Queen’s acclaimed web series The Greatest is back with a special limited-series of episodes in honor of a forthcoming reissue of their debut self-titled album. The series, which premiered today on YouTube, explores the band’s rise in multiple parts, starting with the making of the 1973 record in the shadow of Wembley Arena at London’s De Lane Lea Studios.
“The De Lane Lea Studios really changed our lives,” Brian May explains, “and it was just because a friend of a friend had got hold of me and said, ‘Would you like to come in and make a noise?’” At the time, the then-brand-new studio was looking for artists willing to try out their untested equipment. Queen made perfect candidates.
Once they set up shop at De Lane Lea, May recalls how quickly Freddie Mercury adjusted to studio recording, developing the sound that would eventually catch the eye of noted producer John Anthony.
First, though, Roger Taylor remembers having to knock on quite a few doors with products of their time at De Lane Lea. “It was just a grind,” Taylor recalls. “I wouldn’t say it was soul-destroying because we were quite confident. We had a sort of innate, gentle arrogance. You know, we thought we were good and quite different. But, yeah, it could have been soul-destroying, but we didn’t let it get us down too much.”
A second installment of ‘Queen: The Greatest,’ ‘The Story of Queen Part 2,’ is set to premiere on November 1st. Previous episodes of the web series The Greatest Live have celebrated monumental live performances in the band’s long history, from archival Mercury triumphs to more recent collaborations with artists like Adam Lambert.