| miraclesteinway 19.05.2020 19:29 |
I'm probably very late to the party on this one, but this 1993 interview is very interesting to me. Reading between the lines it seems that there was - if not friction, at least major disagreement between Brian and Roger on the future of Queen. Roger says: Brian didn't want to do the Freddie tribute, but ultimately John did. The time had come to consider Queen's future as a touring band and Roger wouldn't rule out Queen going on the road "with or without Brian", indicating that at that time at least, Roger and John had not ruled out that possibility with each other? Or was Roger just talking to fill the space? Brian disagreed with the way Roger had formed "The Cross" Roger had said that he waited a bit longer to release his solo album so that it didn't look like he was cashing in in the wake of Freddie's death. Was this perhaps a little dig at Brian who had released his solo album much sooner? Or was Brian's solo album scheduled for 1992 release before Freddie had died? The lead single, Driven By You, was released on November 6th 1991 which although was only 3 weeks before Freddie died, was also only one or two weeks after Greatest Hits II anyway. Anyway there are other things in the interview that are illuminating. You know what? Roger actually comes across as a really lovely and genuine person here, far less defensive than Brian - but to be fair to Brian he also admits he can be standoffish and suffers depression. I'm not sure but I think the journalist might be Rudi? So that might explain why he's getting away with asking such probing questions. I imagine if Brian had been asked some of the same questions he'd have ended the interview, especially at that time when he was somewhat more fragile. Don't get me wrong, I like Brian - well what I see of him in public, I've only met him, incredibly briefly, once, and he wouldn't remember it, after a gig in Glasgow when his rhythm guitarist took ill so he was in a rush to get away. But this interview from Roger is very honest it seems. link |
| Negative Creep 19.05.2020 22:35 |
Yeah, it's really interesting how Roger and John were still close following Freddie's death, but following MIH and Brian coming back into the fold he backed off. It's a shame Brian left it too late to return to the Queen brand. One album in the mid-late 90's with just the 3 of them had the potential to be amazing and would have been massive. Even Roger got lots of press and media appearances doing his solo stuff. Instead he waited until neither he nor Roger were creatively inspired or capable of writing anything worthwhile and had to the sour things with bringing in a new frontman and John being long gone. The album was bad, but it was released when live shows were a bigger draw than albums. |
| The Real Wizard 20.05.2020 01:17 |
miraclesteinway wrote: I'm not sure but I think the journalist might be Rudi?Definitely not Rudi. As it fades out you hear him asking for a radio ID. It's a DJ. As for Brian's solo stuff - it was done with Mercury's blessing, which Roger must have been unaware of at the time. One of the last conversations Brian had with Mercury was asking about precisely this thing, to which Mercury quipped "don't be ridiculous darling, what better publicity could you ask for?" Also - post this at queenforum.net and you're bound to get a far better response, as 90 something percent of this forum's members have migrated there. |
| miraclesteinway 20.05.2020 04:48 |
I'll migrate there. Might change my handle. it's about time. |
| MyHumanZoo 20.05.2020 13:07 |
Interesting interview, it does seem sad that maybe if Brian had stayed close after Freddie’s death they may have all recorded and/or toured together. Instead, enough time passed that John lost his zeal and confidence and that was pretty much the end of all 3 working together. |
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| The Real Wizard 20.05.2020 21:13 |
MyHumanZoo wrote: Interesting interview, it does seem sad that maybe if Brian had stayed close after Freddie’s death they may have all recorded and/or toured together. Instead, enough time passed that John lost his zeal and confidence and that was pretty much the end of all 3 working together.But it was impossible, as it was part of their grieving process to make solo albums and leave Queen behind for a while. And naturally they all had a different timeline, as everyone grieves differently. Considering what we know now, it's amazing Made In Heaven happened at all. |
| Dim 21.05.2020 05:08 |
It is very natural and healthy to need time and to move forward after big facts has happened. Solo and time breaks with different things to do was for Brian the best for him. Don't forget he had depression. All of them lost a friend, a colleague who had sshred dreams, goals a d achieved success. They lost the voice of their music. Very easy from fan aspect to criticize or ask different things. Also in business matters record company and post homous fame was difficult to deal. Some decisions had to be done, some didn't fit Queen legacy but that's the way it is. |
| miraclesteinway 21.05.2020 22:00 |
Brian has said multiple times that he did not want to be in Queen after Freddie died. There are snippets here and there about them talking about the 'final recordings' or 'final album' as far back as 1992 - at some MTV awards they're asked about it and they said yes there is material but they weren't sure at that point how to finish it. But it seems that Brian doing "Back to the Light" and going out on what was actually a huge tour was definitely him avoiding the Queen album in some sense. It strikes me that Roger took more time over his album and did his tour later simply because that last Queen album was in the way as well. I was aware that Brian had Freddie's backing and approval for his solo album, and I'm sure Roger knew that, but maybe he felt more strongly about it than he realised in the heat of the moment -that's the other thing with an interview, some of the answers only apply to the time at which they come out of the interviewees mouth and after they might think "what did I say that for?". I remember at the time that anything Queen related came out in the wake of Freddie's death they were accused of "cashing in" but honestly I don't think they could have cared about the money by that point, and I really think that the solo albums were because they both felt they had material worthy of release (Brian's was a work of over five years), and the last Queen album couldn't *not* be released, really, and I think they were all being pretty genuine with their intentions of paying tribute to Freddie and their own band at least back in 1995. Now I think they tour because it's fun and they want to, and they've found that the public receives them with open arms (even if QZ doesn't like it!). In the press in 1993/94 there were rumours about Queen hitting the road with who knows - George Michael was one candidate (we've lost him too now of course), and that rumour gained a lot of traction, but it seems that the seed of that rumour was Roger himself saying that Queen may tour again "with or without Brian". Of course Queen isn't REALLY Queen without John and Freddie, but I can't imagine a Queen tour in 1993 being a success unless they had Brian as well since as far as the media was concerned he was the second most famous member of the band. They were each responsible for the trademark Queen sound but that Red Special really does make a song instantly recognisable as Queen, or Brian these days. Well, except there are so many copies of that guitar now.... |
| The Real Wizard 23.05.2020 08:35 |
Dim wrote: They lost the voice of their music. Very easy from fan aspect to criticize or ask different things.Fans are usually the last refuge for demonstrating insight about how the music business or its players function in the best of times, never mind when things are challenging. Fans tend to be myopically obsessed with their favourite musicians and would prefer for their fantasy versions of reality to be true. Anyone who knows better takes it all with an entire shaker of salt. |
| The Real Wizard 23.05.2020 08:52 |
miraclesteinway wrote: it seems that Brian doing "Back to the Light" and going out on what was actually a huge tour was definitely him avoiding the Queen album in some sense. It strikes me that Roger took more time over his albumThey're just completely different scenarios. Brian was already working on BTTL in 1987, and he's been quoted saying how it's a coincidence that he'd finished it just before Mercury's death. Roger worked on Happiness in a whole other mindset. Who knows if Brian could have started working on an album in 92 or 93. Maybe he knew himself well enough to get the hard work done before things really got tough, and that the road would be an escape. Or maybe it wasn't by design at all. I doubt he'd even know now. They were each responsible for the trademark Queen sound but that Red Special really does make a song instantly recognisable as Queen, or Brian these days. Well, except there are so many copies of that guitar now....But you can count on one hand the number of guys who can truly get Brian's sound right. There are a million guys who can do Page or Angus Young, but Brian is in a whole other universe. Even Steve Vai has said he can copy pretty well anyone, but that he can't do Brian. |
| Negative Creep 24.05.2020 11:53 |
The Real Wizard wrote: Also - post this at queenforum.net and you're bound to get a far better response, as 90 something percent of this forum's members have migrated there.Yet you still manage to keep coming here to advertise it, whilst parting your usual pearls of wisdom. 21510 post count says it all. |
| e-man 24.05.2020 13:05 |
the post-tribute pre-MIH period is an interesting one ideed. I'm sure if we had internet / social media back then, we'd know more about what went on behid the scenes... Brian distanced himself from Queen, and went all-in on his solo adventure. With the musical climate changing, as well as being a Queen offshoot, he was never going to be huge, but it's my impression that he did pretty well.... At the same time, it seems Roger and John started working on MIH, and they even appeared live in 93 (or was it 94?) on one of those charity things Roger seems to be associated with. I'm pretty sure it said "Queen" on the ticket..... out of alle the things we can assume exist in the vaults, the Roger/John demos for MIH are perhaps what I'd MOST like to hear. The work they did without Brian is most likely quite different from what the album ended up sounding like. (again, Brian has stated he was reluctant to get involved, but when he heard what Rog/John had done, he felt it was all wrong and got heavily involved very quickly) |
| miraclesteinway 24.05.2020 15:29 |
That's right, Roger and John did appear at something didn't they! I have read that in the past. Honestly for a Queen solo project and tour, Brian's Back To The Light was incredibly successful. Number 6 for the LP in the UK Chart is highly respectable, and both Driven By You and Too Much Love did very well. It might have been fuelled by a demand amongst fans for Queen-related product or it might have just been that it was quite a good fit with some of the lighter heavy rock still popular at that time. I have a suspicion that the Roger and John finishing of Made in Heaven no longer exists. |