Queen Exhibit Spotlights Group From Early to Mid-'70s

Posted on Feb 26th 2011 2:00PM by David Chiu
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Ian Gavan, Getty Images

Queen's years from the band's arrival in the early '70s to the middle of that decade were the focus of a new exhibit, 'Stormtroopers in Stilettos,' which debuted Thursday evening (Feb. 24) at London's Truman Brewery. Surviving Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor attended the event with guests such as Ronnie Wood, Mika and the Foo Fighters.

"It's quite shocking for us to suddenly bring back what happened all those years ago in such vivid detail," said Taylor, as reported by BBC News.

'Stormtroopers in Stilettos'--which is on view through March 12--covers the band's beginnings through 1976 and features photographs and other items from that era. There are also drawings by Queen's late singer Freddie Mercury when he was an Ealing College student.

"Once you come into this exhibition you realize that we were just boys and we got together with a dream," May told BBC News. "We worked night and day for many years and we were very lucky."

According to Queen's Web site, a 90-second snippet of the famous "Bohemian Rhapsody" video rendered in 3-D was also presented at the exhibit.

The band had announced their imminent single, 'Stormtroopers in Stillettos,' which is an alternate take of 'Keep Yourself Alive,' originally on Queen's 1973 debut record, and a remastered version of 'Stone Cold Crazy,' from 1974's 'Sheer Heart Attack' album. May told the BBC: "These are tracks recorded before we even had a recording deal, just the four of us and an engineer at De Lane Lea studios."

'Stormtroopers in Stilettos' arrives as Queen celebrate their 40th anniversary this year. Next month, the band's albums from 1973 to 1976--'Queen,' 'Queen II,' 'Sheer Heart Attack,' 'A Night at the Opera' and 'A Day the Races'--will be re-released with additional songs. Also in the 40th anniversary year is a new film being produced about Freddie Mercury, who will be portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen.

On Thursday, the band's musical, 'We Will Rock You,' was issued on a British postage stamp as part of Royal Mail's 'Musicals' set, along with 'Monty Python's Spamalot' and Billy 'Elliot.'