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TV Programmes Featuring Queen

 

All of the programmes on this page feature some content related to Queen, but they are not exclusively about the group.

All shows were broadcast on the main terrestrial or digital channels available in central England. This lists all of the programmes broadcast since about March 1999; undoubtedly there will have been specific programmes produced and broadcast before this, and I could well have missed other programmes broadcast since then.

'Top Of The Pops' performances are not included here, as they are too numerous and too little is known about dates. In addition to the programmes on this page, an episode of the quiz show 'Mastermind', broadcast in October 2005, featured a contestant answering questions on Queen. These questions to that can be found in the Quiz section.


Major TV Features:

Less notable TV Appearances include:

In addition, Brian is also an occasional contributor to the BBC series 'The Sky At Night', hosted by his close friend, Sir Patrick Moore.


Al Murray's Happy Hour
Queen have made two appearances on this show in both 2007 and 2008. Al Murray is a big Queen fan and on every show of each series, a guest artist appears and performs a Queen song, with Al Murray himself normally joining in on vocals.

In 2007, the cast of 'We Will Rock You' appeared to perform 'We Will Rock You' (with a bit of 'Tear It Up'), and after about 2 minutes a curtain dropped to reveal Roger and Brian. Brian and Roger also appeared briefly in a sketch at the end of the show.

In 2008, Queen + Paul Rodgers appeared, performing the new song 'C-lebrity' during the show, 'Bohemian Rhapsody' during the ad break (only the last part was broadcast) and appearing at the end to perform a shortened version of 'All Right Now', with Paul and Al Murray on vocals.

Footage of 'C-lebrity' from 2008 was later made available to download on the QueenOnline website, and available on the CD single.


A Question Of Pop
Broadcast in 2000, this was a 30 minute music based quiz, an almost direct copy of 'A Question Of Sport'. The show was hosted by Jamie Theakston, and Roger was on the same side as team captain Suggs, and former Eternal singer Kelly Bryan. The other team had team captain Noddy Holder, Kirsty MacColl and B'Witched singer Lindsay Armaou. The show also included footage of Roger from various promo videos as an introduction.


Battle Of The Popstars Live
This programme was shown on Channel 5 in September 2006. It featured five rounds, each one featured a number of 'bouts' where one artist was against another artist, with members of the public voting for their favourite, with the winnner progressing to the next round. It combined short clips from promo videos and live concerts, with interviews from numerous people (with no involvement from Roger/Brian, the only Queen connection is Mick Rock). The show was narrated by Jamie Theakston. The rounds involving Queen were as follows (with the times being for both artists)

Queen finished second overall with Elvis Presley the winner.


Britain's Favourite Number One Single
This two hour and five minute programme was broadcast on Channel 5 on 21 February 2005. The programme stated that the list was the result of the largest ever poll. The top 10 were:

  1. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
  2. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel)
  3. Hey Jude (The Beatles)
  4. The House Of The Rising Sun (The Animals)
  5. A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Procol Harum)
  6. Do They Know It's Christmas (Band Aid)
  7. Imagine (John Lennon)
  8. Dancing Queen (Abba)
  9. Every Breath You Take (The Police)
  10. Candle In The Wind '97 (Elton John)

The clip about 'Bohemian Rhapsody' lasts for only a few minutes and features footage from the video, intercut with interviews with Mick Rock, Status Quo, Professor Allan Moore (a musicologist), Stewart Copeland (of The Police) and several other journalists or DJ's.

Click here for full analysis of how this poll compares with others.


Children In Need
Broadcast on 16 November 2002. Queen performed with the cast of 'We Will Rock You' at this annual fundraising night, taking to the stage at around 12:15am for around 12 minutes. The tracks performed were:


Daily Live
Broadcast in August or September 1998. Brian talks to host Paul Ross for around 9 minutes, about his career in general. The show features footage of 'We Will Rock You' from 1986, a short clip of 'I Want It All' and part of 'The Show Must Go On'. It also features an excerpt from the promo video for Rolf Harris's version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', and also a rare 45 second clip of the promo video of 'Why Don't We Try Again?'. Brian was also due to return to the show to talk about the British Bone Marrow Donor Association (BBMDA), but I think they ran out of time.


Music Of The Millennium
Broadcast in December 1999 (I think). This programme was the result of a several month long poll to find the nation's favourite song. The overall programme was hosted by Richard Blackwood but many of the discussion parts of the show were hosted by Jo Whiley. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was voted the number one song, and as a result Brian and Roger were invited to talk about the track. Bob Geldof, Jarvis Cocker and journalist Miranda Sawyer were also part of the discussion. The programme ended with footage of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' from Wembley 1986, and the discussion and track lasted around 10 minutes in total.


Parkinson
Broadcast on 18 May 2002, but recorded on 2 May 2002. Queen performed four live tracks with the cast of 'We Will Rock You' to promote the musical, and their performance lasts around 10 minutes. Ben Elton was one of the guests on the show, but his interview focused on his career and did not really mention the musical. The tracks performed were:


Seven Ages Of Rock : We Are The Champions
Broadcast on 16 June 2007 on BBC2 at 9.05 pm, length 60 minutes.

This programme covers the history of stadium rock, featuring profiles of Led Zeppelin, Queen, Kiss, Bruce Springsteen, The Police, Dire Straits, U2, and of course Live Aid.

Four sections of the programme feature Queen:


Smith & Jones
Broadcast on 14 October 1998. Brian appears in four sketches which appear throughout the programme. The sketches are about Brian being invited to Mel Smith & Griff Rhys Jones flat for a 'lad's night in'. The sketches are:

  1. Mel tells them all to act normally when Brian is there, so much so that they are hoovering and weight training when he arrives.
  2. A little later they are all staring at Brian in awe, before Mel pours Brian a drink of whiskey into a pint glass, filling it to the top. Griff then asks Brian if he could sign a CD for him, much to Mel's annoyance.
  3. The lads are playing darts, eating takeaways etc, and the camera pans round to reveal Brian is buried under a mass of items for signing - LP's, CD's, posters, and even plaster casts. Griff then invites an old school friend who used to bully him, explaining that Brian is here, before telling him to piss off again.
  4. Griff is on the phone to Eric Clapton, who is coming round. Griff then tells Brian to act normally, that it is no big deal, and that he should do as they do. When Eric arrives (it's not really him) they are all doing as they were when Brian arrived - only this time Brian is hoovering too.

TFI Friday
Broadcast in October 1998, Roger was a guest on the show hosted by Chris Evans. The interview began with video footage of 'Another One Bites The Dust', 'Killer Queen', 'It's A Hard Life', 'I Want To Break Free' and 'A Kind Of Magic', and then Roger talked about his career, lifestyle and new album (Electric Fire). Roger then performed 'Radio Ga Ga', followed by a short reprise of the track, and returned at the end of the show to perform 'No More Fun'. The interview and performances last for around 18 minutes in total.


The 100 Greatest Number One Singles
Broadcast in either 2001 or 2002 on Channel 4. This was a four hour programme featuring footage of the top 100 number one singles. I'm not quite sure what criteria was used to compile the list, given some of the choices (eg 'Groovejet' is included in the top 10, yet 'Do They Know It's Christmas' and 'Candle In The Wind '97', two of the best selling singles of all time, were not). The top ten tracks were:

  1. Imagine (John Lennon)
  2. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
  3. Hey Jude (The Beatles)
  4. Dancing Queen (Abba)
  5. Every Breath You Take (The Police)
  6. Stand By Me (Ben E King)
  7. The Drugs Don't Work (The Verve)
  8. Don't Look Back In Anger (Oasis)
  9. Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (Spiller)
  10. Everything I Do (I Do It For You) (Bryan Adams)

The feature on 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was around 3 minutes long and featured footage from the video, and interviews with Roger Taylor, Nile Rodgers, Emma B and Eric Hall (who worked for EMI in plugging the record in 1975).

Click here for full analysis of how this poll compares with others.


The Top 10 Guitar Heroes
Broadcast on 24 March 2001 on Channel 4. This was an 85 minute long programme, presented by Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt of Status Quo. The guitarists were included based on their transatlantic success, their influence and their innovation. The guitarists were:

  1. Jimi Hendrix
  2. Eric Clapton
  3. Jimmy Page
  4. Hank Marvin
  5. Brian May
  6. Pete Townshend
  7. The Edge
  8. Eddie Santana
  9. Ritchie Blackmore
  10. Johnny Marr (of The Smiths)

The feature on Brian was around 7 minutes long and included:


The Top 100 Promo Videos
This four hour programme was broadcast on Channel 4 on 6th February 2005, and concentrated on the best pop videos. The top 10 was as follows:

  1. Thriller (Michael Jackson)
  2. Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel)
  3. Take On Me (A-Ha)
  4. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
  5. Like A Prayer (Madonna)
  6. Rock DJ (Robbie Williams)
  7. Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
  8. Bittersweet Symphony (The Verve)
  9. Vogue (Madonna)
  10. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)

Queen had only one other video in the top 100, with 'I Want To Break Free' at number 21.

Click here for full analysis of how this poll compares with others.


The World's Greatest Gigs
This one hour and five minute programme, part of the UK Music Hall Of Fame series, was broadcast on Channel 4 on 9 November 2005. The programme featured the top twenty concerts, as voted for by a panel of 60 artists, journalists and industry executives. The top 10 were concerts by:

  1. Queen
  2. Jimi Hendrix
  3. The Sex Pistols
  4. Bob Dylan
  5. David Bowie
  6. Bob Marley
  7. Bruce Springsteen
  8. U2
  9. The Rolling Stones
  10. Radiohead

Queen's performance at 'Live Aid' came top of the poll, and the feature was approximately five minutes long, featuring contributions from Roger, Brian, Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Paul Gambaccini and Henry Rollins, as well as footage from the show. Some of the interview footage was obviously recycled from the 2004 UK Music Hall Of Fame citations. Brian also contributes a very short interview snippet at the end of the feature on Jimi Hendrix.


The UK Music Hall Of Fame
This series was broadcast on Channel 4 in October and November 2004, to select five acts from each decade from the 1950's to the 1990's to be inducted into the UK Music Hall Of Fame. Queen appeared in the program based on 1970's acts, broadcast on 24 October 2004. The acts were selected by industry experts, and the public were asked to vote for their favourites. The nominees were:

  1. Abba
  2. The Sex Pistols
  3. Queen
  4. David Bowie
  5. Led Zeppelin
  6. The Bee Gees
  7. Pink Floyd
  8. Stevie Wonder
  9. The Clash
  10. Elton John

The program included clips of Queen throughout their career, including footage from Live At Wembley 1986, Live Aid, the 46664 Concert, and various promo videos, whilst interviewees were Richard Skinner, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Katie Melua, Henry Rollins, Anastacia, Mick Rock, Eric Hall, Paul Gambaccini and Russel Watson. The Queen citation lasted approximately 10 minutes.

Queen were the eventual winners of the 1970's program, and were inducted into the Hall Of Fame at the Hackney Empire, London, on the 11 November 2004. Roger and Brian received their award from Justin & Dan from 'The Darkness', before performing 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are The Champions' with Paul Rodgers. They also returned for the finale to perform 'All Right Now'. In total Queen appear for approximately 18 minutes.

In all, ten acts were inducted into the Hall Of Fame. They were Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Queen, Madonna, Michael Jackson, U2 and Robbie Williams.

The show was broadcast three days after filming, on 14 November 2004.


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