An original Portuguese Queen ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ vinyl single sold for big money during an Ebay auction on Oct. 31. This mega-rare 45 with picture sleeve was rated in excellent condition and after 11 bids, closed out at the hefty price of $1540.00.

This 1973 single, not to be mistaken for the re-pressed Record Store Day release, was recorded at Trident and DeLane Lea Studios in London for the bands debut album ‘Queen.’ This copy, according to the seller, came from a DJ’s collection and the stats on the label read: EMI/VALENTIM DE CARVALHO 8E 006 – 94 681 MF.

Both sides of this 7″ were penned by guitarist Brian May with the A-side being ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ and the B-side featuring ‘Son And Daughter.’ The front cover features a photograph of the band while the back cover sleeve is a generic white background with credits. According to Mark Hodkinson, author of ‘Queen: The Early Years,’ the A-side was originally conceived on acoustic guitars during a practice session at Imperial College in 1970 before bassist John Deacon joined the band.

The very first version of this song (the demo) was recorded in 1971 remains May’s favorite and includes the intro played on May’s acoustic guitar. This single recording does not use the acoustic guitar, but instead has at least seven electric guitar parts. Though ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ is an impressive song, especially for a debut, the single was largely ignored on both sides of the Atlantic, making this version all the more collectible.

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