Queen's First E.P. Explained

Queen's First E.P.
Type:EP
Artist:Queen
Cover:Queen's First EP.jpg
Released:20 May 1977
Recorded:1974–1976
Studio:Various
Genre:Rock
Length:14:10
Label:EMI
Producer:Queen
Prev Title:A Day at the Races
Prev Year:1976
Next Title:News of the World
Next Year:1977

Queen's First E.P. is the first extended play by British rock band Queen. It was released on 20 May 1977 by EMI Records.[1] The album consists of four tracks, one from each of their four most recent albums up to that point, with "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" as the lead track.[2]

Music video

In 1977, Queen filmed a promotional video for "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" in the Top of the Pops studios. The music video featured a drastically different arrangement of the song.[3]

Commercial performance

Queen's First E.P. entered the UK Singles Chart at number 36 in the week ending 4 June 1977, peaking at number 17 in early July.[4]

Release and reception

Jim Allen of AllMusic wrote that Queen's First E.P. "is a four-song affair featuring one song apiece from A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, Sheer Heart Attack, and Queen II. "Tenement Funster", sung by drummer Roger Taylor, is a slice of Bowie-ish glam rock. "White Queen" is a prog-tinged epic ballad. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" taps into the lighter, music-hall side of Queen, and the scabrous hard rocker "Death on Two Legs" finds the band baring its fangs a bit."

Queen's First E.P. was reissued on CD in 1988 on the CD Single box set through Parlophone Records. In November 2008, it was made available as part of the limited edition CD box set The Singles Collection Volume 1.[5]

On 18 April 2009, the EP was reissued on CD as a part of Record Store Day 2009.[6]

Track listing

All lead vocals by Freddie Mercury, except "Tenement Funster", sung by Roger Taylor.[7]

Release history

DateRegionLabelFormatCatalog number
20 May 1977United KingdomEMI RecordsEMI 2623
Holland7" Vinyl5C 016-99082
14 November 1988United KingdomParlophone RecordsCDQUECD5
January 1991JapanEMI RecordsCDTODP-2255
17 November 2008United KingdomParlophone RecordsCD50999 243358 2 9
18 April 2009United StatesHollywood RecordsCDD000383302

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Queen's First E.P.. Queen Vault. 24 October 2020.
  2. Web site: Sexton. Paul. 9 June 2020. 'Queen's First EP': Introducing 'Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy' . 2 November 2020. uDiscover Music. en-US.
  3. Web site: Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy - Promotional Video - Queenpedia.com. 3 November 2020. Queenpedia. en.
  4. Web site: Queen full Official Chart History . 3 November 2020 . Official Charts Company.
  5. Web site: Queen "Singles Collection" Boxed Sets. 3 November 2020. Ultimate Queen.
  6. Web site: Records Store Day Releases - 2009 . 25 October 2020. Record Store Day. en.
  7. Web site: Tenement Funster :: Queen Songs. 3 November 2020. www.queensongs.info.