| Deakys Mushroom Trip 18.05.2019 16:06 |
Whats your thoughts on where Freddie's career would have gone if he had never gotten ill? I'd assume Queen would probably have toured up till the early ninities and may still record every now and then but I don't think he would have continued the way The Stones, McCartney or The Who have. The move into opera would still have happened and I think he'd proabably have embraced that more in later years and although he would never have authorised the musical 'We Will Rock You', I can see him moving into composing for theatre, similar to Andrew Lloyd Webber. His social circles were more in line with the theatre world than rock and he continually said he didn't want to be old onstage looking ridiculous. Thoughts? Looking at his social |
| Dougie 4 18.05.2019 16:41 |
I don't know about theatre but one of Freddie's unfulfilled wishes was to collaborate with Aretha Franklin. Just my opinion, but I think Freddie would have done more such collaborations and more of his own music...I can see him writing music for ballet or some choreographed theatrical pieces may be. It makes me feel sad to ponder on what all he could have done...he was such a bundle of creative and curious energy so he definitely would have experimented |
| Star* 18.05.2019 17:04 |
Yes Freddie said he would not be running all over the stage in old age as it would be ridiculous but May & Taylor still do! Perhaps Freddie would have liked to work behind the curtain or even writing songs for other artists, the world was his oyster as he was a very clever man! |
| dysan 18.05.2019 19:48 |
2164th post? |
| Iron Butterfly 18.05.2019 20:12 |
I really don't know..but I hope he would have been involved in music in some way, shape or form. Producing and writing for other artists, music for movies. I would hope Queen would have stayed together making music. Possibly a follow up to Barcelona... Thanking about what if, is always bittersweet. |
| bucsateflon 18.05.2019 20:41 |
Theater world and operatic stuff, solo projects were fluff and would have been fluff if continued. Hes only commercial success and main recognition would be only by rocking with Queen. |
| mooghead 18.05.2019 21:24 |
Seeing how the biggest bands now make hundreds of millions doing big world tours I fear they would have become another Rolling Stones and churned out tour after tour due to greed. |
| dysan 18.05.2019 21:26 |
John would've left anyway. Like Bill left the Stones. The three others absolutely crave attention and would've continued touring. They wouldn't be as big as they are now. |
| Dougie 4 19.05.2019 07:12 |
@Ramnes: Yes, I too remember he had said in an interview that he wouldn't be running around a stage all his life |
| spiralstatic 19.05.2019 07:24 |
I wonder if Freddie would have written an opera one day. Compare artists today such as Rufus Wainwright and Neil Hannon who have. Written a full opera, designed the costumes... maybe got someone to add some ballet in there. I can totally imagine Freddie doing this at some point. A more uncertain question for me is - had Freddie never been ill, would Queen even have made it to 1990 or would they have split up before then? I don't know. It feels pretty certain John would have left the band. But the rest of them too... it seems far from certain in my mind they'd have kept going together. There's the rub though - anything we say is mere speculation. |
| Star* 19.05.2019 07:55 |
Dysan If Freddie had been around now Queen would have been massive even more so than the 70s and 80s. Surely the release of "Bohemian Rhapsody" film has proven the world adores and misses Freddie on a massive scale. Without Freddie the magic is not there! |
| dysan 19.05.2019 07:57 |
Yeah but look at it like this... if Freddie didn't die tragically, and they just churned out albums every 3 years a patchy as they had done up until that point I doubt the movie would've been made. |
| dudeofqueen 19.05.2019 11:43 |
I think so, yes. Barcelona had given him the taste for something else above the plain plane of rock and roll. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber would have gotten hold of him (ha ha - literally!) and found a way to develop his vocak style for the theatre. Having said that, I don't think he'd have been able to put aside his "Freddie-sms" as a performer to then be disciplined enough to work in the structured framework of a West End / Broadway troupe. I reckon he'd have looked (and, crucially, felt) incredibly awkward. I really don't think he'd have been able to learn the skills as a theatre performer (physically) that late in life to be anything other than a cameo performer and that would have been a real shame. Still, with unrestricted access to lycra-clad young boys ("Bring me another; this one is broken!"), endless supplies of cocaine and parties to render a diary meaningless, I reckon Fred would have managed to squeeze them all in. Might possibly have affected his buoyancy though....... |
| dudeofqueen 19.05.2019 12:45 |
spiralstatic, re: >I wonder if Freddie would have written an opera one day. Compare artists today such as Rufus Wainwright and Neil Hannon who have. Written a full opera, designed the costumes... maybe got someone to add some ballet in there. I can totally imagine Freddie doing this at some point. From the man that claimed his songs were like Bic razors and then wrote Delilah? He wasn't anywhere near as talented, stylistically or lyrically as Pete Townshend and neither was he influenced by someone like a Kit Lambert to give him an insight in to the process. |
| Star* 19.05.2019 16:06 |
Freddie was incredibly talented as a song writer after all he got Queen in to the big time with those first few singles and Pete Townsend is no where near as talented as Freddie was. Are you for real or what??? |
| Dougie 4 19.05.2019 16:17 |
Freddie wrote Delilah when he was dying and she was a source of comfort to him ...you can't use that particular song as an example to critique Freddie as a lyricist. Over all, in his career he gave some very well written songs although he admitted lyrics weren't hid strong point. But as a music composer he was a genius. |
| bucsateflon 19.05.2019 16:23 |
again... writing lyrics and writing music are 2 mostly distinct acts |
| The Real Wizard 19.05.2019 18:35 |
Ramnes wrote: Freddie was incredibly talented as a song writer after all he got Queen in to the big time with those first few singles and Pete Townsend is no where near as talented as Freddie was. Are you for real or what???Considering most of the post-mod British rock bands modeled themselves after The Who in some way, once again you're displaying your ignorance of music history. Even the guys in Queen have said The Who were a better live band than they were. |
| mooghead 19.05.2019 21:10 |
No. Queen would have gone for the hundrends of millions by doing world tours. No amount of money would have been enough. They want more. If Freddie hadn't have died they would have gone on world tour after world tour. |
| Makka 20.05.2019 02:43 |
mooghead wrote: No. Queen would have gone for the hundrends of millions by doing world tours. No amount of money would have been enough. They want more. If Freddie hadn't have died they would have gone on world tour after world tour.So musicians going out and doing what they love you mean? |
| mooghead 20.05.2019 06:32 |
Yeah. Making shit loads of cash. |
| spiralstatic 20.05.2019 06:50 |
dudeofqueen wrote: spiralstatic, re: >I wonder if Freddie would have written an opera one day. Compare artists today such as Rufus Wainwright and Neil Hannon who have. Written a full opera, designed the costumes... maybe got someone to add some ballet in there. I can totally imagine Freddie doing this at some point. From the man that claimed his songs were like Bic razors and then wrote Delilah? He wasn't anywhere near as talented, stylistically or lyrically as Pete Townshend and neither was he influenced by someone like a Kit Lambert to give him an insight in to the process.Well one bonus of writing an opera is you don't usually write lyrics to it. For an opera, you usually take a story that already exists and make a libretto (the words.) . I imagine someone else would have done that for Freddie. Musically, I think Freddie was a brilliant musician and could have done it. I don't say it would have been the best opera ever - but I can imagine him giving it a go and whether amazing or rubbish, taking on such a challenge. Probably not totally alone. He could work with an orchestrator for example. Regarding a musical, again, I could potentially imagine him writing one, but not performing in one. He spoke numerous times of how he could never do the same show night after night... and matinees too!? No way! I can imagine it less so than opera myself, but it's all only speculation anyway. Regarding the discussion of how famous and relevant Queen would be if they were still all alive now... I mean, it's an unfortunate truth, but it is death that makes people into legends most of the time. Very few people transcend that. I just feel how Queen were in the mid-late '80's... I just imagine them having split up anyway... albeit they may have well reunited again a decade later, or by now (but maybe John-less??) But even if they had continued, I think they'd have never become cool and the main thing is would they ever have written great music again? Innuendo (even The Miracle) musically - they wouldn't have had the same drive to create those things. Rog and Bri have all the money in the world now and Rog has even spoken of how they are creatively past their peak... It must be a strange thing to know deep down inside for Bri, Rog and John - that the sheer level of your fame and wealth and popularity now is not only in large part down to Freddie, but literally because he is dead. Not that Freddie was Queen at all - it was all of them, but you know - how life is is what it becomes. |
| bucsateflon 20.05.2019 08:47 |
"If Freddie lived" parallel universe matter was dealt with here, and it came to a very plausible scenario. link no theater and opera fluff... |
| dysan 20.05.2019 08:50 |
Would he have done Barcelona if his time wasn't limited? He seemed quite happy in his light disco pop malaise until his impending doom raised its head. Same with Bowie - He returned in after a decade in 2013 with the same bland rock / pop he was doing in 2003 - then suddenly switched it up with Blackstar when he knew he was boned. Bless them both. *doffs hat* |
| dudeofqueen 20.05.2019 08:53 |
Ramnes, re: >Freddie was incredibly talented as a song writer after all he got Queen in to the big time with those first few singles and Pete Townsend is no where near as talented as Freddie was. Are you for real or what??? You're a fucking idiot. I'm not going to go in to the full justification of WHY you're wrong, but one very quick look into Townshend's output as a writer and as a multi-instrumentalist and INNOVATOR will tell you all you need to know. The bootleg of Pete's Demos for The Who "The Genuine Scoop" has more material on there than Mercury created in his entire career; this just scratches the surface and doesn't even take into account his solo work. |
| aristide1 20.05.2019 09:44 |
The comparison with Townshend is totally meaningless and kind of stupid, which is to be expected from a very stupid man. As for the smart guy who supports it, he forgets that Townshend was great when the target for greatness was lower than today. You may say that both Townshend and Mercury have pushed that target higher. If Freddie would have wrote an opera, it would have been in the 90's or 2000's. So if you are in the mood for imaginary comparisons, then pick up the right musician. |
| thomasquinn 32989 20.05.2019 10:03 |
I don't know what's more stunning, the incredible stupidity of aristide1, or the stupendously high opinion he has of himself despite all the evidence to the contrary he constantly provides. This is as close to a textbook example of the Dunning-Kruger effect as you're ever going to get in real life.
I'd just like to lift one quote that's so laughably stupid that it merits a spotlight:
he forgets that Townshend was great when the target for greatness was lower than today.I don't even want to seriously consider what kind of deranged pseudo-logic you have to apply to reach that conclusion. |
| dysan 20.05.2019 10:26 |
I don't like The Who. Musically it's difficult for me to see them in the same bracket as Queen. But of course the stuff I like I do really like - and as musicians and pioneers I respect them greatly. Just my 2 bobs worth. |
| aristide1 20.05.2019 11:10 |
Maybe except quoting and laughing you should articulate a few words to support your view. I may only guess you are claiming that Townsend is as great today (and will ever be) as it was in the early 70s. If you think it's true then why don't you say it, what are you afraid of, looking stupid? Too late. |
| thomasquinn 32989 20.05.2019 11:12 |
dysan wrote: I don't like The Who. Musically it's difficult for me to see them in the same bracket as Queen. But of course the stuff I like I do really like - and as musicians and pioneers I respect them greatly. Just my 2 bobs worth.I'm not a great fan either (I don't really *dislike* them), but that's, for me at least, entirely separate from gauging their qualities. Roger Daltrey was a pretty great vocalist, and Townshend's writing and playing were both in a completely different league from most of his contemporaries, not to mention Entwistle and Moon. Likewise, I think Eric Clapton is a huge asshole and I don't like most of his music, but he's an absolute ace guitarist. I don't like Prince's music at all, but he was a true musical genius, a brilliant guitarist and an innovator like few others. Taste and quality are different things. Les Paul was perhaps the greatest innovator in the world of guitars and studio recording that ever lived, but the man had no taste in music whatsoever. |
| thomasquinn 32989 20.05.2019 11:16 |
aristide1 wrote: Maybe except quoting and laughing you should articulate a few words to support your view. I may only guess you are claiming that Townsend is as great today (and will ever be) as it was in the early 70s. If you think it's true then why don't you say it, what are you afraid of, looking stupid? Too late.1) Your post doesn't even have internal logic (first the standards were lower in the '70s, now it's suddenly about his qualities today as compared to the '70s), let alone merit enough to warrant consideration. 2) You're not really worthy of a serious rebuttal, as you are only capable of cheap insults and incoherent babbling, so no, I'm not going to engage in what you believe to be a discussion for more or less the same reasons that I don't usually engage in debates on the relative merits of various types of microphones with ill-mannered five-year-olds. |
| aristide1 20.05.2019 12:00 |
It sounds like an official document, I'm glad there is no fine attached. The "incoherent babbling" comes from the fact that I have below average English skills. It's not politically correct to sanction this. A funny thing is that people suddenly don't understand what I'm saying when they don't like what I'm saying. How intriguing. Another linguistically intriguing thing is that a native English speaker used the word "merit" twice in only two phrases. If your logic is limited, at least you vocabulary should be extensive. |
| Vocal harmony 20.05.2019 16:58 |
Ramnes wrote: Freddie was incredibly talented as a song writer after all he got Queen in to the big time with those first few singles and Pete Townsend is no where near as talented as Freddie was. Are you for real or what???"Townsend is no where near as talented as Freddie. . . " that is a hugely sweeping statement. Maybe you should go and listen to The Who albums from about 67 through the 70's Freddie may have written some amazing songs and performed them brilliantly, but Pete Townsend was writing whole albums, are you seriously going to claim something like Tommy is not as well written or performed as anything Queen did. Also as a live band The Who were a hell of a force, right through to the mid 90's when John Entwiste died they were still playing with the aggression and power of 20 year old punks and the musicality of a band like Led Zeppelin. As someone has already said, they were a band that Brian, Freddie and Roger went to see live and were inspired by and that inspiration started with Pete Townsend's musical vision and writing. The only weakness Townsend exhibited was his lead playing live during some shows and on some songs. |
| bucsateflon 20.05.2019 17:23 |
Pete Townsend better lyric writer and guitar playing. Freddie better vocalist, stage performer, piano player, arranger, music making/production. right? |
| Chopin1995 20.05.2019 19:40 |
Ramnes wrote: Freddie was incredibly talented as a song writer after all he got Queen in to the big time with those first few singles and Pete Townsend is no where near as talented as Freddie was. Are you for real or what???Mispronouncing Pete's surname doesn't make you very credible. |
| Chopin1995 20.05.2019 19:59 |
And while speaking on The Who, I 'discovered' them last year and still listening to them on a daily basis since August. It came to the point when I like them so much that I'm going to spend all my money and see them at Wembley this year. Maybe it's only 2 members but still, I can't believe I'll see these guys who were famous before my parents were even born. And they are still doing it. This might be the only opportunity for me to see them so I don't wanna miss it. Centainly they won't come anywhere near to my country (as they never did) and this is their only European show they seem to be doing this year. Regarding Pete Townshend - I consider him to be an absolutely phenomenal and complete musician. Very clever. Simple word but means a lot in his case. Also, taking advantage of the opportunity, I want to mention his solo band Deep End, which is quite incredible. Probably my 2nd favourite band after Queen. Those few shows they did are astonishing. |