I know the guys had been going through a rocky spell after Hot Space, and although things picked up with The Works and Rock in Rio I think that they may have thought it was time for something new. Bearing in mind they lost alot of America due to the I want to break free video.
Hmm... it's possible. But usually they'd take the time to be apart to sort their heads out. But Freddie said it best, "Why kill the goose that laid the golden egg?"
Peace,
Adam.
Was the IWTBF video REALLY the deal breaker in the States? That was before my time (I was just a kid at the time). It seems to me that the concept rock album, which Queen was so great at, kind of had its time by the end of the 70's and then onslaught of disco/new-wave/punk/etc. Spelled a huge shift in the FM airwaves away from acts like Queen.
In addition, Queen themselves were shifting drastically away from their 70's sounds that built their US fan base. So, in many ways they were starting from scratch in the US in the 80s and simply competing with a lot more genres out there.
If that video truly was the end of Queen in the states, well, then I'm just that more embarrassed for living here. ;o)
As for doing something new, I have a hunch that all 4 members realized that while they all had unique talents, nothing would really compare to the four of them working together.
No. As Adam said, I think they would have sorted it out. They wouldn't have given up at that point, after all the time they'd already been together and achieved so much. They would've taken a break, maybe a quite long one but they would've got back to work together, I believe.
I don't think they would've thrown in the towel. They've said before that 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts', and I can't see them giving up just because of a setback. They probably would've gone their separate ways for a year or so, but come back to the band in the end.
...though I still wonder if that is more of an excuse. They're music certainly changed drastically in the 80's. I'd still have to think that that was a major cause of their fan base shift as well.
I don't think so. The members of Queen would break out in fights sometimes if they didn't agree and even walk out..but they would always come back together...atleast that's what I hear from many resources...
I think that Queen was near separation in 1985 and that's why there was the complete works. The Works didn't work well in usa, even less than hot space. Also, there were tensions between the members because freddie still wanted something "disco" (as "Mr Bad Guy") and the others wanted something more "heavy rock"...
They would take some rest but split definitively not.After all,Queen was their creature,the sum of them,emphatised on "The Miracle" cover album.It's like to be in a family.Some day you're gonna come back,in a way or another.
I think not. I think like Brian said they felt they were getting to their pinicle. If live aid hadnt happened, they would have taken another break and begun again in the later eighties.
joeyjojo wrote: Was the IWTBF video REALLY the deal breaker in the States? That was before my time (I was just a kid at the time).
Here's a view from an American old enough to be aware of what was happenning at the time. . .
The topic of homosexuality in the US at that time did not have the level of attention and awareness it has today in the media. So, it was a BIG deal.
There was a growing awareness here that Freddie was a homosexual and that video served to confirm the horrible suspicions of all the male chauvanist, women-exploiting rock'n roll headbangers who loved it when Queen put posters of nude female bicycle racers in their ablum sleeves.
Right or wrong, stupid or not, most Americans took it as Queen saying "accept THIS". And Rock'n roller Americans took that as a huge insult to their womanizing sensibilities. As long as Queen were doing the naked lady bicycle races body language video stuff, all was well.
At that time of the IWTBF video, I was 16 or 17 and had been a Queen fan since '74. I was usually considered the oddball for being a Queen fan. I couldn't have cared less (and still don't) about Freddies personal tendencies and understood that video was Queen was just being Queen and being very British (didn't anyone here watch Monty Python?!) - but I just KNEW how most people here were going to react to that video. It didn't surprise me. It didn't appear that Queen was hurt by it at all, though.
Well, I believe the strongest bond became Freddie's illness. From the GVH II DVD we know that Freddie firstly made innuendoes about his health during the Magic tour. And I like the idea that all of them decided to stay´together from that point on. If Freddie had not been ill, we might have seen some more solo productions and maybe John would have left in the late 80ies.
But they would never have said goodbye to Queen forever.
Well, just my point of view.