Airdate: Queen: Days of Our Lives

I’ve seen so many specials on Queen and the final years of Freddie Mercury that they all begin to blur a little bit.

That’s because they are still my all time favourite band. How can you go past such pop perfection, theatricality, musical diversity from four musicians and songwriters. How can you go past that voice?

I’m not sure if this two part doco has played before on Pay TV or has any new footage, but I’m sure there are many who will want to see this one which starts in ABC2 next week.

In 1971, four university students got together to form the band, Queen. Forty years later, they have released 26 albums and sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

This two-part documentary explores the remarkable story of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon against a backdrop of brilliant music, stunning live performances and an extensive archive of unseen and rare footage.

Queen: Days Of Our Lives covers the band’s early struggles and obstacles, the successes, arguments, breakups, triumphs, tragedies and their enduring legacy – dazzling music and thrilling live performances from every corner of the globe.

The documentary is the band’s story in their own words – a compelling journey told with intelligence, wit, plenty of humour and painful honesty. Queen never did anything by half – meaning their highs were massive but their lows catastrophic.

Part one charts the band’s early story, from their meeting at London’s Imperial College, to their first albums which struggled to sell and their cringing stints on Top Of The Pops.

The documentary reveals how four strong minded individuals, all capable of writing massive hit songs, worked together so successfully for four decades.

It also recounts the band’s feuds, and their battles with The New Musical Express, as well as their rise to success during the 70s, which made them the world’s biggest band by 1980.

9:30pm Wednesday, 30 November on ABC2.
Part II plays a week later.