Billboard.biz' Richard Smirkle reports:

Jim Beach, manager of UK rock band QUEEN, has spoken out in support of the proposed Universal-EMI merger. In a letter published in the British newspaper The Times on May 5th, Beach said that: "Today's music business is very different to that of 40 years ago, when the band I represent, Queen, began its career with EMI Records."

"Then the company was a hugely influential creative force in the U.K. and overseas. It gave us extraordinary music across virtually every genre, and its artists shaped the tastes of more than one generation," Beach went on to say, adding, "But the latter-day EMI Records under private equity proved to be a very different place."

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Queen's official website has uploaded images from Queen: The Complete Illustrated Lyrics book.

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As Queen begins its fifth decade, straight from the band’s vault comes this visually dazzling tome of lyrics.

Queen, one of the most innovative, glamorous, and influential bands in rock history, was formed in 1971 when the musical fates brought four creative and cerebral youths together in London. Freddie Mercury was an established fine and graphic artist, Brian May was enveloped in the study of astrophysics, Roger Taylor was enrolled in dental school, and John Deacon was studying electronics. Since then, they have made history with their sophisticated fusion of operatic expression, theatrical performance, and raw rock and roll.

Queen: The Complete Illustrated Lyrics is the first book of its kind. Not only has there never before been a complete Queen lyrics book, Queen: The Complete Illustrated Lyrics also features hundreds of images accompanying the songs, from handwritten lyrics to never-before-seen photographs from the stage to the studio. Also included is a complete discography, pairing each song with the album on which it was originally released.

Beginning with their debut album Queen in 1973, the band took the UK by storm, then conquered the United States along with the rest of the world, serving as pioneers of stadium rock and enjoying commercial success and momentum well into the 1980s (highlighted by their show-stopping Live Aid appearance in 1985) through the early 1990s. The whirlwind took a startling pause when Mercury died from AIDS on November 24, 1991, but since then, the living members have forged ahead and remain great music makers until this day.

Queen has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, has songs enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and has received BMI’s highest honor, the BMI Icon Award. Queen’s Greatest Hits, released in 1981, is the U.K.’s best-selling album of all time.

Designed by Queen’s longtime creative director Richard Gray, Queen: The Complete Illustrated Lyrics is as true to the band as can be, carrying with it the flamboyance, expression, and depth that Queen embodies. If there is one book for a Queen fan to own, this is the one.

The Complete Illustrated Lyrics is out now in North America and will be released from June 1st in Europe and the UK.