Did any American radio stations play new Queen songs after 'Hot Space'?
Supossedely Radio Ga-Ga peaked at #16 on the Billboard singles, so it might have received some airplay, but I wonder if any of the other upcoming singles from 'The Works' to 'Made In Heaven' received any radio airplay when they were released.
Radio GaGa got some play. I Want It All was big on my local rock station and I remember even seeing the video on MTV. Headlong got a decent push on the rock station, enough that they still played it months after it came out. Following BoRap and the Queen resurgence, I even heard Driven by You and Resurrection (single edit) quite a bit in 1993.
Hollywood did a good job of promotion in 1992-1993 when they thought they could make some money. People I knew recognized Brian's TMLWKY when I played it because they had heard it on the radio (though I never did). Now, MIH, I never heard a one song off the album. I think Queen messed up by trying to release TMLWKY and HFE to rock stations and not adult contemporary. I still think that if they had gone the Elton/Sting route and sold their soul to AC Radio, MIH would have been very successful over here.
From that list, it seems that the first single got some attention and play, but after that, things dried up. The exceptions were WATC after BoRap in 1992, and Resurrection, which may have just been my local station.
I also recall the George Michael version of 'Somebody To Love' getting some regular rotation on some Philadelphia-area stations, generally around December 1993. I even remember 'Bohemian Rhapsody' getting some play on MTV, but it was probably due to Wayne's World.
I think Queen would have benefited by either releasing 'I Was Born To Love You' to rock stations or going the AOR route that Zeni suggested.
Well, I really can't remember hearing anything off the AKOM LP, but then again I was in the Navy and wasnt listening to the radio, but I DO remember hearing "I Want It All" before "The Miracle" was released and "Headlong" as well.. and I am sure I heard other songs from those LPs too.. or.. CDs for you younger folk..
I remember Radio Gaga very well -- more so on MTV than radio. (Note to Alanis Morrisette: this is the proper definition of 'irony.') I Want to Break Free had a big video premiere on MTV around Easter 1984. Hammer to Fall did well on the local AOR "Sink or Swim" call-in and One Vision was number ONE for about six weeks straight on the Top 5 at Five for WDVE in Pittsburgh PA Nov, Dec, Jan 1985/86. (That's every day of the work week, folks.) AKOM I heard a few times on the radio that summer, but the neatest thing about that summer was our famiy trip from WV to Vancouver BC, so I heard it on different stations in the midwest and west. I Want It All got some play locally. Headlong got a lot more radio play, I recall. Bless you Brian, I love that song. When Freddie passed the local AOR played "Innuendo" and "Somebody to Love" upon request (my request!). Of course the Wayne's World period was nice as high school and college friends who ridiculed my tastes admitted that "Queen's pretty badass." The headbanger mix of HTF got some play in June 1992. I heard Too Much Love Will Kill You on radio once or twice and on the Greaseman show. These days it's mostly WWRY/WATC, TYMD, SCC, FBG, AOBTD, and the utterly magnificent Under Pressure. Much love to 94.3 WRLF in Fairmont WV for playing great rock n' roll.
IMHO Hollywood's best promotional efforts w/radio were the Queen Rocks samplers with the different playing card designs (hearts, clubs, etc) and the Trent Reznor remix of Stone Cold Crazy, although I didn't hear much of it on the radio. These days the most unusual songs I hear by Queen on AOR are Get Down Make Love and I'm in Love with My Car.
This is related to another thread, but recently there was concern about AMazon reviews dissing Queen and praising Duran Duran. I believe the author of those barely coherent reviews were written by an individual with the initials DMS (middle name Melvin)who lives in Las Vegas NV. He's a DD fan, bitter that his successful marriage and kids eliminated his time with music. So 'Melvin' -- lighten up -- we can find you!
My sister was in college during the mid-80s and used to make cassettes from songs off the radio that were out during that time. I found them a few years ago up in the closet at my parents' house and found a cassette from the Summer of 1984 with "I Want To Break Free" on it, so it must've got some airplay. There was also a cassette she recorded from '86 with "A Kind Of Magic" on it, so I guess the radio station in Lexington, KY played those songs.
American fans were raised on a diet of hard-rock Queen, which they soaked up.
Somewhere in the middle of Queen having two incredible smash hits in 1979 and 1980 and Freddie growing a mustache, the place went cold on them. Reasoning:
1 - Homophobia; clearly Freddie was a bender and the US rock-buying public couldn't handle that. they had their image of the rock front man and couldn't deal witht heir friends taking the piss out of them for loving a band fronted by a gay man.
2 - Style; there weren't enough people interested in sustaining the disco fad for too long which died out when Travolta started weraring less tight pants. Queen were seen to be shunning rock for disco and suffered.
3 - and my theory:
Homophobia; from the record company. the big-wigs can only have had a huge problem with the gay thing, knowing that around the corner, the AIDS issue was looming large on the horizon. Being aware of future trends and reputations, they didn't want to be seen promoting a band as big as Queen to the biggest record-byuing market in the world - the USA. Prejudices in Europe and South America (and to a certain extent Australasia) were less extant than in the "land of the free" and Queen concentrated their energies on the territories that they knew would be accepting of Freddie.
My two-peennorth, but I'm fairly certain it's close to the mark.
Benn wrote: "American fans were raised on a diet of hard-rock Queen, which they soaked up."
I think that's the clear reason why Queen lost America. They were an amazing rock band, then they were a (singles at least) keyboard heavy band. Homophobia hasn't much to do with good music. I'm pretty certain that the audience that made Queen, whom you called "the US rock-buying public" had an idea that the guy wearing ballet slippers and tights while calling everyone "dear" wasn't a hetero steelworker. They accepted Freddie in the guitar/rock vein, not in the Euro-dance band vein.
"Homophobia; from the record company. the big-wigs can only have had a huge problem with the gay thing, knowing that around the corner, the AIDS issue was looming large on the horizon."
See Elton John, George Michael, Boy George as examples of that theory being shot down. The 80s was still a gay boom-time, and apparently the record industry is the dirtiest, shittiest industry in the world. I think they'd promote a gay guy getting fucked up the ass by a hamster if it could sell records.
I remember I Want it All going to #3 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Radio chart and got tons of play. Headlong was the first single off Innuendo in the US and went to #1 on the same rock radio chart that I Want it All appeared. The title cut did well on rock radio and those two tracks alone were the reason why Innuendo became Queen's first Gold album in the US since The Works. Also, I heard all of Live at Wembley on the radio. I promoted the Hell out of MIH on college radio right when I bought the CD on street date. How MIH hit Gold status in the US in four months of its release still baffles me.
Hammer To fall was played on a regular basis on WNEW in New York, and Radio GaGa was played pretty often on top 40 radio as well as Rock radio.
I rarely heard any song from AKOM played on any station,I heard about 5 songs from AKOM played in succession during a listening party on WNEW, but that was about it.
I Want It All was played by Rock Radio pretty often but Bo Rap was played even more often at the time.
Innuendo and Headlong were pretty big on Rock Radio, namely WNEW.Headlong was played maybe 3 or 4 times a day and I remember hearing Innuendo 4 times during work hours! My coworkers were getting tired of hearing it (mostly Pink Floyd fans).