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PUBLISHED: 11:56 09 July 2020 | UPDATED: 11:56 09 July 2020
Surrey-based band members Brian May and Roger Taylor said they were ‘honoured’ to have been featured | Images: Royal Mail
Queen has become the third band in history to be immortalised in a set of Royal Mail stamps, following the Beatles in 2007 and Pink Floyd in 2016.
The collection of 13 stamps, released today (July 9), features images of some of the band’s iconic album covers, such as Sheer Heart Attack, A Night at the Opera, News of the World and Innuendo.
Magic TourIt also includes shots of the four band members during various live performances, such as Freddie Mercury at Wembley Stadium in 1986; Roger Taylor at Hyde Park in 1976, John Deacon at Hammersmith Odeon in 1975 and Brian May in Budapest in 1986.
The centrepiece is the iconic photograph taken by Johnny Dewe Mathews at the group’s first ever studio photoshoot in a Primrose Hill studio.
News of the World“Since we four precocious boys started out on our quest 50 years ago, our lives have been devoted to making our impossible dream come true.
“Sometimes it’s strange to wake up and realise the position in which we are now held – we have become a national institution,” May, who lives in Windlesham, said of the collection.
Sheer Heart Attack“It’s particularly poignant to look at this collection of images now – now that we are all in a world dominated by a coronavirus, in which none of this could have happened.”
Puttenham resident, Taylor, added: “Wow stamps featuring our albums! What an honour. We must be really part of the furniture now!”
The GameThe launch of the collection comes ahead of the band celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021 – Mercury, Taylor, Deacon and May made their first live appearance together as Queen at Surrey College (thought to be West Surrey College of Art & Design, then in Guildford) on July 2, 1971.
The full set of 13 stamps are available in a presentation pack for £16. royalmail.com/queen
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