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1
00:00:03,990 --> 00:00:09,731
There's been a lot of rumours lately 'bout certain band
for Queen, the rumour said that we are going to split up.
What do you think?
2
00:00:09,731 --> 00:00:13,130
"No!"
They're talking from here.
3
00:00:13,130 --> 00:00:19,651
So forget those rumours.
We're going to stay together until
we fucking well die, I'm sure of it!
4
00:00:20,570 --> 00:00:23,133
"One Vision"
5
00:00:29,493 --> 00:00:31,014
Hey!
6
00:00:40,214 --> 00:00:44,454
There really wasn't much sex...
Well, there wasn't much drugs.
7
00:00:47,214 --> 00:00:49,693
You wouldn't be able to do that now.
8
00:00:49,693 --> 00:00:51,775
♪ One man
9
00:00:51,775 --> 00:00:53,615
♪ One goal
10
00:00:55,054 --> 00:00:56,974
♪ One mission... ♪
11
00:00:56,974 --> 00:00:59,896
For that moment,
we kind of owned the world.
12
00:00:59,896 --> 00:01:02,736
Where's the modesty gone?
There isn't any.
13
00:01:02,736 --> 00:01:05,217
♪ One solution... ♪
14
00:01:05,217 --> 00:01:07,856
Press are never quite understood,
A lot of the press took against them.
15
00:01:07,856 --> 00:01:10,416
♪ Yeah, one God... ♪
16
00:01:10,416 --> 00:01:12,817
England doesn't really think we're that cool.
17
00:01:12,817 --> 00:01:16,497
But I mean I don't want some arsehole critic
to tell me that.
18
00:01:16,497 --> 00:01:20,338
You might as well paint a target
on your head and go, "Shoot me!"
19
00:01:20,338 --> 00:01:24,817
I think when you go all the way up,
the only place is to come down.
20
00:01:27,258 --> 00:01:30,977
Controversy Behind Sun City
I wish I'd never heard of the place!
21
00:01:30,977 --> 00:01:34,420
♪ I'm gonna tell you there's
no black and no white... ♪
22
00:01:34,420 --> 00:01:39,459
Whenever the band came under pressure,
there would be a walk-out,
a separation, a row.
23
00:01:39,459 --> 00:01:41,380
♪ One worldwide vision... ♪
24
00:01:41,380 --> 00:01:45,219
We were at a crucial point.
We might have had to break up.
25
00:01:45,219 --> 00:01:50,180
The arguments were creative, then
it would become personal. Of course.
26
00:01:50,180 --> 00:01:52,540
There is an inward jealousy.
27
00:01:52,540 --> 00:01:59,100
They're all wondering & all waiting to see
if my album is going to do better
than the last Queen album.
28
00:01:59,100 --> 00:02:05,621
Freddie took to the gay scene
like David Attenborough making
a wildlife programme.
29
00:02:05,621 --> 00:02:10,623
I just want to pack in as much of
life and having a good time as much as I can.
30
00:02:18,384 --> 00:02:21,942
'London - the Imperial College
of Science and Technology,
31
00:02:21,942 --> 00:02:25,464
'meeting place for space scientists
from 50 nations,
32
00:02:25,464 --> 00:02:31,504
'specialists who will help develop
the equipment which has taken mankind
to the new age of space exploration.'
33
00:02:33,504 --> 00:02:36,545
We've got Brian May on guitar.
34
00:02:36,545 --> 00:02:41,865
I was studying Physics
as an undergraduate here,
but Astronomy was always my thing.
35
00:02:44,187 --> 00:02:48,666
And so I did the Astronomy
post-graduate for a PhD.
36
00:02:48,666 --> 00:02:52,787
When we were at school, me and
my mates had a group called 1984.
37
00:02:52,787 --> 00:02:56,746
When I left for university,
the singer we had, Tim Staffell,
38
00:02:56,746 --> 00:03:01,427
and myself decided to put
a new group together called Smile.
39
00:03:01,427 --> 00:03:04,427
We've got Roger Meddows-Taylor
on percussion.
40
00:03:04,427 --> 00:03:08,268
There was a noticeboard here
where you would pin items
41
00:03:08,268 --> 00:03:12,789
of interest to musicians, so I put
a notice saying "drummer wanted".
42
00:03:12,789 --> 00:03:17,227
"We need Ginger Baker/Mitch Mitchell
type drummer."
43
00:03:17,227 --> 00:03:22,710
I booked this little jazz club room
here and Roger brought his kit
and I brought a guitar.
44
00:03:22,710 --> 00:03:26,231
That was the first time
we played together.
45
00:03:26,231 --> 00:03:28,790
♪ When she was done
46
00:03:28,790 --> 00:03:31,030
♪ She hung them up... ♪
47
00:03:31,030 --> 00:03:36,951
Something happened, I have to say.
We thought, "There is some kind
of special sound to this."
48
00:03:36,951 --> 00:03:40,991
♪ Goodbye, April Lady... ♪
49
00:03:42,912 --> 00:03:47,030
I guess we had the same sort
of sound in our heads.
50
00:03:48,312 --> 00:03:53,111
♪ Goodbye, April Lady
51
00:03:53,111 --> 00:03:57,673
♪ You've done a lot for the folks
in this town... ♪
52
00:03:59,753 --> 00:04:03,034
Freddie Mercury on vocals.
53
00:04:03,034 --> 00:04:06,354
Freddie came from
a colonial background.
54
00:04:06,354 --> 00:04:11,515
He was born in Zanzibar and he went
to boarding school in India.
55
00:04:11,515 --> 00:04:16,435
I first met Freddie
at Ealing Art School in 1968.
56
00:04:16,435 --> 00:04:18,474
There was a piano down there
57
00:04:18,474 --> 00:04:21,994
and Freddie would do
this flowery style on the piano.
58
00:04:21,994 --> 00:04:28,315
It was very Mozart and effective,
but unique. You'd never seen anybody
play the piano like that before.
59
00:04:29,315 --> 00:04:34,477
The first time he sang,
I knew straight away
that that voice was going places.
60
00:04:34,477 --> 00:04:37,078
♪ The minute you walked in the joint
61
00:04:37,078 --> 00:04:40,437
♪ I could see
you were a man of distinction
62
00:04:40,437 --> 00:04:43,037
♪ A real big spender
63
00:04:43,037 --> 00:04:45,678
♪ Good-looking, so refined
64
00:04:45,678 --> 00:04:49,517
♪ Say, wouldn't you like to know
what's going on in my mind...? ♪
65
00:04:49,517 --> 00:04:54,318
I used to follow Smile a lot. We were
friends. I used to go to their shows.
66
00:04:54,318 --> 00:04:59,399
Freddie was waiting in the wings,
literally, and advising us
on what to do.
67
00:04:59,399 --> 00:05:03,838
He would say, "You're brilliant,
but you should do this and this..."
68
00:05:03,838 --> 00:05:08,680
What did you see in what Brian
and Roger were doing with Smile?
Nothing!
69
00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:14,401
I think he had
in the back of his mind some idea
about maybe working with us.
70
00:05:14,401 --> 00:05:20,242
Freddie told everybody
that he was going to be a pop star
and we didn't take it that seriously.
71
00:05:20,242 --> 00:05:26,682
He was sitting over there one night.
I walked in and he put his head in
his hands, looking really depressed.
72
00:05:26,682 --> 00:05:31,561
I said, "What's the matter with you?"
He said, "I'm not going to be
a pop star."
73
00:05:31,561 --> 00:05:35,042
And very slowly he stood up
and he said,
74
00:05:35,042 --> 00:05:39,002
"I'm going to be...a legend."
75
00:05:40,604 --> 00:05:43,364
♪ Hey, big spender
76
00:05:44,804 --> 00:05:49,724
♪ Spend a little time with me... ♪
77
00:05:51,044 --> 00:05:55,685
Although we had a lot of successful
gigs and we played colleges, pubs
78
00:05:55,685 --> 00:05:59,724
and clubs up and down the country,
we just never got anywhere.
79
00:05:59,724 --> 00:06:02,765
Smile made a single
which did nothing at all,
80
00:06:02,765 --> 00:06:07,405
then Tim, our singer, got an offer
from someone else called Humpy Bong.
81
00:06:07,405 --> 00:06:10,206
So Tim sodded off to that.
82
00:06:10,206 --> 00:06:14,645
Freddie got us. He said, "Come on,
you can't give up. I want to sing."
83
00:06:14,645 --> 00:06:17,487
So we decided
that we'd take the plunge.
84
00:06:17,487 --> 00:06:21,447
And it was then that I sort of
thought about the name Queen.
85
00:06:21,447 --> 00:06:26,327
Why Queen? I don't know.
At the time, it was outrageous.
86
00:06:28,127 --> 00:06:30,689
So here we have the main hall.
87
00:06:30,689 --> 00:06:33,768
In 1973, this is where Queen played.
88
00:06:33,768 --> 00:06:37,809
This is really the first proper,
advertised gig we ever did
89
00:06:37,809 --> 00:06:43,447
and it's certainly the first review
we ever got by Rosemary Horide
of what was then Disc.
90
00:06:45,450 --> 00:06:51,772
From the very beginning,
Freddie was absolutely remarkable
for stagecraft. He had a presence
91
00:06:51,772 --> 00:06:56,370
unlike anything I'd seen. I'd been
a music journalist for a long time.
92
00:06:56,370 --> 00:07:02,491
Freddie, even from those days, had
an ability to work an audience
and they would eat out of his hand.
93
00:07:03,570 --> 00:07:09,251
He could turn his hand round
like that and do that
and the audience would stand up.
94
00:07:09,251 --> 00:07:12,051
♪ I have sinned, dear Father
95
00:07:12,051 --> 00:07:15,013
♪ Father, I have sinned
96
00:07:15,013 --> 00:07:18,291
♪ Try and help me, Father
97
00:07:18,291 --> 00:07:21,732
♪ Won't you let me in?
98
00:07:21,732 --> 00:07:23,253
♪ Liar!
99
00:07:23,253 --> 00:07:25,412
♪ Oh, nobody... ♪
100
00:07:25,412 --> 00:07:31,854
It was the first moment when I
thought, "Something's happening here
and people know what we're about."
101
00:07:42,095 --> 00:07:46,415
When they came along, there had been
a denim rock movement,
102
00:07:46,415 --> 00:07:50,095
if you like, with Status Quo,
Uriah Heep.
103
00:07:50,095 --> 00:07:56,216
I think Queen were an incredible
breath of fresh air in rock music.
104
00:07:56,216 --> 00:07:58,296
They had brilliant songs.
105
00:07:58,296 --> 00:08:03,098
Freddie Mercury was
an absolutely charismatic front man.
106
00:08:03,098 --> 00:08:04,977
♪ Liar... ♪
107
00:08:04,977 --> 00:08:10,738
Brian May was just this brilliant
guitarist and Roger Taylor was
a phenomenal drummer.
108
00:08:10,738 --> 00:08:14,177
And you had that guy
that played bass.
109
00:08:14,177 --> 00:08:19,978
We spent a couple of years looking
for a bass player. It was very hard
to find the right guy.
110
00:08:19,978 --> 00:08:21,977
Then we found John.
111
00:08:21,977 --> 00:08:24,100
Deacon John on bass.
112
00:08:24,100 --> 00:08:27,139
I came along
as a bit of an outsider at first.
113
00:08:27,139 --> 00:08:31,780
It did take me quite a few years
to grow more into the group
114
00:08:31,780 --> 00:08:34,499
and find myself at home, really.
115
00:08:37,378 --> 00:08:42,420
Before we signed to a record label,
we actually signed
to Trident Productions,
116
00:08:42,420 --> 00:08:48,101
a management company run
by the Sheffield brothers who had
a studio in the middle of Soho.
117
00:08:51,862 --> 00:08:56,701
Recording our first album,
we were all students
finishing off our degrees.
118
00:08:56,701 --> 00:09:00,702
We had to do it
in what time was available
119
00:09:00,702 --> 00:09:04,222
because the studio was being
booked up all the time.
120
00:09:04,222 --> 00:09:07,263
We had to go in sometimes
at two in the morning
121
00:09:07,263 --> 00:09:12,622
and sometimes finishing at six in
the morning, all those weird times
that nobody wanted.
122
00:09:14,025 --> 00:09:19,424
You know, you could see
the working girls at night
through their lace curtains,
123
00:09:19,424 --> 00:09:23,584
so while we were mixing,
we'd have a little bit of diversion.
124
00:09:23,584 --> 00:09:29,545
The album came out
and sort of resoundingly crashed.
It really didn't do much.
125
00:09:29,545 --> 00:09:35,586
When you make your first album, you
go into the record shops and think,
"We're in the record stores now!"
126
00:09:35,586 --> 00:09:42,427
You go in and say, "Have you got
the new Queen album then?" They go,
"What?" It's a long haul.
127
00:09:51,108 --> 00:09:55,147
With Queen II, I couldn't believe
how much work we put into that.
128
00:09:55,147 --> 00:09:58,268
I think We felt we were evolving
our own sound.
129
00:09:59,308 --> 00:10:03,350
We were pioneering
this sort of multi-tracking thing.
130
00:10:03,350 --> 00:10:06,029
It gave you a tremendous palette.
131
00:10:06,029 --> 00:10:11,790
You could get massive choral effects
with just three of us singing.
132
00:10:11,790 --> 00:10:14,589
♪ Voice from behind... ♪
133
00:10:14,589 --> 00:10:18,790
We really got into production
and went completely over the top.
134
00:10:18,790 --> 00:10:21,949
There's a track called
March Of The Black Queen.
135
00:10:21,949 --> 00:10:26,192
♪ I'll be a bad boy,
I'll be your bad boy
136
00:10:26,192 --> 00:10:29,431
♪ I'll do the march
of the Black Queen... ♪
137
00:10:29,431 --> 00:10:35,671
It's very long. It's in about
11 different sections and the
complexity of it is staggering.
138
00:10:37,711 --> 00:10:40,753
I mean, the tape was
literally transparent.
139
00:10:40,753 --> 00:10:45,793
The 16-track, two-inch tape,
the oxide was almost completely
worn away.
140
00:10:45,793 --> 00:10:50,312
We'd gone over it so many times.
It literally was transparent.
141
00:10:51,832 --> 00:10:54,713
♪ Walking true to style
142
00:10:55,793 --> 00:11:02,114
♪ She's vulgar abuse and vile
Fi-fo the Black Queen
tattoos all her pies... ♪
143
00:11:02,114 --> 00:11:05,754
It was really only with Queen II
and Seven Seas Of Rhye
144
00:11:05,754 --> 00:11:07,795
that we had the breakthrough.
145
00:11:07,795 --> 00:11:14,036
We realised that the easiest way
of getting a hit album
is to have a hit single
146
00:11:14,036 --> 00:11:17,035
that has some musical validity.
147
00:11:17,035 --> 00:11:22,236
The key to that was the stroke
that was pulled in getting them
on Top Of The Pops
148
00:11:22,236 --> 00:11:26,516
when Bowie dropped out
and it absolutely broke that single.
149
00:11:31,796 --> 00:11:35,839
It was a very underwhelming
experience the very first time
150
00:11:34,939 --> 00:11:37,698
because there was a strike on
at the BBC.
151
00:11:37,698 --> 00:11:41,218
♪ Fear me,
you lords and lady preachers... ♪
152
00:11:41,218 --> 00:11:44,659
So it was shot
in the weather studio.
153
00:11:44,659 --> 00:11:47,778
♪ I command your very souls,
you unbelievers
154
00:11:47,778 --> 00:11:51,739
♪ Bring before me what is mine
The seven seas of Rhye... ♪
155
00:11:51,739 --> 00:11:56,700
It was great fun to be at Top Of The
Pops because it was all happening.
156
00:11:56,700 --> 00:12:02,339
You felt like you were in a sense
becoming part
of public consciousness.
157
00:12:02,339 --> 00:12:06,620
♪ I will destroy any man
who dares abuse my trust... ♪
158
00:12:06,620 --> 00:12:10,062
Top Of The Pops
was incredibly uncool.
159
00:12:10,062 --> 00:12:13,622
It was rubbish because
nobody was actually playing.
160
00:12:13,622 --> 00:12:18,462
There was about 75 teenagers
who were herded about the studio
161
00:12:18,462 --> 00:12:22,382
and a bunch of ageing disc jockeys
presenting you.
162
00:12:22,382 --> 00:12:27,823
Pan's People were there,
these very glamorous girls dancing.
It was a lot of fun.
163
00:12:27,823 --> 00:12:33,903
The BBC had a set of plastic cymbals
that went "duh" when you hit them,
so they didn't make any noise.
164
00:12:33,903 --> 00:12:37,023
I think that sort of says it all,
really.
165
00:12:37,023 --> 00:12:42,064
We had slightly mixed feelings
about Top Of The Pops
because it wasn't very cool,
166
00:12:42,064 --> 00:12:46,905
but it was the great vehicle
for selling records,
so what can you say?
167
00:12:46,905 --> 00:12:50,945
It had a big impact. Our record
went straight into the top ten.
168
00:12:50,945 --> 00:12:53,306
So obviously, the impact was huge.
169
00:12:53,306 --> 00:12:57,186
♪ Storm the master marathon
I'll fly through
170
00:12:57,186 --> 00:13:01,746
♪ By flash and thunder fire
and I'll survive
I'll survive, I'll survive
171
00:13:01,746 --> 00:13:08,187
♪ Then I'll defy the laws of nature
and come out ali-i-ive
Then I'll get you... ♪
172
00:13:08,187 --> 00:13:13,948
We had this song called Seven Seas
Of Rhye, but it's a universal truth
that more groups break up
173
00:13:13,948 --> 00:13:19,666
because of songwriting arguments
than anything else in the world.
Your songs are your babies.
174
00:13:19,666 --> 00:13:25,788
The person who has written the song
tends to be the one person who sees
that one song all the way through
175
00:13:25,788 --> 00:13:31,509
from the idea they have in their head
at first, the final production,
the sounds and the mix...
176
00:13:31,509 --> 00:13:35,151
Most of the time, I have
a clear picture of what I want.
177
00:13:35,151 --> 00:13:38,669
I sort of have a lot of...
say, Roger's parts
178
00:13:38,669 --> 00:13:43,231
and what Brian should do and
things... There are rows, of course.
179
00:13:43,231 --> 00:13:48,749
I've probably never spoken about
this before, but The Seven Seas
Of Rhye was Freddie's idea.
180
00:13:48,749 --> 00:13:54,310
He had this lovely little riff idea
on the piano and all the middle
eight is stuff that I did,
181
00:13:54,310 --> 00:14:00,352
so we worked on it together,
but when it came to the album coming
out, Freddie went, "I wrote that."
182
00:14:00,352 --> 00:14:04,392
And we all went, "OK."
It didn't seem like that big a deal.
183
00:14:04,392 --> 00:14:09,112
Freddie said, "I wrote the words and
it was my idea, so it's my song."
184
00:14:09,112 --> 00:14:15,713
The sort of unwritten law was the
person who brought the song in would
get the credit for writing that song
185
00:14:15,713 --> 00:14:18,154
and the money for writing that song.
186
00:14:18,154 --> 00:14:23,153
Much, much later in Queen history,
we recognised this fact.
187
00:14:29,354 --> 00:14:33,036
♪ Here I stand
Here I stand
188
00:14:33,036 --> 00:14:35,435
♪ Look around, around
189
00:14:35,435 --> 00:14:38,075
♪ Around, around, around... ♪
190
00:14:38,075 --> 00:14:43,876
We were very lucky in that
we hooked up with Mott The Hoople
and we were their warm-up act.
191
00:14:43,876 --> 00:14:46,317
♪ Now I'm here
Now I'm here... ♪
192
00:14:46,317 --> 00:14:50,875
We went all around the UK with them
and it worked out just perfectly.
193
00:14:50,875 --> 00:14:54,437
♪ Now I'm there
Now I'm there... ♪
194
00:14:54,437 --> 00:15:00,158
Then the guys from Mott said,
"Would you like to do
the same thing in America?"
195
00:15:05,237 --> 00:15:08,679
♪ Just a new man
196
00:15:10,439 --> 00:15:12,958
♪ Yes, you made me live again... ♪
197
00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,840
After a few gigs,
I started to feel weird.
198
00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:30,681
Something was happening. I didn't
know if it was my head or my body,
but I started to feel odd.
199
00:15:30,681 --> 00:15:36,081
Then I woke up one morning
in Boston which was going to be
the climax of the tour...
200
00:15:36,081 --> 00:15:42,603
I woke up and I was yellow. The
doctor came and said, "You've got
hepatitis. You have to go home."
201
00:15:42,603 --> 00:15:48,522
I still was amazed we managed to
shepherd him through the immigration
queue at JFK in New York.
202
00:15:48,522 --> 00:15:50,963
The poor fellow could hardly stand.
203
00:15:50,963 --> 00:15:54,163
I was taken on the plane
shoulder to shoulder.
204
00:15:54,163 --> 00:15:59,523
We were devastated
the tour had been cut short.
It was our first trip to America.
205
00:15:59,523 --> 00:16:02,723
But we just ploughed on
in the studio without him.
206
00:16:02,723 --> 00:16:06,004
It was a bit of a long haul
back to health.
207
00:16:06,004 --> 00:16:11,565
I was getting over all this stuff
and I saw Freddie battering out
all these things, thinking,
208
00:16:11,565 --> 00:16:15,924
"I've not got my shit together," and
really starting to worry about it.
209
00:16:15,924 --> 00:16:19,126
♪ She keeps her Moet et Chandon
210
00:16:19,126 --> 00:16:21,365
♪ In her pretty cabinet
211
00:16:21,365 --> 00:16:25,487
♪ "Let them eat cake" she says
just like Marie Antoinette... ♪
212
00:16:25,487 --> 00:16:31,246
Queen I and Queen II were
full-on rock albums and I suppose
it was only a question of time
213
00:16:31,246 --> 00:16:36,446
before they put some clever melody
into it and Sheer Heart Attack was
that break-out album.
214
00:16:36,446 --> 00:16:41,167
And Killer Queen
where Mercury's vocals
have probably never been better.
215
00:16:41,167 --> 00:16:45,487
♪ She's a killer queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
216
00:16:45,487 --> 00:16:47,808
♪ Dynamite with a laser beam
217
00:16:47,808 --> 00:16:51,287
♪ Guaranteed to blow your mind
Any time... ♪
218
00:16:51,287 --> 00:16:54,850
I do remember having a slight
reservation about Killer Queen.
219
00:16:54,850 --> 00:16:59,888
I thought, "Are we selling
ourselves as something
which has become very light?"
220
00:17:00,891 --> 00:17:03,690
But every slice through that record
221
00:17:03,690 --> 00:17:09,771
is a perfect vision. There's lots
of little things which visit once
only like that bell of the cymbal.
222
00:17:09,771 --> 00:17:14,811
# In conversation
she spoke just like a baroness
223
00:17:14,811 --> 00:17:18,930
♪ Met a man from China
Went down to Geisha Minah
224
00:17:18,930 --> 00:17:23,131
♪ Then again incidentally
if you're that way inclined... ♪
225
00:17:23,131 --> 00:17:29,373
Killer Queen always felt a bit
special. It was very sophisticated
and it was very Freddie.
226
00:17:29,373 --> 00:17:35,532
As the albums have progressed,
our songwriting has progressed
and we ventured into different areas.
227
00:17:35,532 --> 00:17:39,573
♪ Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind... ♪
228
00:17:39,573 --> 00:17:44,534
I like writing different songs.
We don't like to repeat
the same formula.
229
00:17:44,534 --> 00:17:49,533
It had a slightly Noel Coward...
You know,
that kind of element in it.
230
00:17:49,533 --> 00:17:55,534
When you took the lyrics apart, you
thought, "How incredible is that!"
Because they were so clever.
231
00:17:55,534 --> 00:18:00,214
♪ Drop of a hat, she's as willing as
Playful as a pussycat
232
00:18:00,214 --> 00:18:04,497
♪ Then momentarily out of action
Temporarily out of gas
233
00:18:04,497 --> 00:18:08,495
♪ To absolutely drive you wild
234
00:18:08,495 --> 00:18:11,417
♪ She's all out to get you
235
00:18:11,417 --> 00:18:13,857
♪ She's a killer queen
236
00:18:13,857 --> 00:18:17,976
♪ Gunpowder, gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
237
00:18:17,976 --> 00:18:21,857
♪ Guaranteed to blow your mind
Any time
238
00:18:21,857 --> 00:18:26,698
♪ Oh, recommended at the price
Insatiable an appetite
239
00:18:26,698 --> 00:18:29,497
♪ Wanna try?
240
00:18:30,497 --> 00:18:33,139
♪ You wanna try... ♪
241
00:18:36,618 --> 00:18:40,900
We were doing a lot of major tours
in Japan, America.
242
00:18:40,900 --> 00:18:47,701
We were headlining by now and doing
very well and selling loads of
records and not seeing any money.
243
00:18:51,819 --> 00:18:57,061
We decided to go
with the production company,
rather than with the record company.
244
00:18:57,061 --> 00:19:02,702
The deal was that we made the album
for the production company and
they sell it to a record company.
245
00:19:02,702 --> 00:19:05,301
It's probably the worst thing
we did.
246
00:19:05,301 --> 00:19:11,822
The deal that they were on just meant
that they weren't going to make
any money out of what they did.
247
00:19:11,822 --> 00:19:14,861
And the way it came to a head
248
00:19:14,861 --> 00:19:17,543
was with the song Death On Two Legs.
249
00:19:17,543 --> 00:19:20,463
♪ You suck my blood like a leech
250
00:19:20,463 --> 00:19:22,704
♪ You break the law and you breach
251
00:19:22,704 --> 00:19:24,743
♪ Screw my brain till it hurts
252
00:19:24,743 --> 00:19:28,783
♪ You've taken all my money
253
00:19:28,783 --> 00:19:31,504
♪ And you want more... ♪
254
00:19:34,484 --> 00:19:39,004
Often I would go to do an interview
and I buy a couple of bottles of wine
255
00:19:39,004 --> 00:19:42,404
on my expenses
because they had no money.
256
00:19:42,404 --> 00:19:45,645
We didn't expect instant riches.
We didn't get them!
257
00:19:45,645 --> 00:19:49,565
Roger was breaking sticks because
he hit the drums pretty hard.
258
00:19:49,565 --> 00:19:53,686
The management's going, "Don't break
any more sticks." We had no money.
259
00:19:55,685 --> 00:20:02,126
One of the management group bought
a Rolls-Royce and we thought, "Hang
on, something's going on here."
260
00:20:04,207 --> 00:20:09,247
It affected Freddie deeply
and Freddie got to the point
where he said,
261
00:20:09,247 --> 00:20:12,329
"I am not delivering any more music.
I can't."
262
00:20:14,688 --> 00:20:18,207
To cut a long story short,
we went with John Reid
263
00:20:18,207 --> 00:20:22,208
who was Elton's incredibly
successful manager at the time.
264
00:20:23,208 --> 00:20:25,730
I remember saying, "You go away
265
00:20:25,730 --> 00:20:29,610
"and make the best record you can.
I'll take care of the business."
266
00:20:29,610 --> 00:20:32,649
We had a good working relationship
with John.
267
00:20:32,649 --> 00:20:37,130
He was very fiery and feisty, but so
were we. We weren't scared of him.
268
00:20:37,130 --> 00:20:40,971
It was the first night
I'd gone out to dinner with Freddie.
269
00:20:40,971 --> 00:20:47,332
I said, "I'd just like to say, as
I said to the other guys, I hope you
know I'm gay and it's not a problem."
270
00:20:47,332 --> 00:20:50,851
And he put his knife and fork down
and said, "So am I!"
271
00:20:52,131 --> 00:20:55,692
Freddie, when I first met him,
wasn't out to the band
272
00:20:55,692 --> 00:20:59,531
because he was struggling
with his own sexuality anyway.
273
00:20:59,531 --> 00:21:05,014
And Freddie was from a very, very
traditional Zoroastrian background
274
00:21:05,014 --> 00:21:10,454
and I think his family considerations
were probably paramount.
275
00:21:12,454 --> 00:21:18,294
I remember when we went into the
studio to make A Night At The Opera,
it felt like make or break.
276
00:21:18,294 --> 00:21:21,934
We were not only poor,
but we were in debt.
277
00:21:21,934 --> 00:21:26,974
All the sound and lighting companies
and the people we worked with
hadn't been paid,
278
00:21:26,974 --> 00:21:32,735
so we were at a really crucial
point. We might have had to break up
if that album hadn't done well.
279
00:21:34,534 --> 00:21:38,377
It was an expensive album,
enormous complexity on there.
280
00:21:38,377 --> 00:21:41,816
Even now, I wonder
how we did some of that stuff.
281
00:21:41,816 --> 00:21:45,857
There was so much hunger there. We
had so much we wanted to bring out.
282
00:21:45,857 --> 00:21:49,376
It was all kept in
and so we had all kinds of songs.
283
00:21:49,376 --> 00:21:56,217
Bohemian Rhapsody was basically like
three songs that I wanted to put out
and I just put the three together.
284
00:21:56,217 --> 00:22:01,618
I think the groundwork for a song
like that was done at Ealing College.
285
00:22:01,618 --> 00:22:05,340
Freddie had lots of bits of songs
which we'd link together
286
00:22:05,340 --> 00:22:11,178
and one of his bits, I just referred
to it as The Cowboy Song and it went,
"Mama, I just killed a man."
287
00:22:11,178 --> 00:22:13,741
♪ Mama
288
00:22:13,741 --> 00:22:16,380
♪ Just killed a man... ♪
289
00:22:16,380 --> 00:22:20,421
The first thing I heard was Freddie
playing "Mama, just killed a man..."
290
00:22:20,421 --> 00:22:25,980
"What do you think?" "I love it.
It's absolutely brilliant."
Not knowing what was to come.
291
00:22:25,980 --> 00:22:29,182
We ended up having to do it
in six studios.
292
00:22:29,182 --> 00:22:34,662
Because they were using
all these studios,
you didn't know what was going on.
293
00:22:36,662 --> 00:22:41,862
You would have guitar parts in one
studio and vocal stuff in another.
294
00:22:41,862 --> 00:22:43,302
♪ Galileo
295
00:22:43,302 --> 00:22:45,142
♪ Galileo
296
00:22:45,142 --> 00:22:47,824
♪ Galileo, Figaro... ♪
297
00:22:47,824 --> 00:22:52,264
Freddie would just turn up and go,
"I've got a few more Galileos."
298
00:22:52,264 --> 00:22:56,024
We were going round all these studios
just hearing parts.
299
00:22:56,024 --> 00:22:59,224
♪ Thunderbolt and lightning
Very, very frightening me
300
00:22:59,224 --> 00:23:04,105
♪ Lightning, very, very frightening,
very, very frightening me... ♪
301
00:23:04,105 --> 00:23:08,906
Only Fred had it in his head
and he was making some of it up
as we went along.
302
00:23:08,906 --> 00:23:11,105
I thought, "I'll do as I please."
303
00:23:11,105 --> 00:23:14,705
♪ Thunderbolt and lightning,
very, very frightening me... ♪
304
00:23:14,705 --> 00:23:20,345
Do as many multi-layer harmonies
as possible.
You know, go well over the top.
305
00:23:20,345 --> 00:23:25,347
It really was tongue-in-cheek,
but at the same time,
"I bet you can't do this."
306
00:23:25,347 --> 00:23:28,426
♪ He's just a poor boy
from a poor family
307
00:23:28,426 --> 00:23:31,668
♪ Spare him his life
from this monstrosity... ♪
308
00:23:31,668 --> 00:23:37,709
But the record company as a mass
came to us and said, "This is too
long. Nobody's going to play it."
309
00:23:37,709 --> 00:23:41,268
I played it to Elton John
at the time
310
00:23:41,268 --> 00:23:45,829
and he said, "Are you off your head?
You'll never get that on the radio."
311
00:23:45,829 --> 00:23:48,788
I said, "It goes out in its entirety
or not at all."
312
00:23:48,788 --> 00:23:52,830
At the crucial moment, this young
man called Kenny Everett came in,
313
00:23:52,830 --> 00:23:57,228
loved the track, stole a copy of it
and played it on his radio show.
314
00:23:57,228 --> 00:24:02,630
Kenny played it 14 times
over the weekend
and of course it was a smash.
315
00:24:02,630 --> 00:24:07,552
Then following that up
with what, to my mind,
was the first ever real music video.
316
00:24:07,552 --> 00:24:10,791
♪ We will not let you go
Let him go! Bismillah!
317
00:24:10,791 --> 00:24:13,911
♪ We will not let you go
Let him go! Bismillah... ♪
318
00:24:13,911 --> 00:24:18,191
I'd never seen anything like it
and I don't think anybody else had.
319
00:24:18,191 --> 00:24:20,312
The video took Queen to another level
320
00:24:20,312 --> 00:24:23,912
where they could really command
the landscape.
321
00:24:23,912 --> 00:24:26,953
♪ Mamma mia, mamma mia
Mamma mia, let me go... ♪
322
00:24:26,953 --> 00:24:32,112
Night At The Opera was that
landmark album that established them
as a major force.
323
00:24:32,112 --> 00:24:37,153
That was the context
in which you could do something
like the Hyde Park concert.
324
00:24:44,594 --> 00:24:49,595
♪ So you think you can stone me
and spit in my eye
325
00:24:49,595 --> 00:24:54,754
♪ So you think you can love me
and leave me to die... ♪
326
00:25:07,355 --> 00:25:11,758
It was Richard Branson. "We think
we can put you on in Hyde Park."
327
00:25:13,157 --> 00:25:16,679
Thank you very much.
Good evening, everybody.
328
00:25:18,998 --> 00:25:22,437
Welcome to our picnic
by the Serpentine.
329
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,478
I remember thinking, "Gulp!" We've
carved out a place around the world,
330
00:25:27,478 --> 00:25:30,920
but England doesn't really think
we're that cool.
331
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:38,000
It was packed beyond belief
and it was really like coming home
to a heroes' welcome.
332
00:25:48,481 --> 00:25:53,001
♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah, ahhh... ♪
333
00:25:55,082 --> 00:26:01,122
It was a thrilling experience
to have that kind of contact with
an audience in your own home town.
334
00:26:02,882 --> 00:26:08,242
When it came to make
Day At The Races, we just thought,
"Let's just do what we do."
335
00:26:08,242 --> 00:26:13,283
The added ingredient
in Day At The Races is this feeling
of freedom which we had
336
00:26:13,283 --> 00:26:19,322
because we had escaped the old
situation, we'd sorted out the money
side, we weren't in debt any more,
337
00:26:19,322 --> 00:26:24,325
we weren't struggling
for our very existence,
so there's a great freedom and joy.
338
00:26:24,325 --> 00:26:26,966
♪ Ca-a-an
339
00:26:26,966 --> 00:26:30,844
♪ Anybody... ♪
340
00:26:30,844 --> 00:26:36,885
It was almost like we were still
making A Night At The Opera.
We just loved it. We revelled in it.
341
00:26:36,885 --> 00:26:41,247
♪ Somebody to lo-o-ove... ♪
342
00:26:42,246 --> 00:26:48,567
Freddie came up with a magnificent,
little sort of foray into white
Gospel, if you want to call it that.
343
00:26:48,567 --> 00:26:50,287
♪ Ooh
344
00:26:50,287 --> 00:26:52,326
♪ Each morning I get up... ♪
345
00:26:52,326 --> 00:26:55,769
We really worked our harmonies
on Somebody To Love.
346
00:26:55,769 --> 00:27:00,287
♪ Take a look at yourself
Take a look in the mirror
and cry... ♪
347
00:27:00,287 --> 00:27:05,168
Freddie's great inspiration
for Somebody To Love
was Aretha Franklin.
348
00:27:05,168 --> 00:27:07,208
He absolutely loved Aretha.
349
00:27:07,208 --> 00:27:10,090
He would like to have been
Aretha Franklin!
350
00:27:10,090 --> 00:27:13,329
♪ Somebody! Somebody!
Ooh, somebody! Somebody!
351
00:27:13,329 --> 00:27:18,370
♪ Can anybody find me
somebody to love...? ♪
352
00:27:18,370 --> 00:27:22,369
From that point of view,
OK, Bohemian Rhapsody, a big hit,
353
00:27:22,369 --> 00:27:26,690
but a song like Somebody To Love is
in my estimation a better sort of...
354
00:27:26,690 --> 00:27:29,529
from the writing aspect,
a better song.
355
00:27:29,529 --> 00:27:32,251
♪ I work till I ache in my bones
356
00:27:32,251 --> 00:27:35,291
♪ At the end
At the end of the day
357
00:27:35,291 --> 00:27:39,172
♪ I take home my hard-earned pay
all on my own
358
00:27:39,172 --> 00:27:42,891
♪ I get down on my knees
and I start to pray
359
00:27:42,891 --> 00:27:46,012
♪ Till the tears run down
from my eyes
360
00:27:46,012 --> 00:27:49,532
♪ Lord, somebody! Somebody!
Ooh, somebody
361
00:27:49,532 --> 00:27:52,653
♪ Can anybody find me... ♪
362
00:27:52,653 --> 00:27:58,412
We were using the studio
to its maximum capacity, painting
a picture like on a huge canvas.
363
00:27:58,412 --> 00:28:01,533
♪ Find me somebody to love
364
00:28:01,533 --> 00:28:04,653
♪ Find me somebody to love... ♪
365
00:28:04,653 --> 00:28:09,334
We had a gift. We had three voices
which really blended instantly.
366
00:28:09,334 --> 00:28:11,375
♪ Find me somebody to love... ♪
367
00:28:11,375 --> 00:28:15,415
Freddie has this wonderful,
crystal-clear, sharp vocal sound.
368
00:28:15,415 --> 00:28:19,975
♪ Find me somebody to love,
find me somebody to love... ♪
369
00:28:19,975 --> 00:28:23,296
Naturally, I've got
the powerful high voice.
370
00:28:23,296 --> 00:28:26,615
He's got the dog whistle pitch,
a very high voice.
371
00:28:26,615 --> 00:28:28,857
♪ Find me somebody to love... ♪
372
00:28:28,857 --> 00:28:31,256
And I had quite a warm sound.
373
00:28:31,256 --> 00:28:34,256
♪ Somebody! Somebody!
Somebody! Somebody!
374
00:28:34,256 --> 00:28:38,976
♪ Somebody! Find me...
Somebody find me somebody to love
375
00:28:38,976 --> 00:28:42,019
♪ Can anybody find me... ♪
376
00:28:42,019 --> 00:28:46,937
Put the three together
and you have something
which sounds sort of Panavision.
377
00:28:49,060 --> 00:28:50,699
♪ Find me
378
00:28:50,699 --> 00:28:52,339
♪ Somebody
379
00:28:52,339 --> 00:28:54,938
♪ To-o-o love
380
00:28:54,938 --> 00:28:56,940
♪ Find me... ♪
381
00:28:56,940 --> 00:29:00,499
To keep their attention,
you've got to really tempt them.
382
00:29:00,499 --> 00:29:04,140
Like, "You can have a break.
Have a coffee and biscuits."
383
00:29:04,140 --> 00:29:09,179
While they're in a good mood,
grab them and do
another 50 million overdubs!
384
00:29:09,179 --> 00:29:13,940
♪ Anybody find me somebody to love
Somebody to love... ♪
385
00:29:13,940 --> 00:29:17,102
We used to call it
the sausage factory in the end
386
00:29:17,102 --> 00:29:20,942
because we got so good at it,
we could just bang 'em out.
387
00:29:23,421 --> 00:29:25,782
A Day At The Races,
388
00:29:25,782 --> 00:29:30,981
as the follow-up to
Night At The Opera, was clearly...
It had a hard act to follow.
389
00:29:30,981 --> 00:29:36,822
People who wanted to have a go
at Queen could quite readily say,
"It's not as good as the last one."
390
00:29:36,822 --> 00:29:39,423
A lot of the press took
against them.
391
00:29:39,423 --> 00:29:42,463
Maybe if you got too successful
too quick,
392
00:29:42,463 --> 00:29:48,943
there was a resentment there
that they hadn't made you,
therefore they wanted to break you.
393
00:29:48,943 --> 00:29:52,706
♪ Oh, take my breath away... ♪
394
00:29:52,706 --> 00:29:56,744
Shortly after I started
to manage them,
395
00:29:56,744 --> 00:30:03,425
I had told all the band one of the
ground rules is don't do any press
without clearing it with me.
396
00:30:03,425 --> 00:30:07,387
You open yourself up to all kinds
of things. Usually, they turn on you.
397
00:30:07,387 --> 00:30:11,425
I went out to dinner with Freddie in
The White Elephant in Curzon Street.
398
00:30:11,425 --> 00:30:16,786
Casually, he said,
"I did an interview with David Wigg
from the Express today."
399
00:30:16,786 --> 00:30:21,828
I said, "I told you no interviews
without clearing it with me."
"Oh, never mind."
400
00:30:21,828 --> 00:30:27,306
I said, "Well, fuck you!
If you don't work within my rules,
you don't work with me."
401
00:30:27,306 --> 00:30:29,869
I got up and left
and I left him there.
402
00:30:29,869 --> 00:30:35,710
I came home, I went upstairs, turned
on the TV and the next thing I knew,
403
00:30:35,710 --> 00:30:37,909
a brick came through the window.
404
00:30:37,909 --> 00:30:43,430
And I looked outside here and there's
Freddie standing in the street,
hands on his hips,
405
00:30:43,430 --> 00:30:46,949
"Don't you ever fucking leave me
in a restaurant..."
406
00:30:46,949 --> 00:30:49,190
I said, "You'd better come in."
407
00:30:50,510 --> 00:30:53,350
Queen didn't have particular respect
408
00:30:53,350 --> 00:30:57,510
from the critics during the '70s,
which is when they had so many hits.
409
00:30:58,551 --> 00:31:02,950
And then punk happened
in the late '70s,
410
00:31:02,950 --> 00:31:07,152
which made the standard rock group
seem passe.
411
00:31:07,152 --> 00:31:09,711
♪ God save the Queen
412
00:31:09,711 --> 00:31:12,512
♪ We mean it, man
413
00:31:13,773 --> 00:31:19,733
The punk stuff, as opposed
to what Queen did, they were coming
from two different points of view.
414
00:31:19,733 --> 00:31:23,892
It was anarchy on one side
and monarchy on the other.
415
00:31:23,892 --> 00:31:28,413
NME was one of
the most vocal proponents of punk.
416
00:31:28,413 --> 00:31:32,055
We were taking, if you like,
music icons at that time
417
00:31:32,055 --> 00:31:35,693
and we were rubbishing them,
basically.
418
00:31:35,693 --> 00:31:40,176
It was thought we should interview
Freddie Mercury, in particular,
419
00:31:40,176 --> 00:31:45,737
and they asked me to go over
to a house in Knightsbridge
owned by John Reid
420
00:31:45,737 --> 00:31:49,136
and there's Freddie
sitting on the patio.
421
00:31:49,136 --> 00:31:52,777
The whole house was
very ostentatious, it must be said.
422
00:31:52,777 --> 00:31:55,976
We did an interview here
with the NME
423
00:31:55,976 --> 00:31:59,898
and, you know,
we were very nice to the guy.
424
00:31:59,898 --> 00:32:02,417
I had a butler, we gave him lunch.
425
00:32:02,417 --> 00:32:05,256
There was a butler,
there was a bodyguard.
426
00:32:05,256 --> 00:32:10,457
There was probably other people
going round with feather dusters
and what have you.
427
00:32:10,457 --> 00:32:13,176
Then the story slagged off Freddie.
428
00:32:14,179 --> 00:32:20,658
Freddie Mercury, when the whole
of the punk new wave movement
was going on around him,
429
00:32:20,658 --> 00:32:28,420
had focused in on something that was
kind of a bit of an alien concept
in some ways which was ballet.
430
00:32:34,979 --> 00:32:39,660
I just feel that there are sort of
balletic moments in our repertoire.
431
00:32:43,741 --> 00:32:46,541
One of the things that he said to me
432
00:32:46,541 --> 00:32:51,262
was that his mission in life
was to bring ballet to the masses.
433
00:32:56,743 --> 00:33:00,863
Well, when the NME piece came out,
Freddie was furious.
434
00:33:00,863 --> 00:33:03,422
They called him "a prat".
435
00:33:04,624 --> 00:33:07,063
You'd be furious.
436
00:33:07,063 --> 00:33:11,264
I think we realised that talking
to the press gets you nowhere.
437
00:33:12,264 --> 00:33:17,023
You might as well paint a target
on your head and go, "Shoot me."
438
00:33:17,023 --> 00:33:22,663
We all have our ups and downs
and our limitations and we know there
are certain things you can't do,
439
00:33:22,663 --> 00:33:25,946
but I don't want some arsehole critic
to tell me that.
440
00:33:29,425 --> 00:33:31,867
I love posing.
441
00:33:31,867 --> 00:33:34,426
That's for the press.
442
00:33:41,067 --> 00:33:44,906
Well, we met The Sex Pistols
in Wessex Studios
443
00:33:44,906 --> 00:33:46,948
and, uh...
444
00:33:46,948 --> 00:33:48,587
I thought it was fascinating.
445
00:33:50,287 --> 00:33:52,626
Can you imagine it just a whole
thing about punk rock
446
00:33:53,629 --> 00:33:58,987
And anti establishment...
under one roof.
447
00:33:58,767 --> 00:34:03,010
Sid came in. Sid was a moron.
You know, he was an idiot.
448
00:34:03,010 --> 00:34:09,610
And he called in to the room,
"Have you succeeded in bringing
ballet to the masses yet?"
449
00:34:09,610 --> 00:34:15,090
I called him "Simon Ferocious"
and he didn't like it. I said,
"What are you going to do about it?"
450
00:34:23,730 --> 00:34:28,090
He hated the fact that I could even
speak like that. Right. Then...
451
00:34:28,090 --> 00:34:31,451
So we went...
I think we survived that test.
452
00:34:31,451 --> 00:34:35,933
♪ Well, you're just 17
All you wanna do is disappear... ♪
453
00:34:35,933 --> 00:34:42,132
I thought when we went into News
Of The World, we couldn't reinvent
ourselves as a punk band,
454
00:34:42,132 --> 00:34:45,893
but we wanted it
a little bit more simple.
455
00:34:45,893 --> 00:34:51,214
We thought maybe these really
grandiose things weren't quite
what was happening then
456
00:34:51,214 --> 00:34:55,254
and to be more of the time, we made
a more straightforward record.
457
00:34:55,254 --> 00:35:00,294
Once we had our audience,
we felt so confident
that they would be there for us
458
00:35:00,294 --> 00:35:03,936
and not require us to be anything
that they'd seen before.
459
00:35:03,936 --> 00:35:05,975
Do a twirl?
460
00:35:05,975 --> 00:35:11,097
They were very open-minded,
Queen audiences,
so we never felt constrained.
461
00:35:19,097 --> 00:35:24,655
We Will Rock You
and We Are The Champions had
a very sort of definite genesis.
462
00:35:24,655 --> 00:35:27,697
The way I remember this story
is Bingley Hall.
463
00:35:27,697 --> 00:35:31,736
We played this great hall
in the Midlands and it was heaving.
464
00:35:31,736 --> 00:35:37,377
Those gigs that you love,
it's all sweaty and hot,
everybody is jumping up and down.
465
00:35:37,377 --> 00:35:39,498
And they were singing along.
466
00:35:39,498 --> 00:35:43,898
♪ She's a killer queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
467
00:35:43,898 --> 00:35:48,460
♪ Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind... ♪
468
00:35:48,460 --> 00:35:54,940
In those days, it was really new.
You just didn't go to concerts
where people sang to rock bands.
469
00:35:54,940 --> 00:35:58,460
But on this particular occasion,
they didn't stop.
470
00:35:58,460 --> 00:36:02,900
And when we went off stage, they
sang You'll Never Walk Alone to us.
471
00:36:02,900 --> 00:36:07,140
I'd gone to sleep thinking,
"What can an audience do?"
472
00:36:07,140 --> 00:36:12,661
They're all crammed in there.
They can stamp their feet,
clap their hands and sing.
473
00:36:12,661 --> 00:36:16,302
So I woke up with We Will Rock You
in my head.
474
00:36:16,302 --> 00:36:20,341
We went into Wessex with these
ideas and that happened to be..
475
00:36:20,351 --> 00:36:25,903
some boards lying around, strange enough
and I thought, "What does this sound like?"
476
00:36:29,024 --> 00:36:35,863
And we multi-tracked it a lot of times
to achieve a sound of a big throng
of people stamping and clapping,
477
00:36:35,863 --> 00:36:38,104
a huge sort of rally of people.
478
00:36:38,104 --> 00:36:41,944
♪ We will, we will rock you... ♪
479
00:36:43,985 --> 00:36:47,904
♪ We will, we will rock you... ♪
480
00:36:49,624 --> 00:36:55,984
I came up with We Will Rock You and
Freddie with We Are The Champions.
His thinking was very similar.
481
00:36:55,984 --> 00:36:59,307
Basically, it is
a participation thing.
482
00:36:59,307 --> 00:37:04,348
I've been really cool
and I'm just thinking
in terms of the public/group thing.
483
00:37:04,348 --> 00:37:07,467
♪ I've paid my dues
484
00:37:08,547 --> 00:37:11,346
♪ Time after time... ♪
485
00:37:12,828 --> 00:37:16,867
We had no idea it would become a
universal, worldwide sports anthem.
486
00:37:16,867 --> 00:37:19,629
Both of them did -
Rock You and Champions.
487
00:37:19,629 --> 00:37:23,667
In football or whatever sport,
you've got two opposing teams.
488
00:37:23,667 --> 00:37:28,629
Both can sing We Are The Champions,
but in a rock show,
there's only one team.
489
00:37:28,629 --> 00:37:31,668
♪ I've had my share of sand
kicked in my face
490
00:37:31,668 --> 00:37:34,190
♪ But I've come through... ♪
491
00:37:34,190 --> 00:37:38,149
It could be construed
as a rather elitist thing.
492
00:37:38,149 --> 00:37:43,471
♪ We are the champions,
my friends... ♪
493
00:37:43,471 --> 00:37:46,991
But it was really "we",
the collective "we".
494
00:37:48,071 --> 00:37:54,112
But if I were you, before
we find out, let's get the sound...
Let's get a real sound on the drums.
495
00:37:54,112 --> 00:37:57,272
It's definitely a song
of great unifying power.
496
00:37:57,272 --> 00:38:00,911
♪ We are the champions
497
00:38:00,911 --> 00:38:04,511
♪ No time for losers
498
00:38:04,511 --> 00:38:09,074
♪ Cos we are the champions... ♪
499
00:38:09,074 --> 00:38:14,593
Here we've got four tracks of
vocals, one with the solo guitar,
then that's the end bit solo.
500
00:38:14,593 --> 00:38:17,954
I've listened to them.
That's the only way we can do it.
501
00:38:17,954 --> 00:38:21,553
Fred was very cheeky. It was
about Queen being the champions
502
00:38:21,553 --> 00:38:25,154
in a sense, the arrogance
for which we were famous.
503
00:38:25,154 --> 00:38:28,634
♪ We are the champions
504
00:38:28,634 --> 00:38:32,475
♪ We are the champions
505
00:38:32,475 --> 00:38:36,436
♪ No time for losers
506
00:38:36,436 --> 00:38:41,275
♪ Cos we are the champions. ♪
507
00:38:47,796 --> 00:38:53,397
Only Queen could come up with
the title "We Are The Champions".
Where's the modesty gone?
508
00:38:53,397 --> 00:38:56,676
Well, there isn't any.
No modesty whatsoever.
509
00:38:56,676 --> 00:39:03,837
After the slaggings-off we get from
the English music press, who cares?
We've got nothing to lose, you know?
510
00:39:03,837 --> 00:39:07,838
Anyway, it's only a song, isn't it?
Fuck 'em!
511
00:39:13,799 --> 00:39:18,758
In those days, it was do the album,
do a video, tour America.
512
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:23,200
One, two!
513
00:39:25,799 --> 00:39:29,841
It was regarded as the sort of grail
of the rock scene.
514
00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:34,681
America was meaning more
and more to us,
515
00:39:34,681 --> 00:39:38,361
and when you smell success
in America, you go for it.
516
00:39:41,122 --> 00:39:44,642
We looked at what was going on
in the States at the time.
517
00:39:44,642 --> 00:39:49,242
The music was very much
dominated by the cool West Coast
518
00:39:49,242 --> 00:39:53,162
kind of rock with The Eagles
and Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac.
519
00:39:53,162 --> 00:39:57,084
And to some extent, Queen, I guess,
didn't fit that mould.
520
00:40:02,605 --> 00:40:07,164
They were bigger, more glamorous,
more extravagant than,
521
00:40:07,164 --> 00:40:10,005
I think, anything that existed
in the States at the time.
522
00:40:10,005 --> 00:40:12,284
They really didn't know
what to make of them.
523
00:40:12,284 --> 00:40:15,204
Why would you call your band Queen
524
00:40:15,204 --> 00:40:18,005
when there's obviously
four guys in it?
525
00:40:18,005 --> 00:40:20,245
That was puzzling.
526
00:40:22,565 --> 00:40:24,526
We were all in one station wagon,
527
00:40:24,526 --> 00:40:29,768
then we were all in one limo,
then it was two in one limo
528
00:40:29,768 --> 00:40:32,407
and two in another,
then it was one each.
529
00:40:32,407 --> 00:40:35,326
But it was really only
because the entourage grew,
530
00:40:35,326 --> 00:40:39,168
it wasn't anything to do with
not wanting to talk to one another.
531
00:40:51,169 --> 00:40:53,169
We did stay pretty connected,
532
00:40:53,169 --> 00:40:55,568
we didn't disappear
to our dressing rooms.
533
00:40:55,568 --> 00:41:00,050
Generally, we found
a big place where we could all
get ready together
534
00:41:00,050 --> 00:41:06,171
and we would kind of joke around.
We had a good kind of camaraderie.
535
00:41:07,811 --> 00:41:10,090
This is called a miracle, folks!
536
00:41:10,090 --> 00:41:12,532
I've lost my shoe!
537
00:41:12,532 --> 00:41:14,691
Oh, but I don't do my own.
538
00:41:16,211 --> 00:41:19,170
Dave! Do, do, do!
539
00:41:26,613 --> 00:41:30,331
I went to see the Queen show
and I had never seen so much luggage
540
00:41:30,331 --> 00:41:33,973
and crew and amps and lighting.
541
00:41:33,973 --> 00:41:36,812
And I said, "This is not
rock'n'roll, this is a show.
542
00:41:36,812 --> 00:41:39,332
"This is a production.
This is Broadway".
543
00:41:39,332 --> 00:41:42,734
"We Will Rock You"
544
00:41:56,775 --> 00:42:01,937
The audience participation
elevated the shows to something
really special.
545
00:42:01,937 --> 00:42:04,376
And I think we put a bit
of distance between us
546
00:42:04,376 --> 00:42:09,017
and some of our contemporaries
like that, because it was such
a great two-way event.
547
00:42:09,017 --> 00:42:11,976
This was a coronation
for Freddie Mercury in this town.
548
00:42:11,976 --> 00:42:17,378
♪ We will, we will rock you tonight
549
00:42:17,378 --> 00:42:20,937
♪ We will, we will rock you
550
00:42:20,937 --> 00:42:24,259
♪ Buddy you're a young man, hard
man, shouting in the street
551
00:42:24,259 --> 00:42:26,378
♪ Gonna take on the world someday
552
00:42:26,378 --> 00:42:29,657
♪ Mud on your face, big disgrace
553
00:42:29,657 --> 00:42:32,899
♪ Waving your banner
all over the place
554
00:42:32,899 --> 00:42:37,137
♪ We will, we will rock you... ♪
555
00:42:37,137 --> 00:42:39,899
It had always surprised us
that it took so long
556
00:42:39,899 --> 00:42:41,659
to break Queen in the States.
557
00:42:43,658 --> 00:42:49,219
It sounds like it happened quickly,
but it didn't, it happened over
a period of about eight years.
558
00:42:49,219 --> 00:42:50,739
We worked very hard at it.
559
00:42:50,739 --> 00:42:53,861
At no point did you think,
"We've made it," cos we hadn't.
560
00:42:53,861 --> 00:42:58,100
This is, um, a Mercury composition
561
00:42:58,100 --> 00:42:59,942
from "A Night At The Opera"
562
00:42:59,942 --> 00:43:03,221
and it's something which a few
people asked us to do last time.
563
00:43:03,221 --> 00:43:06,582
So this is for those people.
This is "Love Of My Life".
564
00:43:06,582 --> 00:43:11,222
The 1977 US tour was pretty much
a sell-out. And midway through,
565
00:43:11,222 --> 00:43:15,342
we actually played two nights at
the legendary Madison Square Gardens
566
00:43:15,342 --> 00:43:18,982
in New York, which is
a sort of landmark for any artist.
567
00:43:18,982 --> 00:43:20,783
It was a watershed for me.
568
00:43:20,783 --> 00:43:24,703
It was a mythical place, of course,
big deal for us to play.
569
00:43:24,703 --> 00:43:29,424
And my parents, from the
beginning... Well, my dad, really.
570
00:43:29,424 --> 00:43:33,264
My dad had really been
against the whole business
of me being a rock star.
571
00:43:33,264 --> 00:43:36,145
It's curious, because he helped me
build the guitar.
572
00:43:36,145 --> 00:43:41,546
If it hadn't been for my dad
slaving hours and hours making
this homemade guitar,
573
00:43:41,546 --> 00:43:44,465
I probably would never have got
to this place.
574
00:43:44,465 --> 00:43:47,625
He really felt that I'd thrown
my education away.
575
00:43:47,625 --> 00:43:51,746
I mean, I was educated to a high
level. So to suddenly to
go off and join a rock band
576
00:43:51,746 --> 00:43:56,987
with apparently no future,
my dad really could not compute it.
577
00:43:56,987 --> 00:44:01,985
He was kind of in tears, really,
he just felt I'd thrown
my life away completely.
578
00:44:01,985 --> 00:44:07,947
♪ You don't know
what it means to me... ♪
579
00:44:07,947 --> 00:44:12,549
But anyway, we were playing
Madison Square Garden and I said,
580
00:44:12,549 --> 00:44:15,667
"Look, Dad, this is a big one
for us, playing America,
581
00:44:15,667 --> 00:44:20,229
"it's New York, it's the first time
we've played this amazing place.
Come over."
582
00:44:25,229 --> 00:44:27,229
So I said,
"Dad, you'll go on Concorde",
583
00:44:27,229 --> 00:44:32,390
you know, it was my dad and my mum.
And they came to the gig
584
00:44:32,390 --> 00:44:34,950
and I remember to this day,
this feeling that our feet
585
00:44:34,950 --> 00:44:38,592
weren't really on the ground,
there was so much electricity
in this place.
586
00:44:38,592 --> 00:44:42,751
♪ You don't know
what it means to me... ♪
587
00:44:42,751 --> 00:44:46,992
And we came off thinking,
"Wow, that was really something,"
588
00:44:46,992 --> 00:44:49,712
and then I went back with my dad
589
00:44:49,712 --> 00:44:55,592
and my dad said, "OK."
He said, "OK, I get it now."
590
00:44:55,592 --> 00:44:57,192
♪ Oooh. ♪
591
00:44:57,192 --> 00:44:59,433
Thank you, Madison Square Garden.
592
00:45:03,352 --> 00:45:05,512
What's happening
when we go back to London?
593
00:45:05,512 --> 00:45:08,753
You're one of the few bands
that actually haven't left Britain.
594
00:45:08,753 --> 00:45:12,793
We're sort of an English band
in a way, we've always lived there.
595
00:45:12,793 --> 00:45:15,915
Well, London particularly.
We've always recorded in England.
596
00:45:15,915 --> 00:45:20,956
It doesn't change the fact
that the taxman still takes
a lot of your money!
597
00:45:20,956 --> 00:45:23,235
I think at the time,
we were paying 83%,
598
00:45:23,235 --> 00:45:27,317
and plus, if you had any money in
the bank which was earning interest,
599
00:45:27,317 --> 00:45:30,236
another 15%, which makes 98% tax.
600
00:45:30,236 --> 00:45:34,597
So we decided to record the next
album, which was "Jazz", in France.
601
00:45:34,597 --> 00:45:37,996
So that's what we did.
In a tiny little village
called Super Bear,
602
00:45:37,996 --> 00:45:41,115
we started the process
of making this album.
603
00:45:41,115 --> 00:45:44,997
♪ Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle
604
00:45:44,997 --> 00:45:50,559
♪ I want to ride my bicycle,
bicycle, bicycle... ♪
605
00:45:50,559 --> 00:45:54,197
Lots of sort of local colour
got put onto that album.
606
00:45:54,197 --> 00:45:56,199
♪ I want to ride my bike... ♪
607
00:45:56,199 --> 00:46:00,838
We were sitting there and the Tour
de France cycle race came through
608
00:46:00,838 --> 00:46:03,079
and inspired Freddie
to write "Bicycle..."
609
00:46:03,079 --> 00:46:06,919
and for some strange reason,
inspired me to write
"Fat Bottomed Girls".
610
00:46:06,919 --> 00:46:10,080
Although there might have been
other inspirations there.
611
00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:14,200
♪ On your marks, get set, go! ♪
612
00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:20,081
Sadly, we weren't there
for the filming.
613
00:46:20,081 --> 00:46:23,000
I thought it was
a hugely amusing idea.
614
00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:26,841
♪ Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle... ♪
615
00:46:26,841 --> 00:46:31,003
I remember the huge disappointment
that none of us could be
at the photo shoot.
616
00:46:31,003 --> 00:46:35,322
Because we were exiled from England,
so we couldn't go back in to see it!
617
00:46:35,322 --> 00:46:38,523
I don't think you'd be able
to do that now, would you?
618
00:46:38,523 --> 00:46:41,642
Yeah, I don't think
we would go there these days.
619
00:46:41,642 --> 00:46:42,843
♪ Bicycle race! ♪
620
00:46:44,642 --> 00:46:47,403
When it came time
to launch the "Jazz" album,
621
00:46:47,403 --> 00:46:51,123
we had the idea of having
a massive party in New Orleans.
622
00:46:51,123 --> 00:46:55,523
♪ Oh, you gonna take me home
tonight... ♪
623
00:46:55,523 --> 00:47:00,166
It was the so-called launch
of that album,
624
00:47:00,166 --> 00:47:02,285
and we had lots of girls and things,
625
00:47:02,285 --> 00:47:06,766
there was a New Orleans band,
it was a very over-the-top party.
626
00:47:06,766 --> 00:47:12,205
♪ Fat bottomed girls, you make
the rockin' world go round... ♪
627
00:47:15,566 --> 00:47:19,165
We had a bit of a spiritual
connection with New Orleans.
628
00:47:19,165 --> 00:47:21,447
A lot of our friends came,
of all sexes.
629
00:47:22,727 --> 00:47:25,286
It was definitely fun.
630
00:47:25,286 --> 00:47:28,047
When I opened up
the door of my suite,
631
00:47:28,047 --> 00:47:31,287
on the bed was a complete case
of Dom Perignon.
632
00:47:31,287 --> 00:47:33,566
And it was downhill from there.
633
00:47:33,566 --> 00:47:37,769
♪ Heap big woman, you made a bad boy
out of me... ♪
634
00:47:37,769 --> 00:47:39,968
I remember I felt quite
ill the next day.
635
00:47:40,668 --> 00:47:44,909
There was a lot of acts..
636
00:47:44,909 --> 00:47:49,550
There was a man, he was actually
a person of restricted growth,
637
00:47:49,550 --> 00:47:51,870
who did lay under meats.
638
00:47:51,870 --> 00:47:55,789
When asked what he did, he said,
"I lie under meats."
639
00:47:55,789 --> 00:48:01,110
And he's covered in sort of
cold cuts and sort of, um,
640
00:48:01,110 --> 00:48:05,670
chopped liver and stuff like that.
You couldn't see him.
641
00:48:05,670 --> 00:48:09,150
So people would approach
the trestle table
642
00:48:09,150 --> 00:48:13,032
and as they just reached out
to scoop their meat,
643
00:48:13,032 --> 00:48:15,472
he would just move, like that.
644
00:48:15,472 --> 00:48:18,233
And that was his act!
645
00:48:18,233 --> 00:48:25,153
♪ Tonight, I'm gonna have myself
a real good time
646
00:48:25,153 --> 00:48:27,553
♪ I feel ali-i-i-ive... ♪
647
00:48:27,553 --> 00:48:30,793
It wasn't a pretence, we actually
did live the life of a rock band.
648
00:48:30,793 --> 00:48:33,354
Sort of living on the edge,
in a sense.
649
00:48:33,354 --> 00:48:38,233
♪ Turning inside out, yeah
650
00:48:38,233 --> 00:48:43,353
♪ Floating around in ecstasy
651
00:48:43,353 --> 00:48:46,516
♪ So don't stop me now... ♪
652
00:48:46,516 --> 00:48:49,915
"Don't Stop Me Now"
is a whole different trip, really.
653
00:48:49,915 --> 00:48:53,357
It's become one of the most
popular Queen songs of all time.
654
00:48:53,357 --> 00:48:56,796
♪ I'm a shooting star leaping
through the sky like a tiger
655
00:48:56,796 --> 00:49:00,557
♪ Defying the laws of gravity
656
00:49:00,557 --> 00:49:04,876
♪ I'm a racing car passing by
like Lady Godiva
657
00:49:04,876 --> 00:49:10,157
♪ I'm gonna go, go, go,
there's no stopping me
658
00:49:10,157 --> 00:49:12,636
♪ I'm burning through
the sky, yeah... ♪
659
00:49:12,636 --> 00:49:15,598
It's a song of sort of
unfettered joy.
660
00:49:15,598 --> 00:49:17,118
♪ ..Mr Fahrenheit
661
00:49:17,118 --> 00:49:19,837
♪ I'm travelling
at the speed of light
662
00:49:19,837 --> 00:49:22,600
♪ I wanna make a supersonic woman
of you... ♪
663
00:49:24,439 --> 00:49:27,478
I've been quoted as saying
I don't like the track.
664
00:49:27,478 --> 00:49:31,000
I kind of do like the track,
but I had mixed feelings,
665
00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:34,399
because in a sense, it represented
a sort of separatism.
666
00:49:34,399 --> 00:49:36,480
It was very much Freddie's world
667
00:49:36,480 --> 00:49:39,200
and reflecting what he was
going through.
668
00:49:39,200 --> 00:49:42,079
Freddie took to the gay scene
in New York
669
00:49:42,079 --> 00:49:45,360
like David Attenborough
making a wildlife programme.
670
00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:50,361
He'd report on what he'd seen
with that kind of "Hey-hey!"
attitude that he had.
671
00:49:50,361 --> 00:49:53,000
There was this one particular place
called The Anvil,
672
00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:57,163
which seemed to have invented new
uses for parts of the human anatomy!
673
00:49:57,163 --> 00:49:58,522
He was never shocked.
674
00:49:58,522 --> 00:50:01,802
He was eager to be
involved in everything,
675
00:50:01,802 --> 00:50:04,243
it was like he was
a social field worker.
676
00:50:04,243 --> 00:50:06,962
♪ I wanna make a supersonic man
out of you... ♪
677
00:50:06,962 --> 00:50:10,804
As far as I'm concerned, I just want
to pack in as much of life
678
00:50:10,804 --> 00:50:16,203
and fun and having a good time
as much as I can.
679
00:50:16,203 --> 00:50:20,484
♪ If you want to have a good time,
just give me a call
680
00:50:20,484 --> 00:50:23,443
♪ Don't stop me now
Cos I'm having a good time.
681
00:50:23,443 --> 00:50:26,245
♪ Don't stop me now
Yes, I'm having a good time
682
00:50:26,245 --> 00:50:30,323
♪ I don't wanna stop at all
683
00:50:32,167 --> 00:50:34,926
♪ Da-da da-da dah
684
00:50:34,926 --> 00:50:38,045
♪ Da da da-ha
685
00:50:38,045 --> 00:50:42,726
♪ Da-da-da ha-ha-hah
686
00:50:42,726 --> 00:50:45,805
♪ Da-da-dah... ♪
687
00:50:45,805 --> 00:50:48,447
The album "Jazz"
was not a complete flop,
688
00:50:48,447 --> 00:50:51,086
it got to number 6 in the chart.
689
00:50:51,086 --> 00:50:55,728
But "Don't Stop Me Now",
which is a big favourite in Britain
to this day,
690
00:50:55,728 --> 00:50:57,847
in America, only got to the 80s.
691
00:50:57,847 --> 00:51:00,768
The review in Rolling Stone
was notorious.
692
00:51:00,768 --> 00:51:04,847
And it shows you that
Queen were not respected.
693
00:51:04,847 --> 00:51:07,007
We were confused by that title.
694
00:51:07,007 --> 00:51:10,849
Why would a rock band
call their album "Jazz"?
695
00:51:10,849 --> 00:51:13,329
It had a couple of great
tracks on it,
696
00:51:13,329 --> 00:51:15,530
but it had some weaker stuff on it.
697
00:51:15,530 --> 00:51:17,690
Queen was maybe viewed
698
00:51:17,690 --> 00:51:21,931
as the Indian meal that had
gone cold in the refrigerator.
699
00:51:21,931 --> 00:51:25,370
What's going to happen
in '79 for Queen?
700
00:51:25,370 --> 00:51:29,411
We're going to make more records,
tour even more.
701
00:51:29,411 --> 00:51:32,971
It's difficult to say. This has been
our hardest working year.
702
00:51:32,971 --> 00:51:36,292
We'd heard that there was this
great studio called Musicland
703
00:51:36,292 --> 00:51:40,411
in Munich, and we'd heard there was
this great engineer called Mack.
704
00:51:40,411 --> 00:51:44,173
And we got into this rather
kind of indulgent way of just
705
00:51:44,173 --> 00:51:48,013
bowling into the studio with
no ideas, or very few ideas,
706
00:51:48,013 --> 00:51:49,774
and just doing it from scratch.
707
00:51:49,774 --> 00:51:51,973
"What you got?"
"Well I dont know, I've got this."
708
00:51:51,973 --> 00:51:55,053
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
709
00:51:57,814 --> 00:52:00,653
♪ This thing called love... ♪
710
00:52:04,854 --> 00:52:06,953
First thing we did was
"Crazy Little Thing ...."
711
00:52:08,653 --> 00:52:11,735
Fred did write the song in the bath,
in about ten minutes.
712
00:52:12,175 --> 00:52:14,255
♪ Crazy little thing called love... ♪
713
00:52:15,934 --> 00:52:20,256
Next, he said, "Tell them
I'm coming over and we've got to go
straight into the studio."
714
00:52:20,256 --> 00:52:23,016
♪ Like a baby
In the cradle all night... ♪
715
00:52:23,016 --> 00:52:26,217
I was very quick, had everything
set up in pretty much no time,
716
00:52:26,217 --> 00:52:30,296
and they put it down,
and then the best bit was,
717
00:52:30,296 --> 00:52:34,498
"Quick, let's finish it
before Brian gets here, otherwise
it takes a little longer!"
718
00:52:34,498 --> 00:52:38,296
♪ There goes my baby
719
00:52:38,296 --> 00:52:40,658
♪ She knows how to rock and roll
720
00:52:40,658 --> 00:52:42,978
♪ She drives me crazy
721
00:52:44,577 --> 00:52:46,339
♪ She gives me hot and cold fever
722
00:52:46,339 --> 00:52:48,339
♪ She leaves me in
a cold, cold sweat... ♪
723
00:52:53,177 --> 00:52:56,420
That was the first number 1
across the board in America.
724
00:52:56,420 --> 00:52:59,179
Billboard, Cashbox
and Record World, I think.
725
00:52:59,179 --> 00:53:00,940
We were still making a record,
726
00:53:00,940 --> 00:53:03,421
we hadn't even nearly finished
the album,
727
00:53:03,421 --> 00:53:06,540
and we were going out in Munich
and somebody came up and said,
728
00:53:06,540 --> 00:53:10,580
"It's gone to number 1 in America."
We were going, "Yeah! More drinks!"
729
00:53:14,782 --> 00:53:18,981
So, "Crazy Little Thing..."
completely cracked
the charts in America.
730
00:53:18,981 --> 00:53:22,622
But it wasn't easy to find
the follow-up.
731
00:53:22,622 --> 00:53:26,462
"Play The Game"
charted outside the US Top 40.
732
00:53:26,462 --> 00:53:30,303
But the next single was
something very different.
733
00:53:30,303 --> 00:53:33,782
One thing I always liked about Queen
was they were four individuals,
734
00:53:33,782 --> 00:53:37,864
all of whom brought something
to the table, musically
and in terms of songwriting,
735
00:53:37,864 --> 00:53:40,303
and that includes
the bass player, John Deacon.
736
00:53:40,303 --> 00:53:43,705
"Another One Bites The Dust"
737
00:53:48,583 --> 00:53:52,105
I'd always wanted to do something
that was more sort of disco-ey,
738
00:53:52,105 --> 00:53:53,984
which was very uncool at the time.
739
00:53:53,984 --> 00:53:57,346
I mean, funk wasn't really
in the vocabulary.
740
00:54:00,225 --> 00:54:01,705
Let's go!
741
00:54:01,705 --> 00:54:05,867
John was pulling us strongly in that
direction, sort of funky direction.
742
00:54:05,867 --> 00:54:08,026
And John got Roger to play
743
00:54:08,026 --> 00:54:11,427
with tape all over his drums,
which is exactly what Roger hated.
744
00:54:11,427 --> 00:54:13,867
Roger hated his drums
being made to sound dead.
745
00:54:13,867 --> 00:54:18,828
I didn't really want to get into
dance music. It wasn't my thing.
746
00:54:21,588 --> 00:54:23,827
♪ Another one bites the dust... ♪
747
00:54:23,827 --> 00:54:28,188
Freddie got deeply into it, Freddie
sort of sang it until he bled,
748
00:54:28,188 --> 00:54:33,109
cos he was so committed to making it
sound the way John wanted it,
which was like hardcore...
749
00:54:33,109 --> 00:54:38,868
I don't know what you would call it.
But it's more towards black music
than white music.
750
00:54:41,750 --> 00:54:45,509
♪ How do you think I'm going to get
along without you when you're gone?
751
00:54:45,509 --> 00:54:49,910
♪ You took me for everything that
I had and kicked me out of my home
752
00:54:49,910 --> 00:54:54,191
♪ Are you happy? Are you satisfied?
How long can you stand the heat?
753
00:54:54,191 --> 00:54:59,071
♪ Out of the doorway, the bullets
whistle to the sound of the beat... ♪
754
00:54:59,071 --> 00:55:03,711
Michael came to several shows,
I think, at the Forum in LA.
755
00:55:03,711 --> 00:55:06,711
And he loved Freddie.
And he kept saying,
756
00:55:06,711 --> 00:55:11,312
"You guys, you've got to put that
song out." I wasn't particularly
enamoured with it,
757
00:55:11,312 --> 00:55:14,312
so I said, "No, you're kidding,
that's never a single."
758
00:55:14,312 --> 00:55:16,234
♪ Another one bites the dust... ♪
759
00:55:16,234 --> 00:55:20,432
"Another One Bites The Dust"
was never seen as a single.
760
00:55:20,432 --> 00:55:22,315
It barely made it onto the album!
761
00:55:24,034 --> 00:55:29,355
It got on the radio
and it got heard by people that
didn't even know who the band was.
762
00:55:29,355 --> 00:55:30,835
♪ Ah, take it! ♪
763
00:55:31,874 --> 00:55:36,836
Strangely enough, the record became
huge because of the black audience.
764
00:55:36,836 --> 00:55:39,915
One particular station in New York
picked it up,
765
00:55:39,915 --> 00:55:42,114
thinking that we were a black band,
766
00:55:42,114 --> 00:55:45,516
and played the hell out of it,
and it became a huge hit.
767
00:55:45,516 --> 00:55:49,714
It was like number 1 in nine
different charts.
768
00:55:49,714 --> 00:55:52,437
I mean, even in the country chart!
It's ridiculous.
769
00:55:52,437 --> 00:55:56,356
And this thing just kept selling,
to around three million.
770
00:55:56,356 --> 00:55:59,798
It was in the Hot 100 for 31 weeks.
771
00:56:01,437 --> 00:56:04,918
When an opponent would get
knocked out in a boxing match,
772
00:56:04,918 --> 00:56:07,518
you'd hear
"Another One Bites The Dust" used.
773
00:56:07,518 --> 00:56:10,197
It became an anthem of triumph.
774
00:56:10,197 --> 00:56:14,599
♪ Yeah, ye-e-e-e-a-a-ah!
All right! ♪
775
00:56:14,599 --> 00:56:17,558
I think it's still
the biggest record we ever had.
776
00:56:17,558 --> 00:56:20,239
♪ Another one bites
the dust, yeah! ♪
777
00:56:20,239 --> 00:56:23,399
People pointing at the cars -
"You guys are bad!"
778
00:56:23,399 --> 00:56:26,561
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're good!"
779
00:56:26,561 --> 00:56:27,920
♪ Another one bites the dust
780
00:56:27,920 --> 00:56:31,960
♪ Hey, gonna get you too,
another one bites the dust... ♪
781
00:56:33,041 --> 00:56:36,520
If you're successful in America,
basically, you've made it.
782
00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:39,720
We kind of became the biggest group
in the world at that moment.
783
00:56:39,720 --> 00:56:42,601
It's a fleeting moment,
because someone else will come
784
00:56:42,601 --> 00:56:45,681
and take over. But for that moment,
we kind of owned the world.
785
00:56:45,681 --> 00:56:48,562
"We Are The Champions"
786
00:56:52,922 --> 00:56:56,562
The sales figures tell the story
that the people wanted Queen
787
00:56:56,562 --> 00:56:58,562
even when the press didn't.
788
00:57:02,804 --> 00:57:06,043
Looking back on it now,
I'd say Queen were never in fashion.
789
00:57:07,244 --> 00:57:09,565
We were never a fashionable group,
I don't think.
790
00:57:10,644 --> 00:57:12,684
Maybe that was to our benefit,
791
00:57:12,684 --> 00:57:16,126
that we didn't become the thing
of the moment, a fashionable thing.
792
00:57:16,126 --> 00:57:19,644
We were just popular, which got
right up some people's noses!
793
00:58:08,130 --> 00:58:10,169
Fred, how do you feel,
playing and singing
794
00:58:10,169 --> 00:58:12,971
before 200,000 people?
Haven't done it yet!
795
00:58:14,490 --> 00:58:17,930
Every song, you felt, was,
"They're stealing the show".
796
00:58:17,930 --> 00:58:21,611
I like Queen very much, but I don't
want to end up life living a quartet.
797
00:58:21,611 --> 00:58:25,371
The band was pretty
much on the verge of falling apart.
798
00:58:25,371 --> 00:58:28,252
I think he had an idea
that he might not be terribly well.
799
00:58:28,252 --> 00:58:31,532
He said, "I'll come back and finish
it off," and he never came back.
800
00:58:31,532 --> 00:58:34,213
That was the last moment
that I had with him.
801
00:59:12,615 --> 00:59:15,574
♪ Flash, aaah
802
00:59:15,574 --> 00:59:17,857
♪ Saviour of the universe... ♪
803
00:59:37,819 --> 00:59:41,259
I wanted us to be massively
successful, I mean...
804
00:59:41,259 --> 00:59:44,140
I think almost everybody
in this business does.
805
00:59:44,140 --> 00:59:48,299
♪ Flash, aaah
806
00:59:48,299 --> 00:59:50,498
♪ He'll save every one of us... ♪
807
00:59:50,498 --> 00:59:53,339
Certainly by the beginning
of the '80s,
808
00:59:53,339 --> 00:59:56,619
the world domination they'd
craved for was definitely there.
809
00:59:56,619 --> 01:00:00,301
♪ Aaah
810
01:00:00,301 --> 01:00:01,940
♪ He's a miracle... ♪
811
01:00:03,621 --> 01:00:07,462
The hardest thing is to actually
maintain the level of success
you've achieved
812
01:00:07,462 --> 01:00:11,621
because I think when
you go all the way up,
the only place is to come down.
813
01:00:11,621 --> 01:00:14,742
♪ Flash, aaah
814
01:00:14,742 --> 01:00:16,941
♪ King of the impossible... ♪
815
01:00:19,943 --> 01:00:23,702
You've no idea where you can get to.
It's like the sky's the limit.
816
01:00:23,702 --> 01:00:25,622
♪ He'll save with a mighty hand
817
01:00:25,622 --> 01:00:28,903
♪ Every man, every woman, every child
with a mighty Flash... ♪
818
01:00:33,623 --> 01:00:36,984
We didn't want just America,
we wanted the whole world, you know.
819
01:00:42,385 --> 01:00:44,585
South America reared its head
820
01:00:44,585 --> 01:00:50,146
and we heard rumours that we were...
the biggest thing ever in Argentina
821
01:00:50,146 --> 01:00:53,425
and Brazil and they started to ask
us to go down there.
822
01:00:53,425 --> 01:00:56,467
They were saying, "You can play
football stadiums down there."
823
01:00:56,467 --> 01:00:58,026
We went, "You're joking."
824
01:00:58,026 --> 01:01:01,825
In those days under
the dictatorship in Argentina,
825
01:01:01,825 --> 01:01:05,507
we were negotiating with the army
general and he said to me,
826
01:01:05,507 --> 01:01:08,625
"How can I possibly allow 50,000
young people into a stadium
827
01:01:08,625 --> 01:01:10,028
"when I can't control them?
828
01:01:10,028 --> 01:01:13,628
"What happens if somebody suddenly
shouts out 'Viva Peron'
829
01:01:13,628 --> 01:01:18,068
"in the middle of a Queen concert
and I have a riot on my hands?"
830
01:01:18,068 --> 01:01:21,748
And I tried to explain to him that,
rather like
831
01:01:21,748 --> 01:01:26,669
gladiatorial matches in Rome,
this was panacea to the people,
832
01:01:26,669 --> 01:01:28,988
they'd never, ever had this before,
833
01:01:28,988 --> 01:01:31,869
this would be an
extraordinary experience.
834
01:01:34,789 --> 01:01:37,389
So we got the whole thing together
835
01:01:37,389 --> 01:01:40,629
and it was God knows how many
jumbo jets full of equipment.
836
01:01:40,629 --> 01:01:45,072
And when we arrived in Buenos Aires,
as we're unloading it,
837
01:01:45,072 --> 01:01:48,311
you could see spent bullet cases,
and thinking,
838
01:01:48,311 --> 01:01:50,991
"Yeah, we really are in a very
different place here."
839
01:01:50,991 --> 01:01:56,311
We were looking for a bodyguard for
Freddie, this particular man came in
840
01:01:56,311 --> 01:02:00,553
and his opening recommendation was
that he'd killed 212 people.
841
01:02:00,553 --> 01:02:03,592
The travel arrangements
were very scary.
842
01:02:03,592 --> 01:02:05,672
Driving the wrong way along
a raised motorway
843
01:02:05,672 --> 01:02:11,152
with outriders, with guys in big
jeeps waving their big guns
844
01:02:11,152 --> 01:02:15,273
and getting the cars, coming
straight towards them, to pull over.
845
01:02:15,273 --> 01:02:18,792
We got caught in a traffic jam and
one of the policemen just stood up,
846
01:02:18,792 --> 01:02:20,356
put his head through the roof
847
01:02:20,356 --> 01:02:25,074
and started firing his gun in the
air in order to clear the traffic.
848
01:02:25,074 --> 01:02:26,274
Very hair-raising.
849
01:02:28,516 --> 01:02:29,835
Hello, amigos.
850
01:02:37,596 --> 01:02:41,756
Fred, how do you feel playing
and singing before 200,000 people?
851
01:02:41,756 --> 01:02:44,077
I haven't done it yet!
852
01:02:47,835 --> 01:02:51,877
I can remember being nervous
the first night.
853
01:02:51,877 --> 01:02:56,398
The top tier alone took 80,000
and we were in this sort of dug-out
854
01:02:56,398 --> 01:02:59,158
which I guess the football teams
would normally be in.
855
01:02:59,158 --> 01:03:02,599
All the windows were broken
and I remember thinking
856
01:03:02,599 --> 01:03:06,599
this is... You know, it's going to
take some balls to walk out there.
857
01:03:06,599 --> 01:03:07,718
Hello, Sao Paulo!
858
01:03:26,360 --> 01:03:28,520
♪ Get your party gown
859
01:03:28,520 --> 01:03:30,000
♪ Get your pigtail down
860
01:03:30,000 --> 01:03:31,922
♪ Get your heart beating, baby
861
01:03:33,122 --> 01:03:34,361
♪ Get your timing right
862
01:03:34,361 --> 01:03:36,362
♪ I got my act all tight
863
01:03:36,362 --> 01:03:39,562
♪ It's gotta be tonight
My little school babe
864
01:03:39,562 --> 01:03:41,202
♪ Your momma says you don't
865
01:03:41,202 --> 01:03:44,002
♪ Your daddy says you won't
And I'm boiling up inside... ♪
866
01:03:44,002 --> 01:03:47,003
They knew all the songs.
These people don't speak English
867
01:03:47,003 --> 01:03:49,202
but they could sing along
all the Queen songs
868
01:03:49,202 --> 01:03:52,444
so they're obviously very genuine
fans and they went nuts.
869
01:03:52,444 --> 01:03:55,763
♪ Tie your mother down
Tie your mother down
870
01:03:55,763 --> 01:03:58,603
♪ Lock your daddy out of doors
I don't need him nosing around
871
01:03:58,603 --> 01:04:02,004
♪ Tie your mother down
Tie your mother down
872
01:04:02,004 --> 01:04:06,446
♪ Give me all your love tonight
873
01:04:10,565 --> 01:04:12,604
♪ Tonight... ♪
874
01:04:12,604 --> 01:04:14,566
It also takes a certain ego
875
01:04:14,566 --> 01:04:18,445
and a certain drive to want to be
876
01:04:18,445 --> 01:04:20,966
in that spotlight and go on display.
877
01:04:21,967 --> 01:04:25,446
And Freddie thrived
and got better in bigger arenas.
878
01:04:25,446 --> 01:04:26,485
♪ Yeah
879
01:04:26,485 --> 01:04:27,607
# Yeah
880
01:04:27,607 --> 01:04:28,687
♪ Yeah
881
01:04:28,687 --> 01:04:29,847
♪ Yeah
882
01:04:29,847 --> 01:04:30,887
♪ Yeah ye-yeah yeah
883
01:04:30,887 --> 01:04:32,206
♪ Yeah ye-yeah yeah
884
01:04:32,206 --> 01:04:33,446
♪ Yeah yeah ye-ye-yeah
885
01:04:33,446 --> 01:04:34,847
♪ Yeah yeah ye-ye-yeah
886
01:04:34,847 --> 01:04:36,808
♪ All right
All right
887
01:04:36,808 --> 01:04:38,647
♪ All right
All right
888
01:04:38,647 --> 01:04:40,287
♪ Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
889
01:04:40,287 --> 01:04:41,446
♪ Yeah Yeah
890
01:04:41,446 --> 01:04:43,089
♪ Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
891
01:04:43,089 --> 01:04:44,609
♪ Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
892
01:04:44,609 --> 01:04:45,649
♪ Yeah Yeah
893
01:04:45,649 --> 01:04:46,688
♪ Yeah
894
01:04:46,688 --> 01:04:48,168
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah
895
01:04:48,168 --> 01:04:53,609
♪ Aaaaaaaall right
896
01:04:53,609 --> 01:04:58,569
♪ Aaaaaaaall right
897
01:04:59,930 --> 01:05:01,329
Let's do it to tempo.
898
01:05:06,809 --> 01:05:09,290
Once we'd finished Argentina
and Brazil,
899
01:05:09,290 --> 01:05:11,811
the band decided to go
back into the studio
900
01:05:11,811 --> 01:05:14,971
and they had of course bought
the studios in Montreux, here.
901
01:05:23,252 --> 01:05:28,772
Mountain Studios was in the casino
by the lake in Montreux.
902
01:05:28,772 --> 01:05:31,854
When they first arrived it was,
like, the top studio in Europe.
903
01:05:33,533 --> 01:05:37,052
We were in the studio in Montreux
and David Bowie lives nearby.
904
01:05:38,013 --> 01:05:40,574
I think we went out for a meal
or drinks or something
905
01:05:40,574 --> 01:05:43,453
and then landed up back in
the studio with the sort of
906
01:05:43,453 --> 01:05:45,293
rough intention of doing something.
907
01:05:45,293 --> 01:05:47,934
We were fooling around and just...
908
01:05:47,934 --> 01:05:50,733
jamming with tracks
and suddenly we said,
909
01:05:50,733 --> 01:05:54,216
"Why don't we just see what we can do
on the spur of the moment?"
910
01:05:54,216 --> 01:05:58,735
Then it's the pressure
of His Majesty David being there
911
01:05:58,735 --> 01:06:03,456
and everybody wanted to look suave
and quick with ideas and stuff.
912
01:06:03,456 --> 01:06:06,415
Deacy of course came up with this
riff - dun dun dun de de dun dun.
913
01:06:08,497 --> 01:06:10,616
♪ Bom bom bom buddle der der
914
01:06:10,616 --> 01:06:12,136
♪ Ding ding ding digger ding ding
915
01:06:14,617 --> 01:06:17,017
He kept playing that over and over
and over again.
916
01:06:18,457 --> 01:06:21,418
And then we went for a pizza
and he forgot it.
917
01:06:21,418 --> 01:06:26,177
Completely escaped his mind!
We got back and I remembered it.
918
01:06:28,259 --> 01:06:31,659
And of course, we're used to playing
together and now we have this
919
01:06:31,659 --> 01:06:35,180
other guy there who's also
inputting, inputting, inputting.
920
01:06:35,180 --> 01:06:37,579
David's idea of putting these
clicks and claps
921
01:06:37,579 --> 01:06:39,739
and then the track just grew.
922
01:06:44,820 --> 01:06:47,180
By that time,
David was very impassioned.
923
01:06:47,180 --> 01:06:50,021
He had a vision in his head,
I think.
924
01:06:50,021 --> 01:06:52,980
It's quite a difficult process
and somebody has to back off
925
01:06:52,980 --> 01:06:55,260
and actually I did back off,
unusual for me.
926
01:06:55,260 --> 01:06:59,780
♪ Pressure pushing down on me
927
01:06:59,780 --> 01:07:01,181
♪ Pressing down on you
928
01:07:01,181 --> 01:07:03,343
♪ No man ask for
929
01:07:03,343 --> 01:07:04,983
♪ Under pressure
930
01:07:04,983 --> 01:07:08,142
♪ That burns a building down
931
01:07:08,142 --> 01:07:10,664
♪ Splits a family in two
932
01:07:10,664 --> 01:07:12,103
♪ Puts people on streets... ♪
933
01:07:12,103 --> 01:07:14,982
For the vocals, one of them
was to be locked out
934
01:07:14,982 --> 01:07:17,342
and not allowed to
hear what the other one sang
935
01:07:17,342 --> 01:07:19,824
and they sang anything off the top
of their heads.
936
01:07:19,824 --> 01:07:21,823
♪ It never rains but it pours
937
01:07:21,823 --> 01:07:23,862
♪ Um ba-ba bey... ♪
938
01:07:23,862 --> 01:07:28,863
Fred starts doing his bum-didder-dup
and his bits-and-pieces
939
01:07:28,863 --> 01:07:31,263
and I see out of
the corner of my eye,
940
01:07:31,263 --> 01:07:34,425
I see David sticking his head in,
listening.
941
01:07:34,425 --> 01:07:38,263
Then Fred came down, David went up
and Freddie was quite impressed
942
01:07:38,263 --> 01:07:40,866
that he was counterpointing
to what he did before.
943
01:07:40,866 --> 01:07:42,666
♪ ..This world is about
944
01:07:42,666 --> 01:07:46,506
♪ Watching some good friends
screaming let me out
945
01:07:46,506 --> 01:07:50,466
♪ Pray tomorrow gets me
higher, high, high
946
01:07:50,466 --> 01:07:54,708
♪ Pressure on people
People on streets... ♪
947
01:07:54,708 --> 01:07:57,467
And Fred said,
"What do you make of this?"
948
01:07:57,467 --> 01:08:01,947
I said, "It's kind of easy if you
stand in the doorway listening
to what you're doing."
949
01:08:01,947 --> 01:08:05,427
And Freddie turned,
"What the fuck"?
950
01:08:05,427 --> 01:08:10,668
♪ Cos love's such
an old fashioned word
951
01:08:10,668 --> 01:08:13,747
♪ And love dares you
952
01:08:13,747 --> 01:08:20,429
♪ To care for the people
on the edge of the night
953
01:08:20,429 --> 01:08:23,390
♪ And love dares you
954
01:08:23,390 --> 01:08:26,110
♪ To change our way of
955
01:08:26,110 --> 01:08:30,190
♪ Caring about ourselves
956
01:08:30,190 --> 01:08:33,950
♪ This is our last dance... ♪
957
01:08:35,272 --> 01:08:38,950
The result is very good but it was
a difficult experience, I think,
958
01:08:38,950 --> 01:08:42,070
because people pulling in different
directions, in a sense.
959
01:08:42,070 --> 01:08:43,312
♪ Under pressure... ♪
960
01:08:43,312 --> 01:08:47,390
Under Pressure, David Bowie,
the band, me,
961
01:08:47,390 --> 01:08:50,393
I don't think it mixed too well.
962
01:08:50,393 --> 01:08:51,953
♪ Pressure. ♪
963
01:08:51,953 --> 01:08:54,472
Shame actually, it's...
964
01:08:54,472 --> 01:08:59,233
I thought it was fabulous,
we could've done some incredible
further things, actually.
965
01:09:06,034 --> 01:09:10,512
Well, here we have a total change
of life for all of us, really.
966
01:09:10,512 --> 01:09:13,914
We went back to Munich
to do the next album
967
01:09:13,914 --> 01:09:17,393
and really, I suppose, things
started to go downhill.
968
01:09:18,636 --> 01:09:20,995
It's actually a rather grim place.
969
01:09:20,995 --> 01:09:26,477
It's a studio in the basement of
a huge tower block which is a hotel.
970
01:09:27,756 --> 01:09:29,716
And it's kind of depressing.
971
01:09:29,716 --> 01:09:34,157
A lot of people used to jump off
that building and kill themselves,
972
01:09:34,157 --> 01:09:36,836
off that particular building,
it was well known for it.
973
01:09:36,836 --> 01:09:40,197
We didn't know that until we got
there, so we went a bit nuts.
974
01:09:43,517 --> 01:09:46,958
By that time, we were getting
very finicky about recording
975
01:09:46,958 --> 01:09:48,357
and we spent months there.
976
01:09:53,799 --> 01:09:57,238
After the massive success of
Another One Bites The Dust,
977
01:09:57,238 --> 01:10:01,560
the thinking was we'll make an album
that's slightly more dance
orientated.
978
01:10:01,560 --> 01:10:02,839
Not my idea.
979
01:10:02,839 --> 01:10:05,839
Especially in Freddie's entourage,
980
01:10:05,839 --> 01:10:09,400
I won't mention any names
like Paul Prenter, for instance,
981
01:10:09,400 --> 01:10:13,920
loathed guitars and
found that Brian was old fashioned.
982
01:10:13,920 --> 01:10:17,041
Paul Prenter had become
Freddie's personal assistant.
983
01:10:17,041 --> 01:10:20,520
He was a very, very bad influence
upon Freddie,
984
01:10:20,520 --> 01:10:22,842
hence on the band, really.
985
01:10:22,842 --> 01:10:25,681
He very much wanted
our music to sound
986
01:10:25,681 --> 01:10:27,681
like you'd just walked in
a gay club.
987
01:10:27,681 --> 01:10:29,362
And I didn't.
988
01:10:29,362 --> 01:10:31,162
♪ Back chat, back chat
989
01:10:31,162 --> 01:10:33,241
♪ Criticising all you see
990
01:10:33,241 --> 01:10:35,161
♪ Back chat, back chat
991
01:10:35,161 --> 01:10:37,124
♪ Analysing what I say... ♪
992
01:10:37,124 --> 01:10:39,723
There were a lot of strains in
the band that'd happen
993
01:10:39,723 --> 01:10:43,444
with four people of that
strength of character.
994
01:10:43,444 --> 01:10:48,363
Everybody had their say
and the arguments were creative
and then it would become personal.
995
01:10:48,363 --> 01:10:50,525
Of course!
996
01:10:50,525 --> 01:10:54,204
It was a sort of emotional
roller coaster.
997
01:10:54,204 --> 01:10:57,646
I think less and less time
was spent in the studio.
998
01:11:01,404 --> 01:11:04,405
Get up about three o'clock and go
and have breakfast
999
01:11:04,405 --> 01:11:07,405
and then a bit of work would be
done and then you'd have dinner
1000
01:11:07,405 --> 01:11:12,127
and then one of the roadies would
start mixing cocktails and then...
1001
01:11:13,647 --> 01:11:15,646
other things would...ahem, happen.
1002
01:11:15,646 --> 01:11:17,326
♪ Give me... ♪
1003
01:11:19,207 --> 01:11:22,007
I'm not saying cocaine
and other drugs
1004
01:11:22,007 --> 01:11:25,086
and loose women had anything
to do with that at all.
1005
01:11:25,086 --> 01:11:26,967
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!
1006
01:11:26,967 --> 01:11:29,967
♪ Body, body
1007
01:11:29,967 --> 01:11:34,048
♪ Give me your body... ♪
1008
01:11:34,048 --> 01:11:37,528
It turned into a rather exhausting
cycle, I think, in the end.
1009
01:11:37,528 --> 01:11:40,569
♪ Don't talk, don't talk, don't talk
1010
01:11:40,569 --> 01:11:42,368
♪ Baby, don't talk... ♪
1011
01:11:42,368 --> 01:11:45,728
I don't know if I can say this...
Yes, I could probably say this.
1012
01:11:45,728 --> 01:11:50,369
We all got ourselves into deep
trouble emotionally in Munich
1013
01:11:50,369 --> 01:11:55,771
and Freddie was no exception, he got
himself deep into emotional waters
which he couldn't really handle
1014
01:11:55,771 --> 01:11:58,050
and was very unhappy
for some of the time.
1015
01:11:58,050 --> 01:12:02,971
♪ Give me your body... ♪
1016
01:12:02,971 --> 01:12:07,251
He was being sucked into places
which really probably
weren't good for him.
1017
01:12:07,251 --> 01:12:09,692
And I think we all felt that
1018
01:12:09,692 --> 01:12:12,371
and realised that he was
in some kind of danger.
1019
01:12:12,371 --> 01:12:15,973
♪ Give me, yeah
1020
01:12:15,973 --> 01:12:19,611
♪ Your body... ♪
1021
01:12:20,811 --> 01:12:23,614
I certainly saw the change
in Freddie...
1022
01:12:23,614 --> 01:12:24,734
♪ Don't talk... ♪
1023
01:12:24,734 --> 01:12:27,892
..in the club Heaven in 1983.
1024
01:12:27,892 --> 01:12:30,295
I said to him, "Have you
modified your behaviour
1025
01:12:30,295 --> 01:12:33,693
"in light of 'the new disease'",
which as of yet did not have a name.
1026
01:12:35,333 --> 01:12:38,575
And with the sweep of his arms
in a theatrical fashion, he said,
1027
01:12:38,575 --> 01:12:44,256
"Darling, my attitude is fuck it,
I'm doing everything with
everybody."
1028
01:12:44,256 --> 01:12:47,455
If someone kept a chart
of rock and roll royalty,
1029
01:12:47,455 --> 01:12:49,254
Queen would have to be at the top.
1030
01:12:49,254 --> 01:12:51,816
Now Queen is back on tour
1031
01:12:51,816 --> 01:12:54,575
and perhaps up against their
biggest challenge yet.
1032
01:12:54,575 --> 01:13:00,097
Now, most of you know that we've got
some new sounds out last week and...
1033
01:13:01,537 --> 01:13:04,898
..for what it's worth, we're going
to do a few songs in
1034
01:13:04,898 --> 01:13:08,058
the funk-black category,
whatever you call it.
1035
01:13:08,058 --> 01:13:10,497
Record sales are not
as strong as in the past
1036
01:13:10,497 --> 01:13:12,698
and that's left everyone wondering.
1037
01:13:12,698 --> 01:13:14,458
I don't like everything that we do.
1038
01:13:14,458 --> 01:13:16,578
I like a lot of what we do
but not everything.
1039
01:13:16,578 --> 01:13:19,619
It depends on whatever the four
individuals in the group,
1040
01:13:19,619 --> 01:13:22,938
what music they're into at the time
and what songs they're writing.
1041
01:13:22,938 --> 01:13:26,699
There might be a couple of songs
come out you don't like very much.
1042
01:13:26,699 --> 01:13:27,939
I could name a couple!
1043
01:13:27,939 --> 01:13:31,698
Well, Hot Space in Queen terms
was pretty disastrous, really.
1044
01:13:31,698 --> 01:13:34,700
It didn't appeal to
some of the hardcore Queen fans
1045
01:13:34,700 --> 01:13:37,940
who would turn up at concerts with
banners saying "disco sucks".
1046
01:13:37,940 --> 01:13:42,581
It's only a bloody record, people get
so excited about these things.
I mean...
1047
01:13:42,581 --> 01:13:45,061
The band...
1048
01:13:45,061 --> 01:13:47,422
It was pretty much on
the verge of falling apart.
1049
01:13:47,422 --> 01:13:51,181
I think we had a couple of meetings
and staff to discuss
1050
01:13:51,181 --> 01:13:53,181
were we still together etc, etc.
1051
01:13:53,181 --> 01:13:56,262
What to do if you're a member
of an internationally successful
1052
01:13:56,262 --> 01:13:58,541
rock band but want to
blow off creative steam
1053
01:13:58,541 --> 01:14:00,542
that doesn't fit the band's image.
1054
01:14:00,542 --> 01:14:03,063
Our next guest has faced that,
he is Roger Taylor.
1055
01:14:03,063 --> 01:14:07,181
He's just blown off some of his own
steam with his second solo album,
1056
01:14:07,181 --> 01:14:08,905
Strange Frontier. Let's look at it.
1057
01:14:08,905 --> 01:14:12,064
♪ Sometimes I feel
like a man on fire
1058
01:14:12,064 --> 01:14:14,743
♪ Sometimes I feel
like a man possessed
1059
01:14:14,743 --> 01:14:19,384
♪ Sometimes I wanna burn down
this crazy town... ♪
1060
01:14:19,384 --> 01:14:21,103
I think we decided we
needed a break.
1061
01:14:21,103 --> 01:14:25,625
Queen propelled us into the world
but also in a sense it confined us
1062
01:14:25,625 --> 01:14:29,945
into a very small space.
We just worked with each other,
not the other fabulous musicians.
1063
01:14:32,026 --> 01:14:35,345
I ended up in LA
and one morning just got up
1064
01:14:35,345 --> 01:14:38,586
and rang up some mates there and
said, "Why don't we do something?"
1065
01:14:38,586 --> 01:14:41,026
And it led to
the Star Fleet Project.
1066
01:14:41,026 --> 01:14:43,948
♪ Star fleet, star fleet
1067
01:14:46,628 --> 01:14:49,747
♪ Star fleet, star fleet... ♪
1068
01:14:52,228 --> 01:14:55,228
At a certain point we were
all ready, there's no doubt.
1069
01:14:55,228 --> 01:14:57,507
We'd been off doing
our different things,
1070
01:14:57,507 --> 01:15:00,668
refreshing ourselves but we were
ready to get back in the studio.
1071
01:15:06,709 --> 01:15:09,789
This is the hardest time for us,
this is a big test, we've been
1072
01:15:09,789 --> 01:15:15,709
in the business 12 years and to keep
it going that much further is hard.
1073
01:15:15,709 --> 01:15:17,229
The Works was the next album.
1074
01:15:17,229 --> 01:15:19,431
We thought we wanted somewhere
nice and warm
1075
01:15:19,431 --> 01:15:21,831
and not freezing bloody cold Munich.
1076
01:15:21,831 --> 01:15:24,910
So that really made sense,
to go to LA to make that record.
1077
01:15:27,272 --> 01:15:30,031
And I think we got back on track
in The Works, actually.
1078
01:15:33,992 --> 01:15:36,631
They were a complicated
musical marriage.
1079
01:15:36,631 --> 01:15:39,711
They didn't have one room in
a studio, they had three or four.
1080
01:15:39,711 --> 01:15:43,032
Studio B, Studio C,
Studio D, Studio E.
1081
01:15:43,032 --> 01:15:44,432
But that was a good thing
1082
01:15:44,432 --> 01:15:47,354
cos it allowed everybody to
work on their individual songs.
1083
01:15:47,354 --> 01:15:49,673
In the early days it was
Brian and Freddie
1084
01:15:49,673 --> 01:15:51,872
who really used to write
most of the material
1085
01:15:51,872 --> 01:15:53,871
but over the last five years,
1086
01:15:53,871 --> 01:15:57,154
Roger and I have started to
contribute more.
1087
01:16:00,273 --> 01:16:03,475
I thought John Deacon was
kind of a secret weapon because
1088
01:16:03,475 --> 01:16:06,474
he would come up with these
major hits out of nowhere.
1089
01:16:07,634 --> 01:16:09,596
He had this track,
I Want To Break Free,
1090
01:16:09,596 --> 01:16:12,915
and it was pretty much there
except this big hole in the middle.
1091
01:16:14,274 --> 01:16:18,716
I mean, John did not want a guitar
solo so he asked Fred Mandel,
1092
01:16:18,716 --> 01:16:21,595
a very brilliant keyboard player,
to improvise something
1093
01:16:21,595 --> 01:16:25,037
around the main tune
and Fred did this brilliant take.
1094
01:16:36,357 --> 01:16:39,758
You know, all their records used
to say prominently "no synthesizers"
1095
01:16:39,758 --> 01:16:42,118
then I come along
like another schmuck
1096
01:16:42,118 --> 01:16:44,239
and put synthesizers on everything.
1097
01:16:45,439 --> 01:16:48,679
I wasn't too happy at the time
but I gave it my blessing,
1098
01:16:48,679 --> 01:16:49,718
that's the deal.
1099
01:16:51,879 --> 01:16:55,719
The polarity of writing
within the band changed.
1100
01:16:55,719 --> 01:16:58,120
I think the time has come
where we actually...
1101
01:16:58,120 --> 01:17:00,280
in songwriting,
we're completely even.
1102
01:17:00,280 --> 01:17:04,439
Roger will come up with something
like Radio Ga Ga and it's perfect.
1103
01:17:07,921 --> 01:17:12,842
It was Sunday afternoon, my son
Felix came in, he was very young
1104
01:17:12,842 --> 01:17:16,681
and he just sort of went,
"Ah, radio, caca"
1105
01:17:16,681 --> 01:17:18,641
cos he's half French.
1106
01:17:18,641 --> 01:17:22,762
And, um, I just thought
that's quite nice, you know.
1107
01:17:25,161 --> 01:17:27,603
I put the backing track together
1108
01:17:27,603 --> 01:17:30,242
and presented it to Freddie
who really loved it.
1109
01:17:38,682 --> 01:17:41,445
We took it into the next room
and then Fred and I worked
1110
01:17:41,445 --> 01:17:42,805
on the vocoder parts.
1111
01:17:42,805 --> 01:17:45,084
♪ All we hear is
1112
01:17:45,084 --> 01:17:46,604
♪ Radio ga ga
1113
01:17:46,604 --> 01:17:49,246
♪ Radio goo goo
1114
01:17:49,246 --> 01:17:51,005
♪ Radio ga ga... ♪
1115
01:17:51,005 --> 01:17:54,124
If you listen,
several times it says "radio caca".
1116
01:17:54,124 --> 01:17:55,646
♪ Radio ga ga
1117
01:17:55,646 --> 01:17:58,406
♪ Radio ga ga... ♪
1118
01:17:58,406 --> 01:18:01,365
Radio Ga Ga brought Queen back.
1119
01:18:01,365 --> 01:18:04,047
♪ Radio... ♪
1120
01:18:04,047 --> 01:18:05,726
It came from a rock thing.
1121
01:18:05,726 --> 01:18:08,205
Radio Ga Ga combined the best
elements of
1122
01:18:08,205 --> 01:18:09,927
the '70s with the '80s.
1123
01:18:09,927 --> 01:18:12,367
That's where Queen had a strength
with The Works.
1124
01:18:12,367 --> 01:18:15,846
It was more of a substantial hit
even though it didn't actually make
1125
01:18:15,846 --> 01:18:17,968
the top 10 in America.
1126
01:18:17,968 --> 01:18:21,208
But it got played a lot
and the video made a big impact.
1127
01:18:21,208 --> 01:18:23,087
♪ Let's hope you never
1128
01:18:23,087 --> 01:18:25,328
♪ Leave, old friend
1129
01:18:25,328 --> 01:18:27,169
♪ Like all good things
1130
01:18:27,169 --> 01:18:29,448
♪ On you we depend
1131
01:18:29,448 --> 01:18:31,569
♪ So stick around
1132
01:18:31,569 --> 01:18:34,329
♪ Cos we might miss you... ♪
1133
01:18:34,329 --> 01:18:38,170
We had a killer video which we
put a lot of work into.
1134
01:18:38,170 --> 01:18:40,129
♪ You had your time
1135
01:18:40,129 --> 01:18:41,810
♪ You had the power
1136
01:18:41,810 --> 01:18:44,049
♪ You've yet to have... ♪
1137
01:18:44,049 --> 01:18:46,810
The whole thing just felt good,
of its time.
1138
01:18:46,810 --> 01:18:51,289
It felt a bit different.
It felt modern and it was very fresh.
1139
01:18:51,289 --> 01:18:55,571
♪ All we hear is radio ga ga
1140
01:18:55,571 --> 01:18:57,171
♪ Radio goo goo
1141
01:18:57,171 --> 01:18:59,812
♪ Radio ga ga... ♪
1142
01:18:59,812 --> 01:19:03,851
All of a sudden people,
would participate jointly
1143
01:19:03,851 --> 01:19:06,173
in Radio Ga Ga situations.
1144
01:19:06,173 --> 01:19:10,812
A collective statement
that was good on the radio,
1145
01:19:10,812 --> 01:19:12,694
or on a turntable.
1146
01:19:12,694 --> 01:19:14,973
In live, it really was
a unification.
1147
01:19:14,973 --> 01:19:18,852
♪ All we hear is radio ga ga
1148
01:19:18,852 --> 01:19:20,534
♪ Radio goo goo
1149
01:19:20,534 --> 01:19:22,414
♪ Radio ga ga... ♪
1150
01:19:22,414 --> 01:19:25,253
Freddie said,
"What we do is like the Olympics.
1151
01:19:25,253 --> 01:19:28,096
"It's people believing in you
and everyone behind you.
1152
01:19:28,096 --> 01:19:29,855
"Everyone doing the same thing.
1153
01:19:29,855 --> 01:19:33,334
"That's the Olympics."
He said, "That's what we do."
1154
01:19:33,334 --> 01:19:37,415
♪ Radio ga ga, radio ga ga... ♪
1155
01:19:37,415 --> 01:19:41,936
Suddenly the MTV generation grew up
and video became all-important.
1156
01:19:53,056 --> 01:19:56,057
The most enjoyable video was
I Want To Break Free
1157
01:19:56,057 --> 01:19:57,417
because we just laughed.
1158
01:20:05,298 --> 01:20:08,298
I was dying to dress up in drag.
Doesn't everybody?
1159
01:20:09,899 --> 01:20:13,619
And everybody ran into their frocks
quicker than anything.
1160
01:20:13,619 --> 01:20:18,539
It was their idea, basically,
and I said, "Yeah, let's have a go."
1161
01:20:18,539 --> 01:20:21,419
♪ I want to break free
1162
01:20:22,499 --> 01:20:25,820
♪ I want to break free
1163
01:20:27,499 --> 01:20:30,821
♪ I want to break free
from your lies... ♪
1164
01:20:30,821 --> 01:20:35,659
That great video was a loving
reference to Coronation Street.
1165
01:20:35,659 --> 01:20:37,540
♪ I've got to break free... ♪
1166
01:20:37,540 --> 01:20:40,942
Americans didn't understand it.
It just looked like we wanted
to dress up in drag.
1167
01:20:40,942 --> 01:20:45,223
It was unthinkable
to most of middle America.
1168
01:20:45,223 --> 01:20:47,462
♪ I've got to break free... ♪
1169
01:20:48,662 --> 01:20:53,383
It's a very British thing.
Sometimes the humour doesn't
translate. I'm Canadian so I get it.
1170
01:20:58,302 --> 01:21:00,504
It was just a different
style of humour
1171
01:21:00,504 --> 01:21:03,063
and I don't think it went over
with the "MTV generation".
1172
01:21:06,945 --> 01:21:10,583
I remember this video being banned.
1173
01:21:10,583 --> 01:21:13,545
MTV were very quick on the
trigger to ban things then.
1174
01:21:13,545 --> 01:21:16,385
I mean, if you thought
Mary Whitehouse was bad,
1175
01:21:16,385 --> 01:21:20,144
you should have seen some of
the geezers running MTV
1176
01:21:20,144 --> 01:21:21,946
in the very early '80s.
1177
01:21:28,066 --> 01:21:30,786
Well, MTV were very narrow-minded.
1178
01:21:30,786 --> 01:21:34,025
It was Whitesnake,
and fucking Whitesnake,
1179
01:21:34,025 --> 01:21:36,267
and then another Whitesnake track.
1180
01:21:38,947 --> 01:21:42,307
And they decided that
they didn't think men in drag
1181
01:21:42,307 --> 01:21:46,867
was rock enough for them, I guess,
so they didn't play the video.
1182
01:21:49,949 --> 01:21:53,069
Most Americans were deprived of my,
and Freddie's,
1183
01:21:53,069 --> 01:21:54,868
favourite moment of that video.
1184
01:21:54,868 --> 01:21:57,669
I said to Freddie, "I love
the way you double-step...
1185
01:21:57,669 --> 01:21:59,429
♪ But life still goes on... ♪
1186
01:21:59,429 --> 01:22:01,949
..to get from one room to the other.
1187
01:22:01,949 --> 01:22:05,669
And he said, "I'm so glad you
noticed. That's my favourite part."
1188
01:22:05,669 --> 01:22:08,789
♪ ..without you by my side
1189
01:22:10,351 --> 01:22:13,470
♪ I don't want to live alone
1190
01:22:14,669 --> 01:22:17,231
♪ Hey, God knows
1191
01:22:18,551 --> 01:22:20,070
♪ I've got to make it... ♪
1192
01:22:20,070 --> 01:22:25,073
The funny thing is, we became global
but we lost America.
1193
01:22:25,073 --> 01:22:27,712
And we kind of never got it back.
1194
01:22:27,712 --> 01:22:31,314
♪ I've got to break free. ♪
1195
01:22:32,673 --> 01:22:35,032
Freddie wouldn't go back
to tour America
1196
01:22:35,032 --> 01:22:37,351
unless they were touring a hit,
1197
01:22:37,351 --> 01:22:39,674
and of course
that's the chicken and egg
1198
01:22:39,674 --> 01:22:43,272
because the less you tour America,
the more you lose America.
1199
01:22:43,272 --> 01:22:47,594
It was sad, it's a shame, because
there's a whole catalogue of hits,
1200
01:22:47,594 --> 01:22:51,633
worldwide hits, but not in the
States, and that'll never come back.
1201
01:22:55,894 --> 01:22:59,013
Appearing at Sun City
never helped anybody's image,
1202
01:22:59,013 --> 01:23:00,615
and sometimes it hurt.
1203
01:23:00,615 --> 01:23:05,935
Sun City was this resort of
international standard
in South Africa
1204
01:23:05,935 --> 01:23:08,937
and the position taken
by most of the rock community
1205
01:23:08,937 --> 01:23:12,215
was that if you went to South Africa
you supported apartheid.
1206
01:23:12,215 --> 01:23:15,216
It's very nice to be
here in South Africa
1207
01:23:15,216 --> 01:23:17,297
and I just want to have a good time.
1208
01:23:17,297 --> 01:23:19,656
Anything you'd like to say
to your fans?
1209
01:23:19,656 --> 01:23:23,658
Yeah, we hope you get real excited,
because we're pretty
excited to be here.
1210
01:23:23,658 --> 01:23:25,817
The controversy behind Sun City...
1211
01:23:25,817 --> 01:23:28,618
Sun Fucking City -
wish I'd never heard of the place.
1212
01:23:28,618 --> 01:23:30,737
The principal reason that Queen
went there
1213
01:23:30,737 --> 01:23:33,577
was because they were offered
a large amount of money.
1214
01:23:33,577 --> 01:23:35,939
There was all sorts of hoo-ha
going on,
1215
01:23:35,939 --> 01:23:39,139
you know - "You mustn't play
Sun City because it's a sign
1216
01:23:39,139 --> 01:23:41,698
"that you're supporting apartheid."
1217
01:23:41,698 --> 01:23:43,980
Well, it's simply not true.
1218
01:23:43,980 --> 01:23:46,700
If you adopted a policy of
never playing in a country
1219
01:23:46,700 --> 01:23:49,101
where you don't approve
of the politicians,
1220
01:23:49,101 --> 01:23:51,220
there'd be very few places
you can play.
1221
01:23:51,220 --> 01:23:53,579
Did you know you had
so many fans in South Africa?
1222
01:23:53,579 --> 01:23:56,341
Well, I think we had some
idea of our popularity here,
1223
01:23:56,341 --> 01:23:59,580
but we didn't realise
it was quite that.
1224
01:23:59,580 --> 01:24:03,702
Jim went down there
time after time and I asked
if we'd play to mixed audiences.
1225
01:24:03,702 --> 01:24:06,261
He said we wouldn't play
to segregated audiences.
1226
01:24:06,261 --> 01:24:10,303
And it was not
an apartheid audience,
1227
01:24:10,303 --> 01:24:12,903
but it was mainly white.
1228
01:24:12,903 --> 01:24:15,222
Are you going to the concert?
Definitely.
1229
01:24:15,222 --> 01:24:17,784
What have you heard?
I heard it's a great show.
1230
01:24:17,784 --> 01:24:20,983
What are you expecting at the
concert? Something fantastic.
1231
01:24:20,983 --> 01:24:23,582
I've heard it's
the most fantastic show ever.
1232
01:24:23,582 --> 01:24:27,264
The band then supported a school
for the deaf in Bophutswana
1233
01:24:27,264 --> 01:24:29,223
that we became very involved with.
1234
01:24:29,223 --> 01:24:33,504
The general audience
doesn't read the small print.
It just sees the headlines.
1235
01:24:33,504 --> 01:24:38,223
If it goes, "You're making
a lot of money playing a
gig in an apartheid state",
1236
01:24:38,223 --> 01:24:41,945
it makes it look like
you're following apartheid.
It did not help them.
1237
01:24:41,945 --> 01:24:46,266
I will say to my dying day
that we acted properly
1238
01:24:46,266 --> 01:24:49,466
according to our conscience
as regards South Africa.
1239
01:24:49,466 --> 01:24:51,225
Um... We went there to play music,
1240
01:24:51,225 --> 01:24:54,106
the same as we did
in all kinds of other places.
1241
01:24:54,106 --> 01:24:58,426
We got so much shit for it.
But we went for good reasons.
1242
01:24:58,426 --> 01:25:01,227
But, on balance,
I think it was a mistake to go.
1243
01:25:01,227 --> 01:25:04,627
Whenever the band
came under pressure,
1244
01:25:04,627 --> 01:25:08,987
there would be maybe a walkout,
a separation, a row.
1245
01:25:10,108 --> 01:25:14,188
♪ Sometimes I feel I'm going
to break down and cry
1246
01:25:14,188 --> 01:25:17,107
♪ Nowhere to go
Nothing to do with my time
1247
01:25:17,107 --> 01:25:19,268
♪ I get lonely
1248
01:25:20,707 --> 01:25:23,229
♪ So lonely
1249
01:25:24,189 --> 01:25:25,470
♪ Living on my own... ♪
1250
01:25:25,470 --> 01:25:29,110
I like Queen very much, but I don't
want to end up living a quartet.
1251
01:25:29,110 --> 01:25:32,269
I'm 37 years old
I want to do something different,
1252
01:25:32,269 --> 01:25:35,831
otherwise I'll get too damn old
and I'll be in a wheelchair.
1253
01:25:35,831 --> 01:25:39,790
There was a lot of strain
when Freddie did his solo album,
1254
01:25:39,790 --> 01:25:41,830
mainly because the advance
1255
01:25:41,830 --> 01:25:45,031
was considerably more than
the advances for Queen albums.
1256
01:25:45,031 --> 01:25:47,870
♪ Got to be some good times ahead
1257
01:25:48,950 --> 01:25:51,472
♪ Sometimes I feel
nobody gives me no warning... ♪
1258
01:25:51,472 --> 01:25:53,191
There is an inward jealousy -
1259
01:25:53,191 --> 01:25:55,951
they're all waiting to see if
my album does better
1260
01:25:55,951 --> 01:25:58,673
than the last Queen album,
or something like that.
1261
01:25:58,673 --> 01:26:00,672
♪ It's not easy
1262
01:26:02,112 --> 01:26:04,834
♪ Living on my own... ♪
1263
01:26:04,834 --> 01:26:07,433
Sometimes it's nice to break away
from a group
1264
01:26:07,433 --> 01:26:10,954
that's actually been going for
so long, meaning staying away.
1265
01:26:10,954 --> 01:26:15,593
He was definitely contemplating
the idea of what Living On My Own
1266
01:26:15,593 --> 01:26:21,314
actually means because he lived
in Munich for well over a year.
1267
01:26:21,314 --> 01:26:24,273
♪ Got to be some
good times ahead... ♪
1268
01:26:27,235 --> 01:26:28,955
When Freddie was alone in Munich,
1269
01:26:28,955 --> 01:26:33,716
he had to basically fall back
either on the gay community,
1270
01:26:33,716 --> 01:26:38,835
or, when he needed some sense or
decent advice, he would call us.
1271
01:26:38,835 --> 01:26:43,357
He was hanging out
a lot at our place.
1272
01:26:43,357 --> 01:26:45,836
He'd spend a lot of time
with the kids.
1273
01:26:45,836 --> 01:26:49,118
It was like a family affair.
1274
01:26:52,836 --> 01:26:57,518
He said a lot of times that this
was the best time in his life.
1275
01:26:57,518 --> 01:27:00,199
Out of the songs you've
put on this album, Freddie,
1276
01:27:00,199 --> 01:27:04,158
which one do you find the most
rewarding, personally?
1277
01:27:04,158 --> 01:27:06,638
Oh, I don't know,
the one that sells the most.
1278
01:27:06,638 --> 01:27:09,880
Freddie had a very fulfilling
experience of creativity,
1279
01:27:09,880 --> 01:27:13,119
but he didn't have
a very fulfilling experience,
1280
01:27:13,119 --> 01:27:17,640
um...how shall I say, economically.
1281
01:27:17,640 --> 01:27:22,881
The Mr Bad Guy album really was
a disaster, in terms of sales.
1282
01:27:22,881 --> 01:27:25,720
The strength of Queen
came from the arguments.
1283
01:27:25,720 --> 01:27:29,122
It was the fact
that you had to fight your space.
1284
01:27:29,122 --> 01:27:31,841
Songs got fine-tuned by that,
1285
01:27:31,841 --> 01:27:37,042
and Freddie working on his own in
Munich with an orchestra and Mack,
1286
01:27:37,042 --> 01:27:40,481
there was nobody really
to stand up with him.
1287
01:27:44,684 --> 01:27:47,763
Well, tomorrow, the pop world's
greatest extravaganza,
1288
01:27:47,763 --> 01:27:49,764
as we've been talking about,
Live Aid,
1289
01:27:49,764 --> 01:27:53,923
will bring together rock's
brightest and best from both sides
of the Atlantic,
1290
01:27:53,923 --> 01:27:58,285
all performing free in the
hope of raising millions for the
starving people of Africa.
1291
01:28:02,164 --> 01:28:06,445
You know, looking back, there was a
moment when Queen were thought of
1292
01:28:06,445 --> 01:28:08,804
as a good group that
was predominantly historic.
1293
01:28:08,804 --> 01:28:12,405
Radio Ga Ga was their one
big hit in four years.
1294
01:28:12,405 --> 01:28:14,605
They weren't on a hot streak,
1295
01:28:14,605 --> 01:28:17,764
and they weren't a particularly
productive group at that time.
1296
01:28:17,764 --> 01:28:21,567
There was a feeling
that maybe that was it.
1297
01:28:21,567 --> 01:28:27,487
But Geldof ordered them
to regroup and perform.
1298
01:28:27,487 --> 01:28:30,767
The thing was, did Freddie want
to do it? He wasn't that keen.
1299
01:28:30,767 --> 01:28:33,648
Freddie was a bit reticent
about doing anything,
1300
01:28:33,648 --> 01:28:35,287
but Bob came in one day
1301
01:28:35,287 --> 01:28:37,327
when we talked about Live Aid,
and said,
1302
01:28:37,327 --> 01:28:40,968
"I told Freddie he's doing it."
And I kind of believe him.
1303
01:28:40,968 --> 01:28:43,688
It really is a gathering
of the rock world's elite,
1304
01:28:43,688 --> 01:28:47,649
and already rehearsing in here
are some of rock and roll's royalty.
1305
01:28:47,649 --> 01:28:53,088
It was rehearsed quite intensely at
the Shaw Theatre on Euston Road.
1306
01:28:53,088 --> 01:28:56,770
♪ Here we stand and here we fall
1307
01:28:56,770 --> 01:29:00,330
♪ History won't care at all
1308
01:29:00,330 --> 01:29:03,370
♪ Make the bed, light the light... ♪
1309
01:29:03,370 --> 01:29:07,772
Queen took the responsibility
more professionally than anyone
else on the bill.
1310
01:29:07,772 --> 01:29:11,811
♪ You don't waste no time at all
1311
01:29:11,811 --> 01:29:14,813
♪ Don't hear the bell
but you answer the call... ♪
1312
01:29:14,813 --> 01:29:17,931
I went out and bought these big
plastic white clocks
1313
01:29:17,931 --> 01:29:22,893
and put them in the orchestra pit so
we could see the time.
1314
01:29:22,893 --> 01:29:27,211
There was an 18-minute
slot that each artist had,
1315
01:29:27,211 --> 01:29:30,654
and there were traffic lights
at the side of the stage.
1316
01:29:30,654 --> 01:29:35,213
And you were warned that
the traffic lights after 16 minutes
would turn amber from green,
1317
01:29:35,213 --> 01:29:38,974
and they said, "You won't
see them turn red because
the power goes off."
1318
01:29:38,974 --> 01:29:41,853
So you make it quick and
you make it something they know.
1319
01:29:42,973 --> 01:29:45,175
Just after 16 hours of live Aid,
1320
01:29:45,175 --> 01:29:47,574
would you welcome Status Quo!
1321
01:30:01,375 --> 01:30:06,777
♪ Here we are and here we are
and here we go... ♪
1322
01:30:06,777 --> 01:30:09,257
The energy that day was sensational.
1323
01:30:09,257 --> 01:30:12,538
♪ Rockin' all over the world... ♪
1324
01:30:12,538 --> 01:30:16,177
We were all quite nervous, actually.
1325
01:30:16,177 --> 01:30:18,978
Not necessarily our audience because
they'd put together
1326
01:30:18,978 --> 01:30:23,258
the bill of Live Aid before
we'd been announced as being on it.
1327
01:30:23,258 --> 01:30:29,458
They set the level for the PA
with limiters
1328
01:30:29,458 --> 01:30:33,140
and then when Queen came on, Trip,
who was Queen's sound engineer,
1329
01:30:33,140 --> 01:30:36,019
switched the limiters
so that Queen would be louder.
1330
01:30:43,220 --> 01:30:46,340
From the word go, he came out of
the traps like a champion.
1331
01:30:52,420 --> 01:30:57,581
Freddie performed
against the advice of his doctor
because of a throat condition.
1332
01:30:57,581 --> 01:31:03,342
But he went out there
and gave one of the greatest live
television performances ever.
1333
01:31:03,342 --> 01:31:06,541
♪ You don't waste no time at all
1334
01:31:06,541 --> 01:31:10,343
♪ Don't hear the bell
but you answer the call
1335
01:31:10,343 --> 01:31:14,021
♪ Comes to you as to us all, yeah!
1336
01:31:14,021 --> 01:31:17,104
♪ And it's time for
the hammer to fall... ♪
1337
01:31:18,264 --> 01:31:23,905
The ballet with a BBC cameraman
was shockingly charismatic.
1338
01:31:23,905 --> 01:31:28,104
♪ Every night, every day
1339
01:31:28,104 --> 01:31:30,625
♪ A little piece of you
is falling away
1340
01:31:30,625 --> 01:31:33,785
♪ Lift your face the western way... ♪
1341
01:31:37,625 --> 01:31:42,145
And it was as if all the artists
backstage had heard a dog whistle.
1342
01:31:43,786 --> 01:31:46,586
And their heads turned
and the frisson you felt was,
1343
01:31:46,586 --> 01:31:49,545
"They're stealing the show."
1344
01:31:56,227 --> 01:31:59,348
♪ I've paid my dues
1345
01:31:59,348 --> 01:32:04,267
♪ Time after time
1346
01:32:04,267 --> 01:32:06,069
♪ I did my sentence
1347
01:32:07,468 --> 01:32:09,548
♪ But committed no crime
1348
01:32:10,828 --> 01:32:15,028
♪ And bad mistakes
1349
01:32:15,028 --> 01:32:17,189
♪ I've made a few
1350
01:32:17,189 --> 01:32:21,509
♪ I've had my share of sand kicked
in my face
1351
01:32:21,509 --> 01:32:24,709
♪ But I've come through
1352
01:32:28,431 --> 01:32:34,112
♪ We are the champions,
my friend... ♪
1353
01:32:34,112 --> 01:32:39,911
I defy anybody who saw it not
to have goose pimples
on the back of their neck
1354
01:32:39,911 --> 01:32:42,672
when you saw that sea of people.
1355
01:32:42,672 --> 01:32:45,471
♪ We are the champions
1356
01:32:45,471 --> 01:32:48,273
♪ We are the champions... ♪
1357
01:32:48,273 --> 01:32:54,313
I remember looking up and seeing the
whole place going completely bonkers
in unison and thinking,
1358
01:32:54,313 --> 01:32:56,033
"Oh, this is going well."
1359
01:32:56,033 --> 01:32:58,632
♪ ..the champions
1360
01:32:58,632 --> 01:33:04,474
♪ We are the champions,
my friend
1361
01:33:05,794 --> 01:33:10,195
♪ And we'll keep on
fighting till the end... ♪
1362
01:33:10,195 --> 01:33:13,474
We did have an unfair advantage.
We had done football stadiums.
1363
01:33:13,474 --> 01:33:17,636
Freddie particularly learned this
magical way
1364
01:33:17,636 --> 01:33:20,515
of involving everybody.
In a huge football stadium,
1365
01:33:20,515 --> 01:33:23,116
he could make everybody feel
they were in contact.
1366
01:33:23,116 --> 01:33:28,795
♪ We are the champions...
1367
01:33:33,077 --> 01:33:37,798
♪ ..of the world. ♪
1368
01:33:42,397 --> 01:33:44,759
People say, "Was it a career move?"
1369
01:33:44,759 --> 01:33:46,438
Well, no, it wasn't a career move
1370
01:33:46,438 --> 01:33:49,398
but of course that's
in the back of everybody's mind.
1371
01:33:58,360 --> 01:34:02,039
We got a great reception
from the crowd, even at Wembley,
1372
01:34:02,039 --> 01:34:04,959
and also from the
TV audience as well.
1373
01:34:04,959 --> 01:34:09,279
So in fact, it was a great boost of
confidence, in a way, for the group.
1374
01:34:09,279 --> 01:34:11,759
To have conquered
Live Aid in that way
1375
01:34:11,759 --> 01:34:15,321
undoubtedly breathed
fresh energy into the band.
1376
01:34:20,682 --> 01:34:23,321
It was a shot in the arm
and we went back in the studio.
1377
01:34:30,922 --> 01:34:34,803
We were back in Munich with
all its attendant dangers,
1378
01:34:34,803 --> 01:34:38,762
so we tried to keep ourselves
in the studio as much as possible.
1379
01:34:41,764 --> 01:34:43,243
Ta-dah!
1380
01:34:47,002 --> 01:34:50,885
♪ Hey! One man, one goal
1381
01:34:53,764 --> 01:34:57,046
♪ One mission, one heart... ♪
1382
01:34:57,046 --> 01:35:04,366
I had a page, a sort of poem that
was sort of half nicked off
Martin Luther King's famous speech.
1383
01:35:04,366 --> 01:35:07,405
It doesn't fit. It does.
1384
01:35:07,405 --> 01:35:11,646
One goddamn decision.
Real decision.
1385
01:35:11,646 --> 01:35:13,566
No, it won't fit.
1386
01:35:13,566 --> 01:35:15,285
It was all one this and one that.
1387
01:35:15,285 --> 01:35:18,726
♪ One God, one soul,
make one decision... ♪
1388
01:35:20,487 --> 01:35:25,288
Make one decision. One true religion.
1389
01:35:26,408 --> 01:35:28,008
♪ One God, one vision
1390
01:35:28,008 --> 01:35:31,649
♪ One man, one goal,
one true religion
1391
01:35:31,649 --> 01:35:36,888
♪ One dump, one turd
Two tits, John Deacon
1392
01:35:36,888 --> 01:35:39,289
♪ Woh-oh-oh-oh-oh
1393
01:35:39,289 --> 01:35:41,968
♪ Give me one vision... ♪
1394
01:35:41,968 --> 01:35:45,330
The Magic Tour was the biggest tour
we'd ever undertaken.
1395
01:35:45,330 --> 01:35:47,969
♪ No wrong, no right
1396
01:35:47,969 --> 01:35:51,089
♪ I'm gonna tell you there's no black
and no white... ♪
1397
01:35:51,089 --> 01:35:53,570
We planned an entire tour
of stadium gigs.
1398
01:35:55,609 --> 01:35:58,612
♪ All we need is one world,
one vision... ♪
1399
01:36:00,652 --> 01:36:06,293
Massive shows all over Europe,
and really fantastic reception.
We hit another level.
1400
01:36:10,531 --> 01:36:14,093
We were finally in the place we'd
always dreamed of being, perhaps.
1401
01:36:14,093 --> 01:36:18,572
♪ I had a dream when I was young
1402
01:36:18,572 --> 01:36:21,374
♪ A dream, sweet illusion... ♪
1403
01:36:21,374 --> 01:36:26,172
That tour had gigs like
Budapest in it, which in
itself is a great thing.
1404
01:36:26,172 --> 01:36:30,453
Budapest was the first stadium
concert behind the Iron Curtain.
1405
01:36:31,773 --> 01:36:34,735
People hitch-hiked from
all over Eastern Europe.
1406
01:36:34,735 --> 01:36:38,695
♪ Look what they've done
to my dream... ♪
1407
01:36:38,695 --> 01:36:42,455
It was a great tour because
it ended up two nights at Wembley.
1408
01:36:43,776 --> 01:36:46,535
Hello there, my beauties.
This is happening.
1409
01:36:47,734 --> 01:36:52,496
♪ Give me your hands
Give me your hearts... ♪
1410
01:36:52,496 --> 01:36:55,137
In addition to Wembley Stadium,
we put on an extra one
1411
01:36:55,137 --> 01:36:58,937
because it sold out so quick, the
two nights, so we put Knebworth on.
1412
01:36:58,937 --> 01:37:02,657
♪ One voice, one hope
One real decision
1413
01:37:02,657 --> 01:37:06,457
♪ Gimme one light One light
Gimme one hope One hope
1414
01:37:06,457 --> 01:37:09,539
♪ Just gimme, ah
One man, one man
1415
01:37:09,539 --> 01:37:11,578
♪ One bar one night
One day hey hey
1416
01:37:11,578 --> 01:37:13,978
Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme
fried chicken. #
1417
01:37:13,978 --> 01:37:16,098
They were the final shows
with Freddie,
1418
01:37:16,098 --> 01:37:18,779
and I remember it being
pretty much perfect.
1419
01:37:18,779 --> 01:37:23,860
"God Save The Queen"
1420
01:37:34,979 --> 01:37:38,821
I just got the vibe from Freddie,
1421
01:37:38,821 --> 01:37:43,259
he felt that he wasn't
maybe able to do any more.
1422
01:37:46,062 --> 01:37:50,301
I know there'll be a time when I
can't run around on stage
1423
01:37:50,301 --> 01:37:54,103
because it'll be ridiculous. There
comes a time when you have to stop.
1424
01:37:59,384 --> 01:38:02,703
I think he had an idea that
he might not be terribly well.
1425
01:38:17,903 --> 01:38:22,065
Freddie told me that he was HIV
positive before he told the band.
1426
01:38:22,065 --> 01:38:24,465
This put me in
a very difficult position
1427
01:38:24,465 --> 01:38:27,986
because he told me
he didn't want me to tell the band.
1428
01:38:27,986 --> 01:38:31,586
So there was I, managing
a band, knowing something
1429
01:38:31,586 --> 01:38:35,906
of crucial importance to the band
which I couldn't pass on to them.
1430
01:38:35,906 --> 01:38:41,307
♪ Every drop of rain that falls
in Sahara desert says it all
1431
01:38:41,307 --> 01:38:43,107
♪ It's a miracle
1432
01:38:43,107 --> 01:38:46,067
♪ All God's creations
Great and small
1433
01:38:46,067 --> 01:38:48,708
♪ The Golden Gate
and the Taj Mahal
1434
01:38:48,708 --> 01:38:50,747
♪ That's a miracle
1435
01:38:50,747 --> 01:38:53,907
♪ Test-tube babies being born
1436
01:38:53,907 --> 01:38:56,429
♪ Mothers, fathers, dead and gone
1437
01:38:56,429 --> 01:38:59,228
♪ It's a miracle... ♪
1438
01:38:59,228 --> 01:39:01,828
There were rumours
and he was obviously suffering,
1439
01:39:01,828 --> 01:39:04,949
and we didn't know what it was,
and rumour, rumour, rumour...
1440
01:39:04,949 --> 01:39:07,508
And so he did sit us down
at one point and said,
1441
01:39:07,508 --> 01:39:09,911
"Look, you probably know what
I'm going to say.
1442
01:39:09,911 --> 01:39:12,949
"You know what I'm suffering from.
You know what the problem is
1443
01:39:12,949 --> 01:39:15,989
but I don't want to talk about it
anymore. I just want to make music
1444
01:39:15,989 --> 01:39:19,830
until the day I fucking die.
And...let's get on with it.
1445
01:39:19,830 --> 01:39:22,629
♪ It's a miracle
1446
01:39:22,629 --> 01:39:24,911
♪ It's a miracle... ♪
1447
01:39:24,911 --> 01:39:27,311
These are some of our best
studio times.
1448
01:39:27,311 --> 01:39:30,710
We've made the decision that all
the songs we write will be credited
1449
01:39:30,710 --> 01:39:34,992
to all of us, so it kind of
releases a bit of...
1450
01:39:34,992 --> 01:39:36,431
positive energy in us.
1451
01:39:36,431 --> 01:39:39,033
They became closer and closer,
without any doubt.
1452
01:39:39,033 --> 01:39:41,872
The sharing of writing credits
was a major breakthrough.
1453
01:39:41,872 --> 01:39:44,672
Some magical things happened,
I think.
1454
01:39:44,672 --> 01:39:48,313
There's this track called
The Miracle, itself,
1455
01:39:48,313 --> 01:39:51,352
which I think is one of Freddie's
most beautiful creations.
1456
01:39:51,352 --> 01:39:54,034
♪ The one thing
The one thing
1457
01:39:54,034 --> 01:39:56,034
♪ We're all waiting for
1458
01:39:56,034 --> 01:39:58,393
♪ Is peace on earth
Peace on earth
1459
01:39:58,393 --> 01:40:01,034
♪ And an end to war
An end to war... ♪
1460
01:40:01,034 --> 01:40:05,193
'I love the track. It's all
so optimistic about the world'
1461
01:40:05,193 --> 01:40:08,275
and the miracles that are being
found in the world.
1462
01:40:12,715 --> 01:40:15,636
Which is incredible when you think
what he's looking at
1463
01:40:15,636 --> 01:40:19,116
because he knows what he's got and
he knows what the prognosis is.
1464
01:40:19,116 --> 01:40:23,756
♪ That time will come
One day you'll see
1465
01:40:23,756 --> 01:40:29,637
♪ When we can all be friends
1466
01:40:29,637 --> 01:40:34,236
♪ That time will come
One day you'll see
1467
01:40:34,236 --> 01:40:36,838
♪ When we can all... ♪
1468
01:40:36,838 --> 01:40:41,117
Special Award for an outstanding
contribution to British music
1469
01:40:41,117 --> 01:40:44,999
goes to John Deacon, Brian May,
Freddie Mercury,
1470
01:40:44,999 --> 01:40:47,559
Roger Taylor - Queen.
1471
01:40:52,679 --> 01:40:55,119
The first indications
something wasn't right
1472
01:40:55,119 --> 01:40:57,960
was Freddie looked a
little thinner to me.
1473
01:40:58,920 --> 01:41:01,239
And I called John up to see
what was going on.
1474
01:41:01,239 --> 01:41:04,801
I said, "Is something wrong with
Freddie?" And he wouldn't tell me.
1475
01:41:08,200 --> 01:41:11,042
The thing that annoyed me
more than anything was a shot
1476
01:41:11,042 --> 01:41:14,920
of Freddie in The Sun and he'd just
come out of the doctor's, I think.
1477
01:41:14,920 --> 01:41:19,203
It's a really grainy,
full-page shot. "Is this man dying?"
1478
01:41:19,203 --> 01:41:22,402
And I thought,
"You fucking wankers."
1479
01:41:22,402 --> 01:41:24,041
♪ Scandal
1480
01:41:26,723 --> 01:41:28,363
♪ Scandal... ♪
1481
01:41:32,243 --> 01:41:36,123
We hid everything and
we avoided questions.
1482
01:41:36,123 --> 01:41:37,483
♪ Scandal... ♪
1483
01:41:37,483 --> 01:41:39,284
I guess we lied.
1484
01:41:39,284 --> 01:41:41,044
Because we wanted to protect him.
1485
01:41:41,044 --> 01:41:42,084
♪ Scandal... ♪
1486
01:41:43,324 --> 01:41:46,325
I would then say anything
to anybody. "Is Fred sick?"
1487
01:41:46,325 --> 01:41:48,805
"Absolutely not, no.
He was in the gym yesterday.
1488
01:41:48,805 --> 01:41:51,204
"Fuck you," you know.
"None of your business."
1489
01:41:51,204 --> 01:41:54,446
Everybody had to draw
the wagons around him.
1490
01:41:54,446 --> 01:41:58,405
Because at that time, to become ill
was to have a death sentence.
1491
01:41:58,405 --> 01:42:03,607
♪ Today the headlines
Tomorrow hard times
1492
01:42:03,607 --> 01:42:08,167
♪ And no-one ever really knows
The truth from the lies... ♪
1493
01:42:08,167 --> 01:42:09,727
His house was surrounded by...
1494
01:42:09,727 --> 01:42:12,527
I don't know, a couple of
hundred, I reckon.
1495
01:42:12,527 --> 01:42:14,768
Just like vultures, really.
1496
01:42:14,768 --> 01:42:20,207
♪ Deeper and deeper inside... ♪
1497
01:42:21,249 --> 01:42:23,008
It was utterly shocking, you know.
1498
01:42:23,008 --> 01:42:25,647
Filming the groceries in the back
of the car boot.
1499
01:42:25,647 --> 01:42:26,728
♪ Scandal... ♪
1500
01:42:26,728 --> 01:42:30,449
"Any medicine in there?"
You know, it's absolutely shocking.
1501
01:42:31,409 --> 01:42:33,408
It became difficult to
work in London,
1502
01:42:33,408 --> 01:42:36,090
there was such a terrible
focus of attention on him.
1503
01:42:36,090 --> 01:42:38,530
People sticking cameras through
his toilet windows,
1504
01:42:38,530 --> 01:42:40,369
as soon as the rumours
were out there.
1505
01:42:40,369 --> 01:42:45,290
So Montreal was a much more
peaceful place to work so we ended
up doing a lot of stuff there.
1506
01:42:45,290 --> 01:42:47,410
"I'm Going Slightly Mad"
1507
01:42:53,610 --> 01:42:57,132
Freddie felt much safer there
because people didn't bother.
1508
01:42:57,132 --> 01:43:00,211
You know. They weren't intrusively
observing him.
1509
01:43:04,374 --> 01:43:06,573
At that point we can't play live
1510
01:43:06,573 --> 01:43:09,772
but in the things that we're doing,
it's business as usual.
1511
01:43:09,772 --> 01:43:14,133
♪ I'm going slightly mad
1512
01:43:14,133 --> 01:43:18,414
♪ I'm going slightly mad... ♪
1513
01:43:18,414 --> 01:43:21,094
He was determined to work right up
to the last minute.
1514
01:43:21,094 --> 01:43:24,413
I was surprised that he did
Going Slightly Mad.
1515
01:43:24,413 --> 01:43:25,894
♪ It finally happened... ♪
1516
01:43:25,894 --> 01:43:28,215
Which I thought was a good video,
actually,
1517
01:43:28,215 --> 01:43:31,054
and it had lots of humour in it.
1518
01:43:31,054 --> 01:43:35,215
♪ I'm slightly mad! ♪
1519
01:43:37,854 --> 01:43:40,376
There was a lot more humour in
Freddie than I think
1520
01:43:40,376 --> 01:43:41,896
the general public realised.
1521
01:43:42,936 --> 01:43:45,336
You want to take it? No, I...
1522
01:43:46,497 --> 01:43:48,816
Oh! What's it doing?
1523
01:43:52,056 --> 01:43:53,618
Roger, what did you do?
1524
01:43:53,618 --> 01:43:56,457
It was just really
a very close time.
1525
01:43:56,457 --> 01:43:58,057
Go for me. Waaa!
1526
01:43:59,497 --> 01:44:03,417
Freddie found an amazing
tranquillity and I never really
heard him complain.
1527
01:44:03,417 --> 01:44:06,097
I remember we went out one night
1528
01:44:06,097 --> 01:44:08,859
and he had horrible
problems with his leg.
1529
01:44:08,859 --> 01:44:13,178
And Freddie saw me looking at it and
said, "Oh, Brian, do you want to see
what it's like?"
1530
01:44:13,178 --> 01:44:15,660
And he showed me, and I think...
1531
01:44:15,660 --> 01:44:17,540
he reacted to my face, and he said,
1532
01:44:17,540 --> 01:44:20,500
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean
to do that to you."
1533
01:44:20,500 --> 01:44:24,860
I never heard him go, "This is
really awful. My life is shit.
1534
01:44:24,860 --> 01:44:27,019
"I'm going to die."
Never, never, never.
1535
01:44:27,019 --> 01:44:29,701
He was an amazingly strong person.
1536
01:44:29,701 --> 01:44:34,660
The sicker Freddie got, the more
he seemed to need to record,
1537
01:44:34,660 --> 01:44:38,981
to give himself something to do,
you know - some sort of reason
to get up.
1538
01:44:44,462 --> 01:44:47,141
And he would make it in
whenever he could.
1539
01:44:47,141 --> 01:44:50,784
So really, it was a period
of fairly intense work, actually.
1540
01:44:55,702 --> 01:44:59,424
Freddie is becoming weakened
by this horrible disease
1541
01:44:59,424 --> 01:45:02,063
and he finds it hard
to stand up a lot of the time
1542
01:45:02,063 --> 01:45:05,224
but he'll throw a couple of
vodkas down and prop himself up
1543
01:45:05,224 --> 01:45:08,824
on the mixing desk and have his mike
there, and go for it.
1544
01:45:08,824 --> 01:45:10,543
Roll camera, roll playback.
1545
01:45:14,025 --> 01:45:16,464
♪ Sometimes I get to feeling
1546
01:45:16,464 --> 01:45:19,345
♪ I was back in the old days
1547
01:45:19,345 --> 01:45:20,905
♪ Long ago... ♪
1548
01:45:22,545 --> 01:45:25,827
'I can hear the voice is
getting thinner.'
1549
01:45:25,827 --> 01:45:29,067
♪ Things seemed so perfect
You know... ♪
1550
01:45:29,067 --> 01:45:33,427
'I think you can really tell
that it's an ailing voice.'
1551
01:45:33,427 --> 01:45:35,747
Although he hits the notes.
1552
01:45:35,747 --> 01:45:37,907
♪ The sun was always shining
1553
01:45:37,907 --> 01:45:39,428
♪ We just lived for fun
1554
01:45:39,428 --> 01:45:41,228
♪ Sometimes... ♪
1555
01:45:41,228 --> 01:45:44,508
'Roger started writing These Are
The Days Of Our Lives about his
kids'
1556
01:45:44,508 --> 01:45:47,509
and the way he felt about
life and how it comes back.
1557
01:45:47,509 --> 01:45:52,388
But of course, in that context,
it had another meaning.
1558
01:45:52,388 --> 01:45:58,948
♪ Those were the days
of our lives... ♪
1559
01:45:58,948 --> 01:46:01,231
'He looked so ill there.
It was quite scary,'
1560
01:46:01,231 --> 01:46:03,670
and...I thought that was a very
brave thing to do.
1561
01:46:03,670 --> 01:46:04,830
And why not, you know?
1562
01:46:04,830 --> 01:46:08,511
'He spent hours and hours and hours
in make-up, sorting himself out,
1563
01:46:08,511 --> 01:46:09,671
'so it would be OK.'
1564
01:46:09,671 --> 01:46:13,749
♪ Those days are all gone now but
1565
01:46:13,749 --> 01:46:15,512
♪ One thing is true... ♪
1566
01:46:15,512 --> 01:46:18,231
I did too many movements.
1567
01:46:18,231 --> 01:46:21,070
But I just wanted to see...
No, I know...
1568
01:46:22,113 --> 01:46:24,472
♪ I still love you... ♪
1569
01:46:24,472 --> 01:46:26,791
I just want to see...
It doesn't look...
1570
01:46:28,031 --> 01:46:29,272
It doesn't look...
1571
01:46:29,272 --> 01:46:31,232
I think it should be waisted.
1572
01:46:32,312 --> 01:46:35,511
Do you know what I mean? I want a
little bit of shape here.
A tiny bit.
1573
01:46:35,511 --> 01:46:37,594
'Yeah. I like the shape now.'
1574
01:46:37,594 --> 01:46:42,353
♪ Those days are all gone now, but
1575
01:46:42,353 --> 01:46:46,394
♪ One thing's still true
1576
01:46:46,394 --> 01:46:47,554
♪ When I look... ♪
1577
01:46:47,554 --> 01:46:50,635
'Freddie actually kind of says
a goodbye in that song.'
1578
01:46:50,635 --> 01:46:53,235
♪ I still love you... ♪
1579
01:46:59,915 --> 01:47:02,755
I still love you.
1580
01:47:09,475 --> 01:47:12,597
Innuendo was out on the streets,
it was number one
1581
01:47:12,597 --> 01:47:15,477
and two weeks later they
were here in Montreux.
1582
01:47:15,477 --> 01:47:18,598
And they started doing more music.
1583
01:47:18,598 --> 01:47:23,078
And Freddie, at that time, said,
"Write me stuff. I know I don't
have very long.
1584
01:47:24,477 --> 01:47:26,878
"Keep writing me words.
Keep giving me things.
1585
01:47:26,878 --> 01:47:29,957
"I will sing and then you can do
what you like with it afterwards,
1586
01:47:29,957 --> 01:47:31,518
"you know, finish it off."
1587
01:47:31,518 --> 01:47:35,478
And so I was writing on scraps
of paper these lines of Mother Love.
1588
01:47:35,478 --> 01:47:38,998
He was dying and he did those things
1589
01:47:38,998 --> 01:47:42,799
and he knew he would be dead
when they were finished.
1590
01:47:42,799 --> 01:47:46,159
Because he said to me,
"I'm going to sing it now,
1591
01:47:46,159 --> 01:47:50,120
"because I can't wait for them
to do the music on this.
1592
01:47:50,120 --> 01:47:52,360
"I'll give it to you on a drum
machine.
1593
01:47:52,360 --> 01:47:56,041
"Give me a drum machine thing...
They'll finish it off."
1594
01:47:57,041 --> 01:48:01,242
♪ I don't want to make no waves
1595
01:48:01,242 --> 01:48:04,641
♪ You can give me all the love... ♪
1596
01:48:04,641 --> 01:48:07,800
Every time I gave him another line,
he would sing it,
1597
01:48:07,800 --> 01:48:09,763
sing it again, and sing it again.
1598
01:48:09,763 --> 01:48:12,282
So we had three takes for every
line, and that was it.
1599
01:48:12,282 --> 01:48:16,483
♪ I long for peace before I die... ♪
1600
01:48:17,643 --> 01:48:21,402
Mother Love, I think, was the last
one. There's an exceptional
1601
01:48:21,402 --> 01:48:23,845
spine-chilling note in the middle.
1602
01:48:25,524 --> 01:48:27,283
A fantastic bit of singing.
1603
01:48:27,283 --> 01:48:29,805
♪ Out in the city
1604
01:48:29,805 --> 01:48:32,925
♪ In the cold world outside
1605
01:48:32,925 --> 01:48:34,924
♪ I don't want pity
1606
01:48:34,924 --> 01:48:38,805
♪ Just a safe place to hide
1607
01:48:38,805 --> 01:48:43,244
♪ Mama, please, let me back
inside... ♪
1608
01:48:44,206 --> 01:48:47,725
It's absolutely...spine-chilling.
1609
01:48:47,725 --> 01:48:50,526
And we got to the last verse
and he said,
1610
01:48:50,526 --> 01:48:53,326
"Oh, I'm not up to this now,
I need to go away and have a rest.
1611
01:48:53,326 --> 01:48:55,446
"I'll come back and finish
it off", you know.
1612
01:48:55,446 --> 01:48:57,728
And he never came back.
1613
01:48:57,728 --> 01:49:01,848
That was the last moment that I had
with him in the studio.
1614
01:49:03,967 --> 01:49:08,727
I went to see Freddie, and it
was in fact the last time I saw him.
1615
01:49:08,727 --> 01:49:11,729
He said to me, "I haven't given
you anything in my will.
1616
01:49:11,729 --> 01:49:15,568
"You're my executor,
you can do anything with my legacy,
1617
01:49:15,568 --> 01:49:18,208
"you can do anything with my music
1618
01:49:18,208 --> 01:49:20,329
"but never make me boring."
1619
01:49:20,329 --> 01:49:23,528
The last time I saw Freddie was,
Anita and I went to see him
1620
01:49:23,528 --> 01:49:24,729
and he was in bed,
1621
01:49:24,729 --> 01:49:29,449
with the curtains open so he could
see out into his garden,
1622
01:49:29,449 --> 01:49:31,648
and I was talking about
things in his garden,
1623
01:49:31,648 --> 01:49:34,211
saying, "That's really interesting"
and he said,
1624
01:49:34,211 --> 01:49:37,730
"Guys, you don't need to feel like
you need to make conversation.
1625
01:49:37,730 --> 01:49:39,972
"I'm just so happy that you're here,
1626
01:49:39,972 --> 01:49:42,851
"so even if we say nothing,
it's just having these moments."
1627
01:49:46,730 --> 01:49:49,892
The worst thing was I was
actually on my way to see him,
1628
01:49:49,892 --> 01:49:53,731
and I was about 300 yards away
when Peter Freestone rang me
1629
01:49:53,731 --> 01:49:56,213
to tell me, "Don't bother coming
cos he's gone."
1630
01:50:08,375 --> 01:50:10,935
It was me who wrote
the little epitaph
1631
01:50:10,935 --> 01:50:13,214
that's on his statue in Montreux
1632
01:50:13,214 --> 01:50:17,534
which just says, "Freddie Mercury,
Lover of Life - Singer of Songs."
1633
01:50:20,135 --> 01:50:23,815
To me, that sums him up
because he lived life to the full,
1634
01:50:23,815 --> 01:50:26,855
there's no question,
with all that that entailed.
1635
01:50:28,215 --> 01:50:33,216
He was a generous man, a kind man,
an impatient man sometimes,
1636
01:50:33,216 --> 01:50:36,535
but utterly dedicated to what
he felt was important,
1637
01:50:36,535 --> 01:50:38,336
which was making music.
1638
01:50:50,457 --> 01:50:55,577
We made the announcement that we
were going to do a tribute concert
to him when we felt that we could,
1639
01:50:55,577 --> 01:50:58,579
to send him out in the style
which he deserved.
1640
01:50:58,579 --> 01:51:01,178
We hope that a lot of you will
be able to join us
1641
01:51:01,178 --> 01:51:03,378
on April 20th at Wembley Stadium
1642
01:51:03,378 --> 01:51:06,740
for a celebration of Freddie's
life and career.
1643
01:51:06,740 --> 01:51:08,979
You're all welcome. Please join us.
1644
01:51:10,338 --> 01:51:14,980
So we drew up a list of people
that we'd like to be on the show.
1645
01:51:14,980 --> 01:51:16,459
Roger got the ball rolling.
1646
01:51:16,459 --> 01:51:20,462
Roger got up one morning and said,
"Look, we're doing this."
And made a few phone calls.
1647
01:51:20,462 --> 01:51:24,460
And Brian said, "Well,
if you can get that lot, I'll come."
1648
01:51:24,460 --> 01:51:27,103
On stage, Mr Roger Daltrey!
1649
01:51:30,221 --> 01:51:32,741
Mr Robert Plant, thank you!
1650
01:51:34,863 --> 01:51:36,342
Mr David Bowie!
1651
01:51:37,742 --> 01:51:38,861
And...
1652
01:51:38,861 --> 01:51:46,902
♪ Any way the wind
blo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ows! ♪
1653
01:51:48,103 --> 01:51:52,263
We got a date, Wembley Stadium...
Had to be Wembley Stadium,
didn't it? Had to be.
1654
01:51:52,263 --> 01:51:54,865
The scene of Freddie's
greatest triumphs.
1655
01:52:00,864 --> 01:52:02,865
A lot of amazing things happened.
1656
01:52:02,865 --> 01:52:06,745
I'd like to offer something,
in a very simple fashion.
1657
01:52:07,984 --> 01:52:12,866
David Bowie spontaneously
went into the Lord's Prayer which
was a surprise to us all.
1658
01:52:12,866 --> 01:52:15,185
For thine is the kingdom,
1659
01:52:15,185 --> 01:52:16,387
the power
1660
01:52:16,387 --> 01:52:17,546
and the glory
1661
01:52:17,546 --> 01:52:19,785
for ever and ever,
1662
01:52:19,785 --> 01:52:21,986
A-men.
1663
01:52:24,747 --> 01:52:26,226
God bless Queen.
1664
01:52:27,867 --> 01:52:29,586
God bless you.
1665
01:52:29,586 --> 01:52:31,029
Thank you, good night.
1666
01:52:33,588 --> 01:52:36,748
I want to hear every single person.
1667
01:52:36,748 --> 01:52:38,549
See every single pair of hands.
1668
01:52:38,549 --> 01:52:40,908
Three, four.
1669
01:52:40,908 --> 01:52:43,988
♪ Find me somebody to love
1670
01:52:43,988 --> 01:52:47,229
♪ Find me somebody to love
1671
01:52:47,229 --> 01:52:50,349
♪ Find me somebody to love
1672
01:52:50,349 --> 01:52:53,590
♪ Find me somebody to love
1673
01:52:53,590 --> 01:52:55,349
♪ Somebody! Somebody!
1674
01:52:55,349 --> 01:52:58,471
♪ Somebody! Somebody!
Somebody! Somebody!
1675
01:52:58,471 --> 01:53:01,750
♪ Somebody find me
somebody to love
1676
01:53:01,750 --> 01:53:08,232
♪ Anybody find
me-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e...
1677
01:53:11,111 --> 01:53:16,752
♪ Somebody to-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o... ♪
1678
01:53:16,752 --> 01:53:17,991
Come on!
1679
01:53:17,991 --> 01:53:19,873
♪ Lo-o-o-o-ve. ♪
1680
01:53:19,873 --> 01:53:21,753
'It was completely cathartic.'
1681
01:53:21,753 --> 01:53:24,112
It was like working out
a bit of grief in a way.
1682
01:53:24,112 --> 01:53:25,392
Yeah!
1683
01:53:26,351 --> 01:53:32,112
♪ Somebody find me
somebody to-oo-oo love
1684
01:53:33,272 --> 01:53:36,994
♪ Find me somebody to-oo-oo love
Oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh!
1685
01:53:36,994 --> 01:53:42,795
♪ Find me is somebody, somebody
1686
01:53:42,795 --> 01:53:45,355
♪ To-oo-oo love
1687
01:53:45,355 --> 01:53:50,235
♪ Anybody anywhere find me
somebody to love
1688
01:53:50,235 --> 01:53:52,755
♪ Yeah, yeah
1689
01:53:52,755 --> 01:53:59,116
♪ O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh
1690
01:53:59,116 --> 01:54:03,996
♪ O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh. ♪
1691
01:54:12,357 --> 01:54:14,397
And I remember just as we were
coming off,
1692
01:54:14,397 --> 01:54:17,279
Joe Elliott from Def Leopard
put his hand on my arm
1693
01:54:17,279 --> 01:54:18,558
and said, "Stop, Brian,
1694
01:54:18,558 --> 01:54:22,238
"just turn around and look at that
audience and remember this moment.
1695
01:54:25,439 --> 01:54:27,878
"Nothing like this
will ever happen again."
1696
01:54:42,319 --> 01:54:45,761
'The incredible thing is, it's 40
years since the band was formed.
1697
01:54:45,761 --> 01:54:49,880
'The band is probably
as big as it's ever been.'
1698
01:54:49,880 --> 01:54:52,763
And yet 20 of those 40 years
have been without Freddie.
1699
01:54:52,763 --> 01:54:56,721
We don't have John either
because he's chosen to
be in a very different place.
1700
01:54:56,721 --> 01:54:58,521
For Roger and I...
1701
01:54:58,521 --> 01:55:01,763
there is always that searching.
1702
01:55:02,882 --> 01:55:06,403
♪ The show must go on! ♪
1703
01:55:08,483 --> 01:55:12,804
What's lurking in the wings was
the material we'd done with Freddie
which was unfinished,
1704
01:55:12,804 --> 01:55:15,364
and what were we going to do with
this, make an album?
1705
01:55:15,364 --> 01:55:18,283
Made In Heaven
was obviously different.
1706
01:55:18,283 --> 01:55:22,724
It was very weird working
with Freddie's voice
coming out of the speakers
1707
01:55:22,724 --> 01:55:26,483
but Brian and I felt that we knew
what Freddie would have been
thinking
1708
01:55:26,483 --> 01:55:29,245
so we got there and I was
very pleased with the result.
1709
01:55:29,245 --> 01:55:31,965
I feel like it was
the right completion.
1710
01:55:31,965 --> 01:55:35,726
It was, um...it was the right
album to finish up on.
1711
01:55:40,725 --> 01:55:45,126
Once you've passed your initiation
into being a rock star,
it never leaves you.
1712
01:55:45,126 --> 01:55:48,727
You cannot stop having that
feeling inside you that
makes you want to play.
1713
01:55:48,727 --> 01:55:51,127
♪ The show must go on! ♪
1714
01:55:51,127 --> 01:55:54,246
When we did the Paul Rodgers
tour, it was great, actually.
1715
01:55:54,246 --> 01:55:57,048
Paul was a great singer,
completely different.
1716
01:55:57,048 --> 01:56:03,249
♪ I've never given in
On with the show
1717
01:56:03,249 --> 01:56:07,888
♪ The show must go on. ♪
1718
01:56:07,888 --> 01:56:10,890
It constantly amazes me
to think we were lucky enough
1719
01:56:10,890 --> 01:56:13,689
to be in a great band, to have
a great band together,
1720
01:56:13,689 --> 01:56:16,851
and that, actually, people still
like the music, you know.
1721
01:56:18,130 --> 01:56:20,649
Queen is such a stimulating
creative environment,
1722
01:56:20,649 --> 01:56:24,491
there's really nothing quite
that could live up to that.
1723
01:56:26,850 --> 01:56:31,732
There was a perfect creative
hothouse that was Queen at its best.
1724
01:56:32,691 --> 01:56:36,130
♪ One dream, one soul
1725
01:56:36,130 --> 01:56:40,533
♪ One prize, one goal
1726
01:56:40,533 --> 01:56:46,013
♪ One golden glance of what should be
1727
01:56:46,013 --> 01:56:47,373
♪ It's a kind of magic
1728
01:56:47,373 --> 01:56:52,893
♪ One flash of light
that shows the way
1729
01:56:54,134 --> 01:56:58,013
♪ No mortal man
1730
01:56:58,013 --> 01:56:59,774
♪ Can win this day
1731
01:56:59,774 --> 01:57:01,894
♪ It's a kind of magic
1732
01:57:01,894 --> 01:57:05,493
♪ The bell that rings
1733
01:57:05,493 --> 01:57:07,614
♪ Inside your mind
1734
01:57:08,894 --> 01:57:11,014
♪ Is challenging
1735
01:57:11,014 --> 01:57:14,376
♪ The doors of time
1736
01:57:21,856 --> 01:57:28,737
♪ This rage that lasts
a thousand years
1737
01:57:28,737 --> 01:57:31,256
# Will soon be, will soon be
Will soon be...
1738
01:57:31,256 --> 01:57:35,018
♪ Will soon be done
1739
01:57:36,657 --> 01:57:40,617
♪ Will soon be done
1740
01:57:45,097 --> 01:57:50,260
♪ E-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-up
1741
01:57:50,260 --> 01:57:56,420
# E-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-up
1742
01:57:56,420 --> 01:57:58,020
♪ E-e-up
E-e-up
1743
01:57:58,020 --> 01:57:59,179
♪ E-e-up
E-e-up
1744
01:57:59,179 --> 01:58:00,659
♪ E-e-up
E-e-up
1745
01:58:00,659 --> 01:58:01,899
♪ Ee-do-ree-ro-re-ro
1746
01:58:01,899 --> 01:58:03,941
♪ Ee-do-ree-ro-re-ro. ♪
1747
01:58:03,941 --> 01:58:05,340
Fuck you.
1748
01:58:06,300 --> 01:58:09,339
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