Rock, pop & metal
Roger Taylor
Queen’s drummer, Roger Taylor knew Montreux from the moment the band settled at Mountain Studios. He also recorded there with his side project The Cross, notably the album “Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know”, recorded there in late 1989, turning the lakeside studio into a genuine playground.
Roger Taylor: what he recorded in Montreux outside Queen
“Fun in Space”, his first solo album
When Queen bought Mountain Studios in 1979, the band gave itself a working tool. Of its four members, Roger Taylor is the one who would come back most often for his own projects.
As early as 1981 he recorded “Fun in Space” there, his first solo album, with David Richards at the desk. He played most of the instruments himself. He would come back regularly afterwards, alone or with his side projects, to a studio he part-owned.
The Cross: leaving the drums
From 1987 to 1993, Roger Taylor led The Cross, a band in which he changed position: he moved to the front, on vocals and rhythm guitar, leaving the drums to someone else. Three albums came out of it, produced mainly at Mountain Studios.
The second, “Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know”, was recorded live in the Montreux studio between September and December 1989, co-produced by the band and Justin Shirley-Smith. It was released on 26 March 1990. The CD version adds a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady”.
Producing for others
Montreux also served him for producing others. In 1986 he co-produced, with David Richards, “Vigilante”, the sixth album by the English band Magnum, recorded at Mountain Studios.
The influence is audible: the record leans towards the sound of 1980s Queen, keyboards ahead of the guitars. The drummer of a band that owned a studio ended up shaping another band’s sound within his own walls.
Related places
▸Queen: The Studio ExperienceExhibitionOpen the place →
© Visit Montreux The free exhibition inside the real Mountain Studios, where Queen recorded seven albums between 1978 and 1995.
Photos
Roger Taylor, Montreux
