Re-live the first time Queen were ever heard on the radio

A recording of the first time Queen were ever heard on the radio has been released. 

The band made their radio debut in 1973 during a John Peel live session for the BBC, performing My Fairy King - and for a new band, it sounds pretty polished. Listen below: 

Discussing the track, guitarist Brian May said: "This was the first time we'd really seen Freddie [Mercury] working at his full capacity. He's virtually a self-taught pianist, and he was making vast strides at the time, although we didn't have a piano on stage at that point because it would have been impossible to fix up.

MORE: Look at Queen's complete Official UK Chart history here

"So, in the studio was the first chance Freddie had to do his piano things and we actually got that sound of the piano and the guitar working for the first time which was very exciting. My Fairy King was the first of these sort of epics where there were lots of voice overdubs and harmonies. Freddie got into this, and that led to The March of The Black Queen on the second album and then Bohemian Rhapsody later on."

The recording of My Fairy King features on a new album from the group called Queen On Air, a compilation of 24 forgotten recordings by the band, each performed live during their six BBC radio sessions between February 1973 and October 1977.

The collection - out on November 4 - includes unique takes of classic album tracks as well as radical reworkings of their best known hits, like the recently released sped-up version of We Will Rock You. Click here to see the full (extensive) tracklisting.

MORE: Freddie Mercury's biggest solo hits of the digital age revealed

Queen On Air follows the release of a Freddie Mercury singles collection, called Messenger Of The Gods, released to coincide with what would have been the late icon's 70th birthday in September. 

Meanwhile, earlier this year Official Charts revealed Queen's Greatest Hits as the biggest selling album of all-time in the UK. Click here to see the full Top 60. Watch back when we celebrated the album's huge sales milestone with Brian May below: