MINNEAPOLIS ― Voyageur Press has joined forces with renowned British rock journalist Phil Sutcliffe (Mojo, Los Angeles Times) for QUEEN: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock.

This beautifully packaged book, a perfect balance of photos and text, arrives on Nov. 15, 2009, and retraces the history of this massively popular and influential group.  Brimming with more than 400 photographs and pieces of memorabilia — including concert programs, posters, domestic and foreign 45 singles, LPs, backstage passes, ticket stubs, and more — QUEEN: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock also includes a discography, and commentary from dozens of admiring musicians and performers.

The result is the most complete and captivating portrait of this larger-than-life group, one that captures and celebrates as never before Queen — one of popular music’s most successful recording artists of all time.

Queenmuseum.com has collaborated with images of rare records & memorabilia to this great book.

Fronted by the unforgettable Freddie Mercury, Queen almost single-handedly created the common phrase “arena rock,” with mammoth tours, stage shows, costumes, and such classic anthems as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Under Pressure” (with David Bowie), and “Radio Gaga.”

Nearly two decades after Mercury’s tragic death in 1991, Queen has retained an enormous global fan base. The band’s music continues to live on -- both in film (Wayne’s World) and as a major influence on other artists (Lady Gaga supposedly modeled her nom de plum after Queen’s aforementioned “Radio Gaga”), while original members Brian May and Roger Taylor recently reunited with singer Paul Rodgers (Bad Company, Free) to take Queen out on the road once more on a pair world tours.

 As of 2005, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Queen albums had spent a total of 1,322 weeks or 27 years on the United Kingdom album charts; more time than any other musical act - including the Beatles and Elvis Presley. As of 2006, Queen had sold in excess of 300 million records, singles, videos and DVDs worldwide. Since 2005, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor have performed with Paul Rodgers under the moniker Queen + Paul Rodgers. In its first week on the market, their new CD, The Cosmos Rocks, sold 11,826 copies, according to Soundscan. A wide range of rock artists have covered Queen songs over the years, including Metallica, Dwight Yoakam, Joss Stone, Shirley Bassey, and the Flaming Lips. Additionally, Queen songs have been sampled by Grandmaster Flash and Vanilla Ice, and parodied by “Weird Al” Yankovic. Much has been said about Queen and their accomplishments over the years, but with QUEEN: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock, Sutcliffe offers the definitive overview.

In addition to the Queen book, Voyageur Press also is issuing other music-related titles this fall in their ongoing ‘Illustrated History’ book series: Jim DeRogatis’ THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: A Walk on the Wild Side hit shelves September 15th, and Jon Bream’s NEIL DIAMOND IS FOREVER: The Man and His Music will arrive on October 15th. All are equally jam-packed with photos, artifacts, and comprehensive histories of each artist.

 ABOUT VOYAGEUR PRESS:

 Since 1972, Voyageur Press has published high-quality books and calendars in a variety of subjects, including nature and science, regional interest and travel, American heritage and country life, crafts, sports, and more.

 ABOUT PHIL SUTCLIFFE:

 London-based freelance journalist Phil Sutcliffe has been writing about rock since 1974 and has interviewed greats like Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Radiohead, Nirvana, Nick Cave, and Queen. His work has appeared in myriad publications, including Mojo, Q, the Los Angeles Times, Blender, Sounds, and more. Phil’s back catalog is mostly available on the world’s best archive of music writing: www.rocksbackpages.com.

 For more information on these and other Voyageur titles, go to www.voyageurpress.com