Say it was Brian or Roger that had gotten ill and passed away... Do you think Fred would have found a replacement and carried on?
I doubt it very much. I actually think he would have settled quite well into old age and would have created more daring works as a solo artist. Unless it was for touring purposes I can't see why he would have needed the Queen banner under which to work.
Let's imagine he did though. Who would he have replaced Brian or Roger with?
As you say, it's more than likely that Freddie would have been able to carry on as a solo artist making the kind of music he liked, even if it wasn't a major success. At the very least he would have been just as productive as Roger.
Freddie's situation would also have been different, because he was the de facto leader of the band. He could have used the Queen name and gain the acceptance of the general public much easier.
There's no reason why he would have been in a band called "Queen + Slash" or "Queen + Paul Kossof", because it just wouldn't have improved the marketing at all. If anything, it would have been Freddie Mercuty & Queen on the insistence of the record company.
Regarding the people he would work with, I don't think it would have mattered to him THAT much. I think he would have been more interested in having a creative partnership with a composer or songwriter, than thinking about which guitarist would be in his band. I think he would have ventured even further into the worlds of classical music and musicals, without Brian and/or Roger pulling the other way.
Would he have gone the 'Elton John route' and collaborated with a lot of the modern day stars across a wide variety of genres? I think he possibly would, and would have be sought after by those people to work with.
Freddie wasn't stupid, he was well aware of the importance of the Queen ''brand'', he also knew his solo stuff didn't sell as well, after a respectful amount of time Queen would have carried on, but without John.
Not a big fan of such topics, but okay, let's do some guess work. Firstly, I think it makes a difference, if it was Brian, Roger or John. I think it would be easier for him to replace Roger or John rather than Brian, simply because of Brian's musical input, very characteristic guitar sound and songwriting skills. Also, I always thought Brian's presence ensured they didn't fall into the trap of becoming a Freddie Mercury backing band, as he balanced some of Freddie's more over the top ideas. Replacing Roger or John would have probably been easier, but I think to lose any of them (or Brian) would have been a great personal loss for Freddie, as he really seemed to care for these guys. Even when he said he couldn't be left alone in the same room with Brian, because sparks would fly ;-) Deep inside, I think he really needed these guys and would find it difficult to introduce someone new to the band after twenty years of working with B, R and J. It could be the beginning of an end, especially that unlike Brian and Roger, he would probably want to carry on making new music and releasing records. With regards to his solo career, I think he would still treat it as a side project, as he knew he was most famous for Queen and nothing could beat that. Even if he teamed up with the Three Tenors, lol. So, to answer your question, yes I think Freddie would have carried on under the Queen banner, but I am not sure if the band would be able to maintain the same level of success, especially if they lost Brian. And, if the record sales of the new line up slumped, I think they would eventually disband (after two or three releases) and Freddie would become a full time solo artist, but he would still perform mainly Queen songs during shows, as this is what he was most known for.
He would have carried on with music and would have performed at the London Olympics opening ceremonies and maybe been a judge on some of the popular singing competition shows. He would have been shocked that princess Diana was killed in a car crash and he would of attended Elton John's wedding. He would of collected more cats.
Agree that it would be easier to replace John or Roger than Brian on a sound level.
Now, Freddie knew that the Queen name was far more important than his own name, that's the reason why he returned to Queen after the Mr Bad Guy album: He knew that he could explore other ideas like Time, Barcelona etc outside Queen and in the end, his greatest exposure would be Queen so yes, Im sure there would be a Queen after Roger or Brian.
k-m wrote:
Not a big fan of such topics, but okay, let's do some guess work. Firstly, I think it makes a difference, if it was Brian, Roger or John. I think it would be easier for him to replace Roger or John rather than Brian, simply because of Brian's musical input, very characteristic guitar sound and songwriting skills. Also, I always thought Brian's presence ensured they didn't fall into the trap of becoming a Freddie Mercury backing band, as he balanced some of Freddie's more over the top ideas. Replacing Roger or John would have probably been easier, but I think to lose any of them (or Brian) would have been a great personal loss for Freddie, as he really seemed to care for these guys. Even when he said he couldn't be left alone in the same room with Brian, because sparks would fly ;-) Deep inside, I think he really needed these guys and would find it difficult to introduce someone new to the band after twenty years of working with B, R and J. It could be the beginning of an end, especially that unlike Brian and Roger, he would probably want to carry on making new music and releasing records. With regards to his solo career, I think he would still treat it as a side project, as he knew he was most famous for Queen and nothing could beat that. Even if he teamed up with the Three Tenors, lol. So, to answer your question, yes I think Freddie would have carried on under the Queen banner, but I am not sure if the band would be able to maintain the same level of success, especially if they lost Brian. And, if the record sales of the new line up slumped, I think they would eventually disband (after two or three releases) and Freddie would become a full time solo artist, but he would still perform mainly Queen songs during shows, as this is what he was most known for.
I agree with that, only that I think taht Roger would be harder to replicate soundwise!
You are right with the musical input but not the sound input.
In all these coverband I always saw guitarist who where getting that Brian tone quite well, but not once have I heard one guy playing the grooves ar Roger, and without a drummer, a band falls apart.
It would just sound more different without him I think.
The Who never sounded the same after Keith Moon died, but on the solo tours of the singer, the guitarparts sounded pretty much right, just as an example