QUEEN ROCKS

I'd like to meet:

Freddie Mercury

MERCURY -BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND
"Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; September 5, 1946 – died November 24, 1991) was a British musician, best known as the lead singer of the British rock band 'Queen.' He is remembered for his vocal abilities and for his live performances. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including 'Killer Queen', 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Somebody to Love', 'We Are the Champions' and 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'. Mercury died from complications of AIDS, greatly heightening worldwide awareness of the disease."

"Born on the African island of Zanzibar, at the time a British colony, now part of Tanzania. Mercury's parents, Bomi Bulsara and Jer Bulsara, were Parsis from India who practiced the ancient Zoroastrian religion. The family had moved to Zanzibar in order for Bomi to continue his job as a middle-ranking cashier at the British Colonial Office. Mercury had one younger sister, Kashmira."

"Mercury was sent back to India to attend St. Peter's School, a boarding school for boys at Panchgani near Bombay (now Mumbai). At St. Peter's, he was a bright student who excelled at sports and learned to play the piano. At school, he formed a popular school band, called 'The Hectics', for which he played the piano. It was also at St. Peter's where he began to call himself 'Freddie.' Mercury remained in India for most of his childhood, living with his grandmother and aunt. He completed his education in India at St. Mary's (ISC) High School in Mazagon before returning to Zanzibar."

"At the age of 17, Freddie Mercury and his family were forced to flee from Zanzibar to England as a result of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution. The family moved into a small house in the suburban town of Feltham outside London. Mercury enrolled at Isleworth Polytechnic (now West Thames College) in West London where he studied art. He ultimately earned a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at Ealing Art College, later using these skills in order to design the Queen Crest. Mercury remained a British citizen for the rest of his life."

"Following graduation, Mercury joined a series of bands and sold second-hand clothes in the Kensington Market in London. He also held a job at Heathrow Airport. Friends from the time remembered Mercury as a quiet and shy student who showed a great deal of interest in music. By 1970 he joined with guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor to form a new band, which would eventually become 'Queen.' Despite reservations from the other members, Mercury chose the name 'Queen' for the band. At around this time, he also changed his surname."

MERCURY - PERSONAL LIFE
"In the early 1970s Mercury had a long-term relationship with a girlfriend named Mary Austin, with whom he lived for many years. However, by the mid-1970s, the singer began an affair with a male record executive at Elektra Records, which ultimately resulted in the end of his relationship with Austin. However, the two remained close friends through the years, and Mercury often referred to Austin as his only true friend."

"In a 1985 interview, Mercury said of Austin, 'All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary (Austin), but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary, and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me. I couldn't fall in love with a man the same way as I have with Mary.' According to the DVD 'The Making of A Night at the Opera,' Mercury wrote several songs which were dedicated to Mary or were about Mary, the most notable of which is 'Love Of My Life."

"By 1980, Mercury began to frequent gay bathhouses and clubs in New York, where he met many short-term partners. (He was even known to frequent the infamous Studio 54 a few times.) By 1985 he began another long-term relationship with a hairdresser named Jim Hutton. Hutton lived with Mercury for the last six years of his life, cared for him when he was ill, and was at his bedside when he died."
**Even though, Jim Hutton had been with Freddie Mercury for six years, and helped care for him until his death, it was Mary Austin that Freddie Mercury left half his financial wealth, as well as his priceless estate home in the UK upon his death. Mary Austin resides there to date, along with her family.

Additionally, it was ONLY Mary Austin, who Freddie told where he wanted his ashes to be buried so that he may "REST IN PEACE!"**
MERCURY REMEMBERED
"Despite the fact that Mercury often wrote very intricate harmonies, he also claimed that he could barely read music."

"Singer Axl Rose said of Mercury's songwriting, 'If I didn’t have Freddie Mercury’s lyrics to hold on to as a kid, I don’t know where I would be. It taught me about all forms of music. It would open my mind. I never really had a bigger teacher in my whole life."

"Rock star David Bowie, who performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and recorded the song 'Under Pressure' with Queen said of Mercury, 'Of all the more theatrical rock performers, Freddie took it further than the rest. He took it over the edge. And of course, I always admired a man who wears tights. I only saw him in concert once, and as they say, he was definitely a man who could hold an audience in the palm of his hand. He could always turn a cliché to his advantage."

Brian May

MAY - BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND
"Born July 19, 1947, May is an English musician best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band Queen. As a guitarist, he is known for his memorable riffs and solos, distinctive tone, as well as for the fact that he built (with his father) his own guitar, called the 'Red Special.' He is also cited as a pioneer of the delay effect. He wrote many of Queen's most famous songs and biggest hits, including 'We Will Rock You', 'Fat Bottomed Girls', 'Tie Your Mother Down', 'Who Wants to Live Forever' and 'I Want It All' (as he discusses in the song's commentary track on the 'Video Hits II DVD)."

"Because of his musical skills, he is often described as a virtuoso. He also has had a long term interest in astrophysics, having recently completed his doctoral thesis in the subject. He will receive his PhD in early 2008, subject to completing corrections, after passing his viva voce examination in late August, 2007."

UPDATE:
**Tue 25 Sep 07**

"DR. BRI"
"AT LAST THESIS FINALITY"
"Well, this will be less than World News, I think, after the previous flurries ... but today I did receive the final blessing on my thesis, complete with revisions.... From my examiner Prof. Iwan Williams, an acknowledged expert in the field of Solar System research, based at Queen Mary College, London. And I have delivered a final purple-bound hardback copy of the thesis to Imperial College Registry. It's purple because that is the new regulation for thesis submitted to Imperial College, now independent for the first time from London University."

"So I am now DONE. It's a strange feeling ... and if anyone out there is contemplating doing a PhD, let me say that it is not for the faint-hearted. I had many bumps, even with the benefit of good experience of years ... and the road was frustrating in many ways, and sometimes felt like being in Groundhog Day, the Movie."

"Nevertheless, I now feel I'm at the beginning of a new road ... leading ... who knows where ... so thanks to all those who have been patient with me during this very demanding period."
"Cheers!
Yes, Cheers all...
finally, with no apology...
Dr. May."
P.S. "I must add that my thesis benefited from an amazingly talented and dedicated proof reader. Who stood by me all through the Groundhog Days ... when it seemed as if the end would never be reached. She's well-known to all who visit here ... My huge thanks, Jen Tunney."
"Bri"
© brianmay.com
BrianMay.com
MAY - PERSONAL LIFE
"May is known for being rather quiet and reserved at parties. He has stated in interviews that he suffered from depression in the late 1980s, even to the point of contemplating suicide, and that drug use would have worsened any problems he faced. At the time, during the recording sessions of the Queen album The Miracle, he was splitting up with his wife Chrissy, his father died, and as a result of Freddie Mercury's illness, Queen retired from touring."

"His avoidance of alcohol can be traced to an early concert where Queen played with the band Aerosmith, and May had a conversation with fellow guitarist Joe Perry backstage. Perry brought out a bottle of whisky, which the two drank between themselves. May felt so unpleasant during the concert that he promised himself never to have more than one drink before playing."

"May married actress Anita Dobson, who played Angie Watts in EastEnders, on November 18, 2000. He has three children: James (Jimmy) (June 15th 1978), Louisa (May 22nd 1981), and Emily Ruth (February 17th 1987) from his first marriage to Chrissy Mullens. May lives in West End, Surrey (as of 12 October 2006 - Working News and Mail)."
MAY - THE MUSICIAN
"May has played a range of guitars, most often the 'Red Special,' which he designed with his father, Harold May, and built with wood from a 19th century fireplace. His comments on this instrument, from Queen In Their Own Words (ed. Mick St. Michael, Omnibus Press, 1992, p. 62) are: 'I like a big neck – thick, flat and wide. I lacquered the fingerboard with Rustin's Plastic Coating. The tremolo is interesting in that the arm's made from an old bicycle saddle bag carrier, the knob at the end's off a knitting needle and the springs are valve springs from an old motorbike."

"In addition to using his homemade guitar he prefers to use coins (especially sixpence coins), instead of a more traditional plastic plectrum, on the basis that their rigidity gives him more control in playing. He is known to carry coins in his pockets specifically for this purpose."

"Brian May began composing in 1968/1969, and has covered a wide variety of styles during his career. Through the years he wrote some songs with other people, such as 'Too Much Love Will Kill You', composed with Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers, which won Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically & Lyrically in 1996."

"As a meticulous arranger, he focused on multi-part harmonies, often more contrapuntal than parallel — a rarity for rock guitar. Examples are found in Queen's albums 'A Night at the Opera' and 'A Day at the Races,' where he arranged a jazz band for guitar mini-orchestra ('Good Company'), a vocal canon ('The Prophet's Song') and guitar and vocal counterpoints ('Teo Torriatte')."

John Deacon

DEACON - BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND
"Born August 19, 1951, in Leicester, Leicestershire) is an English musician, best known as the bassist for the rock band Queen. Of the four members of the band, Deacon was the youngest, last to join, and wrote the fewest songs; however, several of his compositions were big hits, such as 'You're My Best Friend', 'Another One Bites the Dust' and 'I Want to Break Free'. He also played rhythm and acoustic guitars on several albums as well as occasional keyboards."

"Deacon retired from the music business in the late 1990s, and has chosen not to participate in the 'Queen + Paul Rodgers' tour."

***Due to John Deacon's extreme private nature, insofar as his private life, very little is known about it; nevertheless, I discovered while watching a video interview with Freddie Mercury and Gloria Maria (a Portuguese reporter), that as of 1985 John Deacon was married with four children.***

UPDATE: To the best of my knowledge, John Deacon is still married to the same woman, and to date, they have a total of six (6) children.
DEACON - THE MUSICIAN
"Deacon's style was one that was rarely seen in rock bands during the 1970s. Rather than just sit in the background playing root notes, he used the bass guitar as a lead instrument as well as a rhythm instrument. Some of his lines on the bass are very intricate and difficult to play."

"When listening to Queen's music it is obvious how tight Deacon's playing is, with numerous runs, walking bass lines and tight quick note changes. Deacon mainly used his fingers, though sometimes did use a pick. One of his trademarks is the licking of his fingers when playing and the sticking of two picks under the fret board. He generally didn't play with a floating thumb and occasionally played with his thumb itself."

"Another trademark of Deacon's playing is his bass runs, in a 1975 review of 'Sheer Heart Attack' the reviewer wrote 'Only at the end would a new initiate to Queen recognize John Deacon's unmistakable trademark: the bass runs under the fade are a fast and facile as any to be heard. The least well known musician in Queen is one of his rock generation's most able."

Roger Taylor

TAYLOR - BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND
"Born Roger Meddows-Taylor on July 26, 1949 in Dersingham, Norfolk, later moved to Kings Lynn) is a musician best known as the percussionist and backing, sometimes lead, vocalist of the English rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his 'big' unique sound and is cited as one of the most important and influential arena rock drummers. As a songwriter he contributed songs to the band's albums from the very beginning, composing at least one track on every album, and (in the early days) usually sang lead vocals on his own compositions. He also wrote five of the band's hits, 'Radio Ga Ga', 'A Kind of Magic', 'The Invisible Man', 'Breakthru' and 'These Are the Days of Our Lives."

"He was also capable of playing multiple instruments, including guitar, bass and keyboards, as heard on his debut album in which he played all instruments and sang all vocals. He has played with such artists as Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, Roger Daltrey, Phil Collins, Genesis, Jimmy Nail, Elton John, Gary Numan, Foo Fighters, Al Stewart, Steve Vai, Yoshiki Hayashi and Bon Jovi, and produced the debut album for John Bonham's son, Jason Bonham's band 'Virginia Wolf."
TAYLOR - PERSONAL LIFE
(In His Own Words)
Question: "How many children have you got?"
Answer: Roger: "Five at last count."

Roger has two children with "Dominique Beyrand: Felix Luther (May 22nd 1980), and Rory Eleanor(May 29th 1986); and three children with Deborah Leng: Rufus Tiger (March 8th 1991), Tiger Lily (October 10th 1994) and Lola Daisy May (April 9th 2000)."
Question: "Are you married at the moment?"
Answer: Roger: "That’s just too complicated a question to answer. Technically, yes, but not really."
Source: Herald Sun
TAYLOR - THE MUSICIAN
"As a drummer, Taylor possesses a sound which involves several trademarks including an involuntary opening of the hi-hat on every back beat for a rhythm emphasis. He has played styles such as speed ('Stone Cold Crazy'), thrash ('Ogre Battle'), and rockabilly ('Crazy Little Thing Called Love') among others. He has also played a great deal of percussion along with his standard drum kit, the most famous being the timpani solos during live shows; he is also one of the earliest drummers to use electronic trigger pads."

"In addition to his drum work, he routinely played the guitars and bass on his own songs and, during the 1980s, he formed a parallel band known as 'The Cross,' in which he was the singer and rhythm guitarist. According to Brian May, the guitar break and feedback outro to the Queen song 'Calling All Girls' was played by Taylor."

"Let's just say that the product of drummer Roger Meddows-Taylor and bassist John Deacon is explosive, a colossal sonic volcano whose eruption maketh the earth tremble." Gordon Fletcher -Rolling Stone

"In 2005 Taylor was voted the 8th greatest drummer in music history in a poll conducted by Planet Rock Radio."
HISTORICAL INFORMATION SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_%28band%29

Music:

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