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[b]Gregsynth wrote: [/b]

[url=http://www.classicbands.com/KansasInterview.html]http://www.classicbands.com/KansasInterview.html[/url]
Here's the concerning lines:
Q - Tell me some of the groups Kansas opened for in the mid-70s. Do you recall?

 



 



 



A - Well, yeah. We did Queen, Mott The Hoople. Hell, we did everybody. 



 



Q - How were you treated by these people? 



 



A - Real good. Queen and Mott The Hoople were fantastic. Real nice people, except Freddie, the lead singer for Queen. He was an ass hole. But, everybody else was great. All of the guys in Mott The Hoople were fantastic. They were just great to us. 



 



Q - What was the problem with Freddie Mercury? 



 



A - I don't know. He was a prima donna...diva if you will. That word was not meant to be a compliment, although a lot of people consider it to be. That's bullshit. That's having an ego having bigger than you are talented, bigger than you deserved. That's what being a diva is. That's what a prima donna is and that's what Freddie was. 



 



Something tells me that Steve was JEALOUS of Freddie!



 

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No, Steve didn't like Freddie or his behavior.  It had nothing to do with being jealous.

Not that this would be the website to get an unbiased view of him.  He probably was an asshole at the time.  Success tends to throw famous people's personalities out of whack for a while.  On the other hand, some folk (like Ted Neeley) go through it and remain salt-of-the-earth.

I think we're all a bunch of things.  Freddie is certainly on record as being difficult and irritating at times, and it's hard to undo initial impressions.  If he rubbed Walsh the wrong way at the beginning it would have coloured every interaction that followed. So I'm definintely willing to accept that in his experience, Freddie was an asshole.

Well precisely, it all comes down to experience.  If you never see someone do a good deed, it's slightly tougher to believe they are capable of one...

Freddie was Freddie. Take it or leave it.

Big woman made an asshole out of him

Sounds like a fairly decent appraisal of what he thought of him to me.

Can't argue with it.

From another angle, do people appreciate the honesty and forthrightness of this interview relating to music and touring as an act of financial necessity? Perhaps unreasonably, I do expect bands/musicians to keep those kinds of sentiments to themselves.

Liking or disliking someone is a right everybody has. We are biased because we're Queen fans but in Walsh's behalf, he knew Freddie, we didn't.

Freddie isn't an asshole-Steve Walsh is, and I can back that up:
[/QUOTE]I was listening to some of Steve's solo stuff on Youtube and alot of people were saying "I met him in real life, he's a real asshole." One guy is in a Kansas cover band, and he said that Steve treated him and Kansas' fans like shit. He also said that the rest of band are a great group of guys and EVEN THEY want to know why he acts like that. My guess is that Steve was already getting an ego back when he started touring with Kansas and when Freddie first saw him, he probably called him out, citing his attitude and then some argument flared up. I'm thinking Steve thinks this: "Freddie's dead, so I can just talk about anything."[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]I have NEVER heard anything bad said about Freddie (except for Steve's interview). Freddie comes across as a decent, kind, sincere, and has a great sense of humor in both his interviews, and his performances. Take a look at one interview from 1985: The interviewer said quote: "Freddie is very pleasant when he walks in."[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]If Freddie DID have an ego/acted like a prima donna in his early career, he probably got over it real quick.[/QUOTE]
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Stevie who

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[b]Bo Rhap wrote: [/b]

Stevie who[/QUOTE]
Steve Walsh: Lead Singer and keyboardist for the American progressive rock band, kansas.

That was Freddie Mercury, a big monstrous asshole! A diva who sucked up all the attention. Ratty himself said his first impression of Freddie was "what a prat."

That, was FREDDIE MERCURY, the stage persona, not Freddie Mercury the sweet, introverted character offstage.

Plus, my uncle knew Stevie, said he was a major prick who would get pissed off if the conversation wasn't about him.

And as far as Freddie's ego being bigger than his talent, just wait until Steve there kicks the bucket and see how many stars attend HIS Tribute concert, haha, or how many statues world-wide he gets.

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[b]Serry... wrote: [/b]

Big woman made an asshole out of him
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And I just love you for that.