| Whisperer 08.01.2005 17:29 |
In 1991 Queen signed a big contract with HR. At this point they all most likely knew that Freddie won't be a round for long. Still they signed a deal on five (could someone confirm?) studio albums. All that HR got was two studio albums. Then they had to release all kinds of compilations. |
| Whisperer 08.01.2005 17:30 |
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| maxpower 08.01.2005 19:25 |
shame on freddie for dying, for fucks sake get a grip |
| Deacons 1st Choice 08.01.2005 19:34 |
Sorry, but it was Hollywood Records who SCREWED QUEEN!! Big time.... |
| My Best Friend 08.01.2005 19:49 |
Everybody screwed each other |
| The Real Wizard 09.01.2005 00:26 |
Good observation, Whisperer. But I'll also agree that in regards to our beloved Queen, Hollywood has definitely not done their fair share of marketing. |
| Maz 09.01.2005 01:48 |
From Hollywood's standpoint, Freddie's death and Wayne's World occurred at just the right time. Within a year of releasing the entire Queen catalogue on CD, Queen's popularity peaked for the first time in a decade. Classic Queen released in February and Greatest Hits released the following September were huge sellers for Hollywood. I bet they got back their investment, and then some, much quicker than anyone expected. Maybe this quick success explains why Hollywood has done little ever since. |
| Awesome-O _4000 09.01.2005 03:07 |
*snort* |
| foxxy_moron 09.01.2005 04:02 |
my Innuendo CD says Hollywood Records in fine print on the back (i read everything) so did they do Innuendo with them? |
| KingMercury 09.01.2005 04:29 |
thinking on all the fucking topics posted lately, we should think that this is one of the most intelligent topics ever posted each one of the qz users will have his opinion about this topic, but the good point of it is that each one of us will have his opinion about if queen screw HR i dont think queen screw HR freddie wasnt well, but nobody knew if he will die in a few months or in 2 or 3 years..only God knew that, and since november 1991 Freddie play live for God and all the souls up there |
| foxxy_moron 09.01.2005 04:32 |
hang on are hollywood peoples even angry about freddie leaving? |
| bitesthedust 09.01.2005 05:06 |
Queen didn't screw HR - just unfortunate that Freddie died in late 1991 and they had to wait 4 years for MIH to come out. When the agreement was made it was to ensure the entire Queen back catalogue was released on cd in the USA as it hadn't been up to that point. They've also released compliations and re-released Wembley 1986 and made loads of money out of it I'm sure. |
| Oberon 09.01.2005 07:27 |
They must have known in 1991 that he was on borrowed time, so I'm sure the deal was structured in such a way as they wouldn't be liable for deceit/fraud if/when Freddie died. If you sign a contract and then get run over or something, you can't really be held responsible, but if you know you're terminally ill and sign a contract you can't honour, then that's a bit dodgy I think, so I'm sure that they covered themselves. So I'm sure that there's no problem with the deal and eveyone's happy with the outcome. |
| bigc 09.01.2005 08:22 |
the deal was signed in around October 1990. did HR know of Freddie's fate? They may have done. But when does a bands material become less lucrative when the singer dies? Never generally. and like someone said, it was the re-releases on CD which were the key part of the deal. my version of Hot Space is a Hollywood Records CD, even though I live in england. I got it from a second hand shop. go me, I get a 1991 remix of body language....2 versions of body language on one CD, worth the price alone! lol |
| Serry... 09.01.2005 10:14 |
They released "Innuendo", "Live at BBC", "Made In Heaven", "Live At Wembley", few compilations like "Classic Queen" and "The Great Pretender", rereleased whole Queen catalogue, all DVDs etc. - so I don't think Queen did what you said... |
| Scirocco1977 09.01.2005 16:36 |
"Sorry darlings, but five records won't be done, cos I will kick the bucket in late 1991." I think that's a sad situation to be in to evaluate the days you have left to live and negotiate a contract. I'm sure HR made a lot of bucks. No matter how pervert it is, but the death of a musician is mostly a boost of PR. All Elvis had to do to be recognised as one of the biggest influence in the music business was dying on his toilet. |
| Boy Thomas Raker 09.01.2005 20:11 |
"All Elvis had to do to be recognised as one of the biggest influence in the music business was dying on his toilet." Unless you are being sarcastic, that is one of the stupidest statements that this increasingly stupid board has ever seen. |
| Deacons 1st Choice 09.01.2005 20:59 |
Yeah, have some respect for The King man! |
| Scirocco1977 10.01.2005 02:31 |
BHM 0271 wrote: "All Elvis had to do to be recognised as one of the biggest influence in the music business was dying on his toilet." Unless you are being sarcastic, that is one of the stupidest statements that this increasingly stupid board has ever seen.I did not mean to say that his best moment was dying on the toilet. I simply meant that his bizarre death boosted his PR. I'm an Elvis guy myself! |
| LittQueenie 10.01.2005 15:14 |
I just love the idea of everybody screwing everybody! lol! JUST kidding...... :-) |
| Deacons 1st Choice 10.01.2005 16:46 |
Well yes then....dying on the toliet is then indeed a wise move from a promotional standpoint then. Nothing like the death of a famous celebrity to start the instant recognition and sales boost. I think Hollywood knew all along that Freddie was ill when they signed that contract...there is no way they could'nt have already known. They were no doubt awaiting his eventual end so they could cash in majorly with the upsale of all things Queen. Cruel yes, but certainly calculated. The remaining memebers may well have secured this deal to insure long time guarenteed royalties which such a deal has certainly brought them since 1991. Hope this does'nt offend some of you...it's just some thoughts i have had pop up in my head every now and again when the topic of Hollywood Records and Queen come up. |
| GiantSpider 10.01.2005 17:43 |
Well since the band knew Freddie was dying from about '88 then it could be argued yeah they did screw HR. But then again nobody knew of Freddie's illness & if they hadn't of signed a huge recording contract people would of began to talk. So basicly they screwed HR for Freddie's sake. |
| flash00 10.01.2005 19:20 |
yea queen knew what they were doing with hollywood-r, i remeber at the time the hr bosses were abit upset that they wernt told, but after that they were not to worried as they would make there money back 20x... back then i think it stated in the music news/press etc queen sold 7million+ records in north america alone in less than 2months! after freddies death, so i think it worked both ways with regards to queen vs hollywood-r... |
| akindofmagic 10.01.2005 23:31 |
I don't think Queen had screw those guys... in fact they just received a bunch of money from freddie's paased away and did nothing to promote Queen. They could established Queen ( and remember, Brian was touring USA supporting G'N'R those days)as one of the best bands of all time just exploring the music legacy. They didn't a thing. |
| kleinhond 11.01.2005 06:34 |
why sign a contract for FIVE studio albums then??? |
| deleted user 11.01.2005 07:41 |
I think nobody screwed anyone .... you are interpreting too much into this thing. HR was back then a brand new label of the allmighty Disney Empire and they were looking for major stars to establish the business - and so they were happy to sign with Queen. And for the records ... HR was probably even more interested in Queen's huge back catalogue from 1973 - 1989 (all of their hits) than in the five new studio studio albums that were to come. So they didn't so much care about Freddie's health than you might think. Even if Freddie had lived for five or six more years, Queen was already in the last third of their career (even if they had produced 2 or 3 more fantastic albums like Innuendo) ... so they wanted to cash in essentially on WWRY, We are the Champions, Radio Ga Ga or BoRap than just on the new albums. And Queen chose HR because Disney had the financial background to bring Queen back on the cd-market. And finally, HR probably didn't have more information on Freddie and AIDS than the Yellow Press or the public. But as I said the back catalogue was already there .... sad but true |
| Whisperer 11.01.2005 10:18 |
I just think that if you have a disease like AIDS or cancer, you can't really sign a long-time contract without telling the other part about it, can you? |
| martinusx 11.01.2005 12:22 |
I think HR would knew what was the deal, but they didn't know how much time Freddie had. It would be suspicious if Queen signed a contract for 1 album. It would fuel all the rumours that already popped up that Freddie was ill. I think they wanted the back catalog and the albums that still could be made, but that the latter was only an extra. So basically they helped each other out. |
| boy of destiny 11.01.2005 12:54 |
I think that Queen did in a way by not disclosing Freddie's illness, but living in Canada I can confirm that Hollywood records didn't do much to promote the band, unless they got BoRhap into Wayne's World. Sadly that and Freddie's death was the only thing that generated any interest in North America. |
| boy of destiny 11.01.2005 13:00 |
... also Hollywood did an terrible job of remastering the Queen catalog. The opening guitar chord of "It's Late" is cut out (luckily I have the gold disc version as well) and there's a very noticable squeal at the beginning of "CLTCL". |
| 7Innuendo7 12.01.2005 18:50 |
HR -- Letterbox Queen -- Postman |
| kleinhond 13.01.2005 10:40 |
actually since the mid 80s, 2 or 3 album deals have been the norm for big name acts, so i am still really puzzled why Queen would sign for five knowing Freddie was gonna die. and as it was 1991, i don't think they did it just to stop the rumours about Freddie, makes no sense at all. it's possible though that the five included new compilations or live albums |
| Scirocco1977 13.01.2005 12:49 |
Don't know if that counts much, but Freddie died surprisingly early. He most probably stopped taking his medicine. Even his closest friends were surprised how soon he died. He was considered to live longer than November 1991. |
| bigc 13.01.2005 15:42 |
how do you know that?I mean..whats your source for saying that. I know he took himself off all his medication at the start of Nov91 |
| Scirocco1977 13.01.2005 16:29 |
Ooops, that's why I started with "Don't know if it counts much". I forgot where I read it, hence I am not sure whether this source can be taken seriously. But I think I heard it on a TV´-biography... |
| egret 13.01.2005 16:38 |
Scirocco1977 wrote: Even his closest friends were surprised how soon he died. He was considered to live longer than November 1991.I have also read remarks similar to this, but they seemed to refer to the startling speed with which FM's health deteriorated once he was off the medication. But I think they were talking about thinking he had a few more weeks or something. As to the contract, maybe Queen signed a multi-album deal because they had not made any decisions against recording without Freddie. --Egret |