists reflecting the opinions of critics. Among other accolades, it was
ranked number 16 in Q magazine's "The 50 Best British Albums Ever" in 2004, and number 11 in Rolling Stone's "The 100 Greatest Albums of All
Time" as featured in their Mexican edition in 2004.[45] It was also placed at number 230 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of
All Time" in 2003.[46] A Night at the Opera is the third and final Queen album to be featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[27]
He knew exactly what he was doing. It was Freddie's baby. We just helped him bring it to life.
We realized we'd look odd trying to mime such a hugely complex thing on TV. It had to be presented in some other way.

—Brian May on Mercury writing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the groundbreaking music video.[47]
The album also featured the hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody", which was number one in the UK for nine weeks.[18] Mercury's close friend and
advisor, Capital London radio DJ Kenny Everett, played a pivotal role in giving the single exposure.[48][49] It is the third-best-selling single of all time in the
UK, surpassed only by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997", and is the best-selling commercial
single (i.e. not for-charity) in the UK. It also reached number nine in the United States (a 1992 re-release reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100
for five weeks).[33] It is the only single ever to sell a million copies on two separate occasions,[50] and became the Christmas number one twice in the UK,
the only single ever to do so. "Bohemian Rhapsody" has also been voted the greatest song of all time in three different polls.[51][52][53] The band decided to
make a video to help go with the single and hired Trilion,[54] a subsidiary of the former management company Trident Studios, using new technology to
create the video; the result is “widely credited” with heralding the age of the music video.[55][56][57][58][60] According to Brian May, the video was produced so
that the band could avoid miming on the BBC's Top of the Pops, since it would have looked strange miming to such a complex song.[47] In addition, the
band knew they would be set to appear at Dundee's Caird Hall on tour and would be unable to appear on Top of the Pops.[61]
On the impact of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" promotional video, Rolling Stone states: "Its influence cannot be overstated, practically inventing the music
video seven years before MTV went on the air."[57] Ranking it number 31 on their list of the 50 key events in rock music history, The Guardian stated it
"ensured videos would henceforth be a mandatory tool in the marketing of music".[62] Radio broadcaster Tommy Vance states, "It became the first
record to be pushed into the forefront by virtue of a video. Queen were certainly the first band to create a ‘concept’ video. The video captured the
musical imagery perfectly. You cannot hear that music without seeing the visuals in your mind’s eye."[63] The first track on A Night at the Opera, "Death
on Two Legs", is said to have been written by Mercury about Norman Sheffield (and the former management at Trident who helped make the video so
popular) because the band was broke despite the success of the previous album.[12][64] The second single from the album, "You're My Best Friend", the
second song composed by John Deacon, and his first single, peaked at number sixteen in the United States[33] and went on to become a worldwide
top-ten hit.[50] The band's A Night at the Opera Tour began in November 1975, and covered Europe, the United States, Japan, and Australia.[65]

1976–1979: A Day at the Races to Live Killers

Queen poster for their 1977 A Day at the Races Tour

By 1976, Queen were back in the studio recording A Day at the Races, which is often regarded as a sequel album to A Night at the Opera.[66][67] 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 logo.[68] The
most recognisable of the Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, invited Queen to visit him in his Los Angeles home in March 1977; there the band thanked him
in person, and performed "'39" a cappella.[69] Musically, A Day at the Races was by both fans' and critics' standards a strong effort, reaching number
one in the UK and Japan, and number five in the US.[18][68] 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 create a 100-voice gospel choir. The song went to number two in the UK,[18] and number thirteen
in the US.[33] The album also featured one of the band's heaviest songs, May's "Tie Your Mother Down", which became a staple of their live shows.[70][71]
During 1976, Queen played one of their most famous gigs, a free concert in Hyde Park, London.[72] A concert organised by the entrepreneur Richard
Branson, it set an attendance record with 150,000 people confirmed in the audience.[72][73] On 1 December 1976, Queen were the intended guests on
London's early evening Today programme, but they pulled out at the last-minute, which saw their late replacement on the show, EMI labelmate
the Sex Pistols, give their infamous expletive-strewn interview with Bill Grundy.[74][75] During the A Day at the Races Tour in 1977, Queen performed
sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, New York, in February, and Earls Court, London, in June.[21][76] The Earls Court concerts commemorated
the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, and saw the band use a lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the first time.[77][78]
The band's sixth studio album News of the World was released in 1977, which has gone four times platinum in the United States, and twice in the UK.
[19]
 The album contained many songs tailor-made for live performance, including two of rock's most recognisable anthems, "We Will Rock You" and the
rock ballad "We Are the Champions", both of which became enduring international sports anthems, and the latter reached number four in the US.[33]
[79]
 Queen commenced the News of the World Tour in November 1977, and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called this concert tour the band's
"most spectacularly staged and finely honed show".[80] During the tour they sold out another two shows at MSG, and in 1978 they received the Madison
Square Garden Gold Ticket Award for passing more than 100,000 unit ticket sales at the venue.[81]

Queen in New Haven, Connecticut in November 1977

In 1978, the band released Jazz, which reached number two in the UK and number six on the Billboard 200 in the US.[82] The album included the hit
singles "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race" on a double-sided record. Critical reviews of the album in the years since its release have been more
favourable than initial reviews.[83][84] Another notable track from Jazz, "Don't Stop Me Now", provides another example of the band's exuberant vocal
harmonies.[85]
In 1978, Queen toured the US and Canada, and spent much of 1979 touring in Europe and Japan.[86] They released their first live album, Live Killers, in
1979; it went platinum twice in the US.[87] Queen also released the very successful single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", a rockabilly inspired song
done in the style of Elvis Presley.[88][89] The song made the top 10 in many countries, topped the Australian ARIA Charts for seven consecutive weeks,
and was the band's first number one single in the United States where it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.[33][90] Having written the song on
guitar and played rhythm on the record, Mercury played rhythm guitar while performing the song live, which was the first time he ever played guitar in
concert.[89] On 26 December 1979, Queen played the opening night at the Concert for the People of Kampuchea in London, having accepted a request
by the event's organiser, Paul McCartney.[89] The concert was the last date of their Crazy Tour of London.[91]

1980–1984: The Game to The Works

Queen on stage at the Oakland Arena, Oakland, California, July 1980

Queen began their 1980s career with The Game. It featured the singles "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites the Dust", both of
which reached number one in the US.[33] After attending a Queen concert in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson suggested to Mercury backstage that
"Another One Bites the Dust" be released as a single, and in October 1980 it spent three weeks at number one.[92] The album topped the Billboard 200
for five weeks,[93] and sold over four million copies in the US.[19] It was also the first appearance of a synthesiser on a Queen album. Heretofore, their
albums featured a distinctive "No Synthesisers!" sleeve note. The note is widely assumed to reflect an anti-synth, pro-"hard"-rock stance by the band,
[94]
 but
VVV time.[37] The band then played eight times in seven cities in Japan from mid-April to the beginning of May.[38] In September, after an angry split
with Trident, the band negotiated themselves out of their Trident Studios contract and searched for new management. One of the options they
considered was an offer from Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant. Grant wanted them to sign with Led Zeppelin's own production company, Swan
Song Records. The band found the contract unacceptable and instead contacted Elton John's manager, John Reid, who accepted the position.[39]
In late 1975, Queen recorded and released A Night at the Opera, taking its name from the popular Marx Brothers movie. At the time, it was the most
expensive album ever produced.[40] 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 Mercury penned
ballad, "Love of My Life", featured a harp and overdubbed vocal harmonies.[41] The album was very successful in Britain,[18] and went triple platinum in
the United States.[19] The British public voted it the 13th greatest album of all time in a 2004 Channel 4 poll.[42] It has also ranked highly in international
polls; in a worldwide Guinness poll, it was voted the 19th greatest of all time,[43] while an ABC poll saw the Australian public vote it the 28th greatest of
all time.[44] A Night at the Opera has frequently appeared in "greatest albums" lists reflecting the opinions of critics. Among other accolades, it was
ranked number 16 in Q magazine's "The 50 Best British Albums Ever" in 2004, and number 11 in Rolling Stone's "The 100 Greatest Albums of All
Time" as featured in their Mexican edition in 2004.[45] It was also placed at number 230 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of
All Time" in 2003.[46] A Night at the Opera is the third and final Queen album to be featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[27]
He knew exactly what he was doing. It was Freddie's baby. We just helped him bring it to life.
We realized we'd look odd trying to mime such a hugely complex thing on TV. It had to be presented in some other way.
—Brian May on Mercury writing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the groundbreaking music video.[47]
The album also featured the hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody", which was number one in the UK for nine weeks.[18] Mercury's close friend and
advisor, Capital London radio DJ Kenny Everett, played a pivotal role in giving the single exposure.[48][49] It is the third-best-selling single of all time in the
UK, surpassed only by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997", and is the best-selling commercial
single (i.e. not for-charity) in the UK. It also reached number nine in the United States (a 1992 re-release reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100
for five weeks).[33] It is the only single ever to sell a million copies on two separate occasions,[50] and became the Christmas number one twice in the UK,
the only single ever to do so. "Bohemian Rhapsody" has also been voted the greatest song of all time in three different polls.[51][52][53] The band decided to
make a video to help go with the single and hired Trilion,[54] a subsidiary of the former management company Trident Studios, using new technology to
create the video; the result is “widely credited” with heralding the age of the music video.[55][56][57][58][60] According to Brian May, the video was produced so
that the band could avoid miming on the BBC's Top of the Pops, since it would have looked strange miming to such a complex song.[47] In addition, the
band knew they would be set to appear at Dundee's Caird Hall on tour and would be unable to appear on Top of the Pops.[61]
On the impact of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" promotional video, Rolling Stone states: "Its influence cannot be overstated, practically inventing the music
video seven years before MTV went on the air."[57] Ranking it number 31 on their list of the 50 key events in rock music history, The Guardian stated it
"ensured videos would henceforth be a mandatory tool in the marketing of music".[62] Radio broadcaster Tommy Vance states, "It became the first
record to be pushed into the forefront by virtue of a video. Queen were certainly the first band to create a ‘concept’ video. The video captured the
musical imagery perfectly. You cannot hear that music without seeing the visuals in your mind’s eye."[63] The first track on A Night at the Opera, "Death
on Two Legs", is said to have been written by Mercury about Norman Sheffield (and the former management at Trident who helped make the video so
popular) because the band was broke despite the success of the previous album.[12][64] The second single from the album, "You're My Best Friend", the
second song composed by John Deacon, and his first single, peaked at number sixteen in the United States[33] and went on to become a worldwide
top-ten hit.[50] The band's A Night at the Opera Tour began in November 1975, and covered Europe, the United States, Japan, and Australia.[65]

1976–1979: A Day at the Races to Live Killers

Queen poster for their 1977 A Day at the Races Tour

By 1976, Queen were back in the studio recording A Day at the Races, which is often regarded as a sequel album to A Night at the Opera.[66][67] 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 logo.[68] The
most recognisable of the Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, invited Queen to visit him in his Los Angeles home in March 1977; there the band thanked him
in person, and performed "'39" a cappella.[69] Musically, A Day at the Races was by both fans' and critics' standards a strong effort, reaching number
one in the UK and Japan, and number five in the US.[18][68] 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 create a 100-voice gospel choir. The song went to number two in the UK,[18] and number thirteen
in the US.[33] The album also featured one of the band's heaviest songs, May's "Tie Your Mother Down", which became a staple of their live shows.[70][71]
During 1976, Queen played one of their most famous gigs, a free concert in Hyde Park, London.[72] A concert organised by the entrepreneur Richard
Branson, it set an attendance record with 150,000 people confirmed in the audience.[72][73] On 1 December 1976, Queen were the intended guests on
London's early evening Today programme, but they pulled out at the last-minute, which saw their late replacement on the show, EMI labelmate
the Sex Pistols, give their infamous expletive-strewn interview with Bill Grundy.[74][75] During the A Day at the Races Tour in 1977, Queen performed
sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, New York, in February, and Earls Court, London, in June.[21][76] The Earls Court concerts commemorated
the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, and saw the band use a lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the first time.[77][78]
The band's sixth studio album News of the World was released in 1977, which has gone four times platinum in the United States, and twice in the UK.
[19]
 The album contained many songs tailor-made for live performance, including two of rock's most recognisable anthems, "We Will Rock You" and the
rock ballad "We Are the Champions", both of which became enduring international sports anthems, and the latter reached number four in the US.[33]
[79]
 Queen commenced the News of the World Tour in November 1977, and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called this concert tour the band's
"most spectacularly staged and finely honed show".[80] During the tour they sold out another two shows at MSG, and in 1978 they received the Madison
Square Garden Gold Ticket Award for passing more than 100,000 unit ticket sales at the venue.[81]

Queen in New Haven, Connecticut in November 1977

In 1978, the band released Jazz, which reached number two in the UK and number six on the Billboard 200 in the US.[82] The album included the hit
singles "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race" on a double-sided record. Critical reviews of the album in the years since its release have been more
favourable than initial reviews.[83][84] Another notable track from Jazz, "Don't Stop Me Now", provides another example of the band's exuberant vocal
harmonies.[85]
In 1978, Queen toured the US and Canada, and spent much of 1979 touring in Europe and Japan.[86] They released their first live album, Live Killers, in
1979; it went platinum twice in the US.[87] Queen also released the very successful single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", a rockabilly inspired song
done in the style of Elvis Presley.[88][89] The song made the top 10 in many countries, topped the Australian ARIA Charts for seven consecutive weeks,
and was the band's first number one single in the United States where it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.[33][90] Having written the song on
guitar and played rhythm on the record, Mercury played rhythm guitar while performing the song live, which was the first time he ever played guitar in
concert.[89] On 26 December 1979, Queen played the opening night at the Concert for the People of Kampuchea in London, having accepted a request
by the event's organiser, Paul McCartney.[89] The concert was the last date of their Crazy Tour of London.[91]

1980–1984: The Game to The Works

Queen on stage at the Oakland Arena, Oakland, California, July 1980

Queen began their 1980s career with The Game. It featured the singles "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites the Dust", both of
which reached number one in the US.[33] After attending a Queen concert in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson suggested to Mercury backstage that
"Another One Bites the Dust" be released as a single, and in October 1980 it spent three weeks at number one.[92] The album topped the Billboard 200
for five weeks,[93] and sold over four million copies in the US.[19] It was also the first appearance of a synthesiser on a Queen album. Heretofore, their
albums featured a distinctive "No Synthesisers!" sleeve note. The note is widely assumed to reflect an anti-synth, pro-"hard"-rock stance by the band,
[94]
 but
time.[37] The band then played eight times in seven cities in Japan from mid-April to the beginning of May.[38] In September, after an angry split with
Trident, the band negotiated themselves out of their Trident Studios contract and searched for new management. One of the options they considered
was an offer from Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant. Grant wanted them to sign with Led Zeppelin's own production company, Swan Song
Records. The band found the contract unacceptable and instead contacted Elton John's manager, John Reid, who accepted the position.[39]
In late 1975, Queen recorded and released A Night at the Opera, taking its name from the popular Marx Brothers movie. At the time, it was the most
expensive album ever produced.[40] 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 Mercury penned
ballad, "Love of My Life", featured a harp and overdubbed vocal harmonies.[41] The album was very successful in Britain,[18] and went triple platinum in
the United States.[19] The British public voted it the 13th greatest album of all time in a 2004 Channel 4 poll.[42] It has also ranked highly in international
polls; in a worldwide Guinness poll, it was voted the 19th greatest of all time,[43] while an ABC poll saw the Australian public vote it the 28th greatest of
all time.[44] A Night at the Opera has frequently appeared in "greatest albums" lists reflecting the opinions of critics. Among other accolades, it was
ranked number 16 in Q magazine's "The 50 Best British Albums Ever" in 2004, and number 11 in Rolling Stone's "The 100 Greatest Albums of All
Time" as featured in their Mexican edition in 2004.[45] It was also placed at number 230 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of
All Time" in 2003.[46] A Night at the Opera is the third and final Queen album to be featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[27]
He knew exactly what he was doing. It was Freddie's baby. We just helped him bring it to life.
We realized we'd look odd trying to mime such a hugely complex thing on TV. It had to be presented in some other way.
—Brian May on Mercury writing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the groundbreaking music video.[47]
The album also featured the hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody", which was number one in the UK for nine weeks.[18] Mercury's close friend and
advisor, Capital London radio DJ Kenny Everett, played a pivotal role in giving the single exposure.[48][49] It is the third-best-selling single of all time in the
UK, surpassed only by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997", and is the best-selling commercial
single (i.e. not for-charity) in the UK. It also reached number nine in the United States (a 1992 re-release reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100
for five weeks).[33] It is the only single ever to sell a million copies on two separate occasions,[50] and became the Christmas number one twice in the UK,
the only single ever to do so. "Bohemian Rhapsody" has also been voted the greatest song of all time in three different polls.[51][52][53] The band decided to
make a video to help go with the single and hired Trilion,[54] a subsidiary of the former management company Trident Studios, using new technology to
create the video; the result is “widely credited” with heralding the age of the music video.[55][56][57][58][60] According to Brian May, the video was produced so
that the band could avoid miming on the BBC's Top of the Pops, since it would have looked strange miming to such a complex song.[47] In addition, the
band knew they would be set to appear at Dundee's Caird Hall on tour and would be unable to appear on Top of the Pops.[61]
On the impact of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" promotional video, Rolling Stone states: "Its influence cannot be overstated, practically inventing the music
video seven years before MTV went on the air."[57] Ranking it number 31 on their list of the 50 key events in rock music history, The Guardian stated it
"ensured videos would henceforth be a mandatory tool in the marketing of music".[62] Radio broadcaster Tommy Vance states, "It became the first
record to be pushed into the forefront by virtue of a video. Queen were certainly the first band to create a ‘concept’ video. The video captured the
musical imagery perfectly. You cannot hear that music without seeing the visuals in your mind’s eye."[63] The first track on A Night at the Opera, "Death
on Two Legs", is said to have been written by Mercury about Norman Sheffield (and the former management at Trident who helped make the video so
popular) because the band was broke despite the success of the previous album.[12][64] The second single from the album, "You're My Best Friend", the
second song composed by John Deacon, and his first single, peaked at number sixteen in the United States[33] and went on to become a worldwide
top-ten hit.[50] The band's A Night at the Opera Tour began in November 1975, and covered Europe, the United States, Japan, and Australia.[65]

1976–1979: A Day at the Races to Live Killers

Queen poster for their 1977 A Day at the Races Tour

By 1976, Queen were back in the studio recording A Day at the Races, which is often regarded as a sequel album to A Night at the Opera.[66][67] 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 logo.[68] The
most recognisable of the Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, invited Queen to visit him in his Los Angeles home in March 1977; there the band thanked him
in person, and performed "'39" a cappella.[69] Musically, A Day at the Races was by both fans' and critics' standards a strong effort, reaching number
one in the UK and Japan, and number five in the US.[18][68] 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 create a 100-voice gospel choir. The song went to number two in the UK,[18] and number thirteen
in the US.[33] The album also featured one of the band's heaviest songs, May's "Tie Your Mother Down", which became a staple of their live shows.[70][71]
During 1976, Queen played one of their most famous gigs, a free concert in Hyde Park, London.[72] A concert organised by the entrepreneur Richard
Branson, it set an attendance record with 150,000 people confirmed in the audience.[72][73] On 1 December 1976, Queen were the intended guests on
London's early evening Today programme, but they pulled out at the last-minute, which saw their late replacement on the show, EMI labelmate
the Sex Pistols, give their infamous expletive-strewn interview with Bill Grundy.[74][75] During the A Day at the Races Tour in 1977, Queen performed
sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, New York, in February, and Earls Court, London, in June.[21][76] The Earls Court concerts commemorated
the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, and saw the band use a lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the first time.[77][78]
The band's sixth studio album News of the World was released in 1977, which has gone four times platinum in the United States, and twice in the UK.
[19]
 The album contained many songs tailor-made for live performance, including two of rock's most recognisable anthems, "We Will Rock You" and the
rock ballad "We Are the Champions", both of which became enduring international sports anthems, and the latter reached number four in the US.[33]
[79]
 Queen commenced the News of the World Tour in November 1977, and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called this concert tour the band's
"most spectacularly staged and finely honed show".[80] During the tour they sold out another two shows at MSG, and in 1978 they received the Madison
Square Garden Gold Ticket Award for passing more than 100,000 unit ticket sales at the venue.[81]

Queen in New Haven, Connecticut in November 1977

In 1978, the band released Jazz, which reached number two in the UK and number six on the Billboard 200 in the US.[82] The album included the hit
singles "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race" on a double-sided record. Critical reviews of the album in the years since its release have been more
favourable than initial reviews.[83][84] Another notable track from Jazz, "Don't Stop Me Now", provides another example of the band's exuberant vocal
harmonies.[85]
In 1978, Queen toured the US and Canada, and spent much of 1979 touring in Europe and Japan.[86] They released their first live album, Live Killers, in
1979; it went platinum twice in the US.[87] Queen also released the very successful single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", a rockabilly inspired song
done in the style of Elvis Presley.[88][89] The song made the top 10 in many countries, topped the Australian ARIA Charts for seven consecutive weeks,
and was the band's first number one single in the United States where it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.[33][90] Having written the song on
guitar and played rhythm on the record, Mercury played rhythm guitar while performing the song live, which was the first time he ever played guitar in
concert.[89] On 26 December 1979, Queen played the opening night at the Concert for the People of Kampuchea in London, having accepted a request
by the event's organiser, Paul McCartney.[89] The concert was the last date of their Crazy Tour of London.[91]

1980–1984: The Game to The Works

Queen on stage at the Oakland Arena, Oakland, California, July 1980

Queen began their 1980s career with The Game. It featured the singles "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites the Dust", both of
which reached number one in the US.[33] After attending a Queen concert in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson suggested to Mercury backstage that
"Another One Bites the Dust" be released as a single, and in October 1980 it spent three weeks at number one.[92] The album topped the Billboard 200
for five weeks,[93] and sold over four million copies in the US.[19] It was also the first appearance of a synthesiser on a Queen album. Heretofore, their
albums featured a distinctive "No Synthesisers!" sleeve note. The note is widely assumed to reflect an anti-synth, pro-"hard"-rock stance by the band,
[94]
 but
time.[37] The band then played eight times in seven cities in Japan from mid-April to the beginning of May.[38] In September, after an angry split with
Trident, the band negotiated themselves out of their Trident Studios contract and searched for new management. One of the options they considered
was an offer from Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant. Grant wanted them to sign with Led Zeppelin's own production company, Swan Song
Records. The band found the contract unacceptable and instead contacted Elton John's manager, John Reid, who accepted the position.[39]
In late 1975, Queen recorded and released A Night at the Opera, taking its name from the popular Marx Brothers movie. At the time, it was the most
expensive album ever produced.[40] 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 Mercury penned
ballad, "Love of My Life", featured a harp and overdubbed vocal harmonies.[41] The album was very successful in Britain,[18] and went triple platinum in
the United States.[19] The British public voted it the 13th greatest album of all time in a 2004 Channel 4 poll.[42] It has also ranked highly in international
polls; in a worldwide Guinness poll, it was voted the 19th greatest of all time,[43] while an ABC poll saw the Australian public vote it the 28th greatest of
all time.[44] A Night at the Opera has frequently appeared in "greatest albums" lists reflecting the opinions of critics. Among other accolades, it was
ranked number 16 in Q magazine's "The 50 Best British Albums Ever" in 2004, and number 11 in Rolling Stone's "The 100 Greatest Albums of All
Time" as featured in their Mexican edition in 2004.[45] It was also placed at number 230 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of
All Time" in 2003.[46] A Night at the Opera is the third and final Queen album to be featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[27]
He knew exactly what he was doing. It was Freddie's baby. We just helped him bring it to life.
We realized we'd look odd trying to mime such a hugely complex thing on TV. It had to be presented in some other way.
—Brian May on Mercury writing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the groundbreaking music video.[47]
The album also featured the hit single "Bohemian Rhapsody", which was number one in the UK for nine weeks.[18] Mercury's close friend and
advisor, Capital London radio DJ Kenny Everett, played a pivotal role in giving the single exposure.[48][49] It is the third-best-selling single of all time in the
UK, surpassed only by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997", and is the best-selling commercial
single (i.e. not for-charity) in the UK. It also reached number nine in the United States (a 1992 re-release reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100
for five weeks).[33] It is the only single ever to sell a million copies on two separate occasions,[50] and became the Christmas number one twice in the UK,
the only single ever to do so. "Bohemian Rhapsody" has also been voted the greatest song of all time in three different polls.[51][52][53] The band decided to
make a video to help go with the single and hired Trilion,[54] a subsidiary of the former management company Trident Studios, using new technology to
create the video; the result is “widely credited” with heralding the age of the music video.[55][56][57][58][60] According to Brian May, the video was produced so
that the band could avoid miming on the BBC's Top of the Pops, since it would have looked strange miming to such a complex song.[47] In addition, the
band knew they would be set to appear at Dundee's Caird Hall on tour and would be unable to appear on Top of the Pops.[61]
On the impact of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" promotional video, Rolling Stone states: "Its influence cannot be overstated, practically inventing the music
video seven years before MTV went on the air."[57] Ranking it number 31 on their list of the 50 key events in rock music history, The Guardian stated it
"ensured videos would henceforth be a mandatory tool in the marketing of music".[62] Radio broadcaster Tommy Vance states, "It became the first
record to be pushed into the forefront by virtue of a video. Queen were certainly the first band to create a ‘concept’ video. The video captured the
musical imagery perfectly. You cannot hear that music without seeing the visuals in your mind’s eye."[63] The first track on A Night at the Opera, "Death
on Two Legs", is said to have been written by Mercury about Norman Sheffield (and the former management at Trident who helped make the video so
popular) because the band was broke despite the success of the previous album.[12][64] The second single from the album, "You're My Best Friend", the
second song composed by John Deacon, and his first single, peaked at number sixteen in the United States[33] and went on to become a worldwide
top-ten hit.[50] The band's A Night at the Opera Tour began in November 1975, and covered Europe, the United States, Japan, and Australia.[65]

1976–1979: A Day at the Races to Live Killers

Queen poster for their 1977 A Day at the Races Tour

By 1976, Queen were back in the studio recording A Day at the Races, which is often regarded as a sequel album to A Night at the Opera.[66][67] 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 logo.[68] The
most recognisable of the Marx Brothers, Groucho Marx, invited Queen to visit him in his Los Angeles home in March 1977; there the band thanked him
in person, and performed "'39" a cappella.[69] Musically, A Day at the Races was by both fans' and critics' standards a strong effort, reaching number
one in the UK and Japan, and number five in the US.[18][68] 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 create a 100-voice gospel choir. The song went to number two in the UK,[18] and number thirteen
in the US.[33] The album also featured one of the band's heaviest songs, May's "Tie Your Mother Down", which became a staple of their live shows.[70][71]
During 1976, Queen played one of their most famous gigs, a free concert in Hyde Park, London.[72] A concert organised by the entrepreneur Richard
Branson, it set an attendance record with 150,000 people confirmed in the audience.[72][73] On 1 December 1976, Queen were the intended guests on
London's early evening Today programme, but they pulled out at the last-minute, which saw their late replacement on the show, EMI labelmate
the Sex Pistols, give their infamous expletive-strewn interview with Bill Grundy.[74][75] During the A Day at the Races Tour in 1977, Queen performed
sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden, New York, in February, and Earls Court, London, in June.[21][76] The Earls Court concerts commemorated
the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, and saw the band use a lighting rig in the shape of a crown for the first time.[77][78]
The band's sixth studio album News of the World was released in 1977, which has gone four times platinum in the United States, and twice in the UK.
[19]
 The album contained many songs tailor-made for live performance, including two of rock's most recognisable anthems, "We Will Rock You" and the
rock ballad "We Are the Champions", both of which became enduring international sports anthems, and the latter reached number four in the US.[33]
[79]
 Queen commenced the News of the World Tour in November 1977, and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times called this concert tour the band's
"most spectacularly staged and finely honed show".[80] During the tour they sold out another two shows at MSG, and in 1978 they received the Madison
Square Garden Gold Ticket Award for passing more than 100,000 unit ticket sales at the venue.[81]

Queen in New Haven, Connecticut in November 1977

In 1978, the band released Jazz, which reached number two in the UK and number six on the Billboard 200 in the US.[82] The album included the hit
singles "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race" on a double-sided record. Critical reviews of the album in the years since its release have been more
favourable than initial reviews.[83][84] Another notable track from Jazz, "Don't Stop Me Now", provides another example of the band's exuberant vocal
harmonies.[85]
In 1978, Queen toured the US and Canada, and spent much of 1979 touring in Europe and Japan.[86] They released their first live album, Live Killers, in
1979; it went platinum twice in the US.[87] Queen also released the very successful single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", a rockabilly inspired song
done in the style of Elvis Presley.[88][89] The song made the top 10 in many countries, topped the Australian ARIA Charts for seven consecutive weeks,
and was the band's first number one single in the United States where it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.[33][90] Having written the song on
guitar and played rhythm on the record, Mercury played rhythm guitar while performing the song live, which was the first time he ever played guitar in
concert.[89] On 26 December 1979, Queen played the opening night at the Concert for the People of Kampuchea in London, having accepted a request
by the event's organiser, Paul McCartney.[89] The concert was the last date of their Crazy Tour of London.[91]

1980–1984: The Game to The Works

Queen on stage at the Oakland Arena, Oakland, California, July 1980

Queen began their 1980s career with The Game. It featured the singles "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites the Dust", both of
which reached number one in the US.[33] After attending a Queen concert in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson suggested to Mercury backstage that
"Another One Bites the Dust" be released as a single, and in October 1980 it spent three weeks at number one.[92] The album topped the Billboard 200
for five weeks,[93] and sold over four million copies in the US.[19] It was also the first appearance of a synthesiser on a Queen album. Heretofore, their
albums featured a distinctive "No Synthesisers!" sleeve note. The note is widely assumed to reflect an anti-synth, pro-"hard"-rock stance by the band,
[94]
 but