Queen have issued a lyric video for “My Fairy King” as a preview to the November 4 release of “Queen On Air: The Complete BBC Radio Sessions.”
The tune was recorded during Queen’s live worldwide radio debut on the BBC in February of 1973 – five months before the release of the band’s debut album and single.
“That's the first from Queen,” said BBC DJ John Peel during the program, “and, as far as I know, this is the first broadcast the group's had, so it's nice to have them along.”
“My Fairy King” was featured on the group’s debut and gave guitarist Brian May and the band an idea of what frontman Freddie Mercury was capable of when building songs in the studio.
"This was the first time we'd really seen Freddie working at his full capacity,” explains May. “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 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 2CD or 3LP sets of “Queen On Air” set present twenty-four recordings by the group between between February 1973 and October 1977, and includes include alternate versions of the band’s debut single, 1973’s “Keep Yourself Alive”, among others.
A 6-CD Deluxe Edition box set adds radio interviews and live concert broadcasts from 1973, 1981 and 1986, as well as a booklet of rare photographs and sleeve notes.
“My Fairy King” follows the only studio recording of the rare fast version of “We Will Rock You”, as the second preview to the forthcoming package.
See also:
Queen premiere fast version of We Will Rock You from BBC sessions
Queen to release On Air The Complete BBC Radio Sessions
Queen: Freddie Mercury Asteroid named on singer’s 70th birthday
Queen tops UK’s all time best selling albums list
Search Queen at hennemusic
