On this day, 18 September 1971 – Queen went into De Lane Lea studios to begin testing the studios.
Queen is told about a new studio complex in Wembley called De Lane Lea, a real band was needed to begin testing out the equipment in the studios, what better than the emerging Queen – So, they agreed and this day in history, they begin testing some amazing equipment!
Terry Yeadon established the new studio complex in Wembley called De Lane Lea. The complex comprised three adjoining studios. He was anxious to discover whether there was a bleed of sound from one to the other. They even fired blanks from a shotgun to see if the separate desks detected the sound, but they needed a live, loud rock band to test out the equipment.
Queen had full free use of innovative studio technology. They were allowed to use the largest studio, which could easily hold up to 120 musicians. Aside from the clarity and power the studio supplied, De Lane Lea was virtually a music business thoroughfare: it was a workshop for emerging talent, from sound engineering to management. The band spent long hours at De Lane Lea with producer Louie Austin.
Queen recorded four of their own songs. During these sessions, the band also developed a manifesto on songwriting which remained steadfast throughout their long career.
Here’s a fantastic article from The Record Collector – January 2000
Around September 1971, an acquaintance of Brian May’s, Terry Yeadon, had opened a studio in Wembley named De Lane Lea, and he needed a band to test the equipment. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, May agreed, and Queen were allowed to use some of the most state-of-the-art studio technology of the time. Fitting in around the schedules of bona fide clients, the band worked with the studio’s in-house producer, Louie Austin, laying down several tracks.
Austin recalled: “They were very fussy. Their songs were done one by one. They would carry on until they thought it was right. It sometimes took a very long time, but they put up with so much shit too, during that time.”
The band had to constantly move their equipment from studio to studio within the De Lane Lea complex, often encountering problems with the new equipment. According to legend, one take was plagued by an annoying clicking sound, which turned out to be the sound of the band standing on metal cable ducts beneath the studio floor. Each member subsequently had to stand perfectly still once the tapes were rolling to avoid the unusual noise.
While the band continued to gig regularly, they continued to tout for a record deal. Tony Stratton-Smith’s Charisma label was very interested at one point, but Queen turned him down as they felt Charisma was too ‘small time’ for their liking – they were aiming for the top. Eventually, the group signed with a new production company – Trident, owned by Norman and Barry Sheffield, who ran the renowned Trident Studios in Soho where Queen had cut their demo acetate, and where the Beatles had recorded “Hey Jude”. These connections would return to haunt them in the future thanks to some business squabbles (the Sheffields still own the rights to the Larry Lurex side-project, and “Death On Two Legs”, the opening track on 1975’s “A Night At The Opera”, is allegedly aimed at the brothers). But it did mean that Queen were in a strong position to sign with major label EMI in the spring of 1973. The rest, as they say, is history . . .
But what of the original Queen demos? Many Queen books mention the recordings, but name only four tracks: “Jesus”, “Liar”, “Keep Yourself Alive” and “the Night Comes Down”. But here, in all its glory, is the original Queen demo disc; the first recording by the classic Queen line-up of Mercury, May, Deacon and Taylor. Housed in a Trident Studios sleeve, and bearing Trident labels, here’s conclusive proof that a fifth track, “Great King Rat”, was also laid down at De Lane Lea in 1971.
Here’s a fabulous clip 
https://youtu.be/lPBNTZlrYF8
Picture of a young budding Queen photographed by Michael Putland, London, UK, 1973
