Queen recorded seven studio albums at Mountain Studios in Montreux between 1978 and 1995, and the band owned the studio outright for fourteen of those years. That's the short version of why a Swiss lakeside town of 26,000 people carries one of rock music's most recognisable names on its waterfront.
The longer version involves a casino, a Swiss sound engineer, a duck-themed apartment the band nicknamed "Duckingham Palace," and a bronze statue that now draws visitors from every continent. Here's the full story, in order.
Key takeaways: Queen first recorded in Montreux in 1978 and bought Mountain Studios the following year. Freddie Mercury spent his final years partly in a private lakeside home here, writing some of his last lyrics with a view of the water. The town's statue (1996) and the former studio, now a free museum (2013), sit a five-minute walk apart on the lakefront promenade.
In this guide
Why did Queen choose Montreux?
Mountain Studios opened in 1975 inside the Casino de Montreux, founded by Anita Kerr and Alex Grob and built by American studio designer Tom Hidley. By the late 1970s it was one of the best-equipped recording facilities in Europe, fitted with a 24-track Swiss-made Studer recorder (Atlas Obscura).
Queen booked time there in 1978 to record their album Jazz, drawn by the equipment and, just as importantly, by the quiet. Unlike London or Los Angeles, Montreux offered anonymity — a small town where a global rock band could work without a crowd outside the door. The band was impressed enough that they bought Mountain Studios outright in 1979, becoming its owners rather than just its clients.
The purchase also connected Queen to Claude Nobs, the founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival, who befriended the band and became a fixture of their time in the town — a friendship that deepened Queen's ties to Montreux well beyond studio bookings.
What albums did Queen record in Montreux?
Queen recorded seven studio albums at Mountain Studios over 17 years — a body of work that spans the band's commercial peak through to Freddie Mercury's final recording sessions.
- Jazz (1978) — the album that brought Queen to Montreux for the first time.
- Hot Space (1982)
- A Kind of Magic (1986)
- The Miracle (1989)
- Innuendo (1991) — the last Queen album released during Freddie Mercury's lifetime.
- Made in Heaven (1995) — completed and mixed at Mountain Studios after Mercury's death, built from vocals he recorded there during his final sessions, knowing his time was limited.
Queen sold Mountain Studios in February 1993 to David Richards, the British sound engineer who had worked as the band's associate producer since the early 1980s (Wikipedia, Mountain Studios). The studio kept recording other artists — David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Deep Purple all worked there over the years — before finally closing.
Freddie Mercury's private life in Montreux
Beyond the studio, Freddie Mercury kept a private lakeside residence in Montreux from the late 1970s until his death in 1991. Because of the sheer number of duck ornaments and souvenirs scattered through it, the band nicknamed the property "Duckingham Palace." Its boathouse later appeared on the cover of Made in Heaven.
Mercury told his friend and duet partner Montserrat Caballé, "If you want peace of mind, come to Montreux" (SWI swissinfo.ch). Unlike London, where he couldn't walk down a street unrecognised, Montreux let him move around largely undisturbed.
That sense of calm shows up directly in his songwriting. Two weeks before his death, Mercury wrote "A Winter's Tale" while looking out over the lake from the Duck House — among the last lyrics he ever completed. The song opens: "So quiet and peaceful, tranquil and blissful, what a truly magnificent view, a breathtaking scene" (Songfacts).
The statue on the lakefront
On a rainy day in November 1996, five years after Mercury's death, Brian May unveiled a nearly three-metre bronze statue on the Montreux lakefront promenade. Mercury's parents Jer and Bomi Bulsara attended, along with his sister Kashmira, drummer Roger Taylor, and the sculptor herself, Irena Sedlecka (Atlas Obscura).
Sedlecka, a Czech sculptor based in Britain, had first seen Mercury perform live at Wembley for Live Aid in 1985. Her statue captures him mid-performance, fist raised, and carries the inscription "Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs." It's become the most photographed monument in Montreux — routinely surrounded by fans leaving flowers, especially around 5 September, his birthday, and 24 November, the anniversary of his death.
The statue sits directly on the lakefront promenade, a flat, five-minute walk from the Casino de Montreux — easy to combine with a stroll toward Chillon Castle or back into town. If you're planning a visit around his birthday, see our guide to Freddie Days Montreux, the town's annual celebration held around the statue every September.
Visiting the former studio today
The Mountain Studios control room, inside the Casino de Montreux, now houses a free museum called Queen: The Studio Experience. It opened on 2 December 2013, with Brian May in attendance, following the studio's closure (Wikipedia, Queen: The Studio Experience).
The exhibit preserves the original mixing desk and instruments used during Queen's Montreux sessions, alongside recordings and footage from the band's time there. Entry is free, and the museum sits inside the same building as the casino's other attractions — making it an easy add-on to a lakefront walk that also takes in the statue a short distance away.
Montreux's music heritage doesn't stop with Queen. The Casino de Montreux burned down during a Frank Zappa concert in December 1971 — the fire that inspired Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," written while the band was recording nearby. The rebuilt casino, reopened in 1975, is the same building that later housed Mountain Studios.
Timeline: Freddie Mercury and Montreux
- 1975 Mountain Studios opens inside the rebuilt Casino de Montreux.
- 1978 Queen records Jazz at Mountain Studios — their first Montreux sessions.
- 1979 Queen buys Mountain Studios outright.
- 1991 Freddie Mercury records his final vocals at Mountain Studios; dies on 24 November.
- 1993 Queen sells Mountain Studios to engineer David Richards.
- 1995 Made in Heaven is completed and released, built from Mercury's last Montreux recordings.
- 1996 The Freddie Mercury statue is unveiled on the lakefront by Brian May.
- 2013 Queen: The Studio Experience opens in the former studio space.
Curious what else fills a day around the statue and studio? Our guide to the 12 best places to visit in Montreux and Vevey maps out a full itinerary, and the annual Freddie Days programme covers the town's biggest tribute event of the year.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Freddie Mercury associated with Montreux?
Queen recorded seven studio albums at Mountain Studios in Montreux between 1978 and 1995, and the band bought the studio outright in 1979. Freddie Mercury also kept a private lakeside home in the town and called it the most peaceful place he knew. The town honoured him with a bronze statue in 1996.
What albums did Queen record in Montreux?
Jazz (1978), Hot Space (1982), A Kind of Magic (1986), The Miracle (1989), Innuendo (1991) — the last album released in Freddie Mercury's lifetime — and Made in Heaven (1995), completed there after his death using his final vocal sessions.
Where is Freddie Mercury's statue in Montreux?
The statue stands on the lakefront promenade in central Montreux, a short walk from the Casino de Montreux. Sculptor Irena Sedlecka's bronze, nearly three metres tall, was unveiled by Brian May in November 1996 and carries the inscription "Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs."
Can you visit Queen's recording studio in Montreux?
Yes. The former Mountain Studios control room, inside the Casino de Montreux, now houses Queen: The Studio Experience, a free museum that opened on 2 December 2013, with the original mixing desk and instruments on display.
Did Freddie Mercury live in Montreux?
He kept a private residence on the Montreux lakefront known as the Duck House, nicknamed "Duckingham Palace" by the band. He wrote some of his final lyrics there, including "A Winter's Tale," and described Montreux as giving him peace of mind away from public life.
Related reading: Freddie Days Montreux 2026 programme · 12 best places to visit in Montreux and Vevey · Luxury travel guide to Montreux & the Swiss Riviera · Montreux Jazz Festival rental guide
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