Hi everyone,
I was engaged in a discussion with my dad about old rock bands from the 60's/ 70's etc and I noticed he mentioned that Queen are bigger nowadays than they were in the late 70's (he's born in the 1950's so he's seen all the great rock bands come and go). He then mentioned that Freddie's death helped the band's legacy/ legend grow as well.
This was a general classic rock bands discussion we were having certainly not oriented towards Queen or anything, he's a passing fan but not a huge one like myself. He said that nowadays their music has actually endured better than even say Led Zeppelin or Jethro Tull, i.e. EVERYONE nowadays knows a Queen song (We Will Rock You/ We Are The Champions are played everywhere at sports events). He's a bigger Zep fan than Queen fan anyway.
It was just interesting to hear his perspectives on this subject (in no way was I steering the conversation towards Queen). He mentioned that back in the 70's sure Queen were popular and had lots of top 10 hits but acts such as David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Led Zepp, Pink Floyd were quite alot bigger than Queen. Nowadays however it's changed, and Queen are bigger than ever (not saying the others aren't big) but now you have lots of Queen cover bands touring the world and their music is just out there now in such a big way. Not quite as big as Elvis or The Beatles but they're bigger than ever he said.
I'm curious as to your guys perspectives on this, I think it kinda reads like a blog lol. I was born in 1984 and didn't even like Queen till 2 years ago and now I'm a huge fan so yeah, do you guys think that the band is bigger than they've ever been?
Peace out.
I don't think that Queen are bigger worldwide than they were in their heyday.
I'd label Live Aid and the resulting Magic Tour as their worldwide heyday.
But in the US, Queen seems to finally be cracking the psyche of American music lovers.
And good for it.
Bigger now than with Freddie and John?
Never.
And never is a long time.....
deleted user 01.11.2005 05:50
I don't really think they are bigger now. I mean granted, they are getting alot of publicity now but there are only two members left. Some of you might think they are the two key members of Queen but with Paul Rodgers and I don't even thnk they should even use the name 'Queen' because Freddie named the band and well let's be honest he created Queen. And John was a brilliant bass player and song writer but Paul well he really is no Freddie. I think Queen were bigger IN their heyday. They had number one singles and albums but ROTC has gone downhill since it got to a dismall chart position. Queen were at their best with Freddie. In my opinion.
Hah, you found out how to colour your name. Haha.
To address the topic:
Nobody said they had to be 'better' to be 'bigger'. Truth be told, there are probably more people around that are into Queen than there were twenty years ago. Queen, in case you didn't hear, overtook the Beatles in some ridiculous statistic in being the top sellers or some thing... put simply, Queen were huge, but now they're even HUGER.
It depends on what qualifies as 'big' to you. I think people were more fanatical about Queen 20 years ago because they were still a full band, still the original members churning out new music every couple of years. There were probably less fans, but the craziness was higher because people knew they could go out and see 'em still.
For a long time, Queen fans (I reckon) have turned slightly more silent. Let's face it, you can't live every day of your life chanting Queen Queen Queen and perpetuating a kind of Beatle-Mania style thing when half the band is dead or retired.
But it's absolutely irrefutable fact that they are bigger now than ever, because they are such a wide spread influence I would say it's a safe bet that the rate of new fans finding out about Queen is higher than the rate of old fans dying.
So yeah. To put it simply - Queen are bigger, but you just don't think about it like that because the band everyone fell in love with isn't really there anymore.
The reason you're seeing so much about Queen lately IS because they're so huge, and because two of the members are on tour. Suddenly heaps of people are going to the concerts, arguing about why the concerts are a bad idea... they're being 'fans' again. :D
Brian and Rog somehow look "bigger"... if that´s the right expression for "gaining weight"?!?... than they did twenty years ago... but that´s it! :-)))
I can't say so with any certainty, but from ANATO to the Game tour, virtually every Queen show in America was a sell out, and I doubt that'd happen now. If they were bigger than ever, they'd have taken on a full American tour instead of dipping their toes in the water to see if the climate was right to launch such a beast. By playing two arena shows on the coasts where they knew there'd be demand they did the right thing. If they launched a tour of the cities they played on the Jazz tour for example, they'd be playing much smaller venues, and probably selling out mid sized venues in Queen friendly places.
yes, i'm pretty sure that they are talking about queen as they were being bigger now then when "as they were" was as they are because it was then. wow, i don't even understand that. anyway, if i'm wrong i can stand corrected i geuss.
mary
Yeah Zebonka that's what I was getting at. I think it's finally being recognized/ acknowledged that Queen have been and still are a massive influence out there, Franz Ferdinand's lead singer said something about their Greatest Hits inspiring him, Roy Thomas Baker produced the new Darkness album (from the latest news thing), Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters is a massive fan, and Metallica cite them as a major influence as well as countless others.
I think it's presumptious to say that Queen are BETTER now than before (I totally agree that Paul is not even close to Freddie, but then again nor is he trying to be) but bigger? Hmm yeah, fans are less fanatical (cos the band ain't in its original form) but there are alot more of them.
Serry...<h6>The Negative QZer wrote: Queen's fame is bigger. Was, actually, in 90s. But in 70s people knew some more Queen songs than just WWRY and WATC...
and that "Mama" song
"Mama" song? Haven't heard that one. What about that "Galileo" one? Or that one in the Coke commercials? Yeah those are real good. ;-) :-P
I don't know if Queen are bigger now than in 1986, but they are certainly experiancing their highest point in the last 10 years.
How much of this is due to the tour or the darkness or simply due to a younger generation discovering the band I would not like to say.
I think there have been several phases of Queen and the relationship of the fan base.
Building Blocks
1. Early Years
2. BoRap
3. News of the World/Jazz (including Live Killers)
4. Another One Bites the Dust (Huge on R&B radio)
This is where I dropped out. I was a big fan of the early years of Queen especially the first three albums.
Heights
5. Magic Live
6. Live Aid (Has to be a highlight for me!)
Rennaisance
7. We Will Rock You Musical
8. Q+PR
9. Solo efforts
I remember hearing each release and anxiously waiting to hear what was in store. Are they bigger today. No Way! My high points of Queen were BoRap, NOTW and Magic. There were LOTS of other great memories, but those are my highlights.
-- Jim