Show Must Go On - Myth & Truth

'Twas about time to include a May tune here...

We can be certain about the following statements:

* Brian May wrote lyrics, melody, arrangements and the middle-eight but NOT the chord sequence.
* Dr May played the synthesiser.
* It's got both human bass and human drums (a rarity for the era).
* Some bits only feature Dr Wig on vocals (e.g. 'turning turning...' and the outro).
* The four Queen members and the producer contributed to the songwriting process.
* Brian got the idea of keeping the sequence as canvas for most sections from Pachelbel

The following could contain both truth and myth (or Chienese whispers, misrecollections, stretched details, etc):

* David Richards had the idea of transposing the key for the second cycle.
* Freddie considered it the best song Brian ever wrote.
* Fred did the vocals on one take, after drinking some vodka.
* Freddie inspired the lyrics and contributed with some of them.

Things that we could analyse further:

* John plays the bass-line, but who wrote it? I'm pretty sure it was Brian, but have no way to prove it.
* Influence from other composers.
* Where was it recorded? London or Montreux?
* Is the synth a DX-7? TBH, the pad's so simple that virtually anything from OBX onwards could've worked.

No-one mention that there is a HUGE similarity with the intro of "never tear us apart" from INXS..

From what I´ve heard, Freddie did the "My soul is painted..." segment in one take, but wouldn´t it be fucking awesome if he nailed the whole song in one take, concidering his health. Yes, thats what I´ll belive from now-on.

Oh no, Freddie definately didn't sing it in one take.

I remember reading/hearing some interviews about Freddie having to come into the studio in his wheelchair during the vocal sessions of The Show Must Go On, and be able to sing just 2 lines or so, before getting to tired and having to stop and go to bed again.

I believe it was Hannie, from the Dutch fanclub who said it... I need to verify this.

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[b]masterstroke_84 wrote: [/b]


No-one mention that there is a HUGE similarity with the intro of "never tear us apart" from INXS..[/QUOTE] I love both the songs, but I don't see the similarity.

With regards to the "wheelchair" reference how would anyone know this? Approx when was the vocal recorded I assume some point in 1990?

Hannie Roggeveen, from the Dutch Queen Fanclub apparantly was there, I have no reason not to believe her.

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[b]FriedChicken wrote: [/b]

Hannie Roggeveen, from the Dutch Queen Fanclub apparantly was there, I have no reason not to believe her.
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What on earth would this person have been doing there?  Who were they at the time, just a fan, or someone with a reason to be there?

Off topic, but some might find the expression "Chinese Whispers" offensive. Personally, I'm not bothered by antiquated foreign stereotyping expressions (another would be "Indian Giver"), but some people may take issue. Just a 'head's up'.

Maybe change it to "Broken Telephone," which in North America means the same thing. The only people who may get offended with that are telephone companies, but we pay them way too much as it is, so screw'em!

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[b]rhyeking wrote: [/b]

Off topic, but some might find the expression "Chinese Whispers" offensive.
[/QUOTE]
Why? The Chinese are infamous whisperers... and proud of it!

I'd also love to believe that Freddie sang this in a one-r, but much doubt it. Even a healthy Freddie would struggle to sing this one once through in the studio and have it used imo.

obviously we're all just speculating / repeating hearsay on this, but how would it be that Freddie had to be wheelchaired in to the studio to sing 2 lines at a time between naps during the recording of this track, and then months later film the EPK for Innuendo and look so spry and upbeat (though thin and frail for sure)...

The Wheelchaired Freddie story sounds more in keeping with what I've heard in interviews (Brian and David Richard mostly) about Freddie recording the bits and pieces of what became Made In Heaven, specifically "Mother Love."

I wasn't there, though, so I have no idea.

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[b]joesilvey wrote: [/b]


obviously we're all just speculating / repeating hearsay on this, but how would it be that Freddie had to be wheelchaired in to the studio to sing 2 lines at a time between naps during the recording of this track, and then months later film the EPK for Innuendo and look so spry and upbeat (though thin and frail for sure)... [/QUOTE]


It's not a bad question but the answer is very simple : he wasn't bedridden all of the time.  Even when they did the Breakthru video, Freddie was already very ill.  Some people look at the videos done for the Miracle videos and insist that Freddie could have done limited live shows at that point, which is a total fallacy.  If he had done it, I'm sure that Freddie mysteriously collapsing during a big '89 show would be an iconic part of rock history by now.
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[/QUOTE]Same deal with the Innuendo videos and EPK.  Freddie was going through as close a thing to Hell as any of us can imagine (collapsing veins, dramatic weight loss, blood transfusions) yet on a 'good day' he was able to sit under lights and do the band thing.  It's something that will never cease to amaze me.[/QUOTE]

Also, the superficially 'up and down' nature of his health does lead to some debate over the exact date that he did his last studio recordings.  A lot of people argue that it's impossible for him to have been recording after, say May of 1991, but it's also been suggested that he finished some things off during a kind of 'Indian summer' that he had after going off his medication (which apparently relieved him of side effects for a short while before going into his final decline).
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[/QUOTE]It doesn't make finding the truth very easy when you consider that conflicting reports come from the very top level.  I've read it on this forum that a sheet from some session shows that Freddie's last work was done in May of 1991, and yet it's been reliably established that he did some singing in October.  His last work in Montreaux could well have been before then, but the recording of "Mother Love" and "A Winter's Tale" did overlap somewhat and it's entirely possible that he finished one of those tracks at Metropolis studios.[/QUOTE]
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[/QUOTE]One of these days, when I'm on a topic as convoluted as this one, I will keep links and screenshots of all the tasty quotes so that I can back it up.  I have my own conclusions of course, but they're only as solid as anyone else's, providing they've done as much reading I guess![/QUOTE]