In a recent poll conducted by Betfair, (Who?) Brits were asked to choose their favorite band of all time and Queen were crowned with that honor, beating out both The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
That doesn't offend me. I've loved the band from Day Two. Or should I say, "Queen II." I'm more offended by Oasis coming in at #6 and Led Zeppelin coming in at #10.
I had a flashback to forty years ago, sitting in front of my stereo listening to the just released new Queen record, "Hot Space" and after three or four songs, I said out loud to no one, "What the fuck is this shit?"
After "A Night At The Opera" exploded in 1975, even the follow-up "A Day At The Races" seemed like a disappointment. Then, "News Of The World" felt just a bit weaker than "A Day At The Races." Then "Jazz" a little bit worse than "News Of The World." Finally, in 1980, "The Game" put them back on the map temporarily, thanks to an unlikely hit written by bass player John Deacon. "Another One Bites The Dust" surprised everyone. If you look at original copies of the album, that track isn't even mentioned on the hype sticker.
This disco hit reached a new, different audience, for better or worse. Freddie Mercury changed.
By "Hot Space," the band's legendary "No Synthesizers" disclaimer now seemingly out the window, Queen were a wholly different band than what I had fallen in love with just a little less than ten years prior. "Hot Space" was a hot mess of cheesy dance rhythms, third rate new wave and cheap sounding rockers. Not even the hit Bowie duet, "Under Pressure" could save it.
Some blamed Freddie's moustache. But it was the music. No question.
Queen was dead to me.
Queen were so over in America, they were giving tickets away for their show at Madison Square Garden.
I don't recall the circumstances, the how or why I managed to be a "guest" at the MSG show. It was most likely a radio or record store giveaway. I was happy to see the band live, "Hot Space" be damned. My girlfriend at the time was more interested in the opener, Billy Squier. That was a fight that lasted through the encore.
My memories of the performance are vague. I do still have mental snapshots of Freddie prancing around, holding that mic stand skyward and working the crowd. But I can remember earlier performances of Queen with more detail than this particular show.
This was the last time Queen played live in America.
It was forty years ago today, that Queen played NYC for the very last time.
Forty years later, and my mind has changed about the entire Queen catalogue. Those records that came immediately after "A Night At The Opera" are essential. Even "Jazz" has its charms. As for "Hot Space," that's a tough spin. It might make a terrific Spandau Ballet or Heaven 17 record, but the cringeworthy moments outweigh the good. It was the final nail in the coffin for Queen in America.
Queen never came back in the USA after that record. They switched labels after nine records for Elektra and signed with Capitol. Their first for their new label was "The Works" and it was somewhat back to basics; a perfectly fine new Queen record. Capitol didn't care. No tour. No record sales.
The success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" is mind-boggling. When I first heard a movie was being made, I immediately thought, "This won't be good." But it was. It was better than good, even if it messes around with more than a few facts.
Queen are more popular than ever, and that best explains the vote. 50 years after their debut and 30 years after the death of their front man, one of the greatest front men in rock and roll, Queen continues to sell out football stadiums and sales of their "Greatest Hits" LP just passed the 7,000,000 mark.
So much for 1982.
7 comments:
I was in the middle of a Hollywood rockabilly revival when "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" shared the airwaves with "Another One Bites The Dust". Fit right in next to The Clash's "Magnificent Seven" and "Brand New Cadillac", but I didn't buy the album. While I loved "Sheer Heart Attack", and "A Night At The Opera", things just went downhill from there and I lost interest.
Good post! The first 6 are the ones for me, solid stuff. Sheer Heart Attack being my favorite.
I was at Live Aid in Philly in 1985. It was a hot and sultry day and Queen's Wembley set was in the middle of the afternoon. But they certainly woke everyone up in Philly even it was only on the (rather small) Jumbotron.
My Queen trajectory is basically the same as yours except I started with their debut album because of "Keep Yourself Alive" Loved the album but Queen II really sealed the deal and it just kept getting better with "Sheer Heart Attack", "A Night at the Opera", "A Day at the Races", even "News of the World", although there were signs of trouble. Things went downhill from there although there were some scattered gems. The wheels came completely off on "Hot Space" with the exception of the brilliant "Under Pressure". I think I played it once and it has been in its sleeve for the last 40 years. I played the single whenever I wanted to hear "... Pressure". I do blame the mustache,
I never understood the popularity of their later stuff like "Radio GaGa", "I Want to Break Free", "A Kind of Magic", "I Want It All". etc. but those damned Brits ate that shit up.
If anyone wants to buy a pristine copy of the "Hot Space" let me know. ;-)
Anything after "A Day At The Races" and you can forget it.
Queen at Live Aid was the revelation to me. They woke everyone up and it demonstrated how a band could be HUGE in one part of the world (Europe) and not huge elsewhere (the US). They've always been beloved in the UK and right up there in terms of popularity with all the others. Ironically, A Night At The Opera and News of the World were much bigger sellers in the US than the UK (even taking into account the sizes of the countries). They're all about the singles: Greatest Hits is now 9 times platinum in the US...and 23 times platinum in the UK.
Excellent piece! Very little stands out for me on their last three albums, and "Another One..." isn't one of them.
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