Editing Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (section)

== Career ==
=== 1968–1970: Smile ===
{{Main|Smile (band)}}

Taylor met [[Brian May]] and [[Tim Staffell]] in 1968 after a friend saw an advert for a drummer on a noticeboard at [[Imperial College London|Imperial College]]. Smile included May on lead guitar, Staffell on lead vocals and bass, and later Taylor on drums. The band lasted for two years before Staffell departed to join [[Humpy Bong]], leaving the band with a catalogue of nine songs.

Smile reunited for several songs on 22 December 1992. Taylor's band [[The Cross (band)|the Cross]] were headliners and he brought May and Staffell on to play "Earth" and "If I Were a Carpenter".<ref>[http://www.queenzone.com/queenzone/article_show.aspx?Q=11] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208151834/http://www.queenzone.com/queenzone/article_show.aspx?Q=11|date=8 February 2007}}</ref>

=== 1970s–present: Queen ===
{{Main|Queen (band)}}

[[File:Roger Taylor 2005.JPG|thumb|right|Taylor (pictured in 2005) has been with Queen since the band's inception]]
In 1969, Taylor was working with [[Freddie Mercury]] at [[Kensington Market, London|Kensington Market]] in London (they were sharing a flat at around the same time).<ref>{{cite news |title=Roger Taylor "I remember" |url=https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/celebrities/roger-taylor-i-remember |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=Reader's Digest}}</ref> Mercury, then known as Farrokh "Freddie" Bulsara, was a fan of Smile. The band split up in 1970. In the same year, Taylor turned down the chance to become drummer for [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], which led to [[Phil Collins]] joining instead.
<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/8784298/Queen-40th-anniversary-10-things-you-never-knew.html | title= Queen 40th anniversary: 10 things you never knew | work= The Daily Telegraph | date= 24 September 2011 | access-date= 27 August 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924194628/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/8784298/Queen-40th-anniversary-10-things-you-never-knew.html | archive-date= 24 September 2015 | url-status= live }}</ref> Bulsara convinced the remaining two members of Smile to continue and he eventually joined the band, which he renamed Queen. In 1971, they recruited bassist [[John Deacon]], before going on to release their [[Queen (Queen album)|self-titled debut album]] in 1973. Taylor is the third most credited songwriter for the band, usually contributing one or two tracks per album.

===1977–present: Solo career===
Taylor has had a productive solo career, releasing six albums. His first single was "I Wanna Testify" in 1977, recorded during Queen's sessions for the ''[[News of the World (album)|News of the World]]'' album. The A-side, although a cover of the Parliaments song of the same name, was completely different from the original. The B-side was a self-penned song "Turn on the TV".

[[File:Roger Taylor live @ Palermo - 1995 (32468802986).jpg|thumb|left|Taylor onstage in Palermo, Italy, January 1995]]
[[File:Queen News Of The World (1977 Press Kit Photo 06) Roger Taylor.jpg|thumb|Taylor in 1977]]
Taylor's first solo album, released in 1981, was ''[[Fun in Space]]'', on which he performed all vocals and played all instruments aside from about half of the keyboards, which were contributed by engineer [[David Richards (record producer)|David Richards]]. With Queen still touring heavily and recording at the time of release, Taylor was unable to promote the album to its fullest extent, only appearing on some European TV shows to promote the single, "Future Management", including ''[[Top of the Pops]]''. A second single from the album was titled "My Country". The only US single released from the album was "Let's Get Crazy".

Taylor's next solo venture, ''[[Strange Frontier]]'', came in June 1984. The three singles from the album were the title track, "Beautiful Dreams" (in Portugal only) and "Man on Fire", the latter becoming a live favourite for him in later years. No attempts to promote the singles were made since Queen was touring to promote ''[[The Works (Queen album)|The Works]]'', with Taylor not even performing on any TV shows. ''Strange Frontier'' included guest appearances by bandmates Freddie Mercury, Brian May and John Deacon. Mercury sang backing vocals on "Killing Time", Deacon remixed the B-side "I Cry For You" and [[Rick Parfitt]] co-wrote and played on "It's An Illusion". David Richards, Queen's engineer and producer at the time, also co-wrote two of the tracks. The album includes covers of [[Bruce Springsteen]]'s "[[Racing in the Street]]" and [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Masters of War]]".

[[File:Roger Taylor Jeff Beck and Jamie Moses 2.jpg|thumb|right|Taylor (left) in concert with [[Jeff Beck]] in May 2013]]
In 1986, Taylor co-produced ''[[Vigilante (Magnum album)|Vigilante]]'', the sixth studio album by rock band [[Magnum (band)|Magnum]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Patrick Lemieux | author2=Adam Unger |title=The Queen Chronology: The Recording & Release History of the Band|year=2013|page=54|publisher=Across the Board Books|isbn=978-0991984046}}</ref> After Queen finished their 1986 [[A Kind of Magic|Magic Tour]], Taylor started a new band, [[The Cross (band)|the Cross]], which released three albums over their six years of existence. In 1993, the band split up, after performing one final gig at the [[Wickham Festival#History|Gosport Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/people/roger-taylor-21213223|title=Roger Taylor|website=Biography|language=en-us|access-date=1 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301225752/https://www.biography.com/people/roger-taylor-21213223|archive-date=1 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1994, Taylor worked with [[Yoshiki (musician)|Yoshiki]], drummer and pianist of [[X Japan]] and released the song "Foreign Sand" and a reworking of the Cross's "Final Destination". The album ''Happiness?'' was "Dedicated to the tasmanian tiger – thylacinus cynocephalus, but most especially... for Freddie". "Nazis 1994" from this album became Taylor's first hit single in England and was followed by two other top 40 UK hits, "Happiness" and "Foreign Sand".

In 1998, Taylor released his fourth solo album ''[[Electric Fire]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZIjT8PgJMEC&q=In+1998%2C+Taylor+released+his+fourth+solo+album+Electric+Fire.&pg=PA499|title=The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002|last=Gregory|first=Andy|date=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9781857431612|language=en}}</ref> Taylor also performed one of the first Internet-gigs – for which he got a mention in the [[Guinness Book of World Records]].<ref>[http://www.queencollector.com/Articles/Solo10/roger.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930042840/http://www.queencollector.com/Articles/Solo10/roger.html|date=30 September 2007}}</ref> On 11 November 2013, Taylor released the album ''[[Fun on Earth]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/roger-taylor-to-release-solo-album/ |title=Roger Taylor To Release Solo Album &#124; Rock News &#124; News |publisher=Planet Rock |date=22 November 2012 |access-date=27 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507113752/http://www.planetrock.com/news/rock-news/roger-taylor-to-release-solo-album/ |archive-date=7 May 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> On the same day, Taylor released his compilation album ''[[The Lot (album)|The Lot]]'', which includes all of his work outside of Queen.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Queen's Roger Taylor Talks Solo Work, Hopes Band Will Record With Adam Lambert|magazine=Billboard|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6296827/queen-roger-taylor-solo-record-adam-lambert|url-status=live|access-date=1 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519072351/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6296827/queen-roger-taylor-solo-record-adam-lambert|archive-date=19 May 2018}}</ref>

In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor released a new single "Isolation" on 21 June 2020.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/bB4t0I6nO28 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200622050403/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB4t0I6nO28&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB4t0I6nO28|title=Isolation|date=21 June 2020 |publisher=YouTube|access-date=19 August 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The song debuted on the top of the UK iTunes Rock chart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CBxX63-p6XK/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/rogertaylorofficial/2337754882488378826_2337754767295831815 |archive-date=23 December 2021 |url-access=subscription|title=@rogertaylorofficial on Instagram: "Wow! #isolation #number1 #rockchart Link in bio"|website=Instagram.com|access-date=19 August 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On 7 May 2021, Taylor announced his new solo album, ''[[Outsider (Roger Taylor album)|Outsider]]'', which was released on 1 October 2021, and debuted at number three on the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/20211008/7502/|title=Official Albums Chart Top 100|website=[[OfficialCharts.com]]|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/episode/4fz8vWfWU0Uk4QBqrxd1sg|title=Episode 24 (feat. Queen)|date=7 May 2021|website=Open.spotify.com}}</ref>

===1987–1993: The Cross===
{{Main|The Cross (band)}}

The Cross were a side project of Taylor's that existed from 1987 to 1993 and released three albums. While still the drummer for Queen, Taylor fronted the Cross as rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist. On its debut release, ''The Cross'' incorporated dance influences which they dropped on their remaining two albums.

===2001–2011===
[[File:Roger Taylor Vienna 1.11.2008.jpg|thumb|upright|Taylor with Queen and [[Paul Rodgers]] in 2008]]

Taylor has appeared along with May for various other events and promotions, including Queen's induction into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 2001<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/queen |title=Queen: inducted in 2001 &#124; The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum |publisher=Rockhall.com |date=15 April 2013 |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718220555/http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/queen/ |archive-date=18 July 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the "[[Party at the Palace]]" in 2002, celebrating the golden jubilee of [[Queen Elizabeth II]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.queenvault.com/patp.html |title=Party at the Palace |publisher=QueenVault.com |date=3 June 2002 |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140608161809/http://www.queenvault.com/patp.html |archive-date=8 June 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2004, Taylor, May, and Mike Dixon received the [[Helpmann Award]] in Australia for Best Music Direction for the musical [[We Will Rock You (musical)|''We Will Rock You'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.helpmannawards.com.au/2004/past-nominees-and-winners/industry-awards|title=Past nominees and winners Helpmann Awards|access-date=16 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220174809/http://www.helpmannawards.com.au/2004/past-nominees-and-winners/industry-awards|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> At the [[Live Earth (2007 concert)|Live Earth]] concert held at Wembley Stadium in 2007, Taylor opened the show with [[Taylor Hawkins]] of [[Foo Fighters]] and [[Chad Smith]] of [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]].

Taylor and May, performing as Queen, also appeared three times on the American singing contest television show ''[[American Idol]]''. The first appearance was on 11&nbsp;April 2006, during which that week's contestants were required to sing a Queen song. Songs performed included "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]", "[[Fat Bottomed Girls]]", "[[The Show Must Go On (Queen song)|The Show Must Go On]]", "[[Who Wants to Live Forever]]", and "[[Innuendo (song)|Innuendo]]". The second time Queen appeared was on the show's [[American Idol (season 8)|season 8]] finale in May 2009, performing "We Are the Champions" with finalists [[Adam Lambert]] and [[Kris Allen]]. The third appearance was during the [[American Idol (season 11)|eleventh season]] on 25 and 26&nbsp;April 2012, performing a Queen medley with the six finalists on the first show. The following day, they performed "[[Somebody to Love (Queen song)|Somebody to Love]]" with the Queen Extravaganza band.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/the-queen-extravaganza-somebody-to-love-on-american-idol-20120427 |title='Somebody to Love' on 'American Idol' – Video |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=27 April 2012 |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121132316/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/the-queen-extravaganza-somebody-to-love-on-american-idol-20120427 |archive-date=21 January 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[file:AdamLambertQueen1.jpg|thumb|left|Taylor on drums with vocalist [[Adam Lambert]] in 2012]]
In November 2009, Taylor appeared on the reality TV show ''[[The X Factor (UK TV series)|The X Factor]]'' with May as Queen mentoring the contestants and performing "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]". That month Taylor confirmed he was planning to tour with Taylor Hawkins, which Taylor described as a "quick tour".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gigwise.com/news/53482/Queen-And-Foo-Fighters-Drummers-To-Team-Up-For-2010-Tour |title=Queen And Foo Fighters Drummers To Team Up For 2010 Tour |publisher=Gigwise |date=17 November 2009 |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016074303/http://www.gigwise.com/news/53482/Queen-And-Foo-Fighters-Drummers-To-Team-Up-For-2010-Tour |archive-date=16 October 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the [[2011 MTV Europe Music Awards]] on 6&nbsp;November, Queen received the [[MTV Europe Music Award for Global Icon|Global Icon Award]], and Taylor and May closed the awards ceremony, with [[Adam Lambert]] on vocals, performing "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions".<ref>{{cite web |author=Penny Newton |url=http://www.mtv.com.au/news/61c139e8-katy-perry-adam-lambert-honour-queen/ |title=Katy And Adam Honour Queen! &#124; Queen &#124; News &#124; MTV Australia |publisher=Mtv.com.au |date=6 November 2011 |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912235351/http://www.mtv.com.au/news/61c139e8-katy-perry-adam-lambert-honour-queen/ |archive-date=12 September 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2011, Taylor, along with [[Steven Tyler]] and [[Roger Daltrey]], joined the advisory board of Edge Music Network. Taylor performed in the [[2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony]] in London on 12 August.

===2013–present===
In 2013 and 2014, Taylor served as an executive producer of the film ''Solitary'', directed by Sasha Krane. In addition to those duties, he provided original music, including the song "When We Were Young" and three instrumental songs which serve as incidental/background music in the film and during the closing credits. Taylor also appeared as a special guest for Welsh Rock artist [[Jayce Lewis]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://brianmay.com/brian-news/2018/01/we-are-one-jayce-lewis-ft-brian-may/ | title='We Are One' - Jayce Lewis ft Brian May | date=9 January 2018 }}</ref> providing drums for the track "Wrath" which were recorded at Taylor's personal studio in [[Surrey]], the song was released as a single from the Welshman's album ''Nemesis''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rogertaylor.info/guestdet.html|title=Roger Taylor of Queen guest appearances discography.|publisher=Rogertaylor.info|access-date=29 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809224804/http://www.rogertaylor.info/guestdet.html|archive-date=9 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/will-will-rock-you-jayce-7233750|title=He will, he will, rock you! Jayce Lewis is granted an audience with Queen star |website=Walesonline.co.uk|date=8 June 2014|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925044610/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/will-will-rock-you-jayce-7233750|archive-date=25 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/queen-drummer-roger-taylor-agrees-5324038|title=Queen drummer Roger Taylor agrees to play on Welsh rocker Jayce Lewis' new album|website=Walesonline.co.uk|date=28 July 2013|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810004706/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/queen-drummer-roger-taylor-agrees-5324038|archive-date=10 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.queenconcerts.com/queenzone/1354161.html | title=Queen drummer Roger Taylor agrees to play on Welsh rocker Jayce Lewis' new &#91;QueenConcerts&#93; }}</ref> On 15&nbsp;November 2014, Taylor joined the charity group [[Band Aid 30]], playing drums alongside current British and Irish pop acts on the latest version of the track "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" at [[Sarm West Studios]] in [[Notting Hill]], London, to raise money for the [[2014 Ebola outbreaks|2014 Ebola crisis]] in Western Africa.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Band Aid 30: One Direction among celebrity line-up|newspaper=Telegraph|date=11 November 2014|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/11220735/Band-Aid-30-line-up-revealed.html|access-date=11 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220193058/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/11220735/Band-Aid-30-line-up-revealed.html|archive-date=20 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 5 and 6&nbsp;September 2015, Taylor, along with [[Led Zeppelin]]'s [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]], joined [[Foo Fighters]] on stage in [[Milton Keynes]] to perform a cover of the Queen and [[David Bowie]] song "[[Under Pressure]]". Taylor released a new single called "Gangsters Are Running This World" on 1&nbsp;April 2019, and on 8&nbsp;April released a more rocking version of this song called "Gangsters Are Running This World-Purple Version". Both versions became available for streaming on 8&nbsp;April 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.queenonline.com/news/gangsters-are-running-this-world-available-now-inc-new-purple-version|title='Gangsters Are Running This World' Available Now – Inc. New 'Purple Version'|access-date=8 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408192617/http://www.queenonline.com/news/gangsters-are-running-this-world-available-now-inc-new-purple-version|archive-date=8 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> On 10&nbsp;May 2019 he and Czech [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] goalkeeper [[Petr Čech]] released a song called "That's Football" which Čech wrote for his retiring football career.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.queenonline.com/news/out-today-thats-football-petr-cech-ft-roger-taylor|title=Out Today! 'That's Football' – Petr Cech ft. Roger Taylor|website=Queenonline.com|access-date=10 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520215231/http://www.queenonline.com/news/out-today-thats-football-petr-cech-ft-roger-taylor|archive-date=20 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2021, Taylor embarked on a 14-date solo tour (Outsider Tour) in the UK, from 2 to 22 October.<ref>{{cite news |title=Queen's Roger Taylor announces 2021 UK solo tour |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/queens-roger-taylor-announces-2021-uk-solo-tour-2952965 |access-date=5 October 2021 |work=NME}}</ref> In January 2023, Queen single "Radio Ga Ga" was sampled on singer Che Lingo's single "My Radio"; Taylor and Queen were credited as co-lead artists on the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/che-lingo-shares-queen-inspired-my-radio-featuring-roger-taylor-radar-3383880|title=Che Lingo shares Queen-inspired 'My Radio' featuring Roger Taylor|website=NME|last=Wilkes|first=Emma|date=19 January 2023|access-date=5 September 2024}}</ref> In November 2023, Taylor's bar The Wild, a collaboration with his wife Sarina Taylor, [[Adam Lambert]], Bryan Patrick Franklin, and Michael Solis, opened in West Hollywood, California.<ref>{{cite news |title=Adam Lambert's The Wild West Hollywood Has VIP Pre-Opening Party |url= https://wehotimes.com/adam-lamberts-the-wild-west-hollywood-has-vip-pre-opening-party/ |access-date=15 November 2023 |work=WEHO Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Roger and Adam Lambert Open New Bar in LA |url=https://www.queenonline.com/news/roger-and-adam-lambert-open-new-bar-in-la?fbclid=IwAR09lXkB1J7THl-dReR2xUqN-_lKfV1KZtCIZtPoWNCys96Gr5QpyBmTRTg_aem_AVb3htVMJuTI5Um88hQMHuJj27r_xMhniZijLB2pTgvBkTF_K1MY3jSCwPyrV_hQ6ns |access-date=17 November 2023 |work=Queen Online}}</ref>