Queen

[Stag]

I await Dood's contribution to this thread, being as JD is one of his massive heroes / influences!

Love the band, always have. Listened since I was a kid, and only due to playing bass have I realised just how good a player Deacon was. And a pretty damn fine songwriter too (mind you they all were pretty fine songwriters)

[lowdown]

[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' post='1251314' date='May 31 2011, 12:15 PM']I doubt that Deacon, Taylor and May really needed the money!

It was interesting to see that they did not make any money at all off the first three albums because of a bad record deal.[/quote]


People always want/need more money - and especially when record companies are involved.
Yep, it was interesting about the first three albums not making them much money.
Kinda makes it worth carrying on to earn more money then...



Garry

Edited May 31, 2011 by lowdown

[thodrik]

Good show last night, though hardly different from every other BBC documentary focusing on Queen/Freddie Mercury/Live Aid/rock music in general. I think at 25 I can do without seeing another BBC 'rock' documentary focusing on any one of: Live Aid, Queen, Led Zep, the Who, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Rolling Stones or anything involving Eric Clapton. Its not that I'm not a fan, its just that I am fed up of the BBC essentially making the same documentaries over and over, when they could just repeat the one they made before. Its not like they are going to get any new information, or that the subject matter is focusing on anything new, (the Paul Rogers/Queen thing was pretty much glossed over entirely).

[risingson]

[quote name='51m0n' post='1251527' date='May 31 2011, 02:16 PM']Agree they were some pretty excellent programs, not sure about the entirely unparalleled production, 10cc's "I'm not in love" could arguably be one of the cleverist bits of production of all time

Read up on it [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun05/articles/classictracks.htm"]here[/url].

Very very clever stuff!

That apart though Queen did sound damn fine, I dont think they sounded better than Abba did though, as good, but not better (purely talking production here, regardless of whether or not you dig the tracks)[/quote]

My point was that nobody sounded like Queen apart from Queen really, they pioneered a sound for themselves. 10cc were great writers with great production values but their music wasn't nearly as enduring as Queen's!

[Gunsfreddy2003]

To be fair to the Beeb this had plenty of bits and pieces that were new and unseen and I have seen them all!

Trouble is there are very few bands about since those that you mention that you could make a documentary about - apart from Metallica of course.

[quote name='thodrik' post='1251561' date='May 31 2011, 02:33 PM']Good show last night, though hardly different from every other BBC documentary focusing on Queen/Freddie Mercury/Live Aid/rock music in general. I think at 25 I can do without seeing another BBC 'rock' documentary focusing on any one of: Live Aid, Queen, Led Zep, the Who, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Rolling Stones or anything involving Eric Clapton. Its not that I'm not a fan, its just that I am fed up of the BBC essentially making the same documentaries over and over, when they could just repeat the one they made before. Its not like they are going to get any new information, or that the subject matter is focusing on anything new, (the Paul Rogers/Queen thing was pretty much glossed over entirely).[/quote]

[51m0n]

[quote name='risingson' post='1251562' date='May 31 2011, 02:34 PM']My point was that nobody sounded like Queen apart from Queen really, they pioneered a sound for themselves. 10cc were great writers with great production values but their music wasn't nearly as enduring as Queen's![/quote]


Ahhh, I see your point, "production" in this case may mean something slightly different to me than to you.

Queen did absolutely hit th nail on the head for enduring singles, however they also produced some right old plop too IMO. Most of the stuff not on their Best Of albums really....

I liked this progam because it sort of dipped its toe into the chasm of plop too.

I do strongly think that the 10cc produciton I brought up is absolutely staggering though, and totally holds its own to this day. All the Abba stuff is superbly produced too. And they wrote as many enduring tracks as Queen did, but they didnt go on as long. Higher hit rate of classics perhaps?

[Delberthot]

It if hadn't been for Queen and John Deacon I would not be playing the bass.

I thought I'd seen everything about Queen but there was some new stuff added in here as well like the fact that Death on Two Legs was written about the production company that were screwing them out of money. To me, they are still one of the best bands ever and love watching and listening to them.

I can happily listen to every album in their entirety right up to and including Live Killers.

I can see both sides of Queen continuing without Freddie and John: on one hand you've lost one of the most instantly recognisable and flambouyant front men in rock music so the bass player sees this and thinks that there's no point in continuing without him; on the other hand you still have two guys who are passionate about the music and wanting to keep going so it made perfect sense to go back out on the road again.

The one thing that they did that was rally smart was by getting someone like Paul Rodgers. If they had got in an unknown singer then the media would continually have compared him to Freddie but getting Paul on board, who is a legend in his own right meant that they could just go out and play.

[slobluesine]

never been a big fan of Queen but their Live Aid show must be the best 20mins of live Rock n Roll your ever gonna see or hear

[51m0n]

[quote name='slobluesine' post='1251617' date='May 31 2011, 03:17 PM']never been a big fan of Queen but their Live Aid show must be the best 20mins of live Rock n Roll your ever gonna see or hear[/quote]

+1

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='1251606' date='May 31 2011, 03:07 PM']I can see both sides of Queen continuing without Freddie and John: on one hand you've lost one of the most instantly recognisable and flambouyant front men in rock music so the bass player sees this and thinks that there's no point in continuing without him;[/quote]


I don't think that's why John refused to do it. Most accounts i've read cite emotional reasons as he was very close to Freddie and didn't want to do it without his friend.

Although i guess there's no official line, it's not like he's going to be doing an interview with Piers Morgan any time soon is it?

[thodrik]

[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' post='1251566' date='May 31 2011, 02:38 PM']To be fair to the Beeb this had plenty of bits and pieces that were new and unseen and I have seen them all!

Trouble is there are very few bands about since those that you mention that you could make a documentary about - apart from Metallica of course.[/quote]

The Smiths, The Cult, Stone Roses, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Nazareth, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, the Kinks, Free, Yes, the Clash, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore, Robin Trower, AC/DC(though the BBC like to pretend they don't really exist!), New Order, Buzzcocks and Depeche Mode. I'm sure all of those bands/persons have interesting stories that would make for a 'aren't they really awesome' BBC documentary.

If the BBC focuses on any of these groups its usually in a big compilation documentary where they get a few sentences in before talking about Queen, Live Aid, Led Zep, Clapton and the other usual suspects.

The new footage was great but didn't really provide much really to the normal narrative of 'Queen were a great band, (insert footage of them being great), they had some tough times (insert Freddie's solo album), but they were really awesome at Live Aid and made a great comeback (insert Midge Ure and footage of them being awesome at said show), then Freddie got ill and died, but not without recording some great songs (still photos/videos of him being ill, followed by footage of Wembly concert).

It was a great documentary though, I'm just saying that I didn't really get anything new. Though I am now starting to see similarities between Roger Taylor and Lars Ulrich that I didn't see before.

[tauzero]

I was rather disappointed that the Hammersmith Odeon Old Grey String Vest special wasn't shown in its entirety. I was looking forward to "White Queen", a truly gorgeous song, and it went AWOL, so I had to go googling for torrents of the full concert.

I lost interest in them after "Night at the opera" - "Day at the races" wasn't up to the standard of the previous albums, then they went downhill into a trite pop band.

[RhysP]

I missed both parts of the documentary - I'll try & watch them on the BBC iplayer before they get taken off.

I was lucky enough to see Queen in 1976 & it's still one of the best gigs I've ever seen.

Wasn't a big fan of their stuff after "Night at the opera" but those first four albums are just superb.

[Gunsfreddy2003]

Looking at the list of bands below - I rest my case!

I wouldn't put any of them in the same league as Queen. Don't ever recall The Smiths selling out Wembley!!

[quote name='thodrik' post='1251631' date='May 31 2011, 03:25 PM']The Smiths, The Cult, Stone Roses, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Nazareth, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, the Kinks, Free, Yes, the Clash, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore, Robin Trower, AC/DC(though the BBC like to pretend they don't really exist!), New Order, Buzzcocks and Depeche Mode.[/quote]

[Grassie]

Being a child of the 80's I really like stuff like Radio Ga Ga. The memories that song brings are priceless. I particularly enjoy it when a band takes itself out of it's comfort zone and makes an album that the "die-hards" would struggle with (Hot Space notwithstanding). The producton on The Works is pretty groundbreaking, and coming from a band who were renowned for breaking new ground, this shouldn't have been much of a surprise to long time fans. I always like bands to take a risk - when Def Leppard released Slang in 96 the die hards slagged them off something rotten, but I absolutely rate that album as one of their best. When a band realease the same album over and over, I just lose interest after album 3. As for John Deacon - the master of understatement and quite right to retire or whatever he wants to call it. While the other two wring Freddie's legacy for all it's worth, JD keeps his dignity and respect. Love to hear what he thinks now though - BGM should really kiss his arse and get an interview with him.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='thodrik' post='1251631' date='May 31 2011, 03:25 PM']The Smiths, The Cult, Stone Roses, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Nazareth, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, the Kinks, Free, Yes, the Clash, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore, Robin Trower, AC/DC(though the BBC like to pretend they don't really exist!), New Order, Buzzcocks and Depeche Mode. I'm sure all of those bands/persons have interesting stories that would make for a 'aren't they really awesome' BBC documentary.[/quote]
Absolutely.
And you can add Iron Maiden, The Cure and The Police to that list...

[gub]

Ok i am coming out of the closet ,yes i am a queen lover ,there now i said it !

[stingrayPete1977]

I'm watching it right now as I recorded both parts The opening backing track of their 'my way' sounded fantastic!

[stingrayPete1977]

Ha, Just mentioned Bingley hall being the first gig that the audience got involved which inspired we will rock, It's about 5 mile from my house!

[JTUK]

[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' post='1251810' date='May 31 2011, 05:40 PM']Looking at the list of bands below - I rest my case!

I wouldn't put any of them in the same league as Queen. Don't ever recall The Smiths selling out Wembley!![/quote]


But Queen in 1975 were competing with Led Zep, Deep Purple etc..and they were never in that league either.
IIRC, they were regarded as very lightweight by comparison...and it wasn't until those types of bands died, that Queen came to the fore...plus they were a pop band

I am not sure in what period Queen started selling out everywhere, but I doubt it was in the 70's

[peteb]

[quote name='JTUK' post='1251971' date='May 31 2011, 08:09 PM']But Queen in 1975 were competing with Led Zep, Deep Purple etc..and they were never in that league either.
IIRC, they were regarded as very lightweight by comparison...and it wasn't until those types of bands died, that Queen came to the fore...plus they were a pop band

I am not sure in what period Queen started selling out everywhere, but I doubt it was in the 70's[/quote]
To be fair, Queen were massive in this country in the 70s!

But they were never as big as Led Zep, etc especially in the States......

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' post='1251501' date='May 31 2011, 01:57 PM']Agree - I don't think I have ever heard John Deacon talk much about his bass playing and would love to know more about it. He is a great player and I particularly enjoyed watching his sunburst Stingray on the Another One Bites The Dust clip!

I don't think he plays at all these days.[/quote]

I was going to change my White pick guard on my pre EB until remembering JD had one so in honour of him it's staying
I also wonder how much he may of used it in the studio when you listen closely although it could be me wanting it to be?

[LemonCello]

Note JD's axe of choice...the ubiquitous Precision! Well mostly

The point about Queen is, that they don't bear comparison with anyone...they were unique

You don't find lyrics like those anymore and I bet some of you can recite them with ease!

A moving documentary, glad I caught it

LC

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='JTUK' post='1251971' date='May 31 2011, 08:09 PM']But Queen in 1975 were competing with Led Zep, Deep Purple etc..and they were never in that league either.
IIRC, they were regarded as very lightweight by comparison...and it wasn't until those types of bands died, that Queen came to the fore...plus they were a pop band

I am not sure in what period Queen started selling out everywhere, but I doubt it was in the 70's[/quote]

Another bites the dust sold 7 million copies in 1980 and most teenager (unless they are budding rockers) will know Queen and loads of there songs but would look blankly at the words deep purple, They may of seen Led Zep on a t shirt from top shop and remember something about them being mentioned in the film school of rock with jack black.

TBF to them they said themselves that they were never in fashion which may be why the stayed around for so long rather than everyone loving them for a few albums and then falling out of favour.

[BigRedX]

I'm another of those who lost interest after ANatO, so for me the first part was fantastic and the second part highlighted just how many crap albums they released in the 80s.

Of the watch the OGWT gig now...

Edited May 31, 2011 by BigRedX