"We aimed for the top slot and we were not going to be satisfied with anything less." Freddie Mercury

March 2011 sees the re-release of Queens first five albums - one of the most exciting and influential back catalogues of all time. Recorded in the maelstrom of the early 1970’s London music scene Queen created a groundbreaking and unique soundtrack that remains globally influential today. Theatrical, imaginative, diverse, melodic and unpredictable they had a sound and a look all of their own. Sitting alongside their contemporaries like Led Zep and David Bowie, Queen set the standard for British rock in the 1970’s and became one of the most thrilling, glamorous and downright rock n roll bands of all time, directly influencing a contemporary roll call of artists from Foo Fighters & Axl Rose to Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.

By 1976, Queen were back in the studio recording ‘A Day At The Races’, which was written and recorded by Queen at their happiest, riding on the crest of a wave and loving every second. The album is an infectiously jubilant piece of music full of love, optimism and good old fashioned rock and roll. Like ‘A Night at the Opera’ it again borrowed the name of a Marx Bros movie, and its cover was similar to that of ‘A Night at the Opera’, a variation on the same Queen Crest. It reached number one on the British charts and features the classics ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, Freddie Mercury’s personal favourite composition ‘Somebody To Love’ and ‘Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy’