Just as Her Majesty The Queen is preparing to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee next year, the rock group also known as Queen are about to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Queen drummer Roger Taylor has been talking about the band’s history. He recently told the Daily Express: “It is a surprise our legacy has lasted like it has. Looking back, apart from feeling old, it makes me think how unique we really were.

“It’s also dredged up a lot of the peripheral stuff. There was a lot of pain in making those albums. We were very close but we were always going for each other behind closed doors. There were four artists trying to paint on one canvas... Each album seemed like it took ages to write. We were so involved in it, 98 percent of our lives was the band.”

Taylor has been working with Brian May on remastering Queen’s first five albums for re-release.

Taylor has also told of his desire to release songs that Freddie Mercury recorded with the late King Of Pop, Michael Jackson. There are plans underway to release these recordings this year. They are believed to include a version of There's More To Life Than This, State of Shock and a previously unheard song, Victory that lent its name to the eponymous Jacksons' album but failed to make the track listing.

The popularity of Queen's music continues to be displayed by London theatregoers who continue to buy We Will Rock You tickets in droves

We Will Rock You is currently performing at London's DOMINION THEATRE

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