On the 5th of March 2013, one of the world’s greatest bands, Queen, were honoured with a PRS for Music Heritage Award at Imperial College to commemorate where they performed their first concert in London on the 18th of July 1970.
The plaque was unveiled by former PRS for Music chairman, Guy Fletcher and accepted by Queen members, Brian May and Roger Taylor in front of close friends and family including actress Anita Dobson and Kashmira Cooke, Freddie Mercury’s sister.
Queen have produced 16 number one albums, 18 number one singles and sold 300 million records worldwide. Bohemian Rhapsody, one of their biggest hits, stayed at the top of the UK singles charts for nine weeks, while their performance at the Live Aid concert in 1985 is widely regarded as a seminal moment in rock history.
Brian and Roger formed the group with enigmatic vocalist and songwriter Freddie Mercury in 1970. Bassist John Deacon joined a year later. All of the band members were songwriters in their own right and each contributed at least one number one hit to the band's impressive arsenal.
"The first proper gig we did was at Imperial College in the Union Hall. I remember it very distinctly because I’d seen all sorts of people playing in there. I’d been part of the Entertainment Committee and we booked a group every Saturday night in those days. People like Spooky Tooth and Steamhammer! We booked Jimi Hendrix too. So for us it was a dream come true to actually play on that stage. It used to get packed in there so it was a major stepping stone for us."-Brian May
