In 1981, music was available on vinyl, 8-track tape, or cassette tape.

That was the year that British rocker Queen released their “Greatest Hits” album. An album that went on to sell over 25 million copies around the world – six million of those in the United Kingdom! The album has spent over 900 weeks on the United Kingdom’s album chart – that’s 17 years on the music chart!

On July 2, Queen will be re-releasing their “Greatest Hits” album in a celebration of 50 years of making music.

When the re-release comes out, it will be available in a limited edition cassette and on CD. The limited edition cassette will be available exclusively on Queen’s online store and be available in four band member colour cassettes – 1,000 copies each. The CD slipcase will feature autographs by surviving members Brian May and Roger Taylor.

Queen was formed in 1970 and released their debut album in 1973. The rockers lost their flamboyant lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1991 at the age of 45 as a result of AIDS. Since that time, Queen has become members of the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame.

In recent years, Queen has made a resurgence with new lead singer Adam Lambert. Lambert was asked to join the band after he performed with the rockers on the season eight finale of “American Idol”. Lambert finished the season as the runner up to winner Kris Alen.