Queen To Be Crowned Global Icons At the 2011 MTV European Musis Awards
Queen have been named recipients of the Global Icon Award at the 2011 MTV European Music Awards, which will take place Nov. 6 in Belfast, Ireland. Queen stars Brian May and Roger Taylor will also hit the stage during the show for a special performance, details of which have yet to be announced. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Queen, who formed in 1971 in London.
"Over the past four decades, Queen [have] made an indelible impact on the pop music landscape," says Bruce Gillmer, executive VP of Talent and Music Programming / Events for MTV parent company Viacom International Media Networks (sounds important, that name there. He obviously knows his pop!). "They are passionately revered by generations of fans and musicians across the globe."
The honor will be the latest in a seemingly endless stream of salutations, awards and other recognitions of their achievement, including of course induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Most recently, late singer Freddie Mercury and his bandmates were posthumously honored with a special prize called the Founders Award at the Asian Awards on Tuesday.
Of course awards show performances are typically underwhelming affairs, but Queen have just enough tunes with the right vibe to throw together into the dreaded medley and not just pull it off, but maybe even rock the house. They've certainly had their share of memorable TV appearances, with Live Aid and its global TV audience of billions being the most memorable. Perhaps they'll bust out "We Are the Champions" -- a more fitting song for the occasion would be hard to find indeed!