Roger Meddows Taylor
(BSc Hons)
Born:
Kings Lynn, Norfolk, 26
July 1949
'O' Levels:
English Literature,
English Language, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, French, Maths
'A' Levels:
Biology, Chemistry,
Physics
University:
BSc (Hons) in Biology from
North London Polytechnic
 'I Want To Break Free', 1984
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Roger
is world renowned as Queen's drummer, but is also a
successful songwriter, having written some classic Queen
tracks. He has penned 'Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll',
'Tenement Funster', 'I'm In Love With My Car', 'Sheer
Heart Attack', 'Radio Ga Ga', 'A Kind Of Magic' and
'Heaven For Everyone'. He is also the most active solo
artist, having released a total of 7 albums (three with
The Cross). Roger was born in Norfolk but moved to Truro in 1957, at the age of eight. Roger joined his first group in 1965, called 'Johnny Quale and The Reaction'. When lead singer Johnny Quale left that same year, Roger took over lead vocals for 'The Reaction', which lasted until July 1968. Later in 1968, Roger decided he wanted to become a dentist, and enrolled on a course at London Hospital Medical School. However, he eventually left to study Plant and Animal Biology at North London Polytechnic. It was in 1968 that Roger auditioned for Tim Staffell and Brian May who were looking for a 'Ginger Baker type drummer'. Roger passed the audition and became the drummer for 'Smile', who played many concerts until 1970, when Tim Staffell left. Freddie Mercury then joined the group, and later John Deacon was chosen as bass player. It was not until August 1977 that Roger first
produced solo work. His debut single was 'I Wanna
Testify', but this failed to make an impact on the chart.
His next solo venture was his 'Fun In Space' album, in
1981, which reached no 18 in the chart, the first single
from which gave Roger his first chart entry (albeit only
no. 49). In 1987 Roger decided that for his new album, the tracks had to be performed 'live' in the studio. So, Roger embarked on selecting four musicians for the band, and the result, 'The Cross', released three albums between 1988 and 1991, and toured throughout the UK and Germany. It wasn't until 1994 that Roger's next album was produced and released. 'Happiness?' reached no 22 in the chart and gave Roger three top-30 hit singles. The first, 'Nazis 1994' was banned from advertising and commercial airplay, and many shops refused to stock it, but despite this it reached no 22 in the chart (just like the album). Roger followed the release with a lengthy tour of the UK and later, in 1995, in Italy. Roger's next album did not come until 1998, mainly due to other projects, such as the final Queen album, 'Made In Heaven', and the only post-Freddie song to date, 'No-One But You', on which Roger handled some lead vocals. 'Electric Fire' was released in September 1998, and spawned two singles, 'Pressure On' and 'Surrender', although neither the album nor singles made any impact on the charts. Roger followed the album with a tour of the UK, including an internet concert from his home in Surrey which broke the World Record for viewers of an Online Concert. Since then, Roger has continued to work extensively with Brian on numerous Queen projects, and also makes occasional solo live performances. In 2006, he also recorded a song with his son, Felix, 'Woman You're So Beautiful', under the name 'Felix & Arty', a play on his initials. This track had huge download exposure in the Summer of 2006, but sadly failed to make much impact when later released as an official download. The duo performed the song together at the SAS Christmas Party in 2006. In 2008, Roger's son Rufus played drums for Kerry Ellis and Brian May at the 2008 Royal Variety Performance and subsequently played drums for the UK Touring production of 'We Will Rock You'. He is currently working on a number of new solo recordings. Roger was asked by VH1 in 1996/7 to name his favourite songs, and the tracks he chose were:
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