I once read that "Dear Mr. Murdoch" started off as a Cross song before ending up as a solo-project of Roger's. Is this correct and how much is known about this? Did any material of that Cross version ever surface? Is it a demo or a "properly" recorded song? Thanks it advance for your answers and comments.
No known facts, but thinking about it, I find it pretty unlikely.
Back in the day it Roger said that he wrote the song as a reaction to the tabloid press harrassing Freddie and camping outside his home in his final days.
So, that should at the earliest be end 1991.
By that time The Cross had already disbanded...
But The Cross did play a few more gigs throughout 1992 and 1993, so maybe Roger wasn't quite sure what his plans for the future were, if they included The Cross or going solo?
True, but they did not spend any time in the studio together. So, yes, maybe it was not sure what it would become (solo/or Cross) at time of writing it, but chances that a proper cross-studio-version excists is pretty low. At the most, I'd say, there could be some home-demo. Maybe some Cross-members could play on such a thing, but as with most home-demo's, chances are high that all instruments were played by Roger himself. (As is the case on the known 'solo' demo of the song...)
The again... if Josh McCrae was involved, is that good enough to call it a 'Cross' version? ;-)