Queen honoured with Hollywood star

Queen still have a chart presence in the US

Rock band Queen have been given the rare honour of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The star, being unveiled on Friday, means that the group joins the Beatles in being become one of the few non-US acts honoured this way.

Brian May and Roger Taylor are attending the unveiling by Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of Hollywood, in front of the Ivar nightclub on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

May played on the roof of Buckingham Palace this summer

Queen, whose frontman and singer Freddie Mercury died in 1991, are still setting chart records in the US.

The recently-released Queen Platinum Collection album hit the Billboard Top 100 at number 48 - making the record the highest charting compilation album in US history.

In the UK, the Platinum Collection has remained in the top 30 for 27 weeks.

The group are releasing their first DVD this week, Queen Greatest Video Hits 1.

Campaign

And the band's musical We Will Rock You, which opened in London's West End in May, is still the UK's biggest selling theatre show.

The award of a Hollywood star is the culmination of a campaign by the band's US fans.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce's board of directors receives some 300 requests every year from fan clubs and publicists - but only 15 to 20 stars are awarded.

To be given the honour, an act must have achieved fame in movies, TV, radio, music or live performance - and pay $11,000 (£7,100) for the cost of the star and dedication ceremony.

Queen's star is the 2,207th such honour made to date.