Queen - the 70s

20 years ago this week we lost the great Freddie Mercury. Time for a little retrospective. In my opinion there was no greater lead singer/showman than Freddie, I touched on this in my Live Aid post.

I love Queen but I don't claim to be an anorak fan. I like the obvious songs that everyone loves. I always mean to delve deeper with Queen but somehow never quite get round to it. So with that disclaimer in mind, let's do my favourite Queen songs in memory of Freddie. Starting with the 70s.

Killer Queen. This is simply a fantastic song. I'm here to tell you that it's really hard on Guitar Hero.

Bohemian Rhapsody. Nearly 56 million hits on YouTube, wow. If you don't like this song, there's something wrong with you. It's wonderful.

You're My Best Friend. This song always reminds me of Peter's Friends. A film that I have a soft spot for. I love how Freddie sings this, it's very sweet.

Somebody to Love. A fabulous introduction and a great sing-along song. The genius of Freddie is he makes you think you can sing Queen songs. In reality, very difficult.

We Are The Champions. This song makes me quite emotional, I am not a sports fan at all yet it makes me want to wave a flag and sing along in a crowd.

We Will Rock You. Brian May chose this on Desert Island Discs. Normally if somebody picks their own song, I roll my eyes but kudos to Brian because have you ever heard better guitar than in this - I love how it makes you wait for it. I urge you to listen to Brian's desert island discs, the man is a joy to listen to. Really.

Fat Bottomed Girls. The hits just keep coming, apart from The Beatles, was any other band so prolific?

Don't Stop Me Now. One of my all-time favourite songs. I adore this so much, it's impossible to not sing along and to sit still. The very definition of a feel-good song.

That's my lot for the 70s. RIP Freddie and thank you for being a genius.