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1
00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:10,660
There's been a lot of rumours lately 'bout
certain band for Queen, the rumour said that
we are going to split up. What do you think?
2
00:00:10,695 --> 00:00:14,025
SHOUTS OF "No!"
They're talking from here.
3
00:00:14,060 --> 00:00:20,580
So forget those rumours. We're going to stay
together until we fucking well die, I'm sure of it!
4
00:00:21,500 --> 00:00:24,060
"One Vision"
5
00:00:30,420 --> 00:00:31,940
Hey!
6
00:00:41,140 --> 00:00:45,380
There really wasn't much sex...
Well, there wasn't much drugs.
7
00:00:48,140 --> 00:00:50,620
You wouldn't be able to do that now.
8
00:00:50,655 --> 00:00:52,597
# One man
9
00:00:52,632 --> 00:00:54,540
# One goal
10
00:00:55,980 --> 00:00:57,865
# One mission... #
11
00:00:57,900 --> 00:01:00,780
For that moment,
we kind of owned the world.
12
00:01:00,815 --> 00:01:03,660
Where's the modesty gone?
There isn't any.
13
00:01:03,695 --> 00:01:06,105
# One solution... #
14
00:01:06,140 --> 00:01:08,780
Press are never quite understood,
A lot of the press took against them.
15
00:01:08,815 --> 00:01:11,305
# Yeah, one God... #
16
00:01:11,340 --> 00:01:13,705
England doesn't really think we're that cool.
17
00:01:13,740 --> 00:01:17,500
But I mean I don't want some arsehole critic
to tell me that.
18
00:01:17,535 --> 00:01:21,637
You might as well paint a target
on your head and go, "Shoot me!"
19
00:01:21,672 --> 00:01:25,740
I think when you go all the way up,
the only place is to come down.
20
00:01:28,180 --> 00:01:31,900
Controversy Behind Sun City
I wish I'd never heard of the place!
21
00:01:31,935 --> 00:01:35,305
# I'm gonna tell you there's
no black and no white... #
22
00:01:35,340 --> 00:01:40,380
Whenever the band came under pressure, there
would be a walk-out, a separation, a row.
23
00:01:40,415 --> 00:01:42,265
# One worldwide vision... #
24
00:01:42,300 --> 00:01:46,105
We were at a crucial point.
We might have had to break up.
25
00:01:46,140 --> 00:01:51,100
The arguments were creative, then
it would become personal. Of course.
26
00:01:51,135 --> 00:01:53,425
There is an inward jealousy.
27
00:01:53,460 --> 00:02:00,020
They're all wondering & all waiting to see if my
album is going to do better than the last Queen album.
28
00:02:00,055 --> 00:02:05,797
Freddie took to the gay scene like David
Attenborough making a wildlife programme.
29
00:02:05,832 --> 00:02:11,540
I just want to pack in as much of
life and having a good time as much as I can.
30
00:02:19,300 --> 00:02:22,860
'London - the Imperial College
of Science and Technology,
31
00:02:22,895 --> 00:02:26,345
'meeting place for space scientists
from 50 nations,
32
00:02:26,380 --> 00:02:32,420
'specialists who will help develop the equipment which
has taken mankind to the new age of space exploration. '
33
00:02:34,420 --> 00:02:37,425
We've got Brian May on guitar.
APPLAUSE
34
00:02:37,460 --> 00:02:42,780
I was studying Physics as an undergraduate
here, but Astronomy was always my thing.
35
00:02:45,100 --> 00:02:49,545
And so I did the Astronomy
post-graduate for a PhD.
36
00:02:49,580 --> 00:02:53,620
When we were at school, me and
my mates had a group called 1984.
37
00:02:53,655 --> 00:02:57,997
When I left for university,
the singer we had, Tim Staffell,
38
00:02:58,032 --> 00:03:02,340
and myself decided to put
a new group together called Smile.
39
00:03:02,375 --> 00:03:05,305
We've got Roger Meddows-Taylor
on percussion.
40
00:03:05,340 --> 00:03:09,145
There was a noticeboard here
where you would pin items
41
00:03:09,180 --> 00:03:13,700
of interest to musicians, so I put
a notice saying "drummer wanted".
42
00:03:13,735 --> 00:03:18,105
"We need Ginger Baker/Mitch Mitchell
type drummer. "
43
00:03:18,140 --> 00:03:23,620
I booked this little jazz club room here and
Roger brought his kit and I brought a guitar.
44
00:03:23,655 --> 00:03:27,140
That was the first time
we played together.
45
00:03:27,175 --> 00:03:29,557
# When she was done
46
00:03:29,592 --> 00:03:31,905
# She hung them up... #
47
00:03:31,940 --> 00:03:37,860
Something happened, I have to say. We thought,
"There is some kind of special sound to this. "
48
00:03:37,895 --> 00:03:41,900
# Goodbye, April Lady... #
49
00:03:43,820 --> 00:03:47,940
I guess we had the same sort
of sound in our heads.
50
00:03:49,220 --> 00:03:53,985
# Goodbye, April Lady
51
00:03:54,020 --> 00:03:58,580
# You've done a lot for the folks
in this town... #
52
00:04:00,660 --> 00:04:03,905
Freddie Mercury on vocals.
APPLAUSE
53
00:04:03,940 --> 00:04:07,225
Freddie came from
a colonial background.
54
00:04:07,260 --> 00:04:12,420
He was born in Zanzibar and he went
to boarding school in India.
55
00:04:12,455 --> 00:04:17,340
I first met Freddie
at Ealing Art School in 1968.
56
00:04:17,375 --> 00:04:19,345
There was a piano down there
57
00:04:19,380 --> 00:04:22,865
and Freddie would do
this flowery style on the piano.
58
00:04:22,900 --> 00:04:29,220
It was very Mozart and effective, but unique. You'd
never seen anybody play the piano like that before.
59
00:04:30,220 --> 00:04:35,380
The first time he sang, I knew straight
away that that voice was going places.
60
00:04:35,415 --> 00:04:37,945
# The minute you walked in the joint
61
00:04:37,980 --> 00:04:41,340
# I could see
you were a man of distinction
62
00:04:41,375 --> 00:04:43,905
# A real big spender
63
00:04:43,940 --> 00:04:46,545
# Good-looking, so refined
64
00:04:46,580 --> 00:04:50,385
# Say, wouldn't you like to know
what's going on in my mind...? #
65
00:04:50,420 --> 00:04:55,360
I used to follow Smile a lot. We were
friends. I used to go to their shows.
66
00:04:55,395 --> 00:05:00,300
Freddie was waiting in the wings,
literally, and advising us on what to do.
67
00:05:00,335 --> 00:05:04,957
He would say, "You're brilliant,
but you should do this and this... "
68
00:05:04,992 --> 00:05:09,545
What did you see in what Brian and
Roger were doing with Smile? Nothing!
69
00:05:09,580 --> 00:05:15,265
I think he had in the back of his mind
some idea about maybe working with us.
70
00:05:15,300 --> 00:05:21,105
Freddie told everybody that he was going to be
a pop star and we didn't take it that seriously.
71
00:05:21,140 --> 00:05:27,580
He was sitting over there one night. I walked in and
he put his head in his hands, looking really depressed.
72
00:05:27,615 --> 00:05:32,460
I said, "What's the matter with you?" He
said, "I'm not going to be a pop star. "
73
00:05:32,495 --> 00:05:35,940
And very slowly he stood up
and he said,
74
00:05:35,975 --> 00:05:39,900
"I'm going to be... a legend. "
75
00:05:41,500 --> 00:05:44,260
# Hey, big spender
76
00:05:45,700 --> 00:05:50,620
# Spend a little time with me... #
77
00:05:51,940 --> 00:05:56,580
Although we had a lot of successful
gigs and we played colleges, pubs
78
00:05:56,615 --> 00:06:00,620
and clubs up and down the country,
we just never got anywhere.
79
00:06:00,655 --> 00:06:03,625
Smile made a single
which did nothing at all,
80
00:06:03,660 --> 00:06:08,300
then Tim, our singer, got an offer
from someone else called Humpy Bong.
81
00:06:08,335 --> 00:06:11,065
So Tim sodded off to that.
82
00:06:11,100 --> 00:06:15,540
Freddie got us. He said, "Come on,
you can't give up. I want to sing. "
83
00:06:15,575 --> 00:06:18,345
So we decided
that we'd take the plunge.
84
00:06:18,380 --> 00:06:22,800
And it was then that I sort of
thought about the name Queen.
85
00:06:22,835 --> 00:06:27,220
Why Queen? I don't know.
At the time, it was outrageous.
86
00:06:29,020 --> 00:06:31,545
So here we have the main hall.
87
00:06:31,580 --> 00:06:34,625
In 1973, this is where Queen played.
88
00:06:34,660 --> 00:06:38,665
This is really the first proper,
advertised gig we ever did
89
00:06:38,700 --> 00:06:44,340
and it's certainly the first review we ever
got by Rosemary Horide of what was then Disc.
90
00:06:46,340 --> 00:06:52,660
From the very beginning, Freddie was absolutely
remarkable for stagecraft. He had a presence
91
00:06:52,695 --> 00:06:57,225
unlike anything I'd seen. I'd been
a music journalist for a long time.
92
00:06:57,260 --> 00:07:03,380
Freddie, even from those days, had an ability to
work an audience and they would eat out of his hand.
93
00:07:04,460 --> 00:07:10,140
He could turn his hand round like that and
do that and the audience would stand up.
94
00:07:10,175 --> 00:07:12,940
# I have sinned, dear Father
95
00:07:12,975 --> 00:07:16,077
# Father, I have sinned
96
00:07:16,112 --> 00:07:19,366
# Try and help me, Father
97
00:07:19,401 --> 00:07:22,620
# Won't you let me in?
98
00:07:22,655 --> 00:07:24,105
# Liar!
99
00:07:24,140 --> 00:07:26,265
# Oh, nobody... #
100
00:07:26,300 --> 00:07:32,740
It was the first moment when I thought, "Something's
happening here and people know what we're about. "
101
00:07:42,980 --> 00:07:47,300
When they came along, there had been
a denim rock movement,
102
00:07:47,335 --> 00:07:50,945
if you like, with Status Quo,
Uriah Heep.
103
00:07:50,980 --> 00:07:57,100
I think Queen were an incredible
breath of fresh air in rock music.
104
00:07:57,135 --> 00:07:59,145
They had brilliant songs.
105
00:07:59,180 --> 00:08:03,980
Freddie Mercury was
an absolutely charismatic front man.
106
00:08:04,015 --> 00:08:05,825
# Liar... #
107
00:08:05,860 --> 00:08:11,620
Brian May was just this brilliant guitarist
and Roger Taylor was a phenomenal drummer.
108
00:08:11,655 --> 00:08:15,025
And you had that guy
that played bass.
109
00:08:15,060 --> 00:08:20,860
We spent a couple of years looking for a bass
player. It was very hard to find the right guy.
110
00:08:20,895 --> 00:08:22,825
Then we found John.
111
00:08:22,860 --> 00:08:24,945
Deacon John on bass.
APPLAUSE
112
00:08:24,980 --> 00:08:27,985
I came along
as a bit of an outsider at first.
113
00:08:28,020 --> 00:08:32,660
It did take me quite a few years
to grow more into the group
114
00:08:32,695 --> 00:08:35,380
and find myself at home, really.
115
00:08:38,260 --> 00:08:43,265
Before we signed to a record label, we
actually signed to Trident Productions,
116
00:08:43,300 --> 00:08:48,980
a management company run by the Sheffield
brothers who had a studio in the middle of Soho.
117
00:08:52,740 --> 00:08:57,580
Recording our first album, we were
all students finishing off our degrees.
118
00:08:57,615 --> 00:09:01,545
We had to do it
in what time was available
119
00:09:01,580 --> 00:09:05,100
because the studio was being
booked up all the time.
120
00:09:05,135 --> 00:09:08,105
We had to go in sometimes
at two in the morning
121
00:09:08,140 --> 00:09:13,500
and sometimes finishing at six in the morning,
all those weird times that nobody wanted.
122
00:09:14,900 --> 00:09:20,300
You know, you could see the working girls
at night through their lace curtains,
123
00:09:20,335 --> 00:09:24,425
so while we were mixing,
we'd have a little bit of diversion.
124
00:09:24,460 --> 00:09:30,385
The album came out and sort of resoundingly
crashed. It really didn't do much.
125
00:09:30,420 --> 00:09:36,460
When you make your first album, you go into the record
shops and think, "We're in the record stores now!"
126
00:09:36,495 --> 00:09:43,300
You go in and say, "Have you got the new Queen
album then?" They go, "What?" It's a long haul.
127
00:09:51,980 --> 00:09:56,020
With Queen II, I couldn't believe
how much work we put into that.
128
00:09:56,055 --> 00:09:59,140
I think We felt we were evolving
our own sound.
129
00:10:00,180 --> 00:10:04,220
We were pioneering
this sort of multi-tracking thing.
130
00:10:04,255 --> 00:10:06,865
It gave you a tremendous palette.
131
00:10:06,900 --> 00:10:12,660
You could get massive choral effects
with just three of us singing.
132
00:10:12,695 --> 00:10:15,425
# Voice from behind... #
133
00:10:15,460 --> 00:10:19,660
We really got into production
and went completely over the top.
134
00:10:19,695 --> 00:10:22,820
There's a track called
March Of The Black Queen.
135
00:10:22,855 --> 00:10:26,577
# I'll be a bad boy,
I'll be your bad boy
136
00:10:26,612 --> 00:10:30,265
# I'll do the march
of the Black Queen... #
137
00:10:30,300 --> 00:10:36,540
It's very long. It's in about 11 different
sections and the complexity of it is staggering.
138
00:10:38,580 --> 00:10:41,585
I mean, the tape was
literally transparent.
139
00:10:41,620 --> 00:10:46,660
The 16-track, two-inch tape, the
oxide was almost completely worn away.
140
00:10:46,695 --> 00:10:51,180
We'd gone over it so many times.
It literally was transparent.
141
00:10:52,700 --> 00:10:55,580
# Walking true to style
142
00:10:56,660 --> 00:11:02,980
# She's vulgar abuse and vile Fi-fo the
Black Queen tattoos all her pies... #
143
00:11:03,015 --> 00:11:06,620
It was really only with Queen II
and Seven Seas Of Rhye
144
00:11:06,655 --> 00:11:08,625
that we had the breakthrough.
145
00:11:08,660 --> 00:11:14,900
We realised that the easiest way of
getting a hit album is to have a hit single
146
00:11:14,935 --> 00:11:17,865
that has some musical validity.
147
00:11:17,900 --> 00:11:23,100
The key to that was the stroke that was
pulled in getting them on Top Of The Pops
148
00:11:23,135 --> 00:11:27,380
when Bowie dropped out
and it absolutely broke that single.
149
00:11:32,660 --> 00:11:36,700
It was a very underwhelming
experience the very first time
150
00:11:36,735 --> 00:11:39,407
because there was a strike on
at the BBC.
151
00:11:39,442 --> 00:11:42,080
# Fear me,
you lords and lady preachers... #
152
00:11:42,115 --> 00:11:45,485
So it was shot
in the weather studio.
153
00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,605
# I command your very souls,
you unbelievers
154
00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:52,565
# Bring before me what is mine
The seven seas of Rhye... #
155
00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:57,900
It was great fun to be at Top Of The
Pops because it was all happening.
156
00:11:57,935 --> 00:12:03,200
You felt like you were in a sense
becoming part of public consciousness.
157
00:12:03,235 --> 00:12:07,480
# I will destroy any man
who dares abuse my trust... #
158
00:12:07,515 --> 00:12:10,885
Top Of The Pops
was incredibly uncool.
159
00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:14,445
It was rubbish because
nobody was actually playing.
160
00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:19,320
There was about 75 teenagers
who were herded about the studio
161
00:12:19,355 --> 00:12:23,205
and a bunch of ageing disc jockeys
presenting you.
162
00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:28,645
Pan's People were there, these very
glamorous girls dancing. It was a lot of fun.
163
00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:34,760
The BBC had a set of plastic cymbals that went "duh"
when you hit them, so they didn't make any noise.
164
00:12:34,795 --> 00:12:37,845
I think that sort of says it all,
really.
165
00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:42,920
We had slightly mixed feelings about Top
Of The Pops because it wasn't very cool,
166
00:12:42,955 --> 00:12:47,760
but it was the great vehicle for
selling records, so what can you say?
167
00:12:47,795 --> 00:12:51,800
It had a big impact. Our record
went straight into the top ten.
168
00:12:51,835 --> 00:12:54,125
So obviously, the impact was huge.
169
00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:58,005
# Storm the master marathon
I'll fly through
170
00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:02,565
# By flash and thunder fire and I'll
survive I'll survive, I'll survive
171
00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:09,005
# Then I'll defy the laws of nature and
come out ali-i-ive Then I'll get you... #
172
00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:14,780
We had this song called Seven Seas Of Rhye, but
it's a universal truth that more groups break up
173
00:13:14,815 --> 00:13:20,485
because of songwriting arguments than anything
else in the world. Your songs are your babies.
174
00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:26,640
The person who has written the song tends to be the
one person who sees that one song all the way through
175
00:13:26,675 --> 00:13:32,360
from the idea they have in their head at first,
the final production, the sounds and the mix...
176
00:13:32,395 --> 00:13:36,000
Most of the time, I have
a clear picture of what I want.
177
00:13:36,035 --> 00:13:39,485
I sort of have a lot of...
say, Roger's parts
178
00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:44,045
and what Brian should do and
things... There are rows, of course.
179
00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:49,620
I've probably never spoken about this before,
but The Seven Seas Of Rhye was Freddie's idea.
180
00:13:49,655 --> 00:13:55,125
He had this lovely little riff idea on the piano
and all the middle eight is stuff that I did,
181
00:13:55,160 --> 00:14:01,200
so we worked on it together, but when it came to
the album coming out, Freddie went, "I wrote that. "
182
00:14:01,235 --> 00:14:05,205
And we all went, "OK."
It didn't seem like that big a deal.
183
00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:09,925
Freddie said, "I wrote the words and
it was my idea, so it's my song. "
184
00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:16,560
The sort of unwritten law was the person who brought
the song in would get the credit for writing that song
185
00:14:16,595 --> 00:14:18,965
and the money for writing that song.
186
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:24,000
Much, much later in Queen history,
we recognised this fact.
187
00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,880
# Here I stand
Here I stand
188
00:14:33,915 --> 00:14:36,245
# Look around, around
189
00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:38,885
# Around, around, around... #
190
00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:44,720
We were very lucky in that we hooked up with
Mott The Hoople and we were their warm-up act.
191
00:14:44,755 --> 00:14:47,125
# Now I'm here
Now I'm here... #
192
00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:51,720
We went all around the UK with them
and it worked out just perfectly.
193
00:14:51,755 --> 00:14:55,245
# Now I'm there
Now I'm there... #
194
00:14:55,280 --> 00:15:01,000
Then the guys from Mott said, "Would you
like to do the same thing in America?"
195
00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,520
# Just a new man
196
00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,800
# Yes, you made me live again... #
197
00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,645
After a few gigs,
I started to feel weird.
198
00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:31,520
Something was happening. I didn't know if it was
my head or my body, but I started to feel odd.
199
00:15:31,555 --> 00:15:36,885
Then I woke up one morning in Boston which
was going to be the climax of the tour...
200
00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:43,140
I woke up and I was yellow. The doctor came and
said, "You've got hepatitis. You have to go home. "
201
00:15:43,175 --> 00:15:49,360
I still was amazed we managed to shepherd him
through the immigration queue at JFK in New York.
202
00:15:49,395 --> 00:15:51,765
The poor fellow could hardly stand.
203
00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,965
I was taken on the plane
shoulder to shoulder.
204
00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:00,360
We were devastated the tour had been cut
short. It was our first trip to America.
205
00:16:00,395 --> 00:16:03,560
But we just ploughed on
in the studio without him.
206
00:16:03,595 --> 00:16:06,805
It was a bit of a long haul
back to health.
207
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:12,400
I was getting over all this stuff and I saw
Freddie battering out all these things, thinking,
208
00:16:12,435 --> 00:16:16,760
"I've not got my shit together," and
really starting to worry about it.
209
00:16:16,795 --> 00:16:19,960
# She keeps her Moet et Chandon
210
00:16:19,995 --> 00:16:22,165
# In her pretty cabinet
211
00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,285
# "Let them eat cake" she says
just like Marie Antoinette... #
212
00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:31,800
Queen I and Queen II were full-on rock albums
and I suppose it was only a question of time
213
00:16:31,835 --> 00:16:37,280
before they put some clever melody into it and
Sheer Heart Attack was that break-out album.
214
00:16:37,315 --> 00:16:42,000
And Killer Queen where Mercury's
vocals have probably never been better.
215
00:16:42,035 --> 00:16:46,320
# She's a killer queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
216
00:16:46,355 --> 00:16:48,605
# Dynamite with a laser beam
217
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:52,085
# Guaranteed to blow your mind
Any time... #
218
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,645
I do remember having a slight
reservation about Killer Queen.
219
00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,720
I thought, "Are we selling ourselves as
something which has become very light?"
220
00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,485
But every slice through that record
221
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:10,600
is a perfect vision. There's lots of little things
which visit once only like that bell of the cymbal.
222
00:17:10,635 --> 00:17:15,640
RINGING SOUND # In conversation
she spoke just like a baroness
223
00:17:15,675 --> 00:17:19,725
# Met a man from China
Went down to Geisha Minah
224
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:23,925
# Then again incidentally
if you're that way inclined... #
225
00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:30,165
Killer Queen always felt a bit special. It
was very sophisticated and it was very Freddie.
226
00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:36,360
As the albums have progressed, our songwriting has
progressed and we ventured into different areas.
227
00:17:36,395 --> 00:17:40,365
# Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind... #
228
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:45,380
I like writing different songs. We
don't like to repeat the same formula.
229
00:17:45,415 --> 00:17:50,325
It had a slightly Noel Coward...
You know, that kind of element in it.
230
00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:56,360
When you took the lyrics apart, you thought, "How
incredible is that!" Because they were so clever.
231
00:17:56,395 --> 00:18:00,857
# Drop of a hat, she's as willing as
Playful as a pussycat
232
00:18:00,892 --> 00:18:05,320
# Then momentarily out of action
Temporarily out of gas
233
00:18:05,355 --> 00:18:08,797
# To absolutely drive you wild
234
00:18:08,832 --> 00:18:11,756
# She's all out to get you
235
00:18:11,791 --> 00:18:14,645
# She's a killer queen
236
00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:18,800
# Gunpowder, gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
237
00:18:18,835 --> 00:18:22,645
# Guaranteed to blow your mind
Any time
238
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:27,520
# Oh, recommended at the price
Insatiable an appetite
239
00:18:27,555 --> 00:18:30,320
# Wanna try?
240
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,960
# You wanna try... #
241
00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:41,685
We were doing a lot of major tours
in Japan, America.
242
00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:48,520
We were headlining by now and doing very well and
selling loads of records and not seeing any money.
243
00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:57,845
We decided to go with the production
company, rather than with the record company.
244
00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:03,520
The deal was that we made the album for the production
company and they sell it to a record company.
245
00:19:03,555 --> 00:19:06,085
It's probably the worst thing
we did.
246
00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:12,640
The deal that they were on just meant that they
weren't going to make any money out of what they did.
247
00:19:12,675 --> 00:19:15,645
And the way it came to a head
248
00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,480
was with the song Death On Two Legs.
249
00:19:18,515 --> 00:19:21,017
# You suck my blood like a leech
250
00:19:21,052 --> 00:19:23,306
# You break the law and you breach
251
00:19:23,341 --> 00:19:26,470
# Screw my brain till it hurts
252
00:19:26,505 --> 00:19:29,412
# You've taken all my money
253
00:19:29,447 --> 00:19:32,320
# And you want more... #
254
00:19:35,300 --> 00:19:39,820
Often I would go to do an interview
and I buy a couple of bottles of wine
255
00:19:39,855 --> 00:19:43,185
on my expenses
because they had no money.
256
00:19:43,220 --> 00:19:46,425
We didn't expect instant riches.
We didn't get them!
257
00:19:46,460 --> 00:19:50,345
Roger was breaking sticks because
he hit the drums pretty hard.
258
00:19:50,380 --> 00:19:54,500
The management's going, "Don't break
any more sticks. " We had no money.
259
00:19:56,500 --> 00:20:02,940
One of the management group bought a Rolls-Royce and
we thought, "Hang on, something's going on here. "
260
00:20:05,020 --> 00:20:10,060
It affected Freddie deeply and
Freddie got to the point where he said,
261
00:20:10,095 --> 00:20:13,140
"I am not delivering any more music.
I can't. "
262
00:20:15,500 --> 00:20:18,985
To cut a long story short,
we went with John Reid
263
00:20:19,020 --> 00:20:23,020
who was Elton's incredibly
successful manager at the time.
264
00:20:24,020 --> 00:20:26,505
I remember saying, "You go away
265
00:20:26,540 --> 00:20:30,420
"and make the best record you can.
I'll take care of the business. "
266
00:20:30,455 --> 00:20:33,425
We had a good working relationship
with John.
267
00:20:33,460 --> 00:20:37,940
He was very fiery and feisty, but so
were we. We weren't scared of him.
268
00:20:37,975 --> 00:20:41,745
It was the first night
I'd gone out to dinner with Freddie.
269
00:20:41,780 --> 00:20:48,140
I said, "I'd just like to say, as I said to the other
guys, I hope you know I'm gay and it's not a problem. "
270
00:20:48,175 --> 00:20:51,660
And he put his knife and fork down
and said, "So am I!"
271
00:20:52,940 --> 00:20:56,640
Freddie, when I first met him,
wasn't out to the band
272
00:20:56,675 --> 00:21:00,305
because he was struggling
with his own sexuality anyway.
273
00:21:00,340 --> 00:21:05,820
And Freddie was from a very, very
traditional Zoroastrian background
274
00:21:05,855 --> 00:21:11,260
and I think his family considerations
were probably paramount.
275
00:21:13,260 --> 00:21:19,100
I remember when we went into the studio to make
A Night At The Opera, it felt like make or break.
276
00:21:19,135 --> 00:21:22,705
We were not only poor,
but we were in debt.
277
00:21:22,740 --> 00:21:27,745
All the sound and lighting companies and
the people we worked with hadn't been paid,
278
00:21:27,780 --> 00:21:33,540
so we were at a really crucial point. We might
have had to break up if that album hadn't done well.
279
00:21:35,340 --> 00:21:39,180
It was an expensive album,
enormous complexity on there.
280
00:21:39,215 --> 00:21:42,585
Even now, I wonder
how we did some of that stuff.
281
00:21:42,620 --> 00:21:46,660
There was so much hunger there. We
had so much we wanted to bring out.
282
00:21:46,695 --> 00:21:50,145
It was all kept in
and so we had all kinds of songs.
283
00:21:50,180 --> 00:21:57,020
Bohemian Rhapsody was basically like three songs that
I wanted to put out and I just put the three together.
284
00:21:57,055 --> 00:22:02,420
I think the groundwork for a song
like that was done at Ealing College.
285
00:22:02,455 --> 00:22:06,105
Freddie had lots of bits of songs
which we'd link together
286
00:22:06,140 --> 00:22:11,980
and one of his bits, I just referred to it as The
Cowboy Song and it went, "Mama, I just killed a man. "
287
00:22:12,015 --> 00:22:14,505
# Mama
288
00:22:14,540 --> 00:22:17,145
# Just killed a man... #
289
00:22:17,180 --> 00:22:21,185
The first thing I heard was Freddie
playing "Mama, just killed a man... "
290
00:22:21,220 --> 00:22:26,780
"What do you think?" "I love it. It's absolutely
brilliant. " Not knowing what was to come.
291
00:22:26,815 --> 00:22:29,945
We ended up having to do it
in six studios.
292
00:22:29,980 --> 00:22:35,460
Because they were using all these
studios, you didn't know what was going on.
293
00:22:37,460 --> 00:22:42,660
You would have guitar parts in one
studio and vocal stuff in another.
294
00:22:42,695 --> 00:22:44,317
# Galileo
295
00:22:44,352 --> 00:22:45,905
# Galileo
296
00:22:45,940 --> 00:22:48,585
# Galileo, Figaro... #
297
00:22:48,620 --> 00:22:53,060
Freddie would just turn up and go,
"I've got a few more Galileos. "
298
00:22:53,095 --> 00:22:56,557
We were going round all these studios
just hearing parts.
299
00:22:56,592 --> 00:22:59,985
# Thunderbolt and lightning
Very, very frightening me
300
00:23:00,020 --> 00:23:04,865
# Lightning, very, very frightening,
very, very frightening me... #
301
00:23:04,900 --> 00:23:09,700
Only Fred had it in his head and he was
making some of it up as we went along.
302
00:23:09,735 --> 00:23:11,865
I thought, "I'll do as I please. "
303
00:23:11,900 --> 00:23:15,465
# Thunderbolt and lightning,
very, very frightening me... #
304
00:23:15,500 --> 00:23:20,820
Do as many multi-layer harmonies as
possible. You know, go well over the top.
305
00:23:20,855 --> 00:23:26,140
It really was tongue-in-cheek, but at
the same time, "I bet you can't do this. "
306
00:23:26,175 --> 00:23:29,185
# He's just a poor boy
from a poor family
307
00:23:29,220 --> 00:23:32,425
# Spare him his life
from this monstrosity... #
308
00:23:32,460 --> 00:23:38,500
But the record company as a mass came to us and
said, "This is too long. Nobody's going to play it. "
309
00:23:38,535 --> 00:23:42,025
I played it to Elton John
at the time
310
00:23:42,060 --> 00:23:46,620
and he said, "Are you off your head?
You'll never get that on the radio. "
311
00:23:46,655 --> 00:23:49,545
I said, "It goes out in its entirety
or not at all. "
312
00:23:49,580 --> 00:23:53,800
At the crucial moment, this young
man called Kenny Everett came in,
313
00:23:53,835 --> 00:23:58,627
loved the track, stole a copy of it
and played it on his radio show.
314
00:23:58,662 --> 00:24:03,385
Kenny played it 14 times over the
weekend and of course it was a smash.
315
00:24:03,420 --> 00:24:08,340
Then following that up with what, to my
mind, was the first ever real music video.
316
00:24:08,375 --> 00:24:11,537
# We will not let you go
Let him go! Bismillah!
317
00:24:11,572 --> 00:24:14,665
# We will not let you go
Let him go! Bismillah... #
318
00:24:14,700 --> 00:24:18,980
I'd never seen anything like it
and I don't think anybody else had.
319
00:24:19,015 --> 00:24:21,065
The video took Queen to another level
320
00:24:21,100 --> 00:24:24,420
where they could really command
the landscape.
321
00:24:24,455 --> 00:24:27,705
# Mamma mia, mamma mia
Mamma mia, let me go... #
322
00:24:27,740 --> 00:24:32,840
Night At The Opera was that landmark album
that established them as a major force.
323
00:24:32,875 --> 00:24:37,940
That was the context in which you could
do something like the Hyde Park concert.
324
00:24:45,380 --> 00:24:50,345
# So you think you can stone me
and spit in my eye
325
00:24:50,380 --> 00:24:55,540
# So you think you can love me
and leave me to die... #
326
00:25:08,140 --> 00:25:12,540
It was Richard Branson. "We think
we can put you on in Hyde Park. "
327
00:25:13,940 --> 00:25:17,460
Thank you very much.
Good evening, everybody.
328
00:25:17,495 --> 00:25:19,745
CHEERING
329
00:25:19,780 --> 00:25:23,220
Welcome to our picnic
by the Serpentine.
330
00:25:24,220 --> 00:25:28,260
I remember thinking, "Gulp!" We've
carved out a place around the world,
331
00:25:28,295 --> 00:25:31,700
but England doesn't really think
we're that cool.
332
00:25:32,660 --> 00:25:38,780
It was packed beyond belief and it was
really like coming home to a heroes' welcome.
333
00:25:38,815 --> 00:25:40,820
THRASHING GUITARS
334
00:25:49,260 --> 00:25:53,780
# Ah, ah, ah, ah, ahhh... #
335
00:25:55,860 --> 00:26:01,900
It was a thrilling experience to have that kind
of contact with an audience in your own home town.
336
00:26:03,660 --> 00:26:08,860
When it came to make Day At The Races, we
just thought, "Let's just do what we do. "
337
00:26:08,895 --> 00:26:14,025
The added ingredient in Day At The Races
is this feeling of freedom which we had
338
00:26:14,060 --> 00:26:20,100
because we had escaped the old situation, we'd sorted
out the money side, we weren't in debt any more,
339
00:26:20,135 --> 00:26:25,100
we weren't struggling for our very
existence, so there's a great freedom and joy.
340
00:26:25,135 --> 00:26:27,705
# Ca-a-an
341
00:26:27,740 --> 00:26:31,585
# Anybody... #
342
00:26:31,620 --> 00:26:37,660
It was almost like we were still making A Night
At The Opera. We just loved it. We revelled in it.
343
00:26:37,695 --> 00:26:42,020
# Somebody to lo-o-ove... #
344
00:26:43,020 --> 00:26:49,340
Freddie came up with a magnificent, little sort of
foray into white Gospel, if you want to call it that.
345
00:26:49,375 --> 00:26:51,025
# Ooh
346
00:26:51,060 --> 00:26:53,065
# Each morning I get up... #
347
00:26:53,100 --> 00:26:56,505
We really worked our harmonies
on Somebody To Love.
348
00:26:56,540 --> 00:27:01,025
# Take a look at yourself Take
a look in the mirror and cry... #
349
00:27:01,060 --> 00:27:05,940
Freddie's great inspiration for
Somebody To Love was Aretha Franklin.
350
00:27:05,975 --> 00:27:07,945
He absolutely loved Aretha.
351
00:27:07,980 --> 00:27:11,040
He would like to have been
Aretha Franklin!
352
00:27:11,075 --> 00:27:15,107
# Somebody! Somebody!
Ooh, somebody! Somebody!
353
00:27:15,142 --> 00:27:19,105
# Can anybody find me
somebody to love...? #
354
00:27:19,140 --> 00:27:23,105
From that point of view,
OK, Bohemian Rhapsody, a big hit,
355
00:27:23,140 --> 00:27:27,460
but a song like Somebody To Love is
in my estimation a better sort of...
356
00:27:27,495 --> 00:27:30,300
from the writing aspect,
a better song.
357
00:27:30,335 --> 00:27:33,197
# I work till I ache in my bones
358
00:27:33,232 --> 00:27:36,025
# At the end
At the end of the day
359
00:27:36,060 --> 00:27:39,860
# I take home my hard-earned pay
all on my own
360
00:27:39,895 --> 00:27:43,660
# I get down on my knees
and I start to pray
361
00:27:43,695 --> 00:27:46,997
# Till the tears run down
from my eyes
362
00:27:47,032 --> 00:27:50,300
# Lord, somebody! Somebody!
Ooh, somebody
363
00:27:50,335 --> 00:27:53,385
# Can anybody find me... #
364
00:27:53,420 --> 00:27:59,180
We were using the studio to its maximum capacity,
painting a picture like on a huge canvas.
365
00:27:59,215 --> 00:28:02,265
# Find me somebody to love
366
00:28:02,300 --> 00:28:05,385
# Find me somebody to love... #
367
00:28:05,420 --> 00:28:10,100
We had a gift. We had three voices
which really blended instantly.
368
00:28:10,135 --> 00:28:12,105
# Find me somebody to love... #
369
00:28:12,140 --> 00:28:16,440
Freddie has this wonderful,
crystal-clear, sharp vocal sound.
370
00:28:16,475 --> 00:28:20,740
# Find me somebody to love,
find me somebody to love... #
371
00:28:20,775 --> 00:28:24,025
Naturally, I've got
the powerful high voice.
372
00:28:24,060 --> 00:28:27,380
He's got the dog whistle pitch,
a very high voice.
373
00:28:27,415 --> 00:28:29,717
# Find me somebody to love... #
374
00:28:29,752 --> 00:28:31,985
And I had quite a warm sound.
375
00:28:32,020 --> 00:28:34,985
# Somebody! Somebody!
Somebody! Somebody!
376
00:28:35,020 --> 00:28:39,740
# Somebody! Find me...
Somebody find me somebody to love
377
00:28:39,775 --> 00:28:42,745
# Can anybody find me... #
378
00:28:42,780 --> 00:28:47,700
Put the three together and you have
something which sounds sort of Panavision.
379
00:28:49,820 --> 00:28:51,460
# Find me
380
00:28:51,495 --> 00:28:53,597
# Somebody
381
00:28:53,632 --> 00:28:55,666
# To-o-o love
382
00:28:55,701 --> 00:28:57,665
# Find me... #
383
00:28:57,700 --> 00:29:01,300
To keep their attention,
you've got to really tempt them.
384
00:29:01,335 --> 00:29:04,865
Like, "You can have a break.
Have a coffee and biscuits. "
385
00:29:04,900 --> 00:29:09,940
While they're in a good mood, grab
them and do another 50 million overdubs!
386
00:29:09,975 --> 00:29:14,700
# Anybody find me somebody to love
Somebody to love... #
387
00:29:14,735 --> 00:29:17,825
We used to call it
the sausage factory in the end
388
00:29:17,860 --> 00:29:21,700
because we got so good at it,
we could just bang 'em out.
389
00:29:24,180 --> 00:29:26,505
A Day At The Races,
390
00:29:26,540 --> 00:29:31,705
as the follow-up to Night At The Opera,
was clearly... It had a hard act to follow.
391
00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:37,580
People who wanted to have a go at Queen could quite
readily say, "It's not as good as the last one. "
392
00:29:37,615 --> 00:29:40,145
A lot of the press took
against them.
393
00:29:40,180 --> 00:29:43,185
Maybe if you got too successful
too quick,
394
00:29:43,220 --> 00:29:49,700
there was a resentment there that they hadn't
made you, therefore they wanted to break you.
395
00:29:49,735 --> 00:29:53,425
# Oh, take my breath away... #
396
00:29:53,460 --> 00:29:57,465
Shortly after I started
to manage them,
397
00:29:57,500 --> 00:30:04,180
I had told all the band one of the ground rules
is don't do any press without clearing it with me.
398
00:30:04,215 --> 00:30:08,197
You open yourself up to all kinds
of things. Usually, they turn on you.
399
00:30:08,232 --> 00:30:12,145
I went out to dinner with Freddie in
The White Elephant in Curzon Street.
400
00:30:12,180 --> 00:30:17,380
Casually, he said, "I did an interview
with David Wigg from the Express today. "
401
00:30:17,415 --> 00:30:22,737
I said, "I told you no interviews without
clearing it with me. " "Oh, never mind. "
402
00:30:22,772 --> 00:30:28,060
I said, "Well, fuck you! If you don't work
within my rules, you don't work with me. "
403
00:30:28,095 --> 00:30:30,585
I got up and left
and I left him there.
404
00:30:30,620 --> 00:30:36,460
I came home, I went upstairs, turned
on the TV and the next thing I knew,
405
00:30:36,495 --> 00:30:38,625
a brick came through the window.
406
00:30:38,660 --> 00:30:44,180
And I looked outside here and there's Freddie
standing in the street, hands on his hips,
407
00:30:44,215 --> 00:30:47,700
"Don't you ever fucking leave me
in a restaurant... "
408
00:30:47,735 --> 00:30:49,940
I said, "You'd better come in. "
409
00:30:51,260 --> 00:30:54,065
Queen didn't have particular respect
410
00:30:54,100 --> 00:30:58,260
from the critics during the '70s,
which is when they had so many hits.
411
00:30:59,300 --> 00:31:03,665
And then punk happened
in the late '70s,
412
00:31:03,700 --> 00:31:07,900
which made the standard rock group
seem passe.
413
00:31:07,935 --> 00:31:10,597
# God save the Queen
414
00:31:10,632 --> 00:31:13,260
# We mean it, man
415
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:20,480
The punk stuff, as opposed to what Queen did,
they were coming from two different points of view.
416
00:31:20,515 --> 00:31:24,837
It was anarchy on one side
and monarchy on the other.
417
00:31:24,872 --> 00:31:28,836
NME was one of
the most vocal proponents of punk.
418
00:31:28,871 --> 00:31:32,800
We were taking, if you like,
music icons at that time
419
00:31:32,835 --> 00:31:36,405
and we were rubbishing them,
basically.
420
00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:40,885
It was thought we should interview
Freddie Mercury, in particular,
421
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:46,480
and they asked me to go over to a house
in Knightsbridge owned by John Reid
422
00:31:46,515 --> 00:31:49,845
and there's Freddie
sitting on the patio.
423
00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:53,520
The whole house was
very ostentatious, it must be said.
424
00:31:53,555 --> 00:31:56,685
We did an interview here
with the NME
425
00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,640
and, you know,
we were very nice to the guy.
426
00:32:00,675 --> 00:32:03,125
I had a butler, we gave him lunch.
427
00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:05,965
There was a butler,
there was a bodyguard.
428
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:11,200
There was probably other people going round
with feather dusters and what have you.
429
00:32:11,235 --> 00:32:13,920
Then the story slagged off Freddie.
430
00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:21,365
Freddie Mercury, when the whole of the punk
new wave movement was going on around him,
431
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:29,160
had focused in on something that was kind of a bit
of an alien concept in some ways which was ballet.
432
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:40,400
I just feel that there are sort of
balletic moments in our repertoire.
433
00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,245
One of the things that he said to me
434
00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:52,000
was that his mission in life
was to bring ballet to the masses.
435
00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:01,600
Well, when the NME piece came out,
Freddie was furious.
436
00:33:01,635 --> 00:33:04,160
They called him "a prat".
437
00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:07,765
You'd be furious.
438
00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:12,000
I think we realised that talking
to the press gets you nowhere.
439
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:17,725
You might as well paint a target
on your head and go, "Shoot me. "
440
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:23,400
We all have our ups and downs and our limitations
and we know there are certain things you can't do,
441
00:33:23,435 --> 00:33:26,680
but I don't want some arsehole critic
to tell me that.
442
00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:32,565
I love posing.
443
00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,160
That's for the press.
444
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:45,640
Well, we met The Sex Pistols
in Wessex Studios
445
00:33:45,675 --> 00:33:47,645
and, uh...
446
00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:49,320
I thought it was fascinating.
447
00:33:51,020 --> 00:33:53,360
Can you imagine it just a whole
thing about punk rock
448
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:59,465
And anti establishment...
under one roof.
449
00:33:59,500 --> 00:34:03,705
Sid came in. Sid was a moron.
You know, he was an idiot.
450
00:34:03,740 --> 00:34:10,305
And he called in to the room, "Have you
succeeded in bringing ballet to the masses yet?"
451
00:34:10,340 --> 00:34:15,820
I called him "Simon Ferocious" and he didn't like
it. I said, "What are you going to do about it?"
452
00:34:24,460 --> 00:34:28,820
He hated the fact that I could even
speak like that. Right. Then...
453
00:34:28,855 --> 00:34:32,145
So we went...
I think we survived that test.
454
00:34:32,180 --> 00:34:36,625
# Well, you're just 17
All you wanna do is disappear... #
455
00:34:36,660 --> 00:34:42,860
I thought when we went into News Of The World,
we couldn't reinvent ourselves as a punk band,
456
00:34:42,895 --> 00:34:46,585
but we wanted it
a little bit more simple.
457
00:34:46,620 --> 00:34:51,940
We thought maybe these really grandiose
things weren't quite what was happening then
458
00:34:51,975 --> 00:34:55,945
and to be more of the time, we made
a more straightforward record.
459
00:34:55,980 --> 00:35:01,020
Once we had our audience, we felt so
confident that they would be there for us
460
00:35:01,055 --> 00:35:04,660
and not require us to be anything
that they'd seen before.
461
00:35:04,695 --> 00:35:06,665
Do a twirl?
462
00:35:06,700 --> 00:35:11,820
They were very open-minded, Queen
audiences, so we never felt constrained.
463
00:35:19,820 --> 00:35:25,380
We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions
had a very sort of definite genesis.
464
00:35:25,415 --> 00:35:28,385
The way I remember this story
is Bingley Hall.
465
00:35:28,420 --> 00:35:32,425
We played this great hall
in the Midlands and it was heaving.
466
00:35:32,460 --> 00:35:38,100
Those gigs that you love, it's all sweaty
and hot, everybody is jumping up and down.
467
00:35:38,135 --> 00:35:40,185
And they were singing along.
468
00:35:40,220 --> 00:35:44,585
# She's a killer queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
469
00:35:44,620 --> 00:35:49,145
# Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind... #
470
00:35:49,180 --> 00:35:55,660
In those days, it was really new. You just didn't
go to concerts where people sang to rock bands.
471
00:35:55,695 --> 00:35:59,145
But on this particular occasion,
they didn't stop.
472
00:35:59,180 --> 00:36:03,620
And when we went off stage, they
sang You'll Never Walk Alone to us.
473
00:36:03,655 --> 00:36:07,825
I'd gone to sleep thinking,
"What can an audience do?"
474
00:36:07,860 --> 00:36:13,380
They're all crammed in there. They can
stamp their feet, clap their hands and sing.
475
00:36:13,415 --> 00:36:16,985
So I woke up with We Will Rock You
in my head.
476
00:36:17,020 --> 00:36:21,060
We went into Wessex with these
ideas and that happened to be..
477
00:36:21,070 --> 00:36:26,620
some boards lying around, strange enough
and I thought, "What does this sound like?"
478
00:36:29,740 --> 00:36:36,580
And we multi-tracked it a lot of times to achieve a
sound of a big throng of people stamping and clapping,
479
00:36:36,615 --> 00:36:39,637
a huge sort of rally of people.
480
00:36:39,672 --> 00:36:42,660
# We will, we will rock you... #
481
00:36:44,700 --> 00:36:48,620
# We will, we will rock you... #
482
00:36:50,340 --> 00:36:56,700
I came up with We Will Rock You and Freddie with
We Are The Champions. His thinking was very similar.
483
00:36:56,735 --> 00:36:59,985
Basically, it is
a participation thing.
484
00:37:00,020 --> 00:37:05,060
I've been really cool and I'm just
thinking in terms of the public/group thing.
485
00:37:05,095 --> 00:37:08,180
# I've paid my dues
486
00:37:09,260 --> 00:37:12,060
# Time after time... #
487
00:37:13,540 --> 00:37:17,580
We had no idea it would become a
universal, worldwide sports anthem.
488
00:37:17,615 --> 00:37:20,305
Both of them did -
Rock You and Champions.
489
00:37:20,340 --> 00:37:24,345
In football or whatever sport,
you've got two opposing teams.
490
00:37:24,380 --> 00:37:29,340
Both can sing We Are The Champions, but
in a rock show, there's only one team.
491
00:37:29,375 --> 00:37:32,380
# I've had my share of sand
kicked in my face
492
00:37:32,415 --> 00:37:34,865
# But I've come through... #
493
00:37:34,900 --> 00:37:38,860
It could be construed
as a rather elitist thing.
494
00:37:38,895 --> 00:37:44,145
# We are the champions,
my friends... #
495
00:37:44,180 --> 00:37:47,700
But it was really "we",
the collective "we".
496
00:37:48,780 --> 00:37:54,820
But if I were you, before we find out, let's get
the sound... Let's get a real sound on the drums.
497
00:37:54,855 --> 00:37:57,980
It's definitely a song
of great unifying power.
498
00:37:58,015 --> 00:38:01,617
# We are the champions
499
00:38:01,652 --> 00:38:05,185
# No time for losers
500
00:38:05,220 --> 00:38:09,745
# Cos we are the champions... #
501
00:38:09,780 --> 00:38:15,300
Here we've got four tracks of vocals, one with
the solo guitar, then that's the end bit solo.
502
00:38:15,335 --> 00:38:18,797
I've listened to them.
That's the only way we can do it.
503
00:38:18,832 --> 00:38:22,260
Fred was very cheeky. It was
about Queen being the champions
504
00:38:22,295 --> 00:38:25,860
in a sense, the arrogance
for which we were famous.
505
00:38:25,895 --> 00:38:29,537
# We are the champions
506
00:38:29,572 --> 00:38:33,356
# We are the champions
507
00:38:33,391 --> 00:38:37,105
# No time for losers
508
00:38:37,140 --> 00:38:41,980
# Cos we are the champions. #
509
00:38:44,500 --> 00:38:48,465
APPLAUSE
510
00:38:48,500 --> 00:38:54,100
Only Queen could come up with the title "We
Are The Champions". Where's the modesty gone?
511
00:38:54,135 --> 00:38:57,345
Well, there isn't any.
No modesty whatsoever.
512
00:38:57,380 --> 00:39:04,540
After the slaggings-off we get from the English music
press, who cares? We've got nothing to lose, you know?
513
00:39:04,575 --> 00:39:08,540
Anyway, it's only a song, isn't it?
Fuck 'em!
514
00:39:14,500 --> 00:39:19,460
In those days, it was do the album,
do a video, tour America.
515
00:39:21,300 --> 00:39:23,900
One, two!
516
00:39:26,500 --> 00:39:30,540
It was regarded as the sort of grail
of the rock scene.
517
00:39:33,060 --> 00:39:35,345
America was meaning more
and more to us,
518
00:39:35,380 --> 00:39:39,060
and when you smell success
in America, you go for it.
519
00:39:41,820 --> 00:39:45,880
We looked at what was going on
in the States at the time.
520
00:39:45,915 --> 00:39:49,905
The music was very much
dominated by the cool West Coast
521
00:39:49,940 --> 00:39:53,860
kind of rock with The Eagles
and Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac.
522
00:39:53,895 --> 00:39:57,780
And to some extent, Queen, I guess,
didn't fit that mould.
523
00:40:03,300 --> 00:40:07,000
They were bigger, more glamorous,
more extravagant than,
524
00:40:07,035 --> 00:40:10,700
I think, anything that existed
in the States at the time.
525
00:40:10,735 --> 00:40:12,980
They really didn't know
what to make of them.
526
00:40:13,015 --> 00:40:15,865
Why would you call your band Queen
527
00:40:15,900 --> 00:40:18,700
when there's obviously
four guys in it?
528
00:40:18,735 --> 00:40:20,940
That was puzzling.
529
00:40:23,260 --> 00:40:25,185
We were all in one station wagon,
530
00:40:25,220 --> 00:40:30,460
then we were all in one limo,
then it was two in one limo
531
00:40:30,495 --> 00:40:33,065
and two in another,
then it was one each.
532
00:40:33,100 --> 00:40:35,985
But it was really only
because the entourage grew,
533
00:40:36,020 --> 00:40:39,860
it wasn't anything to do with
not wanting to talk to one another.
534
00:40:51,860 --> 00:40:53,825
We did stay pretty connected,
535
00:40:53,860 --> 00:40:56,225
we didn't disappear
to our dressing rooms.
536
00:40:56,260 --> 00:41:01,560
Generally, we found a big place
where we could all get ready together
537
00:41:01,595 --> 00:41:06,860
and we would kind of joke around.
We had a good kind of camaraderie.
538
00:41:08,500 --> 00:41:10,780
This is called a miracle, folks!
539
00:41:10,815 --> 00:41:13,185
I've lost my shoe!
540
00:41:13,220 --> 00:41:15,380
Oh, but I don't do my own.
541
00:41:16,900 --> 00:41:19,860
Dave! Do, do, do!
542
00:41:27,300 --> 00:41:31,020
I went to see the Queen show
and I had never seen so much luggage
543
00:41:31,055 --> 00:41:34,625
and crew and amps and lighting.
544
00:41:34,660 --> 00:41:37,500
And I said, "This is not
rock'n'roll, this is a show.
545
00:41:37,535 --> 00:41:40,020
"This is a production.
This is Broadway".
546
00:41:40,055 --> 00:41:43,420
"We Will Rock You"
547
00:41:57,460 --> 00:42:02,620
The audience participation elevated
the shows to something really special.
548
00:42:02,655 --> 00:42:05,025
And I think we put a bit
of distance between us
549
00:42:05,060 --> 00:42:09,700
and some of our contemporaries like that,
because it was such a great two-way event.
550
00:42:09,735 --> 00:42:12,660
This was a coronation
for Freddie Mercury in this town.
551
00:42:12,695 --> 00:42:18,060
# We will, we will rock you tonight
552
00:42:18,095 --> 00:42:21,585
# We will, we will rock you
553
00:42:21,620 --> 00:42:24,940
# Buddy you're a young man, hard
man, shouting in the street
554
00:42:24,975 --> 00:42:27,657
# Gonna take on the world someday
555
00:42:27,692 --> 00:42:30,305
# Mud on your face, big disgrace
556
00:42:30,340 --> 00:42:33,580
# Waving your banner
all over the place
557
00:42:33,615 --> 00:42:37,785
# We will, we will rock you... #
558
00:42:37,820 --> 00:42:40,580
It had always surprised us
that it took so long
559
00:42:40,615 --> 00:42:42,340
to break Queen in the States.
560
00:42:44,340 --> 00:42:49,900
It sounds like it happened quickly, but it didn't,
it happened over a period of about eight years.
561
00:42:49,935 --> 00:42:51,385
We worked very hard at it.
562
00:42:51,420 --> 00:42:54,540
At no point did you think,
"We've made it," cos we hadn't.
563
00:42:54,575 --> 00:42:58,780
This is, um, a Mercury composition
564
00:42:58,815 --> 00:43:00,585
from "A Night At The Opera"
565
00:43:00,620 --> 00:43:03,900
and it's something which a few
people asked us to do last time.
566
00:43:03,935 --> 00:43:07,225
So this is for those people.
This is "Love Of My Life".
567
00:43:07,260 --> 00:43:11,865
The 1977 US tour was pretty much
a sell-out. And midway through,
568
00:43:11,900 --> 00:43:16,020
we actually played two nights at
the legendary Madison Square Gardens
569
00:43:16,055 --> 00:43:19,660
in New York, which is
a sort of landmark for any artist.
570
00:43:19,695 --> 00:43:21,425
It was a watershed for me.
571
00:43:21,460 --> 00:43:25,780
It was a mythical place, of course,
big deal for us to play.
572
00:43:25,815 --> 00:43:30,065
And my parents, from the
beginning... Well, my dad, really.
573
00:43:30,100 --> 00:43:33,940
My dad had really been against the
whole business of me being a rock star.
574
00:43:33,975 --> 00:43:36,785
It's curious, because he helped me
build the guitar.
575
00:43:36,820 --> 00:43:42,220
If it hadn't been for my dad slaving hours
and hours making this homemade guitar,
576
00:43:42,255 --> 00:43:45,277
I probably would never have got
to this place.
577
00:43:45,312 --> 00:43:48,265
He really felt that I'd thrown
my education away.
578
00:43:48,300 --> 00:43:52,420
I mean, I was educated to a high level. So
to suddenly to go off and join a rock band
579
00:43:52,455 --> 00:43:57,625
with apparently no future,
my dad really could not compute it.
580
00:43:57,660 --> 00:44:02,660
He was kind of in tears, really, he just
felt I'd thrown my life away completely.
581
00:44:02,695 --> 00:44:08,585
# You don't know
what it means to me... #
582
00:44:08,620 --> 00:44:13,220
But anyway, we were playing
Madison Square Garden and I said,
583
00:44:13,255 --> 00:44:16,305
"Look, Dad, this is a big one
for us, playing America,
584
00:44:16,340 --> 00:44:20,900
"it's New York, it's the first time we've
played this amazing place. Come over. "
585
00:44:25,900 --> 00:44:27,865
So I said,
"Dad, you'll go on Concorde",
586
00:44:27,900 --> 00:44:33,060
you know, it was my dad and my mum.
And they came to the gig
587
00:44:33,095 --> 00:44:35,585
and I remember to this day,
this feeling that our feet
588
00:44:35,620 --> 00:44:39,260
weren't really on the ground, there
was so much electricity in this place.
589
00:44:39,295 --> 00:44:43,385
# You don't know
what it means to me... #
590
00:44:43,420 --> 00:44:47,660
And we came off thinking,
"Wow, that was really something,"
591
00:44:47,695 --> 00:44:50,345
and then I went back with my dad
592
00:44:50,380 --> 00:44:56,260
and my dad said, "OK."
He said, "OK, I get it now. "
593
00:44:56,295 --> 00:44:57,825
# Oooh. #
594
00:44:57,860 --> 00:45:00,100
Thank you, Madison Square Garden.
595
00:45:04,020 --> 00:45:06,145
What's happening
when we go back to London?
596
00:45:06,180 --> 00:45:09,820
You're one of the few bands
that actually haven't left Britain.
597
00:45:09,855 --> 00:45:13,460
We're sort of an English band
in a way, we've always lived there.
598
00:45:13,495 --> 00:45:16,545
Well, London particularly.
We've always recorded in England.
599
00:45:16,580 --> 00:45:21,620
It doesn't change the fact that the
taxman still takes a lot of your money!
600
00:45:21,655 --> 00:45:23,865
I think at the time,
we were paying 83%,
601
00:45:23,900 --> 00:45:27,980
and plus, if you had any money in
the bank which was earning interest,
602
00:45:28,015 --> 00:45:30,865
another 15%, which makes 98% tax.
603
00:45:30,900 --> 00:45:34,780
So we decided to record the next
album, which was "Jazz", in France.
604
00:45:34,815 --> 00:45:38,660
So that's what we did. In a tiny
little village called Super Bear,
605
00:45:38,695 --> 00:45:41,780
we started the process
of making this album.
606
00:45:41,815 --> 00:45:45,625
# Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle
607
00:45:45,660 --> 00:45:50,260
# I want to ride my bicycle,
bicycle, bicycle... #
608
00:45:50,295 --> 00:45:54,860
Lots of sort of local colour
got put onto that album.
609
00:45:54,895 --> 00:45:56,825
# I want to ride my bike... #
610
00:45:56,860 --> 00:46:01,500
We were sitting there and the Tour
de France cycle race came through
611
00:46:01,535 --> 00:46:03,705
and inspired Freddie
to write "Bicycle... "
612
00:46:03,740 --> 00:46:07,580
and for some strange reason, inspired
me to write "Fat Bottomed Girls".
613
00:46:07,615 --> 00:46:10,740
Although there might have been
other inspirations there.
614
00:46:10,775 --> 00:46:14,860
# On your marks, get set, go! #
615
00:46:18,380 --> 00:46:21,020
Sadly, we weren't there
for the filming.
616
00:46:21,055 --> 00:46:23,660
I thought it was
a hugely amusing idea.
617
00:46:23,695 --> 00:46:27,465
# Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle... #
618
00:46:27,500 --> 00:46:31,660
I remember the huge disappointment that
none of us could be at the photo shoot.
619
00:46:31,695 --> 00:46:35,980
Because we were exiled from England,
so we couldn't go back in to see it!
620
00:46:36,015 --> 00:46:39,180
I don't think you'd be able
to do that now, would you?
621
00:46:39,215 --> 00:46:42,300
Yeah, I don't think
we would go there these days.
622
00:46:42,335 --> 00:46:43,500
# Bicycle race! #
623
00:46:45,300 --> 00:46:48,025
When it came time
to launch the "Jazz" album,
624
00:46:48,060 --> 00:46:51,780
we had the idea of having
a massive party in New Orleans.
625
00:46:51,815 --> 00:46:56,317
# Oh, you gonna take me home
tonight... #
626
00:46:56,352 --> 00:47:00,820
It was the so-called launch
of that album,
627
00:47:00,855 --> 00:47:02,905
and we had lots of girls and things,
628
00:47:02,940 --> 00:47:07,900
there was a New Orleans band,
it was a very over-the-top party.
629
00:47:07,935 --> 00:47:12,860
# Fat bottomed girls, you make
the rockin' world go round... #
630
00:47:16,220 --> 00:47:19,820
We had a bit of a spiritual
connection with New Orleans.
631
00:47:19,855 --> 00:47:22,100
A lot of our friends came,
of all sexes.
632
00:47:23,380 --> 00:47:25,905
It was definitely fun.
633
00:47:25,940 --> 00:47:28,665
When I opened up
the door of my suite,
634
00:47:28,700 --> 00:47:31,940
on the bed was a complete case
of Dom Perignon.
635
00:47:31,975 --> 00:47:34,185
And it was downhill from there.
636
00:47:34,220 --> 00:47:38,420
# Heap big woman, you made a bad boy
out of me... #
637
00:47:38,455 --> 00:47:40,620
I remember I felt quite
ill the next day.
638
00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:45,525
There was a lot of acts..
639
00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:50,200
There was a man, he was actually
a person of restricted growth,
640
00:47:50,235 --> 00:47:52,485
who did lay under meats.
641
00:47:52,520 --> 00:47:57,140
When asked what he did, he said,
"I lie under meats. "
642
00:47:57,175 --> 00:48:01,747
And he's covered in sort of
cold cuts and sort of, um,
643
00:48:01,782 --> 00:48:06,320
chopped liver and stuff like that.
You couldn't see him.
644
00:48:06,355 --> 00:48:09,765
So people would approach
the trestle table
645
00:48:09,800 --> 00:48:13,680
and as they just reached out
to scoop their meat,
646
00:48:13,715 --> 00:48:16,120
he would just move, like that.
647
00:48:16,155 --> 00:48:18,845
And that was his act!
648
00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:25,800
# Tonight, I'm gonna have myself
a real good time
649
00:48:25,835 --> 00:48:28,165
# I feel ali-i-i-ive... #
650
00:48:28,200 --> 00:48:31,440
It wasn't a pretence, we actually
did live the life of a rock band.
651
00:48:31,475 --> 00:48:34,000
Sort of living on the edge,
in a sense.
652
00:48:34,035 --> 00:48:39,017
# Turning inside out, yeah
653
00:48:39,052 --> 00:48:43,106
# Floating around in ecstasy
654
00:48:43,141 --> 00:48:47,125
# So don't stop me now... #
655
00:48:47,160 --> 00:48:50,525
"Don't Stop Me Now"
is a whole different trip, really.
656
00:48:50,560 --> 00:48:54,000
It's become one of the most
popular Queen songs of all time.
657
00:48:54,035 --> 00:48:57,440
# I'm a shooting star leaping
through the sky like a tiger
658
00:48:57,475 --> 00:49:01,165
# Defying the laws of gravity
659
00:49:01,200 --> 00:49:06,000
# I'm a racing car passing by
like Lady Godiva
660
00:49:06,035 --> 00:49:10,800
# I'm gonna go, go, go,
there's no stopping me
661
00:49:10,835 --> 00:49:13,537
# I'm burning through
the sky, yeah... #
662
00:49:13,572 --> 00:49:16,240
It's a song of sort of
unfettered joy.
663
00:49:16,275 --> 00:49:17,725
#.. Mr Fahrenheit
664
00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:20,445
# I'm travelling
at the speed of light
665
00:49:20,480 --> 00:49:23,240
# I wanna make a supersonic woman
of you... #
666
00:49:25,080 --> 00:49:28,360
I've been quoted as saying
I don't like the track.
667
00:49:28,395 --> 00:49:31,717
I kind of do like the track,
but I had mixed feelings,
668
00:49:31,752 --> 00:49:35,040
because in a sense, it represented
a sort of separatism.
669
00:49:35,075 --> 00:49:37,085
It was very much Freddie's world
670
00:49:37,120 --> 00:49:39,920
and reflecting what he was
going through.
671
00:49:39,955 --> 00:49:42,685
Freddie took to the gay scene
in New York
672
00:49:42,720 --> 00:49:45,965
like David Attenborough
making a wildlife programme.
673
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:51,000
He'd report on what he'd seen with that
kind of "Hey-hey!" attitude that he had.
674
00:49:51,035 --> 00:49:53,605
There was this one particular place
called The Anvil,
675
00:49:53,640 --> 00:49:57,800
which seemed to have invented new
uses for parts of the human anatomy!
676
00:49:57,835 --> 00:49:59,125
He was never shocked.
677
00:49:59,160 --> 00:50:02,020
He was eager to be
involved in everything,
678
00:50:02,055 --> 00:50:04,845
it was like he was
a social field worker.
679
00:50:04,880 --> 00:50:07,565
# I wanna make a supersonic man
out of you... #
680
00:50:07,600 --> 00:50:11,440
As far as I'm concerned, I just want
to pack in as much of life
681
00:50:11,475 --> 00:50:16,805
and fun and having a good time
as much as I can.
682
00:50:16,840 --> 00:50:21,120
# If you want to have a good time,
just give me a call
683
00:50:21,155 --> 00:50:24,017
# Don't stop me now
Cos I'm having a good time.
684
00:50:24,052 --> 00:50:26,880
# Don't stop me now
Yes, I'm having a good time
685
00:50:26,915 --> 00:50:30,960
# I don't wanna stop at all
686
00:50:32,800 --> 00:50:35,740
# Da-da da-da dah
687
00:50:35,775 --> 00:50:38,645
# Da da da-ha
688
00:50:38,680 --> 00:50:42,560
# Da-da-da ha-ha-hah
689
00:50:42,595 --> 00:50:46,405
# Da-da-dah... #
690
00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:49,080
The album "Jazz"
was not a complete flop,
691
00:50:49,115 --> 00:50:51,685
it got to number 6 in the chart.
692
00:50:51,720 --> 00:50:56,360
But "Don't Stop Me Now", which is a
big favourite in Britain to this day,
693
00:50:56,395 --> 00:50:58,445
in America, only got to the 80s.
694
00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:01,365
The review in Rolling Stone
was notorious.
695
00:51:01,400 --> 00:51:05,480
And it shows you that
Queen were not respected.
696
00:51:05,515 --> 00:51:07,605
We were confused by that title.
697
00:51:07,640 --> 00:51:11,480
Why would a rock band
call their album "Jazz"?
698
00:51:11,515 --> 00:51:13,837
It had a couple of great
tracks on it,
699
00:51:13,872 --> 00:51:16,160
but it had some weaker stuff on it.
700
00:51:16,195 --> 00:51:18,285
Queen was maybe viewed
701
00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:22,560
as the Indian meal that had
gone cold in the refrigerator.
702
00:51:22,595 --> 00:51:25,965
What's going to happen
in '79 for Queen?
703
00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:30,005
We're going to make more records,
tour even more.
704
00:51:30,040 --> 00:51:33,480
It's difficult to say. This has been
our hardest working year.
705
00:51:33,515 --> 00:51:36,885
We'd heard that there was this
great studio called Musicland
706
00:51:36,920 --> 00:51:41,040
in Munich, and we'd heard there was
this great engineer called Mack.
707
00:51:41,075 --> 00:51:44,857
And we got into this rather
kind of indulgent way of just
708
00:51:44,892 --> 00:51:48,640
bowling into the studio with
no ideas, or very few ideas,
709
00:51:48,675 --> 00:51:50,365
and just doing it from scratch.
710
00:51:50,400 --> 00:51:52,600
"What you got?"
"Well I dont know, I've got this. "
711
00:51:52,635 --> 00:51:55,680
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
712
00:51:58,440 --> 00:52:01,280
# This thing called love... #
713
00:52:05,479 --> 00:52:07,579
First thing we did was
"Crazy Little Thing... "
714
00:52:09,280 --> 00:52:12,360
Fred did write the song in the bath,
in about ten minutes.
715
00:52:12,800 --> 00:52:14,880
# Crazy little thing called love... #
716
00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:20,880
Next, he said, "Tell them I'm coming over and
we've got to go straight into the studio. "
717
00:52:20,915 --> 00:52:23,605
# Like a baby
In the cradle all night... #
718
00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:26,840
I was very quick, had everything
set up in pretty much no time,
719
00:52:26,875 --> 00:52:30,885
and they put it down,
and then the best bit was,
720
00:52:30,920 --> 00:52:35,120
"Quick, let's finish it before Brian gets
here, otherwise it takes a little longer!"
721
00:52:35,155 --> 00:52:38,885
# There goes my baby
722
00:52:38,920 --> 00:52:41,280
# She knows how to rock and roll
723
00:52:41,315 --> 00:52:43,600
# She drives me crazy
724
00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:46,925
# She gives me hot and cold fever
725
00:52:46,960 --> 00:52:48,960
# She leaves me in
a cold, cold sweat... #
726
00:52:53,800 --> 00:52:57,040
That was the first number 1
across the board in America.
727
00:52:57,075 --> 00:52:59,800
Billboard, Cashbox
and Record World, I think.
728
00:52:59,835 --> 00:53:01,525
We were still making a record,
729
00:53:01,560 --> 00:53:04,005
we hadn't even nearly finished
the album,
730
00:53:04,040 --> 00:53:07,125
and we were going out in Munich
and somebody came up and said,
731
00:53:07,160 --> 00:53:11,200
"It's gone to number 1 in America. "
We were going, "Yeah! More drinks!"
732
00:53:15,400 --> 00:53:19,600
So, "Crazy Little Thing... " completely
cracked the charts in America.
733
00:53:19,635 --> 00:53:23,205
But it wasn't easy to find
the follow-up.
734
00:53:23,240 --> 00:53:27,080
"Play The Game"
charted outside the US Top 40.
735
00:53:27,115 --> 00:53:30,885
But the next single was
something very different.
736
00:53:30,920 --> 00:53:34,365
One thing I always liked about Queen
was they were four individuals,
737
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:38,480
all of whom brought something to the table,
musically and in terms of songwriting,
738
00:53:38,515 --> 00:53:40,920
and that includes
the bass player, John Deacon.
739
00:53:40,955 --> 00:53:44,320
"Another One Bites The Dust"
740
00:53:49,200 --> 00:53:52,720
I'd always wanted to do something
that was more sort of disco-ey,
741
00:53:52,755 --> 00:53:54,565
which was very uncool at the time.
742
00:53:54,600 --> 00:53:57,960
I mean, funk wasn't really
in the vocabulary.
743
00:54:00,840 --> 00:54:02,285
Let's go!
744
00:54:02,320 --> 00:54:06,480
John was pulling us strongly in that
direction, sort of funky direction.
745
00:54:06,515 --> 00:54:08,605
And John got Roger to play
746
00:54:08,640 --> 00:54:12,040
with tape all over his drums,
which is exactly what Roger hated.
747
00:54:12,075 --> 00:54:14,445
Roger hated his drums
being made to sound dead.
748
00:54:14,480 --> 00:54:19,440
I didn't really want to get into
dance music. It wasn't my thing.
749
00:54:22,200 --> 00:54:24,405
# Another one bites the dust... #
750
00:54:24,440 --> 00:54:28,765
Freddie got deeply into it, Freddie
sort of sang it until he bled,
751
00:54:28,800 --> 00:54:34,140
cos he was so committed to making it sound the
way John wanted it, which was like hardcore...
752
00:54:34,175 --> 00:54:39,480
I don't know what you would call it. But it's
more towards black music than white music.
753
00:54:42,360 --> 00:54:46,440
# How do you think I'm going to get
along without you when you're gone?
754
00:54:46,475 --> 00:54:50,637
# You took me for everything that
I had and kicked me out of my home
755
00:54:50,672 --> 00:54:55,176
# Are you happy? Are you satisfied?
How long can you stand the heat?
756
00:54:55,211 --> 00:54:59,680
# Out of the doorway, the bullets
whistle to the sound of the beat... #
757
00:54:59,715 --> 00:55:04,320
Michael came to several shows,
I think, at the Forum in LA.
758
00:55:04,355 --> 00:55:07,285
And he loved Freddie.
And he kept saying,
759
00:55:07,320 --> 00:55:11,920
"You guys, you've got to put that song out.
" I wasn't particularly enamoured with it,
760
00:55:11,955 --> 00:55:14,920
so I said, "No, you're kidding,
that's never a single. "
761
00:55:14,955 --> 00:55:16,805
# Another one bites the dust... #
762
00:55:16,840 --> 00:55:21,040
"Another One Bites The Dust"
was never seen as a single.
763
00:55:21,075 --> 00:55:22,920
It barely made it onto the album!
764
00:55:24,640 --> 00:55:29,960
It got on the radio and it got heard by
people that didn't even know who the band was.
765
00:55:29,995 --> 00:55:31,440
# Ah, take it! #
766
00:55:32,480 --> 00:55:37,440
Strangely enough, the record became
huge because of the black audience.
767
00:55:37,475 --> 00:55:40,520
One particular station in New York
picked it up,
768
00:55:40,555 --> 00:55:42,685
thinking that we were a black band,
769
00:55:42,720 --> 00:55:46,120
and played the hell out of it,
and it became a huge hit.
770
00:55:46,155 --> 00:55:50,285
It was like number 1 in nine
different charts.
771
00:55:50,320 --> 00:55:53,005
I mean, even in the country chart!
It's ridiculous.
772
00:55:53,040 --> 00:55:56,960
And this thing just kept selling,
to around three million.
773
00:55:56,995 --> 00:56:00,400
It was in the Hot 100 for 31 weeks.
774
00:56:02,040 --> 00:56:05,520
When an opponent would get
knocked out in a boxing match,
775
00:56:05,555 --> 00:56:08,120
you'd hear
"Another One Bites The Dust" used.
776
00:56:08,155 --> 00:56:10,765
It became an anthem of triumph.
777
00:56:10,800 --> 00:56:15,165
# Yeah, ye-e-e-e-a-a-ah!
All right! #
778
00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:18,160
I think it's still
the biggest record we ever had.
779
00:56:18,195 --> 00:56:20,805
# Another one bites
the dust, yeah! #
780
00:56:20,840 --> 00:56:24,000
People pointing at the cars -
"You guys are bad!"
781
00:56:24,035 --> 00:56:27,160
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're good!"
782
00:56:27,195 --> 00:56:28,485
# Another one bites the dust
783
00:56:28,520 --> 00:56:32,560
# Hey, gonna get you too,
another one bites the dust... #
784
00:56:33,640 --> 00:56:37,085
If you're successful in America,
basically, you've made it.
785
00:56:37,120 --> 00:56:40,320
We kind of became the biggest group
in the world at that moment.
786
00:56:40,355 --> 00:56:43,165
It's a fleeting moment,
because someone else will come
787
00:56:43,200 --> 00:56:46,280
and take over. But for that moment,
we kind of owned the world.
788
00:56:46,315 --> 00:56:49,160
"We Are The Champions"
789
00:56:53,520 --> 00:56:57,160
The sales figures tell the story
that the people wanted Queen
790
00:56:57,195 --> 00:56:59,160
even when the press didn't.
791
00:57:03,400 --> 00:57:06,640
Looking back on it now,
I'd say Queen were never in fashion.
792
00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:10,160
We were never a fashionable group,
I don't think.
793
00:57:11,240 --> 00:57:13,245
Maybe that was to our benefit,
794
00:57:13,280 --> 00:57:16,720
that we didn't become the thing
of the moment, a fashionable thing.
795
00:57:16,755 --> 00:57:20,240
We were just popular, which got
right up some people's noses!
796
00:58:08,720 --> 00:58:11,140
Fred, how do you feel,
playing and singing
797
00:58:11,175 --> 00:58:13,560
before 200,000 people?
Haven't done it yet!
798
00:58:15,080 --> 00:58:18,485
Every song, you felt, was,
"They're stealing the show".
799
00:58:18,520 --> 00:58:22,200
I like Queen very much, but I don't
want to end up life living a quartet.
800
00:58:22,235 --> 00:58:25,537
The band was pretty
much on the verge of falling apart.
801
00:58:25,572 --> 00:58:28,805
I think he had an idea
that he might not be terribly well.
802
00:58:28,840 --> 00:58:32,120
He said, "I'll come back and finish
it off," and he never came back.
803
00:58:32,155 --> 00:58:34,800
That was the last moment
that I had with him.
804
00:59:13,200 --> 00:59:16,125
# Flash, aaah
805
00:59:16,160 --> 00:59:18,440
# Saviour of the universe... #
806
00:59:38,400 --> 00:59:41,560
I wanted us to be massively
successful, I mean...
807
00:59:41,595 --> 00:59:44,720
I think almost everybody
in this business does.
808
00:59:44,755 --> 00:59:48,845
# Flash, aaah
809
00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:51,045
# He'll save every one of us... #
810
00:59:51,080 --> 00:59:53,885
Certainly by the beginning
of the '80s,
811
00:59:53,920 --> 00:59:57,200
the world domination they'd
craved for was definitely there.
812
00:59:57,235 --> 01:00:00,845
# Aaah
813
01:00:00,880 --> 01:00:02,520
# He's a miracle... #
814
01:00:04,200 --> 01:00:08,200
The hardest thing is to actually maintain
the level of success you've achieved
815
01:00:08,235 --> 01:00:12,200
because I think when you go all the
way up, the only place is to come down.
816
01:00:12,235 --> 01:00:15,285
# Flash, aaah
817
01:00:15,320 --> 01:00:17,520
# King of the impossible... #
818
01:00:20,520 --> 01:00:24,280
You've no idea where you can get to.
It's like the sky's the limit.
819
01:00:24,315 --> 01:00:26,165
# He'll save with a mighty hand
820
01:00:26,200 --> 01:00:29,480
# Every man, every woman, every child
with a mighty Flash... #
821
01:00:34,200 --> 01:00:37,560
We didn't want just America,
we wanted the whole world, you know.
822
01:00:42,960 --> 01:00:45,125
South America reared its head
823
01:00:45,160 --> 01:00:50,720
and we heard rumours that we were...
the biggest thing ever in Argentina
824
01:00:50,755 --> 01:00:53,965
and Brazil and they started to ask
us to go down there.
825
01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:57,040
They were saying, "You can play
football stadiums down there. "
826
01:00:57,075 --> 01:00:58,565
We went, "You're joking. "
827
01:00:58,600 --> 01:01:02,365
In those days under
the dictatorship in Argentina,
828
01:01:02,400 --> 01:01:05,800
we were negotiating with the army
general and he said to me,
829
01:01:05,835 --> 01:01:09,200
"How can I possibly allow 50,000
young people into a stadium
830
01:01:09,235 --> 01:01:10,565
"when I can't control them?
831
01:01:10,600 --> 01:01:14,165
"What happens if somebody suddenly
shouts out 'Viva Peron'
832
01:01:14,200 --> 01:01:18,640
"in the middle of a Queen concert
and I have a riot on my hands?"
833
01:01:18,675 --> 01:01:22,285
And I tried to explain to him that,
rather like
834
01:01:22,320 --> 01:01:27,240
gladiatorial matches in Rome,
this was panacea to the people,
835
01:01:27,275 --> 01:01:29,525
they'd never, ever had this before,
836
01:01:29,560 --> 01:01:32,440
this would be an
extraordinary experience.
837
01:01:35,360 --> 01:01:37,925
So we got the whole thing together
838
01:01:37,960 --> 01:01:41,800
and it was God knows how many
jumbo jets full of equipment.
839
01:01:41,835 --> 01:01:45,640
And when we arrived in Buenos Aires,
as we're unloading it,
840
01:01:45,675 --> 01:01:48,845
you could see spent bullet cases,
and thinking,
841
01:01:48,880 --> 01:01:51,525
"Yeah, we really are in a very
different place here. "
842
01:01:51,560 --> 01:01:56,880
We were looking for a bodyguard for
Freddie, this particular man came in
843
01:01:56,915 --> 01:02:01,120
and his opening recommendation was
that he'd killed 212 people.
844
01:02:01,155 --> 01:02:04,125
The travel arrangements
were very scary.
845
01:02:04,160 --> 01:02:06,205
Driving the wrong way along
a raised motorway
846
01:02:06,240 --> 01:02:11,685
with outriders, with guys in big
jeeps waving their big guns
847
01:02:11,720 --> 01:02:15,805
and getting the cars, coming
straight towards them, to pull over.
848
01:02:15,840 --> 01:02:19,360
We got caught in a traffic jam and
one of the policemen just stood up,
849
01:02:19,395 --> 01:02:20,885
put his head through the roof
850
01:02:20,920 --> 01:02:25,640
and started firing his gun in the
air in order to clear the traffic.
851
01:02:25,675 --> 01:02:26,840
Very hair-raising.
852
01:02:29,080 --> 01:02:30,365
Hello, amigos.
853
01:02:30,400 --> 01:02:33,880
HE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
854
01:02:38,160 --> 01:02:42,320
Fred, how do you feel playing
and singing before 200,000 people?
855
01:02:42,355 --> 01:02:44,640
I haven't done it yet!
856
01:02:48,400 --> 01:02:52,405
I can remember being nervous
the first night.
857
01:02:52,440 --> 01:02:56,960
The top tier alone took 80,000
and we were in this sort of dug-out
858
01:02:56,995 --> 01:03:00,077
which I guess the football teams
would normally be in.
859
01:03:00,112 --> 01:03:03,125
All the windows were broken
and I remember thinking
860
01:03:03,160 --> 01:03:07,160
this is... You know, it's going to
take some balls to walk out there.
861
01:03:07,195 --> 01:03:08,280
Hello, Sao Paulo!
862
01:03:26,920 --> 01:03:28,740
# Get your party gown
863
01:03:28,775 --> 01:03:30,525
# Get your pigtail down
864
01:03:30,560 --> 01:03:32,480
# Get your heart beating, baby
865
01:03:33,680 --> 01:03:35,300
# Get your timing right
866
01:03:35,335 --> 01:03:36,885
# I got my act all tight
867
01:03:36,920 --> 01:03:40,120
# It's gotta be tonight
My little school babe
868
01:03:40,155 --> 01:03:41,725
# Your momma says you don't
869
01:03:41,760 --> 01:03:44,660
# Your daddy says you won't
And I'm boiling up inside... #
870
01:03:44,695 --> 01:03:47,560
They knew all the songs.
These people don't speak English
871
01:03:47,595 --> 01:03:49,725
but they could sing along
all the Queen songs
872
01:03:49,760 --> 01:03:53,000
so they're obviously very genuine
fans and they went nuts.
873
01:03:53,035 --> 01:03:56,285
# Tie your mother down
Tie your mother down
874
01:03:56,320 --> 01:03:59,160
# Lock your daddy out of doors
I don't need him nosing around
875
01:03:59,195 --> 01:04:02,560
# Tie your mother down
Tie your mother down
876
01:04:02,595 --> 01:04:07,000
# Give me all your love tonight
877
01:04:11,120 --> 01:04:13,125
# Tonight... #
878
01:04:13,160 --> 01:04:15,085
It also takes a certain ego
879
01:04:15,120 --> 01:04:18,320
and a certain drive to want to be
880
01:04:18,355 --> 01:04:21,520
in that spotlight and go on display.
881
01:04:22,520 --> 01:04:26,000
And Freddie thrived
and got better in bigger arenas.
882
01:04:26,035 --> 01:04:27,005
# Yeah
883
01:04:27,040 --> 01:04:28,140
# Yeah
884
01:04:28,175 --> 01:04:29,287
# Yeah
885
01:04:29,322 --> 01:04:30,365
# Yeah
886
01:04:30,400 --> 01:04:31,580
# Yeah ye-yeah yeah
887
01:04:31,615 --> 01:04:32,807
# Yeah ye-yeah yeah
888
01:04:32,842 --> 01:04:34,121
# Yeah yeah ye-ye-yeah
889
01:04:34,156 --> 01:04:35,758
# Yeah yeah ye-ye-yeah
890
01:04:35,793 --> 01:04:37,496
# All right
All right
891
01:04:37,531 --> 01:04:39,185
# All right
All right
892
01:04:39,220 --> 01:04:40,840
# Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
893
01:04:40,875 --> 01:04:41,965
# Yeah Yeah
894
01:04:42,000 --> 01:04:43,580
# Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
895
01:04:43,615 --> 01:04:45,160
# Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
896
01:04:45,195 --> 01:04:46,200
# Yeah Yeah
897
01:04:46,235 --> 01:04:47,205
# Yeah
898
01:04:47,240 --> 01:04:50,700
# Yeah, yeah, yeah
899
01:04:50,735 --> 01:04:54,927
# Aaaaaaaall right
900
01:04:54,962 --> 01:04:59,120
# Aaaaaaaall right
901
01:05:00,480 --> 01:05:01,880
Let's do it to tempo.
902
01:05:07,360 --> 01:05:09,860
Once we'd finished Argentina
and Brazil,
903
01:05:09,895 --> 01:05:12,325
the band decided to go
back into the studio
904
01:05:12,360 --> 01:05:15,520
and they had of course bought
the studios in Montreux, here.
905
01:05:23,800 --> 01:05:28,100
Mountain Studios was in the casino
by the lake in Montreux.
906
01:05:28,135 --> 01:05:32,400
When they first arrived it was,
like, the top studio in Europe.
907
01:05:34,080 --> 01:05:37,600
We were in the studio in Montreux
and David Bowie lives nearby.
908
01:05:38,560 --> 01:05:41,280
I think we went out for a meal
or drinks or something
909
01:05:41,315 --> 01:05:44,000
and then landed up back in
the studio with the sort of
910
01:05:44,035 --> 01:05:46,257
rough intention of doing something.
911
01:05:46,292 --> 01:05:48,445
We were fooling around and just...
912
01:05:48,480 --> 01:05:51,245
jamming with tracks
and suddenly we said,
913
01:05:51,280 --> 01:05:54,760
"Why don't we just see what we can do
on the spur of the moment?"
914
01:05:54,795 --> 01:05:59,245
Then it's the pressure
of His Majesty David being there
915
01:05:59,280 --> 01:06:03,120
and everybody wanted to look suave
and quick with ideas and stuff.
916
01:06:03,155 --> 01:06:06,960
Deacy of course came up with this
riff - dun dun dun de de dun dun.
917
01:06:06,995 --> 01:06:09,077
"UNDER PRESSURE" BASS RIFF PLAYS
918
01:06:09,112 --> 01:06:11,125
# Bom bom bom buddle der der
919
01:06:11,160 --> 01:06:12,680
# Ding ding ding digger ding ding
920
01:06:15,160 --> 01:06:17,560
He kept playing that over and over
and over again.
921
01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:21,925
And then we went for a pizza
and he forgot it.
922
01:06:21,960 --> 01:06:26,720
Completely escaped his mind!
We got back and I remembered it.
923
01:06:28,800 --> 01:06:32,200
And of course, we're used to playing
together and now we have this
924
01:06:32,235 --> 01:06:35,720
other guy there who's also
inputting, inputting, inputting.
925
01:06:35,755 --> 01:06:38,120
David's idea of putting these
clicks and claps
926
01:06:38,155 --> 01:06:40,280
and then the track just grew.
927
01:06:45,360 --> 01:06:47,960
By that time,
David was very impassioned.
928
01:06:47,995 --> 01:06:50,525
He had a vision in his head,
I think.
929
01:06:50,560 --> 01:06:53,520
It's quite a difficult process
and somebody has to back off
930
01:06:53,555 --> 01:06:55,800
and actually I did back off,
unusual for me.
931
01:06:55,835 --> 01:07:00,320
# Pressure pushing down on me
932
01:07:00,355 --> 01:07:01,720
# Pressing down on you
933
01:07:01,755 --> 01:07:03,637
# No man ask for
934
01:07:03,672 --> 01:07:05,485
# Under pressure
935
01:07:05,520 --> 01:07:08,360
# That burns a building down
936
01:07:08,395 --> 01:07:11,165
# Splits a family in two
937
01:07:11,200 --> 01:07:12,605
# Puts people on streets... #
938
01:07:12,640 --> 01:07:15,260
For the vocals, one of them
was to be locked out
939
01:07:15,295 --> 01:07:17,827
and not allowed to
hear what the other one sang
940
01:07:17,862 --> 01:07:20,360
and they sang anything off the top
of their heads.
941
01:07:20,395 --> 01:07:22,360
# It never rains but it pours
942
01:07:22,395 --> 01:07:24,365
# Um ba-ba bey... #
943
01:07:24,400 --> 01:07:29,400
Fred starts doing his bum-didder-dup
and his bits-and-pieces
944
01:07:29,435 --> 01:07:31,765
and I see out of
the corner of my eye,
945
01:07:31,800 --> 01:07:34,925
I see David sticking his head in,
listening.
946
01:07:34,960 --> 01:07:38,800
Then Fred came down, David went up
and Freddie was quite impressed
947
01:07:38,835 --> 01:07:41,400
that he was counterpointing
to what he did before.
948
01:07:41,435 --> 01:07:43,165
#.. This world is about
949
01:07:43,200 --> 01:07:47,040
# Watching some good friends
screaming let me out
950
01:07:47,075 --> 01:07:51,157
# Pray tomorrow gets me
higher, high, high
951
01:07:51,192 --> 01:07:54,596
# Pressure on people
People on streets... #
952
01:07:54,631 --> 01:07:57,965
And Fred said,
"What do you make of this?"
953
01:07:58,000 --> 01:08:02,480
I said, "It's kind of easy if you stand in
the doorway listening to what you're doing. "
954
01:08:02,515 --> 01:08:06,857
And Freddie turned,
"What the BLEEP"?
955
01:08:06,892 --> 01:08:11,200
# Cos love's such
an old fashioned word
956
01:08:11,235 --> 01:08:14,245
# And love dares you
957
01:08:14,280 --> 01:08:20,960
# To care for the people
on the edge of the night
958
01:08:20,995 --> 01:08:23,817
# And love dares you
959
01:08:23,852 --> 01:08:27,286
# To change our way of
960
01:08:27,321 --> 01:08:30,685
# Caring about ourselves
961
01:08:30,720 --> 01:08:34,480
# This is our last dance... #
962
01:08:35,800 --> 01:08:39,480
The result is very good but it was
a difficult experience, I think,
963
01:08:39,515 --> 01:08:42,600
because people pulling in different
directions, in a sense.
964
01:08:42,635 --> 01:08:43,805
# Under pressure... #
965
01:08:43,840 --> 01:08:47,920
Under Pressure, David Bowie,
the band, me,
966
01:08:47,955 --> 01:08:50,920
I don't think it mixed too well.
967
01:08:50,955 --> 01:08:52,445
# Pressure. #
968
01:08:52,480 --> 01:08:54,965
Shame actually, it's...
969
01:08:55,000 --> 01:08:59,760
I thought it was fabulous, we could've done
some incredible further things, actually.
970
01:09:06,560 --> 01:09:11,040
Well, here we have a total change
of life for all of us, really.
971
01:09:11,075 --> 01:09:14,405
We went back to Munich
to do the next album
972
01:09:14,440 --> 01:09:17,920
and really, I suppose, things
started to go downhill.
973
01:09:19,160 --> 01:09:21,485
It's actually a rather grim place.
974
01:09:21,520 --> 01:09:27,000
It's a studio in the basement of
a huge tower block which is a hotel.
975
01:09:28,280 --> 01:09:30,205
And it's kind of depressing.
976
01:09:30,240 --> 01:09:34,680
A lot of people used to jump off
that building and kill themselves,
977
01:09:34,715 --> 01:09:37,325
off that particular building,
it was well known for it.
978
01:09:37,360 --> 01:09:40,720
We didn't know that until we got
there, so we went a bit nuts.
979
01:09:44,040 --> 01:09:47,480
By that time, we were getting
very finicky about recording
980
01:09:47,515 --> 01:09:48,880
and we spent months there.
981
01:09:54,320 --> 01:09:57,725
After the massive success of
Another One Bites The Dust,
982
01:09:57,760 --> 01:10:02,080
the thinking was we'll make an album
that's slightly more dance orientated.
983
01:10:02,115 --> 01:10:03,325
Not my idea.
984
01:10:03,360 --> 01:10:06,325
Especially in Freddie's entourage,
985
01:10:06,360 --> 01:10:10,400
I won't mention any names
like Paul Prenter, for instance,
986
01:10:10,435 --> 01:10:13,997
loathed guitars and
found that Brian was old fashioned.
987
01:10:14,032 --> 01:10:17,560
Paul Prenter had become
Freddie's personal assistant.
988
01:10:17,595 --> 01:10:21,040
He was a very, very bad influence
upon Freddie,
989
01:10:21,075 --> 01:10:23,325
hence on the band, really.
990
01:10:23,360 --> 01:10:25,780
He very much wanted
our music to sound
991
01:10:25,815 --> 01:10:28,200
like you'd just walked in
a gay club.
992
01:10:28,235 --> 01:10:29,845
And I didn't.
993
01:10:29,880 --> 01:10:31,820
# Back chat, back chat
994
01:10:31,855 --> 01:10:33,767
# Criticising all you see
995
01:10:33,802 --> 01:10:35,645
# Back chat, back chat
996
01:10:35,680 --> 01:10:37,605
# Analysing what I say... #
997
01:10:37,640 --> 01:10:40,240
There were a lot of strains in
the band that'd happen
998
01:10:40,275 --> 01:10:43,925
with four people of that
strength of character.
999
01:10:43,960 --> 01:10:48,880
Everybody had their say and the arguments were
creative and then it would become personal.
1000
01:10:48,915 --> 01:10:51,005
Of course!
1001
01:10:51,040 --> 01:10:54,685
It was a sort of emotional
roller coaster.
1002
01:10:54,720 --> 01:10:58,160
I think less and less time
was spent in the studio.
1003
01:11:01,920 --> 01:11:04,885
Get up about three o'clock and go
and have breakfast
1004
01:11:04,920 --> 01:11:07,885
and then a bit of work would be
done and then you'd have dinner
1005
01:11:07,920 --> 01:11:12,640
and then one of the roadies would
start mixing cocktails and then...
1006
01:11:14,160 --> 01:11:16,160
other things would... ahem, happen.
1007
01:11:16,195 --> 01:11:17,840
# Give me... #
1008
01:11:19,720 --> 01:11:22,485
I'm not saying cocaine
and other drugs
1009
01:11:22,520 --> 01:11:25,600
and loose women had anything
to do with that at all.
1010
01:11:25,635 --> 01:11:27,480
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!
1011
01:11:27,515 --> 01:11:30,445
# Body, body
1012
01:11:30,480 --> 01:11:34,525
# Give me your body... #
1013
01:11:34,560 --> 01:11:38,040
It turned into a rather exhausting
cycle, I think, in the end.
1014
01:11:38,075 --> 01:11:41,080
# Don't talk, don't talk, don't talk
1015
01:11:41,115 --> 01:11:42,845
# Baby, don't talk... #
1016
01:11:42,880 --> 01:11:46,240
I don't know if I can say this...
Yes, I could probably say this.
1017
01:11:46,275 --> 01:11:50,845
We all got ourselves into deep
trouble emotionally in Munich
1018
01:11:50,880 --> 01:11:56,280
and Freddie was no exception, he got himself deep
into emotional waters which he couldn't really handle
1019
01:11:56,315 --> 01:11:58,560
and was very unhappy
for some of the time.
1020
01:11:58,595 --> 01:12:03,445
# Give me your body... #
1021
01:12:03,480 --> 01:12:07,760
He was being sucked into places which
really probably weren't good for him.
1022
01:12:07,795 --> 01:12:10,165
And I think we all felt that
1023
01:12:10,200 --> 01:12:12,880
and realised that he was
in some kind of danger.
1024
01:12:12,915 --> 01:12:16,517
# Give me, yeah
1025
01:12:16,552 --> 01:12:20,120
# Your body... #
1026
01:12:21,320 --> 01:12:24,120
I certainly saw the change
in Freddie...
1027
01:12:24,155 --> 01:12:25,205
# Don't talk... #
1028
01:12:25,240 --> 01:12:28,365
.. in the club Heaven in 1983.
1029
01:12:28,400 --> 01:12:30,765
I said to him, "Have you
modified your behaviour
1030
01:12:30,800 --> 01:12:34,200
"in light of 'the new disease'",
which as of yet did not have a name.
1031
01:12:35,840 --> 01:12:39,045
And with the sweep of his arms
in a theatrical fashion, he said,
1032
01:12:39,080 --> 01:12:44,760
"Darling, my attitude is fuck it,
I'm doing everything with everybody. "
1033
01:12:44,795 --> 01:12:47,960
If someone kept a chart
of rock and roll royalty,
1034
01:12:47,995 --> 01:12:49,760
Queen would have to be at the top.
1035
01:12:49,795 --> 01:12:52,285
Now Queen is back on tour
1036
01:12:52,320 --> 01:12:55,045
and perhaps up against their
biggest challenge yet.
1037
01:12:55,080 --> 01:13:00,600
Now, most of you know that we've got
some new sounds out last week and...
1038
01:13:02,040 --> 01:13:05,400
.. for what it's worth, we're going
to do a few songs in
1039
01:13:05,435 --> 01:13:08,217
the funk-black category,
whatever you call it.
1040
01:13:08,252 --> 01:13:11,000
Record sales are not
as strong as in the past
1041
01:13:11,035 --> 01:13:12,997
and that's left everyone wondering.
1042
01:13:13,032 --> 01:13:14,925
I don't like everything that we do.
1043
01:13:14,960 --> 01:13:17,045
I like a lot of what we do
but not everything.
1044
01:13:17,080 --> 01:13:20,085
It depends on whatever the four
individuals in the group,
1045
01:13:20,120 --> 01:13:23,660
what music they're into at the time
and what songs they're writing.
1046
01:13:23,695 --> 01:13:27,200
There might be a couple of songs
come out you don't like very much.
1047
01:13:27,235 --> 01:13:28,405
I could name a couple!
1048
01:13:28,440 --> 01:13:32,200
Well, Hot Space in Queen terms
was pretty disastrous, really.
1049
01:13:32,235 --> 01:13:35,165
It didn't appeal to
some of the hardcore Queen fans
1050
01:13:35,200 --> 01:13:38,405
who would turn up at concerts with
banners saying "disco sucks".
1051
01:13:38,440 --> 01:13:43,080
It's only a bloody record, people get
so excited about these things. I mean...
1052
01:13:43,115 --> 01:13:45,525
The band...
1053
01:13:45,560 --> 01:13:47,885
It was pretty much on
the verge of falling apart.
1054
01:13:47,920 --> 01:13:51,680
I think we had a couple of meetings
and staff to discuss
1055
01:13:51,715 --> 01:13:53,645
were we still together etc, etc.
1056
01:13:53,680 --> 01:13:56,760
What to do if you're a member
of an internationally successful
1057
01:13:56,795 --> 01:13:59,040
rock band but want to
blow off creative steam
1058
01:13:59,075 --> 01:14:01,005
that doesn't fit the band's image.
1059
01:14:01,040 --> 01:14:03,525
Our next guest has faced that,
he is Roger Taylor.
1060
01:14:03,560 --> 01:14:07,680
He's just blown off some of his own
steam with his second solo album,
1061
01:14:07,715 --> 01:14:10,137
Strange Frontier. Let's look at it.
1062
01:14:10,172 --> 01:14:12,706
# Sometimes I feel
like a man on fire
1063
01:14:12,741 --> 01:14:15,205
# Sometimes I feel
like a man possessed
1064
01:14:15,240 --> 01:14:19,880
# Sometimes I wanna burn down
this crazy town... #
1065
01:14:19,915 --> 01:14:21,565
I think we decided we
needed a break.
1066
01:14:21,600 --> 01:14:26,085
Queen propelled us into the world
but also in a sense it confined us
1067
01:14:26,120 --> 01:14:30,440
into a very small space. We just worked with
each other, not the other fabulous musicians.
1068
01:14:32,520 --> 01:14:35,805
I ended up in LA
and one morning just got up
1069
01:14:35,840 --> 01:14:39,080
and rang up some mates there and
said, "Why don't we do something?"
1070
01:14:39,115 --> 01:14:41,520
And it led to
the Star Fleet Project.
1071
01:14:41,555 --> 01:14:44,440
# Star fleet, star fleet
1072
01:14:47,120 --> 01:14:50,240
# Star fleet, star fleet... #
1073
01:14:52,720 --> 01:14:55,720
At a certain point we were
all ready, there's no doubt.
1074
01:14:55,755 --> 01:14:57,965
We'd been off doing
our different things,
1075
01:14:58,000 --> 01:15:01,160
refreshing ourselves but we were
ready to get back in the studio.
1076
01:15:07,200 --> 01:15:10,245
This is the hardest time for us,
this is a big test, we've been
1077
01:15:10,280 --> 01:15:16,200
in the business 12 years and to keep
it going that much further is hard.
1078
01:15:16,235 --> 01:15:17,685
The Works was the next album.
1079
01:15:17,720 --> 01:15:19,920
We thought we wanted somewhere
nice and warm
1080
01:15:19,955 --> 01:15:22,285
and not freezing bloody cold Munich.
1081
01:15:22,320 --> 01:15:25,400
So that really made sense,
to go to LA to make that record.
1082
01:15:27,760 --> 01:15:30,520
And I think we got back on track
in The Works, actually.
1083
01:15:34,480 --> 01:15:37,085
They were a complicated
musical marriage.
1084
01:15:37,120 --> 01:15:40,200
They didn't have one room in
a studio, they had three or four.
1085
01:15:40,235 --> 01:15:43,520
Studio B, Studio C,
Studio D, Studio E.
1086
01:15:43,555 --> 01:15:44,885
But that was a good thing
1087
01:15:44,920 --> 01:15:47,840
cos it allowed everybody to
work on their individual songs.
1088
01:15:47,875 --> 01:15:50,117
In the early days it was
Brian and Freddie
1089
01:15:50,152 --> 01:15:52,360
who really used to write
most of the material
1090
01:15:52,395 --> 01:15:54,325
but over the last five years,
1091
01:15:54,360 --> 01:15:57,640
Roger and I have started to
contribute more.
1092
01:16:00,760 --> 01:16:03,860
I thought John Deacon was
kind of a secret weapon because
1093
01:16:03,895 --> 01:16:06,960
he would come up with these
major hits out of nowhere.
1094
01:16:08,120 --> 01:16:10,045
He had this track,
I Want To Break Free,
1095
01:16:10,080 --> 01:16:13,400
and it was pretty much there
except this big hole in the middle.
1096
01:16:14,760 --> 01:16:19,200
I mean, John did not want a guitar
solo so he asked Fred Mandel,
1097
01:16:19,235 --> 01:16:22,377
a very brilliant keyboard player,
to improvise something
1098
01:16:22,412 --> 01:16:25,520
around the main tune
and Fred did this brilliant take.
1099
01:16:25,555 --> 01:16:32,120
SYNTHESIZER ON "I WANT TO BREAK FREE"
1100
01:16:36,840 --> 01:16:40,240
You know, all their records used
to say prominently "no synthesizers"
1101
01:16:40,275 --> 01:16:42,497
then I come along
like another schmuck
1102
01:16:42,532 --> 01:16:44,720
and put synthesizers on everything.
1103
01:16:45,920 --> 01:16:49,160
I wasn't too happy at the time
but I gave it my blessing,
1104
01:16:49,195 --> 01:16:50,200
that's the deal.
1105
01:16:52,360 --> 01:16:55,480
The polarity of writing
within the band changed.
1106
01:16:55,515 --> 01:16:58,600
I think the time has come
where we actually...
1107
01:16:58,635 --> 01:17:00,725
in songwriting,
we're completely even.
1108
01:17:00,760 --> 01:17:04,920
Roger will come up with something
like Radio Ga Ga and it's perfect.
1109
01:17:08,400 --> 01:17:13,320
It was Sunday afternoon, my son
Felix came in, he was very young
1110
01:17:13,355 --> 01:17:17,160
and he just sort of went,
"Ah, radio, caca"
1111
01:17:17,195 --> 01:17:19,085
cos he's half French.
1112
01:17:19,120 --> 01:17:23,240
And, um, I just thought
that's quite nice, you know.
1113
01:17:25,640 --> 01:17:28,045
I put the backing track together
1114
01:17:28,080 --> 01:17:30,720
and presented it to Freddie
who really loved it.
1115
01:17:39,160 --> 01:17:41,920
We took it into the next room
and then Fred and I worked
1116
01:17:41,955 --> 01:17:43,280
on the vocoder parts.
1117
01:17:43,315 --> 01:17:45,197
# All we hear is
1118
01:17:45,232 --> 01:17:47,476
# Radio ga ga
1119
01:17:47,511 --> 01:17:49,495
# Radio goo goo
1120
01:17:49,530 --> 01:17:51,445
# Radio ga ga... #
1121
01:17:51,480 --> 01:17:54,600
If you listen,
several times it says "radio caca".
1122
01:17:54,635 --> 01:17:56,085
# Radio ga ga
1123
01:17:56,120 --> 01:17:58,845
# Radio ga ga... #
1124
01:17:58,880 --> 01:18:01,840
Radio Ga Ga brought Queen back.
1125
01:18:01,875 --> 01:18:04,485
# Radio... #
1126
01:18:04,520 --> 01:18:06,165
It came from a rock thing.
1127
01:18:06,200 --> 01:18:08,680
Radio Ga Ga combined the best
elements of
1128
01:18:08,715 --> 01:18:10,365
the '70s with the '80s.
1129
01:18:10,400 --> 01:18:12,805
That's where Queen had a strength
with The Works.
1130
01:18:12,840 --> 01:18:16,320
It was more of a substantial hit
even though it didn't actually make
1131
01:18:16,355 --> 01:18:18,405
the top 10 in America.
1132
01:18:18,440 --> 01:18:21,680
But it got played a lot
and the video made a big impact.
1133
01:18:21,715 --> 01:18:23,757
# Let's hope you never
1134
01:18:23,792 --> 01:18:25,716
# Leave, old friend
1135
01:18:25,751 --> 01:18:27,835
# Like all good things
1136
01:18:27,870 --> 01:18:29,955
# On you we depend
1137
01:18:29,990 --> 01:18:32,005
# So stick around
1138
01:18:32,040 --> 01:18:34,765
# Cos we might miss you... #
1139
01:18:34,800 --> 01:18:38,640
We had a killer video which we
put a lot of work into.
1140
01:18:38,675 --> 01:18:40,477
# You had your time
1141
01:18:40,512 --> 01:18:42,245
# You had the power
1142
01:18:42,280 --> 01:18:44,485
# You've yet to have... #
1143
01:18:44,520 --> 01:18:47,245
The whole thing just felt good,
of its time.
1144
01:18:47,280 --> 01:18:51,760
It felt a bit different.
It felt modern and it was very fresh.
1145
01:18:51,795 --> 01:18:56,040
# All we hear is radio ga ga
1146
01:18:56,075 --> 01:18:58,177
# Radio goo goo
1147
01:18:58,212 --> 01:19:00,245
# Radio ga ga... #
1148
01:19:00,280 --> 01:19:04,320
All of a sudden people,
would participate jointly
1149
01:19:04,355 --> 01:19:06,605
in Radio Ga Ga situations.
1150
01:19:06,640 --> 01:19:11,280
A collective statement
that was good on the radio,
1151
01:19:11,315 --> 01:19:13,125
or on a turntable.
1152
01:19:13,160 --> 01:19:15,440
In live, it really was
a unification.
1153
01:19:15,475 --> 01:19:19,320
# All we hear is radio ga ga
1154
01:19:19,355 --> 01:19:21,117
# Radio goo goo
1155
01:19:21,152 --> 01:19:22,845
# Radio ga ga... #
1156
01:19:22,880 --> 01:19:25,685
Freddie said,
"What we do is like the Olympics.
1157
01:19:25,720 --> 01:19:28,560
"It's people believing in you
and everyone behind you.
1158
01:19:28,595 --> 01:19:30,285
"Everyone doing the same thing.
1159
01:19:30,320 --> 01:19:33,800
"That's the Olympics. "
He said, "That's what we do. "
1160
01:19:33,835 --> 01:19:37,845
# Radio ga ga, radio ga ga... #
1161
01:19:37,880 --> 01:19:42,400
Suddenly the MTV generation grew up
and video became all-important.
1162
01:19:53,520 --> 01:19:56,520
The most enjoyable video was
I Want To Break Free
1163
01:19:56,555 --> 01:19:57,880
because we just laughed.
1164
01:20:05,760 --> 01:20:08,760
I was dying to dress up in drag.
Doesn't everybody?
1165
01:20:10,360 --> 01:20:14,045
And everybody ran into their frocks
quicker than anything.
1166
01:20:14,080 --> 01:20:19,000
It was their idea, basically,
and I said, "Yeah, let's have a go. "
1167
01:20:19,035 --> 01:20:21,880
# I want to break free
1168
01:20:22,960 --> 01:20:26,280
# I want to break free
1169
01:20:27,960 --> 01:20:31,245
# I want to break free
from your lies... #
1170
01:20:31,280 --> 01:20:36,120
That great video was a loving
reference to Coronation Street.
1171
01:20:36,155 --> 01:20:37,965
# I've got to break free... #
1172
01:20:38,000 --> 01:20:41,400
Americans didn't understand it. It just
looked like we wanted to dress up in drag.
1173
01:20:41,435 --> 01:20:45,680
It was unthinkable
to most of middle America.
1174
01:20:45,715 --> 01:20:47,920
# I've got to break free... #
1175
01:20:49,120 --> 01:20:53,840
It's a very British thing. Sometimes the humour
doesn't translate. I'm Canadian so I get it.
1176
01:20:58,760 --> 01:21:00,925
It was just a different
style of humour
1177
01:21:00,960 --> 01:21:03,520
and I don't think it went over
with the "MTV generation".
1178
01:21:07,400 --> 01:21:11,005
I remember this video being banned.
1179
01:21:11,040 --> 01:21:14,000
MTV were very quick on the
trigger to ban things then.
1180
01:21:14,035 --> 01:21:16,805
I mean, if you thought
Mary Whitehouse was bad,
1181
01:21:16,840 --> 01:21:20,600
you should have seen some of
the geezers running MTV
1182
01:21:20,635 --> 01:21:22,400
in the very early '80s.
1183
01:21:28,520 --> 01:21:31,205
Well, MTV were very narrow-minded.
1184
01:21:31,240 --> 01:21:34,480
It was Whitesnake,
and fucking Whitesnake,
1185
01:21:34,515 --> 01:21:36,720
and then another Whitesnake track.
1186
01:21:39,400 --> 01:21:42,725
And they decided that
they didn't think men in drag
1187
01:21:42,760 --> 01:21:47,320
was rock enough for them, I guess,
so they didn't play the video.
1188
01:21:50,400 --> 01:21:53,520
Most Americans were deprived of my,
and Freddie's,
1189
01:21:53,555 --> 01:21:55,285
favourite moment of that video.
1190
01:21:55,320 --> 01:21:58,120
I said to Freddie, "I love
the way you double-step...
1191
01:21:58,155 --> 01:21:59,845
# But life still goes on... #
1192
01:21:59,880 --> 01:22:02,365
.. to get from one room to the other.
1193
01:22:02,400 --> 01:22:06,120
And he said, "I'm so glad you
noticed. That's my favourite part. "
1194
01:22:06,155 --> 01:22:09,240
#.. without you by my side
1195
01:22:10,800 --> 01:22:13,920
# I don't want to live alone
1196
01:22:15,120 --> 01:22:17,680
# Hey, God knows
1197
01:22:19,000 --> 01:22:20,485
# I've got to make it... #
1198
01:22:20,520 --> 01:22:25,520
The funny thing is, we became global
but we lost America.
1199
01:22:25,555 --> 01:22:28,160
And we kind of never got it back.
1200
01:22:28,195 --> 01:22:31,760
# I've got to break free. #
1201
01:22:33,120 --> 01:22:35,480
Freddie wouldn't go back
to tour America
1202
01:22:35,515 --> 01:22:37,765
unless they were touring a hit,
1203
01:22:37,800 --> 01:22:40,085
and of course
that's the chicken and egg
1204
01:22:40,120 --> 01:22:43,685
because the less you tour America,
the more you lose America.
1205
01:22:43,720 --> 01:22:47,900
It was sad, it's a shame, because
there's a whole catalogue of hits,
1206
01:22:47,935 --> 01:22:52,080
worldwide hits, but not in the
States, and that'll never come back.
1207
01:22:56,340 --> 01:22:59,460
Appearing at Sun City
never helped anybody's image,
1208
01:22:59,495 --> 01:23:01,025
and sometimes it hurt.
1209
01:23:01,060 --> 01:23:06,380
Sun City was this resort of
international standard in South Africa
1210
01:23:06,415 --> 01:23:09,345
and the position taken
by most of the rock community
1211
01:23:09,380 --> 01:23:12,660
was that if you went to South Africa
you supported apartheid.
1212
01:23:12,695 --> 01:23:15,660
It's very nice to be
here in South Africa
1213
01:23:15,695 --> 01:23:17,705
and I just want to have a good time.
1214
01:23:17,740 --> 01:23:20,065
Anything you'd like to say
to your fans?
1215
01:23:20,100 --> 01:23:24,100
Yeah, we hope you get real excited,
because we're pretty excited to be here.
1216
01:23:24,135 --> 01:23:26,225
The controversy behind Sun City...
1217
01:23:26,260 --> 01:23:29,060
Sun Fucking City -
wish I'd never heard of the place.
1218
01:23:29,095 --> 01:23:31,145
The principal reason that Queen
went there
1219
01:23:31,180 --> 01:23:34,020
was because they were offered
a large amount of money.
1220
01:23:34,055 --> 01:23:36,345
There was all sorts of hoo-ha
going on,
1221
01:23:36,380 --> 01:23:39,580
you know - "You mustn't play
Sun City because it's a sign
1222
01:23:39,615 --> 01:23:42,140
"that you're supporting apartheid. "
1223
01:23:42,175 --> 01:23:44,385
Well, it's simply not true.
1224
01:23:44,420 --> 01:23:47,140
If you adopted a policy of
never playing in a country
1225
01:23:47,175 --> 01:23:49,417
where you don't approve
of the politicians,
1226
01:23:49,452 --> 01:23:51,625
there'd be very few places
you can play.
1227
01:23:51,660 --> 01:23:54,220
Did you know you had
so many fans in South Africa?
1228
01:23:54,255 --> 01:23:56,780
Well, I think we had some
idea of our popularity here,
1229
01:23:56,815 --> 01:23:59,985
but we didn't realise
it was quite that.
1230
01:24:00,020 --> 01:24:04,140
Jim went down there time after time and
I asked if we'd play to mixed audiences.
1231
01:24:04,175 --> 01:24:06,700
He said we wouldn't play
to segregated audiences.
1232
01:24:06,735 --> 01:24:10,740
And it was not
an apartheid audience,
1233
01:24:10,775 --> 01:24:13,305
but it was mainly white.
1234
01:24:13,340 --> 01:24:15,625
Are you going to the concert?
Definitely.
1235
01:24:15,660 --> 01:24:18,185
What have you heard?
I heard it's a great show.
1236
01:24:18,220 --> 01:24:21,420
What are you expecting at the
concert? Something fantastic.
1237
01:24:21,455 --> 01:24:23,985
I've heard it's
the most fantastic show ever.
1238
01:24:24,020 --> 01:24:27,700
The band then supported a school
for the deaf in Bophutswana
1239
01:24:27,735 --> 01:24:29,625
that we became very involved with.
1240
01:24:29,660 --> 01:24:34,160
The general audience doesn't read the
small print. It just sees the headlines.
1241
01:24:34,195 --> 01:24:38,660
If it goes, "You're making a lot of money
playing a gig in an apartheid state",
1242
01:24:38,695 --> 01:24:42,380
it makes it look like you're following
apartheid. It did not help them.
1243
01:24:42,415 --> 01:24:46,157
I will say to my dying day
that we acted properly
1244
01:24:46,192 --> 01:24:49,900
according to our conscience
as regards South Africa.
1245
01:24:49,935 --> 01:24:51,625
Um... We went there to play music,
1246
01:24:51,660 --> 01:24:54,505
the same as we did
in all kinds of other places.
1247
01:24:54,540 --> 01:24:58,860
We got so much shit for it.
But we went for good reasons.
1248
01:24:58,895 --> 01:25:01,660
But, on balance,
I think it was a mistake to go.
1249
01:25:01,695 --> 01:25:05,025
Whenever the band
came under pressure,
1250
01:25:05,060 --> 01:25:09,420
there would be maybe a walkout,
a separation, a row.
1251
01:25:10,540 --> 01:25:14,620
# Sometimes I feel I'm going
to break down and cry
1252
01:25:14,655 --> 01:25:17,540
# Nowhere to go
Nothing to do with my time
1253
01:25:17,575 --> 01:25:19,700
# I get lonely
1254
01:25:21,140 --> 01:25:23,660
# So lonely
1255
01:25:24,620 --> 01:25:25,865
# Living on my own... #
1256
01:25:25,900 --> 01:25:29,540
I like Queen very much, but I don't
want to end up living a quartet.
1257
01:25:29,575 --> 01:25:32,665
I'm 37 years old
I want to do something different,
1258
01:25:32,700 --> 01:25:36,460
otherwise I'll get too damn old
and I'll be in a wheelchair.
1259
01:25:36,495 --> 01:25:40,220
There was a lot of strain
when Freddie did his solo album,
1260
01:25:40,255 --> 01:25:42,225
mainly because the advance
1261
01:25:42,260 --> 01:25:45,460
was considerably more than
the advances for Queen albums.
1262
01:25:45,495 --> 01:25:48,300
# Got to be some good times ahead
1263
01:25:49,380 --> 01:25:51,900
# Sometimes I feel
nobody gives me no warning... #
1264
01:25:51,935 --> 01:25:53,585
There is an inward jealousy -
1265
01:25:53,620 --> 01:25:56,360
they're all waiting to see if
my album does better
1266
01:25:56,395 --> 01:25:59,100
than the last Queen album,
or something like that.
1267
01:25:59,135 --> 01:26:01,100
# It's not easy
1268
01:26:02,540 --> 01:26:05,225
# Living on my own... #
1269
01:26:05,260 --> 01:26:07,825
Sometimes it's nice to break away
from a group
1270
01:26:07,860 --> 01:26:11,940
that's actually been going for
so long, meaning staying away.
1271
01:26:11,975 --> 01:26:16,857
He was definitely contemplating
the idea of what Living On My Own
1272
01:26:16,892 --> 01:26:21,740
actually means because he lived
in Munich for well over a year.
1273
01:26:21,775 --> 01:26:24,700
# Got to be some
good times ahead... #
1274
01:26:27,660 --> 01:26:29,345
When Freddie was alone in Munich,
1275
01:26:29,380 --> 01:26:34,105
he had to basically fall back
either on the gay community,
1276
01:26:34,140 --> 01:26:39,260
or, when he needed some sense or
decent advice, he would call us.
1277
01:26:39,295 --> 01:26:42,777
He was hanging out
a lot at our place.
1278
01:26:42,812 --> 01:26:46,260
He'd spend a lot of time
with the kids.
1279
01:26:46,295 --> 01:26:49,540
It was like a family affair.
1280
01:26:53,260 --> 01:26:57,940
He said a lot of times that this
was the best time in his life.
1281
01:26:57,975 --> 01:27:01,277
Out of the songs you've
put on this album, Freddie,
1282
01:27:01,312 --> 01:27:04,580
which one do you find the most
rewarding, personally?
1283
01:27:04,615 --> 01:27:07,025
Oh, I don't know,
the one that sells the most.
1284
01:27:07,060 --> 01:27:10,300
Freddie had a very fulfilling
experience of creativity,
1285
01:27:10,335 --> 01:27:13,540
but he didn't have
a very fulfilling experience,
1286
01:27:13,575 --> 01:27:18,025
um... how shall I say, economically.
1287
01:27:18,060 --> 01:27:23,300
The Mr Bad Guy album really was
a disaster, in terms of sales.
1288
01:27:23,335 --> 01:27:26,437
The strength of Queen
came from the arguments.
1289
01:27:26,472 --> 01:27:29,540
It was the fact
that you had to fight your space.
1290
01:27:29,575 --> 01:27:32,225
Songs got fine-tuned by that,
1291
01:27:32,260 --> 01:27:37,460
and Freddie working on his own in
Munich with an orchestra and Mack,
1292
01:27:37,495 --> 01:27:40,900
there was nobody really
to stand up with him.
1293
01:27:45,100 --> 01:27:48,180
Well, tomorrow, the pop world's
greatest extravaganza,
1294
01:27:48,215 --> 01:27:50,145
as we've been talking about,
Live Aid,
1295
01:27:50,180 --> 01:27:54,305
will bring together rock's brightest
and best from both sides of the Atlantic,
1296
01:27:54,340 --> 01:27:58,700
all performing free in the hope of raising
millions for the starving people of Africa.
1297
01:28:02,580 --> 01:28:06,860
You know, looking back, there was a
moment when Queen were thought of
1298
01:28:06,895 --> 01:28:09,857
as a good group that
was predominantly historic.
1299
01:28:09,892 --> 01:28:12,820
Radio Ga Ga was their one
big hit in four years.
1300
01:28:12,855 --> 01:28:14,985
They weren't on a hot streak,
1301
01:28:15,020 --> 01:28:18,180
and they weren't a particularly
productive group at that time.
1302
01:28:18,215 --> 01:28:23,057
There was a feeling
that maybe that was it.
1303
01:28:23,092 --> 01:28:27,865
But Geldof ordered them
to regroup and perform.
1304
01:28:27,900 --> 01:28:31,180
The thing was, did Freddie want
to do it? He wasn't that keen.
1305
01:28:31,215 --> 01:28:34,060
Freddie was a bit reticent
about doing anything,
1306
01:28:34,095 --> 01:28:35,665
but Bob came in one day
1307
01:28:35,700 --> 01:28:37,705
when we talked about Live Aid,
and said,
1308
01:28:37,740 --> 01:28:41,380
"I told Freddie he's doing it. "
And I kind of believe him.
1309
01:28:41,415 --> 01:28:44,065
It really is a gathering
of the rock world's elite,
1310
01:28:44,100 --> 01:28:48,800
and already rehearsing in here
are some of rock and roll's royalty.
1311
01:28:48,835 --> 01:28:53,500
It was rehearsed quite intensely at
the Shaw Theatre on Euston Road.
1312
01:28:53,535 --> 01:28:57,180
# Here we stand and here we fall
1313
01:28:57,215 --> 01:29:00,705
# History won't care at all
1314
01:29:00,740 --> 01:29:03,745
# Make the bed, light the light... #
1315
01:29:03,780 --> 01:29:08,180
Queen took the responsibility more
professionally than anyone else on the bill.
1316
01:29:08,215 --> 01:29:12,185
# You don't waste no time at all
1317
01:29:12,220 --> 01:29:15,280
# Don't hear the bell
but you answer the call... #
1318
01:29:15,315 --> 01:29:18,305
I went out and bought these big
plastic white clocks
1319
01:29:18,340 --> 01:29:23,300
and put them in the orchestra pit so
we could see the time.
1320
01:29:23,335 --> 01:29:27,585
There was an 18-minute
slot that each artist had,
1321
01:29:27,620 --> 01:29:31,025
and there were traffic lights
at the side of the stage.
1322
01:29:31,060 --> 01:29:35,620
And you were warned that the traffic lights
after 16 minutes would turn amber from green,
1323
01:29:35,655 --> 01:29:39,380
and they said, "You won't see them
turn red because the power goes off. "
1324
01:29:39,415 --> 01:29:42,260
So you make it quick and
you make it something they know.
1325
01:29:43,380 --> 01:29:45,680
Just after 16 hours of live Aid,
1326
01:29:45,715 --> 01:29:47,980
would you welcome Status Quo!
1327
01:30:01,780 --> 01:30:07,180
# Here we are and here we are
and here we go... #
1328
01:30:07,215 --> 01:30:10,077
The energy that day was sensational.
1329
01:30:10,112 --> 01:30:13,346
# Rockin' all over the world... #
1330
01:30:13,381 --> 01:30:16,545
We were all quite nervous, actually.
1331
01:30:16,580 --> 01:30:19,345
Not necessarily our audience because
they'd put together
1332
01:30:19,380 --> 01:30:23,660
the bill of Live Aid before
we'd been announced as being on it.
1333
01:30:23,695 --> 01:30:29,825
They set the level for the PA
with limiters
1334
01:30:29,860 --> 01:30:33,540
and then when Queen came on, Trip,
who was Queen's sound engineer,
1335
01:30:33,575 --> 01:30:36,420
switched the limiters
so that Queen would be louder.
1336
01:30:43,620 --> 01:30:46,740
From the word go, he came out of
the traps like a champion.
1337
01:30:52,820 --> 01:30:57,945
Freddie performed against the advice of
his doctor because of a throat condition.
1338
01:30:57,980 --> 01:31:03,740
But he went out there and gave one of the
greatest live television performances ever.
1339
01:31:03,775 --> 01:31:06,905
# You don't waste no time at all
1340
01:31:06,940 --> 01:31:10,740
# Don't hear the bell
but you answer the call
1341
01:31:10,775 --> 01:31:14,385
# Comes to you as to us all, yeah!
1342
01:31:14,420 --> 01:31:17,500
# And it's time for
the hammer to fall... #
1343
01:31:18,660 --> 01:31:24,300
The ballet with a BBC cameraman
was shockingly charismatic.
1344
01:31:24,335 --> 01:31:28,465
# Every night, every day
1345
01:31:28,500 --> 01:31:31,340
# A little piece of you
is falling away
1346
01:31:31,375 --> 01:31:34,180
# Lift your face the western way... #
1347
01:31:38,020 --> 01:31:42,540
And it was as if all the artists
backstage had heard a dog whistle.
1348
01:31:44,180 --> 01:31:46,980
And their heads turned
and the frisson you felt was,
1349
01:31:47,015 --> 01:31:49,940
"They're stealing the show. "
1350
01:31:56,620 --> 01:32:00,640
# I've paid my dues
1351
01:32:00,675 --> 01:32:03,567
# Time after time
1352
01:32:03,602 --> 01:32:06,460
# I did my sentence
1353
01:32:07,860 --> 01:32:09,940
# But committed no crime
1354
01:32:11,220 --> 01:32:14,400
# And bad mistakes
1355
01:32:14,435 --> 01:32:17,545
# I've made a few
1356
01:32:17,580 --> 01:32:21,900
# I've had my share of sand kicked
in my face
1357
01:32:21,935 --> 01:32:25,100
# But I've come through
1358
01:32:28,820 --> 01:32:34,465
# We are the champions,
my friend... #
1359
01:32:34,500 --> 01:32:40,300
I defy anybody who saw it not to have
goose pimples on the back of their neck
1360
01:32:40,335 --> 01:32:43,060
when you saw that sea of people.
1361
01:32:43,095 --> 01:32:45,825
# We are the champions
1362
01:32:45,860 --> 01:32:48,625
# We are the champions... #
1363
01:32:48,660 --> 01:32:54,700
I remember looking up and seeing the whole place
going completely bonkers in unison and thinking,
1364
01:32:54,735 --> 01:32:56,420
"Oh, this is going well. "
1365
01:32:56,455 --> 01:32:58,985
#.. the champions
1366
01:32:59,020 --> 01:33:04,860
# We are the champions,
my friend
1367
01:33:06,180 --> 01:33:10,545
# And we'll keep on
fighting till the end... #
1368
01:33:10,580 --> 01:33:13,860
We did have an unfair advantage.
We had done football stadiums.
1369
01:33:13,895 --> 01:33:17,985
Freddie particularly learned this
magical way
1370
01:33:18,020 --> 01:33:20,760
of involving everybody.
In a huge football stadium,
1371
01:33:20,795 --> 01:33:23,500
he could make everybody feel
they were in contact.
1372
01:33:23,535 --> 01:33:29,180
# We are the champions...
1373
01:33:33,460 --> 01:33:38,180
#.. of the world. #
1374
01:33:42,780 --> 01:33:44,800
People say, "Was it a career move?"
1375
01:33:44,835 --> 01:33:46,785
Well, no, it wasn't a career move
1376
01:33:46,820 --> 01:33:49,780
but of course that's
in the back of everybody's mind.
1377
01:33:58,740 --> 01:34:02,420
We got a great reception
from the crowd, even at Wembley,
1378
01:34:02,455 --> 01:34:05,305
and also from the
TV audience as well.
1379
01:34:05,340 --> 01:34:09,660
So in fact, it was a great boost of
confidence, in a way, for the group.
1380
01:34:09,695 --> 01:34:12,105
To have conquered
Live Aid in that way
1381
01:34:12,140 --> 01:34:15,700
undoubtedly breathed
fresh energy into the band.
1382
01:34:21,060 --> 01:34:23,700
It was a shot in the arm
and we went back in the studio.
1383
01:34:31,300 --> 01:34:35,145
We were back in Munich with
all its attendant dangers,
1384
01:34:35,180 --> 01:34:39,140
so we tried to keep ourselves
in the studio as much as possible.
1385
01:34:42,140 --> 01:34:43,620
Ta-dah!
1386
01:34:47,380 --> 01:34:51,260
# Hey! One man, one goal
1387
01:34:54,140 --> 01:34:57,385
# One mission, one heart... #
1388
01:34:57,420 --> 01:35:04,740
I had a page, a sort of poem that was sort of
half nicked off Martin Luther King's famous speech.
1389
01:35:04,775 --> 01:35:07,745
It doesn't fit. It does.
1390
01:35:07,780 --> 01:35:12,020
One goddamn decision.
Real decision.
1391
01:35:12,055 --> 01:35:13,905
No, it won't fit.
1392
01:35:13,940 --> 01:35:15,625
It was all one this and one that.
1393
01:35:15,660 --> 01:35:19,100
# One God, one soul,
make one decision... #
1394
01:35:20,860 --> 01:35:25,660
Make one decision. One true religion.
1395
01:35:26,780 --> 01:35:28,345
# One God, one vision
1396
01:35:28,380 --> 01:35:32,820
# One man, one goal,
one true religion
1397
01:35:32,855 --> 01:35:37,260
# One dump, one turd
Two tits, John Deacon
1398
01:35:37,295 --> 01:35:39,625
# Woh-oh-oh-oh-oh
1399
01:35:39,660 --> 01:35:42,305
# Give me one vision... #
1400
01:35:42,340 --> 01:35:45,700
The Magic Tour was the biggest tour
we'd ever undertaken.
1401
01:35:45,735 --> 01:35:48,305
# No wrong, no right
1402
01:35:48,340 --> 01:35:51,460
# I'm gonna tell you there's no black
and no white... #
1403
01:35:51,495 --> 01:35:53,940
We planned an entire tour
of stadium gigs.
1404
01:35:55,980 --> 01:35:58,980
# All we need is one world,
one vision... #
1405
01:36:01,020 --> 01:36:06,660
Massive shows all over Europe, and really
fantastic reception. We hit another level.
1406
01:36:10,900 --> 01:36:14,460
We were finally in the place we'd
always dreamed of being, perhaps.
1407
01:36:14,495 --> 01:36:18,117
# I had a dream when I was young
1408
01:36:18,152 --> 01:36:21,705
# A dream, sweet illusion... #
1409
01:36:21,740 --> 01:36:26,540
That tour had gigs like Budapest in
it, which in itself is a great thing.
1410
01:36:26,575 --> 01:36:30,820
Budapest was the first stadium
concert behind the Iron Curtain.
1411
01:36:32,140 --> 01:36:35,100
People hitch-hiked from
all over Eastern Europe.
1412
01:36:35,135 --> 01:36:39,025
# Look what they've done
to my dream... #
1413
01:36:39,060 --> 01:36:42,820
It was a great tour because
it ended up two nights at Wembley.
1414
01:36:44,140 --> 01:36:46,900
Hello there, my beauties.
This is happening.
1415
01:36:48,100 --> 01:36:52,825
# Give me your hands
Give me your hearts... #
1416
01:36:52,860 --> 01:36:55,465
In addition to Wembley Stadium,
we put on an extra one
1417
01:36:55,500 --> 01:36:59,300
because it sold out so quick, the
two nights, so we put Knebworth on.
1418
01:36:59,335 --> 01:37:02,985
# One voice, one hope
One real decision
1419
01:37:03,020 --> 01:37:06,820
# Gimme one light One light
Gimme one hope One hope
1420
01:37:06,855 --> 01:37:09,397
# Just gimme, ah
One man, one man
1421
01:37:09,432 --> 01:37:11,905
# One bar one night
One day hey hey
1422
01:37:11,940 --> 01:37:14,200
Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme
fried chicken. #
1423
01:37:14,235 --> 01:37:16,425
They were the final shows
with Freddie,
1424
01:37:16,460 --> 01:37:19,140
and I remember it being
pretty much perfect.
1425
01:37:19,175 --> 01:37:24,220
"God Save The Queen"
1426
01:37:35,340 --> 01:37:39,145
I just got the vibe from Freddie,
1427
01:37:39,180 --> 01:37:43,620
he felt that he wasn't
maybe able to do any more.
1428
01:37:46,420 --> 01:37:50,625
I know there'll be a time when I
can't run around on stage
1429
01:37:50,660 --> 01:37:54,460
because it'll be ridiculous. There
comes a time when you have to stop.
1430
01:37:59,740 --> 01:38:03,060
I think he had an idea that
he might not be terribly well.
1431
01:38:07,220 --> 01:38:10,140
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1432
01:38:18,260 --> 01:38:22,420
Freddie told me that he was HIV
positive before he told the band.
1433
01:38:22,455 --> 01:38:24,785
This put me in
a very difficult position
1434
01:38:24,820 --> 01:38:28,380
because he told me
he didn't want me to tell the band.
1435
01:38:28,415 --> 01:38:31,905
So there was I, managing
a band, knowing something
1436
01:38:31,940 --> 01:38:36,260
of crucial importance to the band
which I couldn't pass on to them.
1437
01:38:36,295 --> 01:38:41,660
# Every drop of rain that falls
in Sahara desert says it all
1438
01:38:41,695 --> 01:38:43,425
# It's a miracle
1439
01:38:43,460 --> 01:38:46,260
# All God's creations
Great and small
1440
01:38:46,295 --> 01:38:49,060
# The Golden Gate
and the Taj Mahal
1441
01:38:49,095 --> 01:38:51,065
# That's a miracle
1442
01:38:51,100 --> 01:38:53,940
# Test-tube babies being born
1443
01:38:53,975 --> 01:38:56,780
# Mothers, fathers, dead and gone
1444
01:38:56,815 --> 01:38:59,545
# It's a miracle... #
1445
01:38:59,580 --> 01:39:02,145
There were rumours
and he was obviously suffering,
1446
01:39:02,180 --> 01:39:05,300
and we didn't know what it was,
and rumour, rumour, rumour...
1447
01:39:05,335 --> 01:39:07,797
And so he did sit us down
at one point and said,
1448
01:39:07,832 --> 01:39:10,225
"Look, you probably know what
I'm going to say.
1449
01:39:10,260 --> 01:39:13,265
"You know what I'm suffering from.
You know what the problem is
1450
01:39:13,300 --> 01:39:16,340
but I don't want to talk about it
anymore. I just want to make music
1451
01:39:16,375 --> 01:39:20,180
until the day I fucking die.
And... let's get on with it.
1452
01:39:20,215 --> 01:39:22,945
# It's a miracle
1453
01:39:22,980 --> 01:39:25,225
# It's a miracle... #
1454
01:39:25,260 --> 01:39:27,625
These are some of our best
studio times.
1455
01:39:27,660 --> 01:39:31,060
We've made the decision that all
the songs we write will be credited
1456
01:39:31,095 --> 01:39:35,340
to all of us, so it kind of
releases a bit of...
1457
01:39:35,375 --> 01:39:36,745
positive energy in us.
1458
01:39:36,780 --> 01:39:39,345
They became closer and closer,
without any doubt.
1459
01:39:39,380 --> 01:39:42,220
The sharing of writing credits
was a major breakthrough.
1460
01:39:42,255 --> 01:39:44,985
Some magical things happened,
I think.
1461
01:39:45,020 --> 01:39:48,625
There's this track called
The Miracle, itself,
1462
01:39:48,660 --> 01:39:51,700
which I think is one of Freddie's
most beautiful creations.
1463
01:39:51,735 --> 01:39:54,380
# The one thing
The one thing
1464
01:39:54,415 --> 01:39:56,345
# We're all waiting for
1465
01:39:56,380 --> 01:39:58,880
# Is peace on earth
Peace on earth
1466
01:39:58,915 --> 01:40:01,345
# And an end to war
An end to war... #
1467
01:40:01,380 --> 01:40:05,540
'I love the track. It's all
so optimistic about the world'
1468
01:40:05,575 --> 01:40:08,620
and the miracles that are being
found in the world.
1469
01:40:13,060 --> 01:40:15,945
Which is incredible when you think
what he's looking at
1470
01:40:15,980 --> 01:40:19,460
because he knows what he's got and
he knows what the prognosis is.
1471
01:40:19,495 --> 01:40:24,100
# That time will come
One day you'll see
1472
01:40:24,135 --> 01:40:29,945
# When we can all be friends
1473
01:40:29,980 --> 01:40:34,580
# That time will come
One day you'll see
1474
01:40:34,615 --> 01:40:37,145
# When we can all... #
1475
01:40:37,180 --> 01:40:41,460
APPLAUSE Special Award for an
outstanding contribution to British music
1476
01:40:41,495 --> 01:40:45,340
goes to John Deacon, Brian May,
Freddie Mercury,
1477
01:40:45,375 --> 01:40:47,900
Roger Taylor - Queen.
1478
01:40:47,935 --> 01:40:50,020
APPLAUSE
1479
01:40:53,020 --> 01:40:55,660
The first indications
something wasn't right
1480
01:40:55,695 --> 01:40:58,300
was Freddie looked a
little thinner to me.
1481
01:40:59,260 --> 01:41:01,545
And I called John up to see
what was going on.
1482
01:41:01,580 --> 01:41:05,140
I said, "Is something wrong with
Freddie?" And he wouldn't tell me.
1483
01:41:08,540 --> 01:41:11,345
The thing that annoyed me
more than anything was a shot
1484
01:41:11,380 --> 01:41:15,260
of Freddie in The Sun and he'd just
come out of the doctor's, I think.
1485
01:41:15,295 --> 01:41:19,540
It's a really grainy,
full-page shot. "Is this man dying?"
1486
01:41:19,575 --> 01:41:22,740
And I thought,
"You fucking wankers. "
1487
01:41:22,775 --> 01:41:24,380
# Scandal
1488
01:41:27,060 --> 01:41:28,700
# Scandal... #
1489
01:41:32,580 --> 01:41:36,460
We hid everything and
we avoided questions.
1490
01:41:36,495 --> 01:41:38,057
# Scandal... #
1491
01:41:38,092 --> 01:41:39,585
I guess we lied.
1492
01:41:39,620 --> 01:41:41,380
Because we wanted to protect him.
1493
01:41:41,415 --> 01:41:42,420
# Scandal... #
1494
01:41:43,660 --> 01:41:46,400
I would then say anything
to anybody. "Is Fred sick?"
1495
01:41:46,435 --> 01:41:48,987
"Absolutely not, no.
He was in the gym yesterday.
1496
01:41:49,022 --> 01:41:51,901
"Fuck you," you know.
"None of your business. "
1497
01:41:51,936 --> 01:41:54,745
Everybody had to draw
the wagons around him.
1498
01:41:54,780 --> 01:41:58,740
Because at that time, to become ill
was to have a death sentence.
1499
01:41:58,775 --> 01:42:03,905
# Today the headlines
Tomorrow hard times
1500
01:42:03,940 --> 01:42:08,500
# And no-one ever really knows
The truth from the lies... #
1501
01:42:08,535 --> 01:42:10,025
His house was surrounded by...
1502
01:42:10,060 --> 01:42:12,860
I don't know, a couple of
hundred, I reckon.
1503
01:42:12,895 --> 01:42:16,717
Just like vultures, really.
1504
01:42:16,752 --> 01:42:20,540
# Deeper and deeper inside... #
1505
01:42:21,580 --> 01:42:23,305
It was utterly shocking, you know.
1506
01:42:23,340 --> 01:42:25,980
Filming the groceries in the back
of the car boot.
1507
01:42:26,015 --> 01:42:27,025
# Scandal... #
1508
01:42:27,060 --> 01:42:30,780
"Any medicine in there?"
You know, it's absolutely shocking.
1509
01:42:31,740 --> 01:42:33,705
It became difficult to
work in London,
1510
01:42:33,740 --> 01:42:36,300
there was such a terrible
focus of attention on him.
1511
01:42:36,335 --> 01:42:38,860
People sticking cameras through
his toilet windows,
1512
01:42:38,895 --> 01:42:40,665
as soon as the rumours
were out there.
1513
01:42:40,700 --> 01:42:45,620
So Montreal was a much more peaceful place to
work so we ended up doing a lot of stuff there.
1514
01:42:45,655 --> 01:42:47,740
"I'm Going Slightly Mad"
1515
01:42:53,940 --> 01:42:57,460
Freddie felt much safer there
because people didn't bother.
1516
01:42:57,495 --> 01:43:00,540
You know. They weren't intrusively
observing him.
1517
01:43:04,700 --> 01:43:06,865
At that point we can't play live
1518
01:43:06,900 --> 01:43:10,100
but in the things that we're doing,
it's business as usual.
1519
01:43:10,135 --> 01:43:14,425
# I'm going slightly mad
1520
01:43:14,460 --> 01:43:18,705
# I'm going slightly mad... #
1521
01:43:18,740 --> 01:43:21,420
He was determined to work right up
to the last minute.
1522
01:43:21,455 --> 01:43:24,740
I was surprised that he did
Going Slightly Mad.
1523
01:43:24,775 --> 01:43:26,185
# It finally happened... #
1524
01:43:26,220 --> 01:43:28,540
Which I thought was a good video,
actually,
1525
01:43:28,575 --> 01:43:31,380
and it had lots of humour in it.
1526
01:43:31,415 --> 01:43:35,540
# I'm slightly mad! #
1527
01:43:38,180 --> 01:43:40,700
There was a lot more humour in
Freddie than I think
1528
01:43:40,735 --> 01:43:42,220
the general public realised.
1529
01:43:43,260 --> 01:43:45,660
You want to take it? No, I...
1530
01:43:46,820 --> 01:43:49,600
Oh! What's it doing?
1531
01:43:49,635 --> 01:43:52,345
HOOTS OF LAUGHTER
1532
01:43:52,380 --> 01:43:53,905
Roger, what did you do?
1533
01:43:53,940 --> 01:43:56,780
It was just really
a very close time.
1534
01:43:56,815 --> 01:43:58,380
Go for me. Waaa!
1535
01:43:59,820 --> 01:44:03,740
Freddie found an amazing tranquillity
and I never really heard him complain.
1536
01:44:03,775 --> 01:44:06,385
I remember we went out one night
1537
01:44:06,420 --> 01:44:09,145
and he had horrible
problems with his leg.
1538
01:44:09,180 --> 01:44:13,500
And Freddie saw me looking at it and said,
"Oh, Brian, do you want to see what it's like?"
1539
01:44:13,535 --> 01:44:15,697
And he showed me, and I think...
1540
01:44:15,732 --> 01:44:17,825
he reacted to my face, and he said,
1541
01:44:17,860 --> 01:44:20,785
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean
to do that to you. "
1542
01:44:20,820 --> 01:44:25,180
I never heard him go, "This is
really awful. My life is shit.
1543
01:44:25,215 --> 01:44:27,340
"I'm going to die. "
Never, never, never.
1544
01:44:27,375 --> 01:44:29,985
He was an amazingly strong person.
1545
01:44:30,020 --> 01:44:34,945
The sicker Freddie got, the more
he seemed to need to record,
1546
01:44:34,980 --> 01:44:39,300
to give himself something to do, you know
- some sort of reason to get up.
1547
01:44:44,780 --> 01:44:47,425
And he would make it in
whenever he could.
1548
01:44:47,460 --> 01:44:51,100
So really, it was a period
of fairly intense work, actually.
1549
01:44:56,020 --> 01:44:59,200
Freddie is becoming weakened
by this horrible disease
1550
01:44:59,235 --> 01:45:02,345
and he finds it hard
to stand up a lot of the time
1551
01:45:02,380 --> 01:45:05,760
but he'll throw a couple of
vodkas down and prop himself up
1552
01:45:05,795 --> 01:45:09,140
on the mixing desk and have his mike
there, and go for it.
1553
01:45:09,175 --> 01:45:10,860
Roll camera, roll playback.
1554
01:45:14,340 --> 01:45:17,000
# Sometimes I get to feeling
1555
01:45:17,035 --> 01:45:19,660
# I was back in the old days
1556
01:45:19,695 --> 01:45:21,220
# Long ago... #
1557
01:45:22,860 --> 01:45:26,120
'I can hear the voice is
getting thinner. '
1558
01:45:26,155 --> 01:45:29,345
# Things seemed so perfect
You know... #
1559
01:45:29,380 --> 01:45:33,740
'I think you can really tell
that it's an ailing voice. '
1560
01:45:33,775 --> 01:45:35,997
Although he hits the notes.
1561
01:45:36,032 --> 01:45:38,220
# The sun was always shining
1562
01:45:38,255 --> 01:45:39,740
# We just lived for fun
1563
01:45:39,775 --> 01:45:41,505
# Sometimes... #
1564
01:45:41,540 --> 01:45:44,820
'Roger started writing These Are
The Days Of Our Lives about his kids'
1565
01:45:44,855 --> 01:45:48,777
and the way he felt about
life and how it comes back.
1566
01:45:48,812 --> 01:45:52,700
But of course, in that context,
it had another meaning.
1567
01:45:52,735 --> 01:45:59,225
# Those were the days
of our lives... #
1568
01:45:59,260 --> 01:46:01,505
'He looked so ill there.
It was quite scary,'
1569
01:46:01,540 --> 01:46:03,980
and... I thought that was a very
brave thing to do.
1570
01:46:04,015 --> 01:46:05,105
And why not, you know?
1571
01:46:05,140 --> 01:46:08,820
'He spent hours and hours and hours
in make-up, sorting himself out,
1572
01:46:08,855 --> 01:46:09,945
'so it would be OK.'
1573
01:46:09,980 --> 01:46:14,060
# Those days are all gone now but
1574
01:46:14,095 --> 01:46:16,317
# One thing is true... #
1575
01:46:16,352 --> 01:46:18,505
I did too many movements.
1576
01:46:18,540 --> 01:46:21,380
But I just wanted to see...
No, I know...
1577
01:46:22,420 --> 01:46:24,745
# I still love you... #
1578
01:46:24,780 --> 01:46:27,100
I just want to see...
It doesn't look...
1579
01:46:28,340 --> 01:46:29,545
It doesn't look...
1580
01:46:29,580 --> 01:46:31,540
I think it should be waisted.
1581
01:46:32,620 --> 01:46:35,820
Do you know what I mean? I want a
little bit of shape here. A tiny bit.
1582
01:46:35,855 --> 01:46:39,257
'Yeah. I like the shape now. '
1583
01:46:39,292 --> 01:46:42,660
# Those days are all gone now, but
1584
01:46:42,695 --> 01:46:46,700
# One thing's still true
1585
01:46:46,735 --> 01:46:47,825
# When I look... #
1586
01:46:47,860 --> 01:46:50,940
'Freddie actually kind of says
a goodbye in that song. '
1587
01:46:50,975 --> 01:46:53,540
# I still love you... #
1588
01:47:00,220 --> 01:47:03,060
I still love you.
1589
01:47:09,780 --> 01:47:12,780
Innuendo was out on the streets,
it was number one
1590
01:47:12,815 --> 01:47:15,780
and two weeks later they
were here in Montreux.
1591
01:47:15,815 --> 01:47:18,865
And they started doing more music.
1592
01:47:18,900 --> 01:47:23,380
And Freddie, at that time, said, "Write
me stuff. I know I don't have very long.
1593
01:47:24,780 --> 01:47:27,145
"Keep writing me words.
Keep giving me things.
1594
01:47:27,180 --> 01:47:30,260
"I will sing and then you can do
what you like with it afterwards,
1595
01:47:30,295 --> 01:47:31,785
"you know, finish it off. "
1596
01:47:31,820 --> 01:47:35,780
And so I was writing on scraps
of paper these lines of Mother Love.
1597
01:47:35,815 --> 01:47:39,265
He was dying and he did those things
1598
01:47:39,300 --> 01:47:42,880
and he knew he would be dead
when they were finished.
1599
01:47:42,915 --> 01:47:46,425
Because he said to me,
"I'm going to sing it now,
1600
01:47:46,460 --> 01:47:50,420
"because I can't wait for them
to do the music on this.
1601
01:47:50,455 --> 01:47:52,625
"I'll give it to you on a drum
machine.
1602
01:47:52,660 --> 01:47:56,340
"Give me a drum machine thing...
They'll finish it off. "
1603
01:47:57,340 --> 01:48:01,140
# I don't want to make no waves
1604
01:48:01,175 --> 01:48:04,905
# You can give me all the love... #
1605
01:48:04,940 --> 01:48:08,100
Every time I gave him another line,
he would sing it,
1606
01:48:08,135 --> 01:48:10,025
sing it again, and sing it again.
1607
01:48:10,060 --> 01:48:12,580
So we had three takes for every
line, and that was it.
1608
01:48:12,615 --> 01:48:16,780
# I long for peace before I die... #
1609
01:48:17,940 --> 01:48:21,700
Mother Love, I think, was the last
one. There's an exceptional
1610
01:48:21,735 --> 01:48:24,140
spine-chilling note in the middle.
1611
01:48:25,820 --> 01:48:27,580
A fantastic bit of singing.
1612
01:48:27,615 --> 01:48:30,065
# Out in the city
1613
01:48:30,100 --> 01:48:33,220
# In the cold world outside
1614
01:48:33,255 --> 01:48:35,185
# I don't want pity
1615
01:48:35,220 --> 01:48:39,065
# Just a safe place to hide
1616
01:48:39,100 --> 01:48:43,540
# Mama, please, let me back
inside... #
1617
01:48:44,500 --> 01:48:47,985
It's absolutely... spine-chilling.
1618
01:48:48,020 --> 01:48:50,785
And we got to the last verse
and he said,
1619
01:48:50,820 --> 01:48:53,620
"Oh, I'm not up to this now,
I need to go away and have a rest.
1620
01:48:53,655 --> 01:48:55,740
"I'll come back and finish
it off", you know.
1621
01:48:55,775 --> 01:48:57,985
And he never came back.
1622
01:48:58,020 --> 01:49:02,140
That was the last moment that I had
with him in the studio.
1623
01:49:04,260 --> 01:49:09,020
I went to see Freddie, and it
was in fact the last time I saw him.
1624
01:49:09,055 --> 01:49:12,457
He said to me, "I haven't given
you anything in my will.
1625
01:49:12,492 --> 01:49:15,860
"You're my executor,
you can do anything with my legacy,
1626
01:49:15,895 --> 01:49:18,500
"you can do anything with my music
1627
01:49:18,535 --> 01:49:20,585
"but never make me boring. "
1628
01:49:20,620 --> 01:49:23,820
The last time I saw Freddie was,
Anita and I went to see him
1629
01:49:23,855 --> 01:49:24,985
and he was in bed,
1630
01:49:25,020 --> 01:49:29,740
with the curtains open so he could
see out into his garden,
1631
01:49:29,775 --> 01:49:32,137
and I was talking about
things in his garden,
1632
01:49:32,172 --> 01:49:34,465
saying, "That's really interesting"
and he said,
1633
01:49:34,500 --> 01:49:38,020
"Guys, you don't need to feel like
you need to make conversation.
1634
01:49:38,055 --> 01:49:40,225
"I'm just so happy that you're here,
1635
01:49:40,260 --> 01:49:43,140
"so even if we say nothing,
it's just having these moments. "
1636
01:49:47,020 --> 01:49:50,520
The worst thing was I was
actually on my way to see him,
1637
01:49:50,555 --> 01:49:54,020
and I was about 300 yards away
when Peter Freestone rang me
1638
01:49:54,055 --> 01:49:56,500
to tell me, "Don't bother coming
cos he's gone. "
1639
01:50:08,660 --> 01:50:11,220
It was me who wrote
the little epitaph
1640
01:50:11,255 --> 01:50:13,465
that's on his statue in Montreux
1641
01:50:13,500 --> 01:50:17,820
which just says, "Freddie Mercury,
Lover of Life - Singer of Songs. "
1642
01:50:20,420 --> 01:50:24,100
To me, that sums him up
because he lived life to the full,
1643
01:50:24,135 --> 01:50:27,140
there's no question,
with all that that entailed.
1644
01:50:28,500 --> 01:50:33,500
He was a generous man, a kind man,
an impatient man sometimes,
1645
01:50:33,535 --> 01:50:36,820
but utterly dedicated to what
he felt was important,
1646
01:50:36,855 --> 01:50:38,620
which was making music.
1647
01:50:50,740 --> 01:50:55,860
We made the announcement that we were going to do
a tribute concert to him when we felt that we could,
1648
01:50:55,895 --> 01:50:58,677
to send him out in the style
which he deserved.
1649
01:50:58,712 --> 01:51:01,460
We hope that a lot of you will
be able to join us
1650
01:51:01,495 --> 01:51:03,625
on April 20th at Wembley Stadium
1651
01:51:03,660 --> 01:51:07,020
for a celebration of Freddie's
life and career.
1652
01:51:07,055 --> 01:51:09,260
You're all welcome. Please join us.
1653
01:51:09,295 --> 01:51:10,585
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1654
01:51:10,620 --> 01:51:15,260
So we drew up a list of people
that we'd like to be on the show.
1655
01:51:15,295 --> 01:51:16,705
Roger got the ball rolling.
1656
01:51:16,740 --> 01:51:20,740
Roger got up one morning and said, "Look,
we're doing this. " And made a few phone calls.
1657
01:51:20,775 --> 01:51:24,740
And Brian said, "Well,
if you can get that lot, I'll come. "
1658
01:51:24,775 --> 01:51:27,380
On stage, Mr Roger Daltrey!
1659
01:51:30,500 --> 01:51:33,020
Mr Robert Plant, thank you!
1660
01:51:35,140 --> 01:51:36,620
Mr David Bowie!
1661
01:51:38,020 --> 01:51:39,105
And...
1662
01:51:39,140 --> 01:51:47,180
# Any way the wind
blo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ows! #
1663
01:51:48,380 --> 01:51:52,540
We got a date, Wembley Stadium... Had to
be Wembley Stadium, didn't it? Had to be.
1664
01:51:52,575 --> 01:51:55,140
The scene of Freddie's
greatest triumphs.
1665
01:52:01,140 --> 01:52:03,105
A lot of amazing things happened.
1666
01:52:03,140 --> 01:52:07,020
I'd like to offer something,
in a very simple fashion.
1667
01:52:08,260 --> 01:52:13,140
David Bowie spontaneously went into the
Lord's Prayer which was a surprise to us all.
1668
01:52:13,175 --> 01:52:15,460
For thine is the kingdom,
1669
01:52:15,495 --> 01:52:16,657
the power
1670
01:52:16,692 --> 01:52:17,785
and the glory
1671
01:52:17,820 --> 01:52:20,060
for ever and ever,
1672
01:52:20,095 --> 01:52:22,557
A- men.
1673
01:52:22,592 --> 01:52:24,985
APPLAUSE
1674
01:52:25,020 --> 01:52:26,500
God bless Queen.
1675
01:52:28,140 --> 01:52:29,825
God bless you.
1676
01:52:29,860 --> 01:52:31,300
Thank you, good night.
1677
01:52:33,860 --> 01:52:36,340
I want to hear every single person.
1678
01:52:36,375 --> 01:52:38,820
See every single pair of hands.
1679
01:52:38,855 --> 01:52:41,145
Three, four.
1680
01:52:41,180 --> 01:52:44,340
# Find me somebody to love
1681
01:52:44,375 --> 01:52:47,497
# Find me somebody to love
1682
01:52:47,532 --> 01:52:50,696
# Find me somebody to love
1683
01:52:50,731 --> 01:52:53,860
# Find me somebody to love
1684
01:52:53,895 --> 01:52:55,585
# Somebody! Somebody!
1685
01:52:55,620 --> 01:52:58,740
# Somebody! Somebody!
Somebody! Somebody!
1686
01:52:58,775 --> 01:53:01,985
# Somebody find me
somebody to love
1687
01:53:02,020 --> 01:53:08,500
# Anybody find
me-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e...
1688
01:53:11,380 --> 01:53:17,020
# Somebody to-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o... #
1689
01:53:17,055 --> 01:53:18,225
Come on!
1690
01:53:18,260 --> 01:53:20,105
# Lo-o-o-o-ve. #
1691
01:53:20,140 --> 01:53:21,985
'It was completely cathartic. '
1692
01:53:22,020 --> 01:53:24,380
It was like working out
a bit of grief in a way.
1693
01:53:24,415 --> 01:53:25,660
Yeah!
1694
01:53:26,620 --> 01:53:32,380
# Somebody find me
somebody to-oo-oo love
1695
01:53:33,540 --> 01:53:37,260
# Find me somebody to-oo-oo love
Oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh!
1696
01:53:37,295 --> 01:53:43,060
# Find me is somebody, somebody
1697
01:53:43,095 --> 01:53:45,585
# To-oo-oo love
1698
01:53:45,620 --> 01:53:50,500
# Anybody anywhere find me
somebody to love
1699
01:53:50,535 --> 01:53:52,985
# Yeah, yeah
1700
01:53:53,020 --> 01:53:58,640
# O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh
1701
01:53:58,675 --> 01:54:04,260
# O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh. #
1702
01:54:04,295 --> 01:54:08,340
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1703
01:54:12,620 --> 01:54:14,625
And I remember just as we were
coming off,
1704
01:54:14,660 --> 01:54:17,540
Joe Elliott from Def Leopard
put his hand on my arm
1705
01:54:17,575 --> 01:54:18,785
and said, "Stop, Brian,
1706
01:54:18,820 --> 01:54:22,500
"just turn around and look at that
audience and remember this moment.
1707
01:54:25,700 --> 01:54:28,140
"Nothing like this
will ever happen again. "
1708
01:54:42,580 --> 01:54:46,020
'The incredible thing is, it's 40
years since the band was formed.
1709
01:54:46,055 --> 01:54:50,105
'The band is probably
as big as it's ever been. '
1710
01:54:50,140 --> 01:54:52,985
And yet 20 of those 40 years
have been without Freddie.
1711
01:54:53,020 --> 01:54:56,980
We don't have John either because he's
chosen to be in a very different place.
1712
01:54:57,015 --> 01:54:58,745
For Roger and I...
1713
01:54:58,780 --> 01:55:02,020
there is always that searching.
1714
01:55:03,140 --> 01:55:06,660
# The show must go on! #
1715
01:55:08,740 --> 01:55:13,060
What's lurking in the wings was the material
we'd done with Freddie which was unfinished,
1716
01:55:13,095 --> 01:55:15,620
and what were we going to do with
this, make an album?
1717
01:55:15,655 --> 01:55:18,505
Made In Heaven
was obviously different.
1718
01:55:18,540 --> 01:55:22,640
It was very weird working with Freddie's
voice coming out of the speakers
1719
01:55:22,675 --> 01:55:26,740
but Brian and I felt that we knew
what Freddie would have been thinking
1720
01:55:26,775 --> 01:55:29,500
so we got there and I was
very pleased with the result.
1721
01:55:29,535 --> 01:55:32,185
I feel like it was
the right completion.
1722
01:55:32,220 --> 01:55:35,980
It was, um... it was the right
album to finish up on.
1723
01:55:40,980 --> 01:55:44,980
Once you've passed your initiation into
being a rock star, it never leaves you.
1724
01:55:45,015 --> 01:55:48,980
You cannot stop having that feeling
inside you that makes you want to play.
1725
01:55:49,015 --> 01:55:51,345
# The show must go on! #
1726
01:55:51,380 --> 01:55:54,500
When we did the Paul Rodgers
tour, it was great, actually.
1727
01:55:54,535 --> 01:55:57,300
Paul was a great singer,
completely different.
1728
01:55:57,335 --> 01:56:03,500
# I've never given in
On with the show
1729
01:56:03,535 --> 01:56:08,105
# The show must go on. #
1730
01:56:08,140 --> 01:56:11,040
It constantly amazes me
to think we were lucky enough
1731
01:56:11,075 --> 01:56:13,905
to be in a great band, to have
a great band together,
1732
01:56:13,940 --> 01:56:17,100
and that, actually, people still
like the music, you know.
1733
01:56:18,380 --> 01:56:20,865
Queen is such a stimulating
creative environment,
1734
01:56:20,900 --> 01:56:24,740
there's really nothing quite
that could live up to that.
1735
01:56:27,100 --> 01:56:31,980
There was a perfect creative
hothouse that was Queen at its best.
1736
01:56:32,940 --> 01:56:36,860
# One dream, one soul
1737
01:56:36,895 --> 01:56:40,745
# One prize, one goal
1738
01:56:40,780 --> 01:56:46,260
# One golden glance of what should be
1739
01:56:46,295 --> 01:56:47,585
# It's a kind of magic
1740
01:56:47,620 --> 01:56:53,140
# One flash of light
that shows the way
1741
01:56:54,380 --> 01:56:57,200
# No mortal man
1742
01:56:57,235 --> 01:56:59,687
# Can win this day
1743
01:56:59,722 --> 01:57:02,731
# It's a kind of magic
1744
01:57:02,766 --> 01:57:05,313
# The bell that rings
1745
01:57:05,348 --> 01:57:07,860
# Inside your mind
1746
01:57:09,140 --> 01:57:11,880
# Is challenging
1747
01:57:11,915 --> 01:57:14,620
# The doors of time
1748
01:57:22,100 --> 01:57:28,945
# This rage that lasts
a thousand years
1749
01:57:28,980 --> 01:57:31,500
# Will soon be, will soon be
Will soon be...
1750
01:57:31,535 --> 01:57:35,260
# Will soon be done
1751
01:57:36,900 --> 01:57:41,120
# Will soon be done
1752
01:57:41,155 --> 01:57:45,305
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1753
01:57:45,340 --> 01:57:50,465
# E-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-up
1754
01:57:50,500 --> 01:57:56,660
# E-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-up
1755
01:57:56,695 --> 01:57:58,057
# E-e-up
E- e-up
1756
01:57:58,092 --> 01:57:59,496
# E-e-up
E- e-up
1757
01:57:59,531 --> 01:58:00,835
# E-e-up
E- e-up
1758
01:58:00,870 --> 01:58:02,525
# Ee-do-ree-ro-re-ro
1759
01:58:02,560 --> 01:58:04,180
# Ee-do-ree-ro-re-ro. #
1760
01:58:04,215 --> 01:58:05,580
Fuck you.
148259
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