The Story Behind the Iconic "Queen II" Album Cover,

After conquering the rock and roll world, Queen sure has become one of the biggest bands of all time along with writing its name with golden letters to history.

So, in this list, we wanted to give you a glimpse of the enormous career Queen had, revealing all their albums and details along with their sales and more.

Queen is a British rock band formed in London back in 1970, releasing 15 studio albums, 11 box sets, 10 live albums, 2 EPs, 72 singles, and much more throughout its ongoing career for more than 5-decade.

And the legendary rock band has sold more than 300 million albums worldwide after debuting with the self-titled album back in 1973.

So, after releasing songs that are still being listened to all around the world and never getting old such as Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, Somebody To Love, The Show Must Go On, We Are The Champions, and Don’t Stop Me Now, Queen has been continuing its career with Adam Lambert called Queen + Adam Lambert after their regarded frontman passed away in 1991.

On the other hand, Queen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

So, here are all Queen albums along with their sale details of all time, down below.

Table of Contents

15- Queen II (1974)14- Flash Gordon13- Queen (1973)12- Hot Space (1982)11- Sheer Heart Attack (1974)10- The Miracle (1989)9- The Works (1984)8- A Day at the Races (1976)7- Jazz (1978)6- Innuendo (1991)5- A Kind of Magic (1986)4- The Game (1980)3- News of the World (1977)2- Made in Heaven (1995)1- A Night at the Opera (1975)

The second studio album of Queen was released on 8 March 1974 to become “arguably the heaviest Queen album” ever.

Blending the heavy rock sound with art rock and progressive rock elements, the album was also described as “a pillar of grandiose, assaultive hard rock” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well.

On the other hand, Queen II also featured two sides labeled “Side White” and “Side Black” instead of the conventional sides of general albums, presenting fans the songs classified according to their themes, which also was one of the best tactics Queen has made.

But still, the album is one of the least-known albums of their although it has also gathered praises and acclaim from critics, growing its own distinctive cult fanbase after all.

14- Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon is the ninth studio album of the legendary rock band released on 8 December 1980 as the first soundtrack album of Queen for the science fiction film Flash Gordon.

Containing lyrics in only two songs, the band used audio from the movie in the theme song and some score selections of the album as well unlike most of the soundtrack albums.

So, Flash Gordon was reissued worldwide on 27 June 2011 along with an EP of related tracks included, to honor the band’s 40th anniversary, as the original soundtrack had peaked number 10 on the UK charts and number 23 in the US at the time.

13- Queen (1973)

The self-titled debut album of Queen was released on 13 July 1973 in the UK and the US, showing off the band’s noticeable future through their music instantly.

Influenced by heavy metal and progressive rock, the debut album songs’ lyrics were written by Freddie Mercury and Brian May as well as the band’s drummer Roger Taylor accompanied them writing and singing “Modern Times Rock and Roll,” containing also folklore and religious elements in them among many other topics.

12- Hot Space (1982)

The tenth studio album of Queen, Hot Space, was released on 21 May 1982, showing off the band shifting its direction from their earlier work by adding many new elements such as disco, funk, rhythm and blues, dance, and pop music to their album.

So, the band however ended up earning a huge success with their new dance-oriented album’s hit “Another One Bites the Dust,” even though their traditional rock fans weren’t intrigued at all.

11- Sheer Heart Attack (1974)

The third studio album of Queen was released on 8 November 1974, diverging from the progressive themes they showed on the first two albums.

Sheer Heart Attack contained more pop-centric and conventional rock songs, which would also be marking a step towards the “classic” Queen sound.

However, the album has also become the first Queen album to hit the US top 20 while also being praised for containing “a wealth of outstanding hard rock guitar tracks.”

10- The Miracle (1989)

The thirteenth studio album of Queen was released on 22 May 1989 after Brian May‘s marital problems and Freddie Mercury‘s HIV diagnosis.

While the album was also the last album of Queen that features a photo of the band on the front cover, it was also the penultimate album featuring Freddie Mercury before he died nine months after their next album, Innuendo was released.

On the other side, the album had also achieved a great commercial and critics, peaking at number one in the UK, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and number 24 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

9- The Works (1984)

The eleventh studio album of Queen, The Works was released on 27 February 1984 as the band came back to its rock sound roots after having dance-oriented elements on their previous album Hot Space.

Even though the band also lost its top spots in US sales when they decided not to tour in North America due to negative reactions and ban they got against “I Want to Break Free,” Queen still could reach a good deal of sales worldwide selling over 5 million copies.

On the other hand, the album had also failed to peak at number one although it made its longest layover spending 94 weeks on the UK Albums Chart among the previous albums of Queen, as well.

8- A Day at the Races (1976)

The fifth studio album of Queen, A Day at the Races was released on 10 December 1976 as the band’s first completely self-produced album.

While also serving as a companion to Queen’s previous album, A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races took its names from Marx Brothers films like the band’s previous album as both albums also featured similar packaging and eclectic musical themes.

A Day at the Races had also become the legendary rock band’s third album to ship gold in the US along with peaking at number five on the US Billboard 200 before it eventually reached platinum status in the country as well.

7- Jazz (1978)

The seventh studio album of Queen, Jazz was released on 10 November 1978 along with an artwork inspired from a design Roger Taylor saw painted on the Berlin Wall.

The album was also praised and criticized for varying musical styles as it peaked at number two in the UK Albums Chart and number six on the US Billboard 200 in the meantime.

6- Innuendo (1991)

The fourteenth studio album of Queen, Innuendo was released on 4 February 1991 as the band’s last album to feature Freddie Mercury as the legendary singer died after nine months of the album’s release.

Besides all, the album turned back to the original roots of Queen, showcasing harder rock sounds again featuring complex musical composition, psychedelic effects, and Mercury’s strong vocals.

So, the last album featured Freddie Mercury also proved the band’s strong existence on rock and roll even though they had been shifting directions on their albums time to time, as it peaked at number one in charts all around the world and guarded its position for a long time, as well.

5- A Kind of Magic (1986)

The twelfth studio album of Queen was released on 2 June 1986 along with being recorded digitally for the first time.

The album is also the second work of the band for the movie Highlander based on its soundtrack.

Hitting charts immediately, the album peaked at number one in the UK charts, remaining in its place for 63 weeks along with selling 600,000 in the UK alone as it was sold 100,000 copies in its first week.

4- The Game (1980)

The eighth studio album of Queen was released on 30 June 1980, featuring a different sound from its predecessor, Jazz.

Becoming the only Queen album to peak at number one in the US along with their best-selling studio album in the US, the album gathered a critical and commercial success, selling over four million copies.

3- News of the World (1977)

The sixth studio album of Queen, News of the World was released on 28 October 1977 as a response of the band after punk rock acts sparked a massive backlash against progressive rock artists.

So, Queen simplified their symphonic rock sound and geared towards a more spontaneous hard rock sound for News of the World‘s songs, which ended up selling over 4 million copies in the US while also its lead single “We Are the Champions” became one of the most legendary songs ever in history as it is still being listened to all over the world becoming a cult rock anthem and be regarded as one of Queen’s greatest albums.

2- Made in Heaven (1995)

The fifteenth and final studio album of Queen, Made in Heaven was released on 6 November 1995 as the first and only album that was released after the legendary singer Freddie Mercury’s death.

Following his tragic passing, his bandmates Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon used Mercury’s vocal and piano records he had recorded before he died, to release their last album by adding new instrumentation to the recordings.

So, the album peaked at number one right away in the UK along with being certified platinum while selling 1.2 million copies.

1- A Night at the Opera (1975)

Sale: 11,400,000

The fourth studio album of Queen, A Night at the Opera was released on 21 November 1975 as the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release, achieving amazing selling records and commercials.

Utilizing a diverse range of instruments, Queen contributed the album using other equipment aside from their usual ones to incorporate their songs in a wide range of styles such as ballads, music hall, hard and progressive rock influences.

As a result, A Night at the Opera topped the UK Albums Chart for four non-consecutive weeks as it also peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 along with being the first platinum-certified album of Queen in the US.

USA: 3,685,000

Canada: 480,000

Latin America: 910,000

Brazil: 255,000

Mexico: 245,000

Argentina: 225,000

Asia: 890,000

Japan: 555,000

Australia: 300,000

ROW: 179,000

Europe: 4,880,000

Germany: 725,000

France: 292,500

Italy: 325,000

Spain: 405,000

Netherlands: 350,000

Sweden: 120,000

Switzerland: 120,000

Austria: 60,000

Finland: 40,000

Queen II is the second studio album by the British rock band Queen.

It was released on March 8, 1974 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US.

Described as “arguably the heaviest Queen album,” Queen II marked the end of the first phase of the band’s career.The album combines a heavy rock sound with art rock and progressive rock elements, and has been called “a pillar of grandiose, assaultive hard rock” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.The cover of Queen II (1974).Rock photographer Mick Rock was engaged to create the album’s artwork.

In Rock’s words, the band wanted to “graft some of [the trademark] decadent ‘glam’ sensibility” of his previous work with artists such as David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed.

According to Rock, Queen were looking to grab people’s attention with the cover, especially since their first album had failed to do so.

“They realised that if you could catch people’s eyes you could get them interested in the music.”The brief he received from the band conceived a black and white theme for the album.

The cover features a photograph described by VH1 as “Queen standing in diamond formation, heads tilted back like Easter Island statues” against a black background.

The iconic chiaroscuro image of Queen was inspired by a similar photograph of Marlene Dietrich from the 1932 film Shanghai Express.“And of course no one was ever more ‘glam’ than the divine Ms Dietrich,” Rock quipped.

“It was just one of those flashes of inspiration that happens sometimes,” Rock explained.

“There was a feeling that [echoing the Dietrich pose] might be pretentious,” but Rock convinced the band otherwise.

“It made them look like much bigger a deal than they were at the time, but it was a true reflection of their music.”“For the concept, I was feeding off the music and the band.

I’d come across a photo of Marlene Dietrich on the set of 1932’s Shanghai Express, and she was under a top light, with hood eyes, arms crossed, fingers spread.

I showed Freddie the image and he loved it.

So that was sold to the rest of the band as the basic idea.”A photo of Marlene Dietrich on the set of 1932’s Shanghai Express.

(Photographed by Don English)“At the time, the band didn’t understand what went on in the studio, or about lighting, and I was running up and down on a ladder while they kept running back and forth to look in the mirror.

It took a bit of fiddling to get them all arranged right.

Brian May brought a veil that we put on his head for some shots, and we tried a few different hand arrangements from Freddie.“Freddie was ecstatic with it.

But there was some debate over whether it should be the white or the black shot that went on the cover.

Someone had accused the band of being pretentious.

Obviously, Freddie couldn’t give a damn, but it had stuck a bit with the others, and they thought the black shot was too strong, because they were an unknown band, and the black cover made it look like they were already there.

But if Freddie wanted something, he could twist the others into it, and eventually they went along with it.

And I know they’re glad they did…”To expand on the black and white theme, Rock made a second image of the band, dressed in white against a white background, that was used in the album’s gatefold, advertising, and the “Seven Seas of Rhye” single sleeve.