Brian May has discussed the seminal album cover for Queen’s iconic 1973 album in the latest episode of Queen: The Greatest.
The multi-part web series is in honor of the band’s 1973 self-titled debut, which was recently remixed, remastered, and expanded.
In episode five, May dives into the album cover for the album. He explains: “I had this premonition that Freddie was very special and that he was gonna be our icon. So, rather than put the four band members on the front of the first Queen album, I thought it would be nice just to have Freddie as a symbol. Like, the figurehead on a boat or a ship.”
Elsewhere in the interview, May explains how Mercury designed the iconography for the album art. Check out the full clip below.
In episode four of the series, Brian May and Roger Taylor broke down the band’s music video history.
In the clip, the duo recall seeing the first Queen “music video” fresh off the release of the lead single off their self-titled LP, “Keep Yourself Alive.” Still struggling for radio play as a burgeoning band, the group were eager to take advantage of an opportunity for a platform on BBC.
“I remember going home from some place to my parents house and it was going to come on the TV, so we were glued to the TV, and suddenly this little train comes along,” May shares of the first time he saw “Keep Yourself Alive” play on the show The Old Grey Whistle Test, paired with animated clips of two racing trains. “We were just mesmerized.” Although the group didn’t technically star in the video, it marked their music’s first TV appearance. May and Taylor remember presenter Bob Harris’ excitement at this new group—a sign that they were really coming onto the scene.