Roger Meddows Taylor (born 26 July 1949) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He achieved international fame as the drummer and backing vocalist for the rock bandQueen.[2] As a drummer, Taylor was recognised early in his career for his unique sound[3] and was voted the eighth-greatest drummer in classic rock music history in a listener poll conducted byPlanet Rock in 2005.[4] He was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 as a member of Queen.
As a singer, Taylor employs afalsetto vocal range. During the 1980s, in addition to his work with Queen, he formed a parallel band known asthe Cross, in which he was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. During the early 1980s, Taylor was also a panellist on the UK quiz showPop Quiz, hosted byMike Read. In 2014, he appeared inBrian Pern as himself.
Roger Meddows Taylor was born on 26 July 1949 atWest Norfolk and Lynn Hospital inKing's Lynn, Norfolk. The new maternity ward was opened byPrincess Elizabeth, the future queen Elizabeth II. During her visit she was introduced to 16 new mothers including Winifred Taylor, his mother. Taylor first lived at 87 High Street in King's Lynn and later moved to Beulah Street in the town. Taylor's first school was Rosebery Avenue school.[7] Taylor moved toTruro, Cornwall, in south west England, with his mother Winifred, father Michael and younger sister Clare. When he was seven years old, he and some friends formed his first band, the Bubblingover Boys, in which he played theukulele. He attended attendedBosvigo School[8] andTruro Cathedral School; at the age of 13, he joinedTruro School as a day boy.[9]
At the age of 15, Taylor became a member of Johnny Quale and the Reactions, a semi-professional rock band made up mainly of boys from Truro School. Taylor had originally learned guitar, but became a drummer when he realised he had a more natural aptitude for it. Taylor taught himself to tune his drums, inspired byKeith Moon ofthe Who because of the "great drum sounds" on the early Who records.[10] Another key influence on Taylor wasMitch Mitchell ofthe Jimi Hendrix Experience, who Taylor stated was his early role model.[11]
Taylor metBrian May andTim Staffell in 1968 after a friend saw an advert for a drummer on a noticeboard atImperial 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 joinHumpy Bong, leaving the band with a catalogue of nine songs.
Smile reunited for several songs on 22 December 1992. Taylor's bandthe Cross were headliners and he brought May and Staffell on to play "Earth" and "If I Were a Carpenter".[14]
In 1969, Taylor was working withFreddie Mercury atKensington Market in London (they were sharing a flat at around the same time). Around September 18, 1970, Taylor and Mercury closed their market stall to honor the death ofJimi Hendrix.[15] 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 forGenesis, which led toPhil Collins joining instead.[16] Bulsara convinced the remaining two members of Smile to continue and he eventually joined the band, which he renamed Queen. In 1971, they recruited bassistJohn Deacon, before going on to release theirself-titled debut album in 1973. Taylor is the third most credited songwriter for the band, usually contributing one or two tracks per album.
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 theNews 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".
Taylor's first solo album, released in 1981, wasFun in Space, on which he performed all vocals and played all instruments aside from about half of the keyboards, which were contributed by engineerDavid 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", includingTop 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 promoteThe 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" andRick 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 ofBruce Springsteen's "Racing in the Street" andBob Dylan's "Masters of War".
In 1986, Taylor co-producedVigilante, the sixth studio album by rock bandMagnum.[17] After Queen finished their 1986Magic Tour, Taylor started a new 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 theGosport Festival.[18]
Taylor onstage in Palermo, Italy, January 1995
In 1994, Taylor worked withYoshiki, drummer and pianist ofX Japan and released the song "Foreign Sand" and a reworking of the Cross's "Final Destination". The albumHappiness? 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 albumElectric Fire.[19] Taylor also performed one of the first Internet-gigs – for which he got a mention in theGuinness Book of World Records.[20] On 11 November 2013, Taylor released the albumFun on Earth,[21] On the same day, Taylor released his compilation albumThe Lot, which includes all of his work outside of Queen.[22]
In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor released a new single "Isolation" on 21 June 2020.[23] The song debuted on the top of the UK iTunes Rock chart.[24] On 7 May 2021, Taylor announced his new solo album,Outsider, which was released on 1 October 2021, and debuted at number three on theUK Albums Chart.[25][26]
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 their debut release, the Cross incorporated dance influences, which they dropped on their remaining two albums.
Taylor and May, performing as Queen, also appeared three times on the American singing contest television showAmerican Idol. The first appearance was on 11 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", "Who Wants to Live Forever", and "Innuendo". The second time Queen appeared was on the show'sseason 8 finale in May 2009, performing "We Are the Champions" with finalistsAdam Lambert andKris Allen. The third appearance was during theeleventh season on 25 and 26 April 2012, performing a Queen medley with the six finalists on the first show. The following day, they performed "Somebody to Love" with the Queen Extravaganza band.[30]
In November 2009, Taylor appeared on the reality TV showThe 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".[31] At the2011 MTV Europe Music Awards on 6 November, Queen received theGlobal Icon Award, and Taylor and May closed the awards ceremony, withAdam Lambert on vocals, performing "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions".[32] In 2011, Taylor, along withSteven Tyler andRoger Daltrey, joined the advisory board of Edge Music Network. Taylor performed in the2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London on 12 August.
Taylor (left) in concert withJeff Beck in May 2013
In 2013 and 2014, Taylor served as an executive producer of the filmSolitary, 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 artistJayce Lewis[33] providing drums for the track "Wrath" which were recorded at Taylor's personal studio inSurrey, the song was released as a single from the Welshman's albumNemesis.[34][35][36][37] On 15 November 2014, Taylor joined the charity groupBand Aid 30, playing drums alongside current British and Irish pop acts on the latest version of the track "Do They Know It's Christmas?" atSarm West Studios inNotting Hill, London, to raise money for the2014 Ebola crisis in Western Africa.[38]
On 5 and 6 September 2015, Taylor, along withLed Zeppelin'sJohn Paul Jones, joinedFoo Fighters on stage inMilton Keynes to perform a cover of the Queen andDavid Bowie song "Under Pressure". Taylor released a new single called "Gangsters Are Running This World" on 1 April 2019, and on 8 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 April 2019.[39] On 10 May 2019 he and CzechArsenal goalkeeperPetr Čech released a song called "That's Football" which Čech wrote for his retiring football career.[40]
In October 2021, Taylor embarked on a 14-date solo tour (Outsider Tour) in the UK, from 2 to 22 October.[41] 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.[42] 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.[43][44]
Taylor has stated that his early role model as a drummer wasMitch Mitchell ofthe Jimi Hendrix Experience. He said: "I still think listening to Mitch Mitchell, especially the early stuff with Hendrix, is just fantastic. This fusion of jazz technique and wonderful riffs but with this rolling ferocious attack on the whole kit, it had lots of jazz influences I think. In fact for me he played the kit like a song, it was just wonderful. Total integration into the song. Not just marking time".[11]
Taylor has also expressed great admiration forJohn Bonham ofLed Zeppelin. Speaking of Bonham, Taylor said, "The greatest rock and roll drummer of all time was John Bonham, who did things that nobody had ever even thought possible before with the drum kit. And also the greatest sound out of his drums – they sounded enormous, and just one bass drum. So fast on it that he did more with one bass drum than most people could do with three, if they could manage them. And he had technique to burn and fantastic power and tremendous feel for rock and roll".[11] For sheer technique, Taylor described the jazz andbig band drummerBuddy Rich as "the best I've ever seen".[11]
Speaking toModern Drummer in 1984, Taylor describedKeith Moon, the drummer ofthe Who, as "absolutely brilliant...he had a total unique style; he didn't owe anyone anything."[10]
In 2013, a newly discovered species of the genusHeteragrion (Odonata: Zygoptera) from Brazil was namedHeteragrion rogertaylori after Taylor, in honour of his "powerful sound, wonderful lyrics and raspy voice "; one of fourHeteragrion flatwingdamselflies named after the bandmates, paying tribute to the 40th anniversary of Queen's founding.[46]
In 1999, Taylor became the second living person, other than members of the British Royal Family andFrancis Chichester in 1967, to appear on aRoyal Mailstamp, being seen behind Freddie Mercury as part of a "Great Britons" issue. This caused controversy as it was an understood rule that the only living people allowed to appear on British stamps could be members of the Royal Family.[47][48]
^"Roger Taylor".queenonline.com. Retrieved3 April 2025.By 1966 Roger had not only progressed to drumming in Cornwall's most popular band, the Reaction, but had also become their lead singer
^Patrick Lemieux; Adam Unger (2013).The Queen Chronology: The Recording & Release History of the Band. Across the Board Books. p. 54.ISBN978-0991984046.
^"Roger Taylor".Biography.Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved1 March 2018.
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