LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Records) - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members
Queen are back in a big way this summer. Hollywood Records is set to release the official "
We Will Rock You" edition of the band's "
Greatest Hits" album on August 17, marking the Sept. 8 premiere of the record-setting hit musical at Paris Las Vegas. "Queen on Fire at the Bowl," a live DVD & 2 Disc CD from the band's previously unreleased 1982 concert at U.K.'s
Milton Keynes Bowl, will come out this November.
The album is entirely revamped including new re-mastering by Justin Shirley Smith, new packaging featuring a classic Snowden band photo, previously unreleased photos by Mick Rock, new liner notes by members Brian May and Roger Taylor along with journalists Greg Brooks and Mac Randall, plus two exclusive live bonus tracks from the band's DVD - "Tie Your Mother Down" (originally a single from the band's 1976 album "A Day at the Races") and a version of the August 1981 recording, "Under Pressure," originally co-written with David Bowie and recorded at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland. All this plus the rare single version of "I'm In Love With My Car" (as heard in this summer's Jaguar campaign.)
Queen's "Greatest Hits" is one of the great rock albums of all time. The 20 songs include many of the band's biggest worldwide hits: "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Another One Bites the Dust," "Killer Queen," "Fat Bottomed Girls," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions."
The album's release is tied to the Las Vegas premiere of "We Will Rock You," the hit show featuring 20 of the band's greatest hits, which debuted in London in 2002, where it has set attendance records and still draws sold-out crowds. There are currently hit productions being staged in Australia and Spain; the show opens in Moscow this fall.
Tickets went on sale for the North American premiere of the show in Las Vegas, June 23, after a gala press conference featuring founding Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, as well as writer/director Ben Elton (THE YOUNG ONES, BLACK ADDER) and producer Jane Rosenthal (MEET THE FOCKERS). The new version of "We Will Rock You" is being presented in association with Tribeca Theatrical Productions, which is managed by Rosenthal with her partner, legendary Oscar-winning actor Robert DeNiro.
May, Taylor, Gill Productions and Phil McIntyre Entertainment are also producers of the show, which will be held in the Paris Theatre des Arts, recently reconstructed in preparation for the musical's lavish production. It is the first major production imported directly from London's West End to Las Vegas, lending credence to the city's claim as America's No1 entertainment destination.
