Growing up as an only child, unlike some other writers on the HRH team, I didn't have any siblings from which to pick up musical influences. Perhaps the fact that demonstrates this best is if I quickly mention the very first singles I ever bought. The first three were, quite horrifically, Wing's Mull Of Kintyre, Sarah Brightman's I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper & Abba's Take A Chance On Me. The reason behind these sublime choices, well they were played a lot on the radio and so I figured they must be cool.

And so things may have stayed if it wasn't for a life changing moment that occurred soon after hitting secondary school. I still remember it clearly. It was a very boring science lesson and chatting with the unfamiliar boy sitting next to me the talk turned to music. I didn't have a lot to day obviously. He on the other hand was raving about this album his older brother played constantly - Queen's Live Killers. I had to hear it so the next day he brought a cassette in for me and I dutifully took it home and gave it a listen. And that was a life changing moment.

The razor sharp guitars from the "fast" version of We Will Rock You, the superb Let Me Entertain You and from there I was hooked. This was Queen at their grandiose best. Almost a decade before the infamous Live Aid performance they already had the medley idea down pat as they seamlessly ran Death On Two Legs into Killer Queen into Bicycle Race and so on. Then there was the acoustic interlude of Dreamers Ball, Love Of My Life and the exquisite '39 before side one closed with a rip roaring take on Keep Yourself Alive.

However if I thought Side I was good it was nothing compared to the second half of the album. The fifteen minute guitar interlude that runs through Brighton Rock was manna from heaven and of course there was the genius of Bohemian Rhapsody, albeit in a slightly edited form, and the tour de force of set closing duo We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions.

From the minute the album finished I was a rocker - for life. Not having any sophisticated stereo equipment as home I copied the album using two old fashioned radio cassette players and a microphone. The quality was crap but at least I has my own copy. That started a trend over the next year as I kept borrowing more and more Queen albums and copying them in the same amateurish fashion and countless nights were spent listening to the ever growing collection using a mono earphone in the privacy of my own room. I even decided to learn guitar and eventually bass just so I could play Queen songs.

As time went by I eventually expanded my repertoire and learned the joys of Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and the then current crop of NWOBHM bands and by the mid eighties, if you read my other two features in this series, onto a more diverse set of albums and artists.

So sorry Mum, I know you like Queen, but they were responsible for starting me down the rock and roll path of long hair, tattoos, manic LP, cassette and later CD collecting, getting nowhere in countless bands, DJing and eventually some two and a half decades later here to HardRockHouse. And it was all worth it!

Let us know your views on Live Killers

Track Listing

We Will Rock You
Let Me Entertain You
Death On Two Legs
Killer Queen
Bicycle Race
I'm In Love With My Car
Get Down, Make Love
You're My Best Friend
Now I'm Here
Dreamer's Ball
Love Of My Life
39
Keep Yourself Alive
Don't Stop Me Now
Spread Your Wings
Brighton Rock
Bohemian Rhapsody
Tie Your Mother Down
Sheer Heart Attack
We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions
God Save The Queen

Line Up

Freddie Mercury - Vocals/Piano
Brian May - Guitars
John Deacon - Bass
Roger Taylor - Drums