| antiden 03.08.2005 09:05 |
Hi, guys! I'm a bit irritated about certain motherf***ers, who parasitize on what concerns Queen. I mean for example Eric Hall (former BBC person), who has recently told the world about the "Killer Queen" origin. He says that Freddie wrote this song for him, explaining that he (Freddie) was the queen and Eric was the killer, because he hadn't allowed Fred to have sex with him.......................... WHAT A BULLSHIT! Everyone knows the following TRUE facts: 1) Freddie himself explained the meaning of "Killer Queen": "It is about a high-class call-girl. I wanted to say that classy people can be whores too..." 2) Look through the lyrics carefully: it IS about a woman, who is a whore and who comes from higher society. It has nothing to do with Eric Hall and Freddie's intention to sleep with him :) 3) Everybody knows that Freddie wasn't gay-oriented at that moment. 4) Eric Hall is the ONLY person who told us this kind of information. And nobody has confirmed it. 5) Why was he silent for so many years, when all so-called secrets relating to Freddie have been already revealed since his death???? 6) Even if Freddie had told Eric about it, it would have been a Freddie's style joke. I think Eric just wants to arrange PR for himself. And what do you, guys, think about it? |
| Smitty 03.08.2005 09:22 |
Ah I don't worry about it. These people who say these things are too wrong to even pretend to be right. |
| Serry... 03.08.2005 09:25 |
antiden wrote: I think Eric just wants to arrange PR for himself.Agree (soglasen) |
| Mr Drowse 03.08.2005 10:17 |
Agree. |
| newcastle 86! 16483 03.08.2005 20:45 |
yeah exactly i mean wtf is this eric hall guy? just as the hero was written about me cos i am quite literally a hero............ oh no i mean 'liar' lol |
| nibznik 05.08.2005 01:37 |
same with WATC being a gay anthem, even though he was gay, Freddie wasn't very open about it, besides being in one of his first relationships, I always thought Freddie as being indifferent to being gay, yknow? Like 'I'm gay and thats ok, but nothing else', not that I have a problem with it, but I dont think Freddie would be out there parading for gay rights. Hed probably be married to jim, but thats just cause it would be time. |
| antiden 05.08.2005 05:04 |
So, what is your point of view concerning "Killer Queen"?? |
| antiden 05.08.2005 05:16 |
By the way, those who claim WATC being a gay anthem - are so stupid and ignorant... It IS A ROCK/SPORT/LIFE anthem!!!!!!!!!! |
| Daniel Nester 05.08.2005 07:42 |
I saw the documentary where the ex-boyfriend of Freddie's claimed "Killer Queen" was about him. It's worth pointing out that in 1974-75, it's highly unlikely Freddie would have answered an interviewer with, "Well, Mr. Journalist, the song is about this man I'm fooling around with, since I'm just now realizing I'm gay, even though I'm still shacked up with my girlfriend Mary." There's a also possibility that the lyrics were what people call a "metaphor" or "allusion" for this guy. It's also called an "in-joke." Also: gay men often refer to other gay men, especially ones they are friendly with, with the feminine pronoun, i.e., "she." There's also the possibility that Freddie said "Killer Queen" was about him to get this guy to into bed. I think the former boyfriend himself said it's quite possible he said to a lot of men! Then again, if could be about high-class call girl, and Freddie just made shit up afterwards. That would require the least work. |
| Daniel Nester 05.08.2005 07:45 |
Freddie *was* experimenting with homosexuality at that point, however, at least according to Brian and other people who were there in other documentaries. That's worth pointing out. IMHO, I don't think the dude was really being a parasite, a la Laura Jackson writing three books about Queen that are basically the same one. He just seemed really excited that he had an ex-boyfriend who was Freddie Mercury. |
| Bobby_brown 05.08.2005 09:38 |
Is that really important to know? I mean, Killer Queen is a great song and in my opinion has the most beautifull melody that Freddie ever wrote. As for it's meaning, who cares?!! Take care |
| Daniel Nester 05.08.2005 09:45 |
Yeah, that's true. It is a great song, and leave it at that. The "documentary" in question, is called "Freddie's Love," I think, which is a rehash-type of show, along the lines of an E! True Hollywood show. Not exactly the final word on anything historically accurate. I do think people react violently when the idea that some of Freddie's songs may have anything -- anything -- to do with his being a gay man. I think there's something more than slighly phobic about it. If it was some hottie gal, it'd be brushed over a little more easily. But then again, I'm a little more touchy about these matters. |
| deleted user 05.08.2005 17:28 |
I indeed think it0s about a difficult girl |
| Gal Friday 04.09.2014 15:06 |
But who refers to a girl or woman as "Queen"? Princess, MAYBE. But "queen" is a word associated with gay men. The song's about a rich, bitchy, jet set queen (i.e. gay male). Deal with it, Mary. |
| mooghead 04.09.2014 15:12 |
DICKHEAD ALERT! |
| Penetration_Guru 04.09.2014 16:29 |
mooghead wrote: DICKHEAD ALERT!Is that your new signature? |
| tomchristie22 04.09.2014 16:48 |
antiden wrote: By the way, those who claim WATC being a gay anthem - are so stupid and ignorant... It IS A ROCK/SPORT/LIFE anthem!!!!!!!!!!Well, it's taken on that importance, but Freddie did just write it as a 'fuck you' to the snobby producers etc. who thought they'd fail, and the tabloids who continued to criticise them despite huge success. |
| tomchristie22 04.09.2014 16:51 |
Daniel Nester wrote: The "documentary" in question, is called "Freddie's Love," I think, which is a rehash-type of show, along the lines of an E! True Hollywood show. Not exactly the final word on anything historically accurate.Quite an awful documentary really. I don't mean that as homophobia at all, I mean it's a bunch of spiteful guys spitting out very private details of their friend's life, presumably to draw attention to themselves. Daniel Nester wrote: I do think people react violently when the idea that some of Freddie's songs may have anything -- anything -- to do with his being a gay man. I think there's something more than slighly phobic about it. If it was some hottie gal, it'd be brushed over a little more easily. But then again, I'm a little more touchy about these matters.Pf. I don't think anyone can claim that Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy isn't written from a homosexual standpoint (even if apparently jokingly), and that's never affected my enjoyment of it at all :) |
| luthorn 04.09.2014 22:02 |
Killer Queen is about a high class man whore, and given that Fred indicated that he is not only a musical prostitute, but that he also likes to slut himself while in New York, the Killer Queen is the man himself: Freddie! |
| tomchristie22 05.09.2014 00:46 |
But he wasn't promiscuous in gay circles in 1974, nor had he said the musical prostitute thing. Plus, the way I understand it, 'musical prostitute' wasn't meant as a sexual remark, more to say that his style borrowed freely from all over the place. |
| The Fairy King 05.09.2014 06:51 |
Well shucks, if you don't like the gay theme i would stay away from most of Freddie's songs pal. |
| thomasquinn 32989 05.09.2014 08:25 |
Gal Friday wrote: But who refers to a girl or woman as "Queen"? Princess, MAYBE. But "queen" is a word associated with gay men. The song's about a rich, bitchy, jet set queen (i.e. gay male). Deal with it, Mary.Your third-rate amateur deconstruction falls apart immediately. Clearly, you have a very limited knowledge of the English language and particularly slang. Did you really make a new account simply to post this nonsense? " Quean comes from Old English cwene, pronounced (kwn), "woman, female, female serf"; from the eleventh century on it was also used to mean "prostitute." " From: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (2000) |
| thomasquinn 32989 05.09.2014 08:26 |
The Fairy King wrote: Well shucks, if you don't like the gay theme i would stay away from most of Freddie's songs pal.Just because a person is gay it doesn't mean all their songs are about being gay. It's just more confirmation bias because most lyrics are inherently ambiguous. See the masses of nonsense written about Boh. Rhap. |
| tomchristie22 05.09.2014 09:08 |
thomasquinn 32989 wrote:Well said. Freddie's sexuality was an important part of his life, but it certainly didn't define his life - he hid it well enough for the first decade or so of his career, so it clearly wasn't essential to his music.The Fairy King wrote: Well shucks, if you don't like the gay theme i would stay away from most of Freddie's songs pal.Just because a person is gay it doesn't mean all their songs are about being gay. It's just more confirmation bias because most lyrics are inherently ambiguous. See the masses of nonsense written about Boh. Rhap. |
| The Fairy King 05.09.2014 10:19 |
thomasquinn 32989 wrote:Seriously Caspar? You of all people? :')The Fairy King wrote: Well shucks, if you don't like the gay theme i would stay away from most of Freddie's songs pal.Just because a person is gay it doesn't mean all their songs are about being gay. It's just more confirmation bias because most lyrics are inherently ambiguous. See the masses of nonsense written about Boh. Rhap. Did i say all his songs are about being gay? No. Do i believe that his "lifestyle" gives us carte blanche to interpret it on other levels than the obvious. Yes. And i am one of those people that believe Bo Rhap is about him killing off his "straight" side and coming out. It ain't rocket science. It's a bit naive to say his "lifestyle" didn't influence the lyrical content of his songs. All of it? No. But A LOT were. >:D |
| thomasquinn 32989 05.09.2014 12:19 |
The Fairy King wrote:I'm not saying that he doesn't have songs that are, on some level, about being gay. The point behind my post is simply that if you *can* interpret a song in a particular way, even without manhandling the lyrics and in a way that makes some reasonable degree of sense with regards to the author, that does not automatically mean the author had that exact intention with the lyrics.thomasquinn 32989 wrote:Seriously Caspar? You of all people? :') Did i say all his songs are about being gay? No. Do i believe that his "lifestyle" gives us carte blanche to interpret it on other levels than the obvious. Yes. And i am one of those people that believe Bo Rhap is about him killing off his "straight" side and coming out. It ain't rocket science. It's a bit naive to say his "lifestyle" didn't influence the lyrical content of his songs. All of it? No. But A LOT were. >:DThe Fairy King wrote: Well shucks, if you don't like the gay theme i would stay away from most of Freddie's songs pal.Just because a person is gay it doesn't mean all their songs are about being gay. It's just more confirmation bias because most lyrics are inherently ambiguous. See the masses of nonsense written about Boh. Rhap. I personally think that, at least before the late 1970s, Freddie did not consciously use homosexuality as a topic because he was not quite comfortable with it himself. It did probably subconsciously slip into his lyrics, but the question is to what extent that counts as true symbolism. I am of the opinion that it is very easy to read symbolism that was not intended into any literary work, especially poetry, because it is inherently ambiguous - interpretable in many ways. Deducing psychology from poetry is a very risky thing to do, IMHO. So, in summary: I don't think you can dismiss homosexuality as a theme in Freddie's writing offhand, but similarly, I don't think you can assume it on the sole basis of his lifestyle. I consider a prostitute more likely than a gay man more likely as the "Killer Queen". Freddie might even have identified with this fictional prostitute, but I do think he considered her a woman. |
| The Fairy King 05.09.2014 13:04 |
thomasquinn 32989 wrote:Empathy my dear Caspar. :DThe Fairy King wrote:I'm not saying that he doesn't have songs that are, on some level, about being gay. The point behind my post is simply that if you *can* interpret a song in a particular way, even without manhandling the lyrics and in a way that makes some reasonable degree of sense with regards to the author, that does not automatically mean the author had that exact intention with the lyrics. I personally think that, at least before the late 1970s, Freddie did not consciously use homosexuality as a topic because he was not quite comfortable with it himself. It did probably subconsciously slip into his lyrics, but the question is to what extent that counts as true symbolism. I am of the opinion that it is very easy to read symbolism that was not intended into any literary work, especially poetry, because it is inherently ambiguous - interpretable in many ways. Deducing psychology from poetry is a very risky thing to do, IMHO. So, in summary: I don't think you can dismiss homosexuality as a theme in Freddie's writing offhand, but similarly, I don't think you can assume it on the sole basis of his lifestyle. I consider a prostitute more likely than a gay man more likely in this case. Freddie might even have identified with this fictional prostitute, but I do think he considered her a woman.thomasquinn 32989 wrote:Seriously Caspar? You of all people? :') Did i say all his songs are about being gay? No. Do i believe that his "lifestyle" gives us carte blanche to interpret it on other levels than the obvious. Yes. And i am one of those people that believe Bo Rhap is about him killing off his "straight" side and coming out. It ain't rocket science. It's a bit naive to say his "lifestyle" didn't influence the lyrical content of his songs. All of it? No. But A LOT were. >:DThe Fairy King wrote: Well shucks, if you don't like the gay theme i would stay away from most of Freddie's songs pal.Just because a person is gay it doesn't mean all their songs are about being gay. It's just more confirmation bias because most lyrics are inherently ambiguous. See the masses of nonsense written about Boh. Rhap. I must say in the early nineties, when i started listening and getting the albums i interpreted the songs differently. Over the years i gained more knowledge of the backstory and the person, the interpretations changed drastically. Like it had added a few layers. You can't deny the gayfactor, because artists tend to draw from struggle and this was for him a huge part of his personality in those days. When the guy came out he sang about emancipation and celebration. When he lost another lover, he wrote a ballad. Very black and white i know, but just a tool to illustrate my point. Humour me. Would also like to add that i watch documentaries, read stories and biographies with a healthy amount of scepsis. |
| thomasquinn 32989 05.09.2014 13:15 |
You can't dismiss it, but you also can't assume it offhand. If you do, it's speculation. That's ok, so long as you don't confuse "plausible" with "definite". |
| The Fairy King 05.09.2014 13:38 |
thomasquinn 32989 wrote: You can't dismiss it, but you also can't assume it offhand. If you do, it's speculation. That's ok, so long as you don't confuse "plausible" with "definite".Never said that how i try to tackle the subjectmatter in his songs is definite dude. I know we are on the same page, but the angles differ and we drifted too far from the point i wanted to make in the first place: The topic starter is an obvious douche and i just wanted to stab a little deeper. Never thought you'd actually get into it. |
| Penetration_Guru 05.09.2014 17:03 |
One post on a nine-year old thread and the world caves in... |
| Costa86 10.09.2014 04:54 |
Everybody knows Killer Queen was about John's fondness for strippers in strip clubs in the early 2000s. Freddie used to ask John, "Hey John, how were the strippers last night?", to which John used to reply, "They were killer, queen". |
| JesseNeuro 28.01.2019 19:57 |
This is the first time I've "replied" to ANYTHING as a newbie on Queenzone (but I'm a virtual scholar re: Queen, dears, and I mean that literally, too: on Genius.com I'm the #3 Queen "scholar", and a fairly new unpaid editor, so it's thanks to the soundtrack for the Bo-Rap biopic and the more recent live albums-Rainbo and Odeon). So where's the post re: John's fondness for strippers substantiated as perhaps a catalyst to KQ's lyrics? Because it's impossible and improbable at the time "Killer Queen" was written/recorded. This has probably been noted: Obviously Freddie was already pissed off at the Trident guys ("Flick of the Wrist": Killer Queen was supposed to be a double A-side, but by default "Flick of the Wrist" was relegated to a B-side, which I find kind of ironic, given it's ...). Certainly somewhere in this forum someone has written about how Freddie felt "pimp'd out" by management, even BEFORE Killer Queen became a hit. So of course, four well-educated CLASSY rock musicians were essentially, or soon would be (more-so?) at the time make a "killing" financially, but not reap the benefits. However, KQ is way too playful lyrically for this connotation. "Flick of the Wrist" is NOT. Again, however, Freddie's famous quote about "classy people" I believe has more depth and is less flippant than it seems, because I do think he was sending a message to Queen's "financial mis-managers" at the time. Fact checkers, holders of substantive knowledge: lend me your replies! Genius lyrics allows "contributors" and "editors" and others "annotate" lines and/or groups of lines from song lyrics with regard to their meaning. I used this to go-to-town on my own fun interpretation of "Killer Queen", and was able to turn it into a "bio" on the song (given its inclusion on Bo-Rap's soundtrack), for FUN: link |
| NeverTooLate 07.02.2019 05:12 |
I don't claim to have any insight into what Killer Queen is about, but the funniest thing was Eric Hall claiming it to be written about him and then watching Paul Gambaccini's face as he was told what Eric Hall claimed ... THAT was an epic moment in one of the documentaries I saw. I know many folks don't care for Gambaccini but I really enjoy his input on interviews and documentaries I've watched. And I know the complaints about the stories all being the same have been mentioned, but there can't be 'new' stories since Freddie's been dead close to 30 yrs now. |