Drummer, singer, and songwriter Roger Taylor is celebrating his birthday today.
(Photo: Queen Facebook Page)
Taylor is one of the founding fathers of the band "Smile" and later of "Queen". He has written, composed, and performed as a lead singer for some of the legendary band's songs, and is known for his rugged falsetto voice and as a member who has contributed greatly to its vocal harmonies.
He also has an extensive solo career and countless collaborations with artists such as Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, Phil Collins, Elton John, Gary Numan, "Foo Fighters", Al Stewart, Steve Vai, and even Jon Bon Jovi.
He also co-wrote quite a few hits for the band, including: "These Are the Days of Our Lives", "Innuendo" "Under Pressure", "Radio Ga Ga", "A Kind of Magic", "Heaven for Everyone", "Breakthru", "The Invisible Man" and "One Vision".
Here are some more interesting facts about this very special man:
1. He is a multi-instrumentalist and autodidactic who taught himself to play the ukulele and guitar even before he started playing the drums. In Queen's songs in which he is the lead singer, he tends to play almost all the instruments.
(Photo: tumblr.com)
2. He studied dentistry but during his studies got bored, moved on to study biology which he holds a degree in.
3. He did not like the choice of name for the album "Queen II", he thought it was a name lacking imagination.
4. He has a regular ritual to drink 2 glasses of whiskey before a live performance, no less and no more.
5. He also has an obscene habit of spitting during performances. He spits into the air and manages to catch his saliva back.
6. In parallel with his work with "Queen" in the 1980s he formed the band "the Cross" in which he served as lead singer and guitarist.
7. In 1999 he became the first non-royal British man to appear on a stamp of the British empire post. This caused a small scandal since only members of the royal family could appear on such a stamp.
8. He also wrote the hit "Radio Ga Ga" which helped revive Queen's success in the US during the 1980s.
9. It was his idea to change John Deacon's name on the cover of the band's debut album - "Queen", for Deacon John, he thought it would sound more interesting and Deacon agreed.
10. The video for the song "I Want To Break Free" in which the band members are seen dressed as housewives was his idea.
11. He has released five studio albums to date as part of his solo career.
12. The music videos for "We Will Rock You" and "Spread Your Wings" were shot in his backyard.
13. Taylor is known for his love of cars and holds a large collection of cars.
14. Roger's son - Rufus Tiger Taylor is also a drummer. As of 2017, he is part of the "Queen" live band and during the shows, he performs a drum battle with his father.
15. The song "I'm In Love With My Car" was written by him for the stage worker of the band - Johnathan Harris, who was in love with his "Triumph TR4" car. This was also noted on the album cover with the following words: "Dedicated to Johnathan Harris, boy racer to the end".
16. The engine sound heard in the song is authentic, and it was recorded from Taylor's Alfa Romeo car engine.
17. Taylor insisted that the song will come out as a b-side for the single "Bohemian Rhapsody". He even locked himself in the closet until Freddie Mercury agreed.
18. Taylor's insistence paid off, when he received royalties almost equal to those Freddie received for the hit "Bohemian Rhapsody."