LACK of Queen product!?!? W.T.F.

Dear all the lovely QZ-ers. And the gits too (mustn't forget them)...

I note with more than a little intrigue, and bewilderment (I suppose you'd call it) this comment on my recent THE LAST TIME thread...

"Alex dear, if you compare the lack of Queen products to other artists, please try to find an artist who has made LESS of an effort."

I have seen comments of this nature before on QZ, and it always baffles me. Why? Well, because, in no particular order...

1. Myself and VERY MANY other Queen fans have been collecting Queen 'product' for 30 years or more, yes THIRTY YEARS, three entire decades, and STILL we do not have all there is, nor even close to it. Because there is SO MUCH to find. It's never ending.

2. My sitting room and office at home is FILLED with Queen CDs, LPs, 7" and 12" singles, CDs, books, mags, programs, tour passes, posters, t-shirts, promo items, books, badges, videos, cassettes, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, BUT STILL there is never enough room, so I've also filled my attic and garage area.

3. Like many other fans/collectors I know, having now filled my own home with Queen 'stuff', I've recently lumbered my mum with copious boxes to store for me.

4. In the book i am currently working on... Queen memorabilia, we have in excess of 430 different projects to cover, with more and more and more coming to our attention all the time. 12 entire pages on the NOTW album 'might' just be enough if we cram it all in... the 400 items we have to show JUST for that one album... one album of approx 80 that need to be represented. This gives you a hint of the sheer scale of this thing.

5. We hoped to cover everything in 320 pages, but this week I realise it cannot be done in less than 360... not PROPERLY anyway. So VASTLY VAST is the collection we're trying to illustrate.

6. Other than the BEATLES, I have never seen such a mammoth and gigantic array of 'product' all pertaining to one artist, as I know to exist in the Queen world.

7. It is my estimation that there are between 7-9,000 Queen 'products' that 'could' in theory feature in the aforementioned book. I certainly have photos pertaining to over 7,000 different items. 3-4,000 I downloaded from the net over the past decade... which you too, Tero, can see if you go looking.

8. So, when you say, "please try to find an artist who has made LESS of an effort" I am incredulous, because it is my considered opinion that EVERY SINGLE ARTIST on planet Earth, except the Beatles (and probably Elvis, Abba, Rolling Stones, Bowie, Dylan and a couple of others) has actually done exactly that, Tero.... several million artists past and present have ALL "made LESS of an effort." It is nearly impossible to make MORE effort than Queen, in fact.

9. I know several people whose collections of Queen stuff has cost them tens of thousands of pounds, possibly over 100 grand (in UK lolly)... tons of stuff everywhere you look. Moreover, their collecting of thousand of items has cost them their marriage or house. Such stories are not uncommon.

I therefore conclude that this comment (and others like it)... "Alex dear, if you compare the lack of Queen products to other artists, please try to find an artist who has made LESS of an effort." is TOTALLY and COMPREHENSIVELY without foundation or sense, or fore-thought. It is completely ludicrous and ill-considered on all levels and is the opinion of a person that evidently knows nothing about the massive depth of product to have emerged in the name of Queen since 1971.

Tero, my dear.... stop being so very very silly and ill-informed.

Look at all the Queen sites, especially Queenconcerts.com and Queenmuseum, and see how voluminous and varied the MASS of Queen releases is, and also realise that Queen has relea

[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Queen Archivist wrote: [/QUOTENAME]
...
3. Like many other fans/collectors I know, having now filled my own home with Queen 'stuff', I've recently lumbered my mum with copious boxes to store for me.

...
[/QUOTE]

LOL, same here, Greg. Poor old ladies... :)

Cheers,

Ogre-

I totally, completely, absolutely agree.

Though I'd only add that, apart from the official releases, which I didn't get enough of yet, by no means, I enjoy listening to the concerts and albums with care and relaxed, there's also a huge unofficial high-quality archive build by dedicated fans which is a great witness to the fans' respect and love for the band and their committment at preserving the band's history and going out of their way to make this all available in the best possible quality.

So, I think that we have tons of Queen material, official and unofficial, and I THANK YOU ALL, GREG AND ALSO ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE HERE AND ELSEWHERE - Tapers, collectors, people who study Queen's history and music and dedicate their time to dragging people into Queen's music - WHO HAVE BEEN DOING SUCH A GREAT WORK.

LOVE YOU QUEENZONERS!

THANKS GREG!

Love you Briiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

lol

AH, and I still think that Hammersmith Odeon '79 is the greatest Queen concert ever! :-)) Though I know it's beyond repair and it wouldn't be a good DVD release. And, of course, we all have already watched it and listened to it.

So my point is: there's already a lot of Queen material out there, official and unofficial, in great quality!

Thank you all. Greg and Queenzoners.

-Nevermind-

Greg, One year ago, when we discussed content of Queen Live archive, You have promised 70's live concert on DVD will be released this spring. Does anything from Queen (not Q+PR) will be released this year?

I need a Queen 'We Will Rock You - The Musical" waistcoat for my chimpanzeee.

How long am I going to have to wait for this QueenProductions?

[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Queen Archivist wrote: [/QUOTENAME]
2. My sitting room and office at home is FILLED with Queen CDs, LPs, 7" and 12" singles, CDs, books, mags, programs, tour passes, posters, t-shirts, promo items, books, badges, videos, cassettes, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, BUT STILL there is never enough room, so I've also filled my attic and garage area.


[/QUOTE]

Isn't it all re-releases and compilations and toothbrushes, though?

Who would want all of that crap?

This is a thing Greg- not everybody is intrested in memorabilia, robots, pens, toothbrushes and stuff like that. It's not even about vinyls- which OI collect myself. But this is a stuff that has been released BEFORE- nad it costs more and more and more...
I think the discussion yoo are reffering to was about NEW releases- or the fact that we seem to get more "re-releases" than anything new. Bonuses on Montreal DVD were supposed to be FANTASTIC- so good we didn't get Saturday Night Show... In the end it turned ouit to be Live Aid- sth most of us already had, forking out quite few pounds when it was released as the whole thing- Live Aid triple DVD...
Anniversary ANATO? Montreal yet again? No sight of Box Sets? In terms of demos Queen is probably the LEAST represented band out there- most artists add their demos and rare edits to album re-issues... we got some crappy mixes with Hollywood Records re-issues (apart from 1 or 2 gems). And so on and so on... BBB sessions... gigs from 70s... you DO know the list Greg- it's probably the stuff YOU would love them to release too. And that's what this discussion was all about- about making an effort with NEW releases... I also have boxes and boxes of vinyls- but that's an absolutely different subject...

[/QUOTENAME]
You will see probably 1,700-1,800 Queen items in the book I'm working on, and believe me that is NOT all of it... it's only the best of the best; the tip of the iceberg when you consider that's probably only a quarter or a fifth of it.
[/QUOTE]
But most of us were talking about MUSIC- to be perfectly honest for MUSIC FANS that's really the thing that matters...

Greg.. I like your idea of making and publishing a book about Queen memorabilia. Now my main question; Will there be a list of recordings that are in the archive on tape? So audio and videomasters?

Greg, you must be joking : 7000-9000 "queen" products, ok, but how many WORTHWILE products (no queen mousepad or clock that no-one cares about)? I'm sure queenzoners complain about the lack of original queen releases (in the musical sense) : ok we've got some live cd's and dvd's recently but still nothing from the seventies : how do you explain that ?

The memorablia book is great and I will buy it because it is interesting to see all that stuff. So, well done!

BUT, with new releases we mean a release of Queen live in the seventies(or several for that matter), a box set from the BBC session, a box(or several for that matter) with unreleased stuff(freddie's box was indeed FANTASTIC, and freddie did relatively little outside Queen so a Queen box should be even better). When I'm at my local shop I see boxes from Springsteen(several), Dylan, Michael Jackson, The Who, the Police,...(all major artists except Queen)

Greg, in your book you write several Crazy tour shows were recorded. We all know Freddie's voice was in the best shape ever during that tour. Why not make a great 1979 release with one of those shows and lots of other stuff from Live Killers tour(would be an awesome set).

[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Fenderek wrote: [/QUOTENAME]This is a thing Greg- not everybody is intrested in memorabilia, robots, pens, toothbrushes and stuff like that. It's not even about vinyls- which OI collect myself. But this is a stuff that has been released BEFORE- nad it costs more and more and more...
I think the discussion yoo are reffering to was about NEW releases- or the fact that we seem to get more "re-releases" than anything new. Bonuses on Montreal DVD were supposed to be FANTASTIC- so good we didn't get Saturday Night Show... In the end it turned ouit to be Live Aid- sth most of us already had, forking out quite few pounds when it was released as the whole thing- Live Aid triple DVD...
Anniversary ANATO? Montreal yet again? No sight of Box Sets? In terms of demos Queen is probably the LEAST represented band out there- most artists add their demos and rare edits to album re-issues... we got some crappy mixes with Hollywood Records re-issues (apart from 1 or 2 gems). And so on and so on... BBB sessions... gigs from 70s... you DO know the list Greg- it's probably the stuff YOU would love them to release too. And that's what this discussion was all about- about making an effort with NEW releases... I also have boxes and boxes of vinyls- but that's an absolutely different subject...

[/QUOTENAME]
You will see probably 1,700-1,800 Queen items in the book I'm working on, and believe me that is NOT all of it... it's only the best of the best; the tip of the iceberg when you consider that's probably only a quarter or a fifth of it.
[/QUOTE]
But most of us were talking about MUSIC- to be perfectly honest for MUSIC FANS that's really the thing that matters...[/QUOTE]

Absolutely agree - the main reference to 'product' is the MUSIC, not phone cards, beer mats, badges etc...

It is simply frustrating to know that there are demos, unreleased tracks, live gigs etc.. in the archives that may never see the light of day. It is simply fact (not an unsubstantiated attack on QPL for no reason)that many 'lesser' artists have released far more interesting, rare, better presented rare stuff than Queen have. :(

Release of 'something from 70s' is a long-time idée fixe of almost all Queen fans though they probably have heard most of their recorded gigs from that era (or at least the most significant ones). You all awating for bonus stuff on Disk 2.

I don't give a f**k about bullsh*t like "memorabilia" : [QUOTE]books, mags, programs, tour passes, posters, t-shirts, promo items, books, badges,[/QUOTE]- Queen are / were a ROCK BAND ! Which means that we expect MUSIC. CDs, DVDs, even LPs or Blue-Rays. Is it THAT hard to understand ?

Queen productions have really wonderful collection of live videos - why are they hiding them instead of releasing them and making money of them ? I see absolutely NO logic in this.
The last at least interesting Queen product was Queen Rocks (I'm not talking about Freddie's box, it's good but it's not Queen). Another at least slightly interesting release was Milton Keynes DVD, but that's all.

When will we finally get the promised singles box set ?
When will we finally get the promised demos & rarities box set ?
When will we finally see some NEW concert on DVD ?
When will we get proper DVD releases of at least Rainbow 74, Hammersmith 75, Hyde Park 76, Earls Court 77, Paris 79, Hammersmith 79, South America 81, Japan 75/82/85 ?
When will we get the promised BBC sessions ?

The only thing what is QP doing is PROMISING. They (incl. you) promise an interesting product, and it gets either cancelled, or changes into a crap like GH3 or Queen Rock Montreal. THIS is what people are complaining about. And it's weird that somebody has to tell it to the OFFICIAL Queen archivist.


Sorry if I'm too harsh Greg but you are the only employee of QP with who we can communicate. I know you're not a part of the decision making process, but PLEASE either tell your boss(es) what the "normal" fans want or don't start topics like this one