Roger Taylor Facts

In order to exorcise nervous tension and warm up their voices, Fred and Roger would screech loudly at each other in high-pitched squeals, like a couple of late-night tom cats. Roger would have a pair of drumsticks in hand, repeatedly tapping and hitting things - including his assistant and former roadie, Chris Taylor.

I feel obliged to tell you just how much bad luck RT has with his cars. When he bought his first Range Rover he claimed « You can park them on a sixpence. » We had to tow him out of a ditch. His Ferrari burst into flames on his way to the south of France, and his Aston Martin also burst into flames.

Roger is exceedingly bright. Roger is intellectually extremely bright. You cannot keep up with Roger unless you have all your wits about you and don’t sleep. He’s sharp, he’s bright, he’s witty and he’s in touch with the world, which is different from us. He reads the papers. He reads even the music press. He’s aware of trends and stuff, he’s aware of fashion, of clothes, of who’s hot at the time, all that kind of stuff, and he’s into being a rock-and-roll star. Roger’s dream is to be the rock-and-roll star, to live it and breathe it, and he does. Freddie’s mind is kind of somewhere else ‘cause he’s into his creation and into the worlds which he spins in his mind. But Roger is 100% connected to the world.

Ibex were standing outside the Liverpool Art College, with Roger Taylor and Brian May who had joined to support Freddie Mercury for a gig in 1969. They encountered a gang of skinheads, clearly not accustomed to see skinny men dressed in velvet trousers and frilly shirts. Roger, sensing the danger, bluffed that he was a black belt in judo and the law said he must warn them of this first because if they ignored his warning and got hurt, it was their own lookout. Whether they believed Roger or whether they were just amused at his hard neck, they walked away.

One night in 1969, Roger, Brian and Freddie were up in Liverpool were Ibex had to perform. They were wearing what passed for fashionable in Kensington - lots of velvet and fur. That was something unknown in Liverpool. Roger had been accosted by some local youths who rather took exception to the way he was dressed. Taylor flashed his student library card, pretending it was a membership card to a martial arts club. He said “Look, I have to show you this before I kill you... I’m a black belt third dan... in... origami.” Supposedly the youths backed off.

Roger loves America and finds it vastly different from Britain. Just the size is enough to make him stand still and gasp.

Roger would fly off the handle very easily. You'd hear this clunk and it would be «Oh, Roger's thrown another TV out of the window»

Queen drummer Roger Taylor was born in what was known as the West Norfolk and Lynn Hospital, off London Road. He was still in hospital six days later, on the day the Queen Mother visited to officially open the maternity ward.