Queen

Four piano notes, or two stamps and a clap, and a whole stadium starts singing. Queen were excess with a wink. A Queen band poster should carry the same swagger: a touch of pomp, plenty of light and Freddie Mercury somewhere in the frame.

A crest, a portrait and one famous afternoon

Queen came together in London in 1970 around Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor, with John Deacon joining in 1971. Mercury, an art-school graduate, designed the Queen crest himself: a crowned Q, two lions for Deacon and Taylor (both Leo), a crab for May (Cancer), two fairies for himself (Virgo) and a phoenix spreading its wings over the lot. Royal heraldry, rock edition.

The second icon is Mick Rock's photograph for Queen II (1974): four faces lit from above, floating out of the dark, in a pose inspired by a portrait of Marlene Dietrich. The band recreated it in the Bohemian Rhapsody video in 1975, and it has been imitated ever since.

And then there is the stage. On 13 July 1985 at Wembley, Queen played 21 minutes at Live Aid in front of more than 70,000 people, a set still regularly named the greatest live performance in rock.

Where to hang royalty

The crest, with its golds and reds, needs room: above a sofa, in a hallway, or as the centrepiece of a living-room wall. The Queen II portrait, deep black, suits a darker bedroom with a lamp angled towards it.

For a full wall, alternate Queen with other stadium giants such as Led Zeppelin, or with the raw energy of our gig posters.

Printed in Tunisia and paid for on delivery anywhere from Bizerte to Tataouine. The show must go on.