Roger Taylor (Queen drummer)
Roger Taylor OBE | |
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Born | Roger Meddows Taylor 26 July 1949 King's Lynn, Norfolk, England |
Education | (BSc) Bachelor Degree in Biology, East London Polytechnic |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1968–present |
Spouse |
Sarina Potgieter (m. 2010) |
Children | 5, including Rufus and Tigerlily |
Musical career | |
Genres | Rock |
Instrument(s) |
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Labels | |
Member of |
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Formerly of | |
Website | rogertaylorofficial |
Roger Meddows Taylor
As a songwriter, Taylor composed at least one track on every Queen album, and often sang lead vocals on his own compositions. He wrote or co-wrote three UK number ones ("
As a singer, Taylor employs a
Early life
Roger Meddows Taylor was born on 26 July 1949 at West Norfolk and Lynn Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk. The new maternity ward was opened by Princess Elizabeth (the future queen, Elizabeth II), where she was introduced to 16 new mothers including Winifred Taylor, his mother. Taylor first lived at 87 High Street in King's Lynn and later moved to Beulah Street in the town. Taylor's first school was Rosebury Avenue school.[6] Taylor moved to Truro, Cornwall, in south west England, with his mother Winifred, father Michael and younger sister Clare. When he was seven years old, he and some friends formed his first band, the Bubblingover Boys, in which he played the ukulele. He briefly attended Truro Cathedral School; at the age of 13, he joined Truro School as a day boy.[7]
At the age of 15, Taylor became a member of the Reaction, a semi-professional rock band formed mainly of boys from Truro School. Taylor had originally learned guitar, but became a drummer when he realised he had a more natural aptitude for it. Taylor taught himself to tune his drums, inspired by
In 1967, Taylor went to London to study dentistry at the London Hospital Medical College,[10] but he became bored with it and changed to biology obtaining a BSc at East London Polytechnic.[11]
Career
1968–1970: Smile
Taylor met Brian May and Tim Staffell in 1968 after a friend saw an advert for a drummer on a noticeboard at Imperial College. Smile included May on lead guitar, Staffell on lead vocals and bass, and later Taylor on drums. The band lasted for two years before Staffell departed to join Humpy Bong, leaving the band with a catalogue of nine songs.
Smile reunited for several songs on 22 December 1992. Taylor's band the Cross were headliners and he brought May and Staffell on to play "Earth" and "If I Were a Carpenter".[12]
1970s–present: Queen
In 1969, Taylor was working with Freddie Mercury at Kensington Market in London (they were sharing a flat at around the same time).[13] Mercury, then known as Farrokh “Freddie” Bulsara, was a fan of Smile. The band split up in 1970. In the same year, Taylor turned down the chance to become drummer for Genesis, which led to Phil Collins joining instead.[14] Bulsara convinced the remaining two members of Smile to continue and he eventually joined the band, which he renamed Queen. In 1971, they recruited bassist John Deacon, before going on to release their self-titled debut album in 1973. Taylor is the third most credited songwriter for the band, usually contributing one or two tracks per album.
1977–present: Solo career
Taylor has had a productive solo career, releasing six albums. His first single was "I Wanna Testify" in 1977, recorded during Queen's sessions for the News of the World album. The A-side, although a cover of the Parliaments song of the same name, was completely different from the original. The B-side was a self-penned song "Turn on the TV".
Taylor's first solo album, released in 1981, was Fun in Space, on which he performed all vocals and played all instruments aside from about half of the keyboards, which were contributed by engineer David Richards. With Queen still touring heavily and recording at the time of release, Taylor was unable to promote the album to its fullest extent, only appearing on some European TV shows to promote the single, "Future Management", including Top of the Pops. A second single from the album was titled "My Country". The only US single released from the album was "Let's Get Crazy".
Taylor's next solo venture, Strange Frontier, came in June 1984. The three singles from the album were the title track, "Beautiful Dreams" (in Portugal only) and "Man on Fire", the latter becoming a live favourite for him in later years. No attempts to promote the singles were made since Queen was touring to promote The Works, with Taylor not even performing on any TV shows. Strange Frontier included guest appearances by bandmates Freddie Mercury, Brian May and John Deacon. Mercury sang backing vocals on "Killing Time", Deacon remixed the B-side "I Cry For You" and Rick Parfitt co-wrote and played on "It's An Illusion". David Richards, Queen's engineer and producer at the time, also co-wrote two of the tracks. The album includes covers of Bruce Springsteen's "Racing in the Street" and Bob Dylan's "Masters of War".
In 1986, Taylor co-produced Vigilante, the sixth studio album by rock band Magnum.[15] After Queen finished their 1986 Magic Tour, Taylor started a new band, the Cross, which released three albums over their six years of existence. In 1993, the band split up, after performing one final gig at the Gosport Festival.[16]
In 1994, Taylor worked with Yoshiki, drummer and pianist of X Japan and released the song "Foreign Sand" and a reworking of the Cross's "Final Destination". The album Happiness? was "Dedicated to the tasmanian tiger – thylacinus cynocephalus, but most especially... for Freddie". "Nazis 1994" from this album became Taylor's first hit single in England and was followed by two other top 40 UK hits, "Happiness" and "Foreign Sand".
In 1998, Taylor released his fourth solo album
In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor released a new single "Isolation" on 21 June 2020.[21] The song debuted on the top of the UK iTunes Rock chart.[22] On 7 May 2021, Taylor announced his new solo album, Outsider, which was released on 1 October 2021, and debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart.[23][24]
The Cross
The Cross were a side project of Taylor's that existed from 1987 to 1993 and released three albums. While still the drummer for Queen, Taylor fronted the Cross as rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist. On its debut release, The Cross incorporated dance influences which they dropped on their remaining two albums.
21st century
Taylor has appeared along with May for various other events and promotions, including Queen's induction into the
Taylor and May, performing as Queen, also appeared three times on the American singing contest television show
In November 2009, Taylor appeared on the reality TV show
In 2013 and 2014, Taylor served as an executive producer of the film Solitary, directed by Sasha Krane. In addition to those duties, he provided original music, including the song "When We Were Young" and three instrumental songs which serve as incidental/background music in the film and during the closing credits. Taylor also appeared as a special guest for Welsh Rock artist
On 5 and 6 September 2015, Taylor, along with Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, joined Foo Fighters on stage in Milton Keynes to perform a cover of the Queen and David Bowie song "Under Pressure". Taylor released a new single called "Gangsters Are Running This World" on 1 April 2019, and on 8 April released a more rocking version of this song called "Gangsters Are Running This World-Purple Version". Both versions became available for streaming on 8 April 2019.[37] On 10 May 2019 he and Czech Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Čech released a song called "That's Football" which Čech wrote for his retiring football career.[38]
In October 2021, Taylor embarked on a 14-date solo tour (Outsider Tour) in the UK, from 2 to 22 October.[39]
In November 2023, Taylor's bar The Wild, a collaboration with his wife Sarina Taylor, Adam Lambert, Bryan Patrick Franklin, and Michael Solis, opened in West Hollywood, California.[40] [41]
Influences and favourite drummers
Taylor has stated that his early role model as a drummer was
Taylor has also expressed great admiration for John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. Speaking of Bonham, Taylor said, "The greatest rock and roll drummer of all time was John Bonham, who did things that nobody had ever even thought possible before with the drum kit. And also the greatest sound out of his drums – they sounded enormous, and just one bass drum. So fast on it that he did more with one bass drum than most people could do with three, if they could manage them. And he had technique to burn and fantastic power and tremendous feel for rock and roll".[9] For sheer technique, Taylor described the jazz and big band drummer Buddy Rich as "the best I've ever seen".[9]
Speaking to Modern Drummer in 1984, Taylor described Keith Moon, the drummer of the Who, as "absolutely brilliant...he had a total unique style; he didn't owe anyone anything."[8]
Tributes
In 2013, a newly discovered species of the genus Heteragrion (Odonata: Zygoptera) from Brazil was named Heteragrion rogertaylori after Taylor, in honour of his "powerful sound, wonderful lyrics and raspy voice "; one of four Heteragrion flatwing damselflies named after the bandmates, paying tribute to the 40th anniversary of Queen's founding.[42]
In 1999, Taylor became the second living person, other than members of the British Royal Family and Sir Francis Chichester in 1967, to appear on a Royal Mail stamp, being seen behind Freddie Mercury as part of a "Great Britons" issue. This caused controversy as it was an understood rule that the only living people allowed to appear on British stamps could be members of the Royal Family.[43][44]
In 2002, Taylor appeared on the "Twelve Drummers Drumming" Christmas card in the "
Taylor was appointed
Discography
Solo albums
- Fun in Space (1981)
- Strange Frontier (1984)
- Happiness? (1994)
- Electric Fire (1998)
- Fun on Earth (2013)
- Outsider (2021)
Solo live albums
- Outsider Tour Live(2022)
Albums made with the Cross
Year | Title | UK [48] |
DE [49] |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Shove It | 58 | – |
1990 | Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know | – | 48 |
1991 | Blue Rock | – | – |
Portrayal in film
He was portrayed by Ben Hardy in the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody.[50] Taylor, along with bandmate Brian May, were creative consultants on the film.
References
- ^ Macnab, Geoffrey. "Roger Taylor interview: The Queen drummer has written the soundtrack for British film Solitary". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ^ Rolling Stone – Issue 149 – 12 June 1973
- ^ "Zeppelin voted 'ideal supergroup'". BBC News. 10 July 2005. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
- ^ "These Are the Days of Our Lives". Bechstein Debauchery. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
- ^ "The Invisible Man". Bechstein Debauchery. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
- ^ Trevor, Heaton. "Rock Star's Norfolk Childhood". Queen Archives. Eastern Daily Press. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ^ "Roger". Themarchoftheblackqueen.piczo.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Roger Taylor Interview". Queen Zone. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Roger's Drum Master Class (Music Works – BBC World Service, November 28, 1993)". Queen Online. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ "Roger Taylor". Queen official website. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ Rose, Frank. "Heavy Meddows Kid". Queen Archives. Eastern Daily Press. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017.
- ^ [1] Archived 8 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Roger Taylor "I remember"". Reader's Digest. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "Queen 40th anniversary: 10 things you never knew". The Daily Telegraph. 24 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ISBN 978-0991984046.
- ^ "Roger Taylor". Biography. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ISBN 9781857431612.
- ^ [2] Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Roger Taylor To Release Solo Album | Rock News | News". Planet Rock. 22 November 2012. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ "Queen's Roger Taylor Talks Solo Work, Hopes Band Will Record With Adam Lambert". Billboard. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Isolation". YouTube. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ "@rogertaylorofficial on Instagram: "Wow! #isolation #number1 #rockchart Link in bio"". Instagram.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ "Episode 24 (feat. Queen)". Open.spotify.com. 7 May 2021.
- ^ "Queen: inducted in 2001 | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. 15 April 2013. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "Party at the Palace". QueenVault.com. 3 June 2002. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "Past nominees and winners Helpmann Awards". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "'Somebody to Love' on 'American Idol' – Video". Rolling Stone. 27 April 2012. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "Queen And Foo Fighters Drummers To Team Up For 2010 Tour". Gigwise. 17 November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ Penny Newton (6 November 2011). "Katy And Adam Honour Queen! | Queen | News | MTV Australia". Mtv.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "'We Are One' - Jayce Lewis ft Brian May". 9 January 2018.
- ^ "Roger Taylor of Queen guest appearances discography". Rogertaylor.info. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ "He will, he will, rock you! Jayce Lewis is granted an audience with Queen star". Walesonline.co.uk. 8 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ "Queen drummer Roger Taylor agrees to play on Welsh rocker Jayce Lewis' new album". Walesonline.co.uk. 28 July 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ "Queen drummer Roger Taylor agrees to play on Welsh rocker Jayce Lewis' new [QueenConcerts]".
- ^ "Band Aid 30: One Direction among celebrity line-up". Telegraph. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ "'Gangsters Are Running This World' Available Now – Inc. New 'Purple Version'". Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ^ "Out Today! 'That's Football' – Petr Cech ft. Roger Taylor". Queenonline.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
- ^ "Queen's Roger Taylor announces 2021 UK solo tour". NME. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
- ^ "Adam Lambert's The Wild West Hollywood Has VIP Pre-Opening Party". WEHO Times. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Roger and Adam Lambert Open New Bar in LA". Queen Online. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Lencioni, F.A.A. (9 July 2013). "Diagnoses and discussion of the group 1 and 2 Brazilian species of Heteragrion, with descriptions of four new species (Odonata: Megapodagrionidae). Zootaxa 3685 (1): 001–080" (PDF). Zootaxa. Magnolia Press – Auckland, New Zealand. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- ^ Rohrer, Finlo (14 October 2008). "The politics of stamps". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
- ^ Alex Spence. "Royal Mail unveils Beatles album cover stamps (Times Online)". The Times. UK. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
- ^ [3] Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N15.
- ^ "Queen drummer Roger Taylor dedicates OBE to Taylor Hawkins". The Independent. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ QueenOnline Message Board :: View topic – Queen / Solos UK & US (Y MORE) Chart History Archived 29 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Charts-Surfer". Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ December 2019, Scott Munro (20 December 2019). "Ben Hardy: It would be amazing to work with cast on Bohemian Rhapsody sequel". Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
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External links
- Roger Taylor at IMDb
- Queen in Cornwall – includes an extensive description of Roger Taylor's early career
- RogerTaylor.info – includes most detailed discography of Roger Taylor as a solo artist, member of the Cross, as well as his numerous guest appearances