Queen’s first ever radio session lands online (video)

 November 2, 2016 - 17:17 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Queen‘s first ever radio appearance has been posted online, NME reports.

The band first played ‘My Fairy King’ on a 1973 John Peel live session for the BBC.

Of the performance, guitarist Brian May said: “This was the first time we’d really seen Freddie [Mercury] working at his full capacity. He’s virtually a self-taught pianist, and he was making vast strides at the time, although we didn’t have a piano on stage at that point because it would have been impossible to fix up.

“So, in the studio was the first chance Freddie had to do his piano things and we actually got that sound of the piano and the guitar working for the first time which was very exciting. ‘My Fairy King’ was the first of these sort of epics where there were lots of voice overdubs and harmonies. Freddie got into this, and that led to ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ on the second album and then ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ later on.”

The performance was first aired on February 15, 1973. It will feature on forthcoming compilation ‘Queen On Air’, which collects together six BBC radio sessions the band recorded between 1973 and 1977.

Earlier this month, the rare “fast version” of their iconic song ‘We Will Rock You’ was released as a lyric video.

‘Queen On Air’ is available as a 2-CD set and a 3-LP vinyl edition, plus a Deluxe 6-disc edition featuring a CD of live concert broadcasts and 3 CDs of radio interviews. All versions will be released on November 4.