Grantcdn 14.06.2005 18:52 |
If Freddie was not bisexual/gay, or if he hid it better (it was not dragged out of him)- perhaps like a Rob Halford(Judas Priest), I really think Queen would have been the biggest band on the planet throughout the 80s including the USA...I think bigotry, culture shock, individual sensitivities to his sexuality really harmed the success of the band....remember in 1980/81 when they truly were the biggest....bigger than Zeppelin...and if they somehow carried that on it would have continued to be bigger than U2 etc today....They have always been the most talented when it comes to musicianship, performance and songwriting combined. I really believe that if they had marketed themselves better, had a better understanding of individual markets (countries)....they may have doubled their sales.....out there for your thoughts??? |
newcastle 86! 16483 14.06.2005 20:49 |
absolute crap! they are still bigger than all of the artists you have mentioned! look at the sales! queen have the best sales per unit than any other band apart from (OBVIOUSLY) the beatles. Thats bigger than the stones, u2 or any other band you care to mention. AS for "the marketing" of the band hey........if the us dont like homosexuals then fuck em. that was the attitude then and it should be now. good post tho very thought provoking stuff! |
Sharron .G 15.06.2005 00:01 |
Newcastle, have you been to the US before? Do you feel your homosexuality is more accepted in the UK then in the States? |
RohemianBapsody 15.06.2005 03:28 |
If Freddie hadn't contracted Aids, which inhibited them from any further touring they would probably have been bigger. Around the mid eighties their popularity was beginning to expand due to Live Aid. The popularity ofthe Magic Tour proved that. |
Serry... 15.06.2005 06:27 |
If Freddie wouldn't wear women clothes in IWTBF video, if Freddie wouldn't talk about his sexuality etc. etc. etc. - it wouldn't be Freddie, therefore Queen wouldn't be the biggest band in the world neither. All these modern bands are so damned serious about themselves and what? They're nothing. |
brENsKi 15.06.2005 08:30 |
Sharron .G wrote: Newcastle, have you been to the US before? Do you feel your homosexuality is more accepted in the UK then in the States?why don't you grow up? or better still - go subscribe to a playschool forum |
Boy Thomas Raker 15.06.2005 08:58 |
So what you're saying GrantCDN, is that Queen were the biggest band in the world, bigger than Zeppelin, in 1980 and 1981, at the time of The Game. Wasn't that the tour that sort of brought out the gayest Freddie to date, with the 'tache and Village People look? So wouldn't it make sense that no one would have bought The Game or saw the tour since Freddie was getting gayer? For the millionth time, Queen were an FM staple in virtually every North American ROCK market until Hot Space. Fat Bottomed Girls and Bicycle Rice were, and are still played a ton of times in North America on CLASSIC ROCK stations. Play the Game did nothing on rock radio, CLTCL did get played a lot, and AOBTD was played begrudgingly on rock formats. Then came Greatest Hits, and Under Pressure got played, but it was a one-off and not an indication of an album style. When Hot Space came out, the band's singles Body Langauage and Back Chat didn't get played at rock radio. Then came The Works, and Ga Ga and IWTBF didn't get played on rock radio. So by the time One Vision was released as a single, Queen had virtually no music on rock radio from 1978 until 1985. They tried to find a new audience and in doing so they lost 90% of their old audience. No shame in trying, but it didn't work. |
Soul Brother 15.06.2005 09:05 |
"Freddie was still alive..." |
My Melancholy Blues 15.06.2005 13:52 |
Serry... wrote: If Freddie wouldn't wear women clothes in IWTBF video, if Freddie wouldn't talk about his sexuality etc. etc. etc. - it wouldn't be Freddie, therefore Queen wouldn't be the biggest band in the world neither. All these modern bands are so damned serious about themselves and what? They're nothing.I do agree with you, too. |
deleted user 15.06.2005 14:14 |
I'm sure Queen were the "biggest band in the world" at some point. I doubt they ever will be again. Even if Freddie was still alive. |
Sharon G. 15.06.2005 15:15 |
Once again, some one is posting using Sharon G. only with two rr's. Not me. I am the original bitch. Freddie - We love you and miss you. |
Bobby_brown 15.06.2005 15:16 |
newcastle 86! wrote: absolute crap! they are still bigger than all of the artists you have mentioned! look at the sales! queen have the best sales per unit than any other band apart from (OBVIOUSLY) the beatles. Thats bigger than the stones, u2 or any other band you care to mention. AS for "the marketing" of the band hey........if the us dont like homosexuals then fuck em. that was the attitude then and it should be now. good post tho very thought provoking stuff!Correction: lED ZEPPELIN have sold more than a 100 million albums In the USA alone ( i really don´t know how this is possible. i´m a big fan of the Zeppelin, but to sell this amount of records in one country...- and this is only album sales because they never released singles) The Stones have sold more albums and singles than Queen (this is documented. Of course the Beatles are untouchable. Even ten years ago they have already sold more than a Billion albums and singles. Barbara Streisend has sold more than Queen. The Abba, five years ago have already sold more than 300 million albums and singles. They beat Queen! Elvis Presley beats Queen. For what i read, Queen have sold almost 200 million albums and singles. In a couple of years i think that Celline Dion will reach them, and Mariah Carey too... And we´re only talkin about artists from USA and England but the world is bigger than this. Take care |
Sharon G. 15.06.2005 15:18 |
Also - I don't care if Freddie was gay, bi or whatever, he still is the hottest guy I will every lay eyes on. Freddie Forever |
Grantcdn 15.06.2005 18:24 |
I did the if's just for fun....because I'm sure there are a number of ifs when you look back....sure if Freddie was alive that would be a HUGE help, if they toured etc.......I also think if Freddie was completely straight and did the I Want To Break Free video in drag, America might have got it as a joke (for example if David Lee Roth did it - the masses would have thought it was funny...at least most anyway)....I think that video made them question whether the whole band was gay or their music was gay - naturally completely false but I think that really killed them in the U.S.....combined with the lack of Rock singles after Under Pressure...another IF.... |
RainMustFall2 15.06.2005 18:54 |
Another One Bites the Dust - a rockier version would not have hurt it among the rock circle, though it is one of Queen's most *generally* popular songs. Stronger single choice on Hot Space - instead of stupid Body Language, perhaps Put Out the Fire? I think that song could have been big, especially with a good music video. The Works tour in America - we're a attention-grubbing audience. We need tours to keep bands in our minds, and since Queen didn't tour for this album, it was easier for America to slip away for them during this period. Elektra (?) scandal - Bri mentioned the exposure of the label's practice of bribing DJs hurt Queen's US radio play during the Works. AKOM being rockier - Queen got a rep of being a Europop band. More guitar tracks!! After that, Queen gained slight presense again in America, and the Miracle and Innuendo are pretty much perfect as is, in my opinion. |
My Melancholy Blues 15.06.2005 20:34 |
I've thought about what have make me love Queen (and Freddie) for years... What make them "Queen" are their peculiarity and originality which first Freddie sowed and then advanced and honed with Brian, Roger and John for a long time. If Freddie had been straight and an ordinary rocker, he would never be attractive as much as he was, or Queen would lacked their peculiarity, either. Freddie seemed to transcend the border between sexuality and some other pairs of things being opposite with each other, which would attract people giving us amazing energy, and his transcendency has made him one and only, otoh which would make some people confused indeed...anyway I'm sure Queen are one of the greatest bands world has ever had, because noone could take place of them in the viewpoint of their originality and peculiarity basically due to his transcendency. And there will never be another Queen, nor Freddie. |
iGSM 16.06.2005 01:34 |
< That's why I like The Foo Fighters..they're serious as bastards about their music (like Queen) but don't mind having a music video where they take the piss. Good show, chaps. |
iGSM 16.06.2005 01:34 |
< That's why I like The Foo Fighters..they're serious as bastards about their music (like Queen) but don't mind having a music video where they take the piss. Good show, chaps. |
The King Of Rhye 16.06.2005 09:12 |
wasnt Queen THE biggest band in the world at a few points??? after Live Aid (if you count that as the world minus the USA) |
flash00. 16.06.2005 10:17 |
i agree with roger taylors comments i.e. there popularity started to decline when they stopped touring the states etc... and for the record queen are and always will be the biggest greatest band that ever set foot on this planet......:) |
newcastle 86! 16483 17.06.2005 07:39 |
and im not gay by the way! |
good_old_fashioned_loverboy1986 17.06.2005 10:20 |
Who cares if they were the biggest or not...it's being the best that counts. On a good day any member of queen, particularly F and B could write and play with better technical ability than even the 'blessed' beatles or stones. To prove my point listen to A Day in the Life or Penny Lane and then something like Millionaire Waltz or March of the Black Queen. There is some writing going on there! |
flash00. 17.06.2005 11:34 |
or the show must go on!!! :) |
Sicmot 18.06.2005 13:47 |
newcastle 86! wrote: and im not gay by the way!Are you absolutely sure you are not? |
newcastle 86! 16483 19.06.2005 18:00 |
why would i feel the need to be sure? if i was i would be as im not im sure im not and if i was would it matter? are you sure you arent or are you? please clarify your response was very poor |
NJQueenFan 20.06.2005 16:30 |
Note about the US, I'm from there, and overall we have the most shallow taste in music in the entire world. Take one look at the pop charts in the US over the past 30 years and you'll see what I mean. Don't even pay attention to what the United States thinks when it comes to music. |
doremi 20.06.2005 17:06 |
NJQueenFan wrote: Note about the US, I'm from there, and overall we have the most shallow taste in music in the entire world. Take one look at the pop charts in the US over the past 30 years and you'll see what I mean. Don't even pay attention to what the United States thinks when it comes to music.FYI..even our own native born USA bands and artists struggle here..yet do fine in the UK, Europe, Japan. Tina Turner's career took a nosedive in the early 1990s' (though I have heard all her records released since and they are GREAT), so she MOVED to Germany and sells out 60,000 seat stadiums across Europe. And even BEFORE she ever was a star, and had no record deal, Mick Jagger & The Rolling Stones championed her...and alot of great black rockers and blues artists who they let open for them...word of mouth got around...THEN the USA took notice. The Scissor Sisters (the new act that swept the Brit awards) FLOPPED in the USA and they are from New York. They could NOT get a record deal. They moved to the UK, got signed to their first record deal and are stars over there. Alot of older bands like Styx and Journey do..ok..here, but in Japan they are still Superstars and sell out 50,000 stadiums. Even Cher...her music career took a nosedive in the 1990's so she got signed to a UK record label, and became a hit in the dance clubs. And going WAY.........back....to the 1960's...the one & only Jimi Hendrix couldn't get arrested here in his own USA, no record deal, he moved to the UK, Became a STAR, had people from our own Freddie to Clapton & Beck coming out to see him, got for his first Manager, Chaz Chandler from the Brit band The Animals, became a star in the UK, THEN....the USA took notice. The USA has zero music taste. |