In the rich history of rock music, few names have shone out as consistently as that of Queen. With a career spanning over five decades, the band is one of the world’s most successful of all time. During this period, Queen came to embody the power of musical creativity and most of their songs topped the charts for weeks on end. They created their own musical universe, made up of a combination of hard rock, glam rock, pop, funk and opera, shattering the boundaries between the genres. Taking its cue from the Greatest Hits II album of 1991, with the Great Characters Homage to Queen Special Edition, Montblanc honours one of Queen’s most successful albums. Echoing the striking colour combination of the double LP Greatest Hits II, the edition appears in dark blue with gold-plated fittings. The four musicians behind the sound of this legendary compilation album have gone down in history: Freddy Mercury, the charismatic front man with a vocal range spanning several octaves and coloured by a rich vibrato; Brian May, the virtuoso guitarist and his unmistakable electric guitar sound; John Deacon, the versatile and creative bass player; and Roger Taylor, the rhythmic heart of the band. As a sign of their musical virtuosity, which made the 1991 album one of the biggest-selling and best-known in the world, the ‘tools of their trade’ are subtly immortalised on the precious resin: microphone and bass on the cap, guitar and drum kit on the barrel. On their Greatest Hits II album, the band presented a broad selection of their chart hits, from rock anthems to catchy pop songs – including iconic tracks such as A Kind of Magic, classics like Radio Ga Ga and The Show Must Go On, the rousing I Want to Break Free or the poignant Under Pressure, a collaboration with David Bowie. Alongside Freddy Mercury’s voice, the key to the band’s special sound was the outstanding guitar-playing of Brian May. The writing instrument honours him and his virtuosity through the shape of its tip. Designed with the characteristic volume and tone control knobs of his famous electric guitar in mind, the cone features a delicate fluting pattern, a small red dot and an engraving of the release date of the Greatest Hits II album. The crown worn by Mercury during the closing rendition of God Save The Queen was the inspiration behind the silhouette of the cap top of the Special Edition and is, at the same time, a metaphor for the majestic character of the band and its musical legacy. The gold-coated clip is designed to resemble a microphone stand in reference to one of the hallmarks of Freddie Mercury’s live performances.
