Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970 and are one of the most commercially successful musical acts of all time. The group originally consisted of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals), Brian May (lead guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen's initial works were chiefly heavy metal orientated, however with time the band incorporated diverse and innovative styles in their music, exploring the likes of vaudeville, progressive rock, and even funk. Throughout the 1970s Queen disclosed the absence of synthesisers on their albums, yet their style continued to evolve, which reflected their experimental approach to music.

The group's roots can be traced back to the demise of the band Smile, of which May and Taylor were part. They were joined by a Farrokh Bulsara who changed the band's name to Queen, and his own to Freddie Mercury, and adopted the role of lead vocalist. Deacon was later recruited by the trio to complete the group. Queen enjoyed success in the UK during the early 1970s but it was the release of Sheer Heart Attack (1974) and A Night at the Opera (1975) that gained the band international success, both critically and commercially.The latter featured "Bohemian Rhapsody", which stayed at number one in the UK charts for nine weeks. In 1987, Mercury was diagnosed HIV positive and in 1991 died of bronchopneumonia, a complication of AIDS. Deacon's retirement followed in 1997. Since then, May and Taylor have infrequently performed together at special events and programmes. Between 2004 and 2009 the duo collaborated with Paul Rodgers under the name Queen + Paul Rodgers.

In modern surveys Queen have been described as giving the greatest live performance ever, producing the greatest single in history, and being the best British band of all time. The band has released a total of 18 number one albums, 18 number one singles, and 10 number one DVDs worldwide making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. They have been honoured with seven Ivor Novello awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2009, the band's record label EMI reported their worldwide album sales as over 300 million, as did the BBC and numerous other independent sources.