John Deacon - a few questions

I think one of the bits of information I was thinking of came from a fan Q & A with Brian published in a music magazine in the April 2011 issue: When was the last time you contacted John Deacon? Ishkur, Croatia Well, we don’t communicate. That’s an odd thing to say, isn’t it? And that’s really his choice, because he doesn’t want to be connected to the business, if you like. We communicate in a roundabout way when there are business decisions to be made, ‘cos John’s still very much concerned with that side of things. He was always good at that role. But he doesn’t want anything to do with performance. And that’s just something that we respect. http://www.brianmay.com/brian/briannews/briannewsmar11b.html And from a 2010 interview: How often does he speak to the other two? John Deacon, Queen's bass player, has not performed with Queen since 1997. "I speak to Roger [Taylor, the drummer] a lot. But I don't speak to John because he doesn't want to, which is sad, but it's the way he wants it. He prefers to be isolated from it, and that's his choice. I respect it." Have they fallen out? "No, we never completely… We got strained at the time, but…" Oh well. There are other ways to communicate than by speaking. On Thursday 19 August, May posted a message on his blog that read: "Happy birthday Deacy! Bri." http://www.brianmay.com/brian/briannews/briannewssep10a.html

I remember this stuff about John going to the "Stormtroopers..." exhibition. Actually, I had Jacky Smith as a friend
on my Facebook profile, and this came out there. Someone asked her if John had come over (to the exhibition), and
she told that two of his sons were there (Robert and Luke if I'm not wrong), and they had this conversation, telling
her that John had almost make up his mind about going with them, but decided not to in the last last minute.

As for interviews (or him merely speaking), there is on youtube, footage of him and Brian and him and Roger during the
Made in Heaven sessions ('93 or '94) where they are recording a video for the Fan Club convention. Also, there is an
interview by him on a Queen Fan Club magazine from '96, and that is apparently the last time he gave a full interview.

Check out deaky.net and youl'll find some very good articles about John and some of his own interviews.

And, as far as I remember, by 2002, John was involved in at least two events concerning Queen.
He attended both the Party at the Palace (Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee) where Bri&Rog had
an important part, and the opening of the We Will Rock You musical in may 2002 at the Dominion
Theatre.

Sometime ago I've found the photo attached, that is from the WWRY opening, and he is signing
autographs for some fans.

The Cowdray Ruins gig in 1993, with Roger and John billed as Queen, has always been a puzzle to me:
http://www.queenconcerts.com/detail/live/1211/roger-taylor-john-deacon-live-18-09-1993-cowdray-park-midhurst-west-sussex-uk-festival.html

Cheers,

Ogre-

Since John lost his dad when he was 11, something must have clicked in his brain in 1992. His oldest son was 18, almost grown. As Brian May shared of his own depression, he (Brian) felt the loss of Freddie, his dad, his marriage and the valuable years of his family. John Deacon also must have felt a loss of watching his kids grow up. Did Deaky just want the the time and fellowship, nurturing love of his family, rather than the fast paced ugly sometimes cut-throat world of the music biz? I think he just lost the stomach for it and 1997 was not too late to capture some of life as a family man.

There was an interesting 1993 interview with Roger in which he talked about he and John continuing with Queen that left the clear sense that there was some tension with Brian, who seemed the odd man out during that period. That certainly turned on its head eventually. You have to wonder what changed. Perhaps just John's wants and needs evolved by time, or perhaps something about the reality of working within a band dynamic presumably vastly changed by Freddie's death. Brian often credits Fred as the diplomat in the band, mitigating tension and smoothing over disagreements. Absent that it perhaps all became a very different prospect. It seems that something probably happened, even if just in John's perception. Surely it is a little unusual to build walls that high and a moat that deep between you and people you worked closely with for 25 years and with whom you have an ongoing business relationship. It seems unnecessarily distant and oddly final.

The interview I referenced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz-R6XHG5ic

He's dead anyway, who cares

[QUOTE] [b]GratefulFan wrote:[/b]

There was an interesting 1993 interview with Roger in which he talked about he and John continuing with Queen that left the clear sense that there was some tension with Brian, who seemed the odd man out during that period. That certainly turned on its head eventually. You have to wonder what changed. Perhaps just John's wants and needs evolved by time, or perhaps something about the reality of working within a band dynamic presumably vastly changed by Freddie's death. Brian often credits Fred as the diplomat in the band, mitigating tension and smoothing over disagreements. Absent that it perhaps all became a very different prospect. It seems that something probably happened, even if just in John's perception. Surely it is a little unusual to build walls that high and a moat that deep between you and people you worked closely with for 25 years and with whom you have an ongoing business relationship. It seems unnecessarily distant and oddly final.

The interview I referenced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz-R6XHG5ic[/QUOTE]

Thank you for the information and link, GratefulFan. I remember being told that before, but it is always very nice to hear it straight from the source.

It seems like Brian was pursuing his solo career at the time and that Roger and John were working in Queen stuff.

I would suppose Roger's mention to Queen work with John would mean they were working on Made in Heaven. It could also mean that and "something else", or only "something else", but I think it is more probable that he was talking about Made in Heaven.

I remember Brian saying that it was very difficult to bring John in for the No One But You sessions, so something serious might have happened between the last months of 1993 and 1997.

What a shame. What a waste of an enormous talent...

Cheers,

Ogre-

[QUOTE] [b]mooghead wrote:[/b]

There is only 1 person on the planet who can answer these questions.[/QUOTE]

ditto

[QUOTE]

[b]Belladonic haze wrote: [/b] [QUOTE] [b]mooghead wrote:[/b]

There is only 1 person on the planet who can answer these questions.[/QUOTE]

ditto[/QUOTE]

...so his wife has a gag order too?

I'm still hoping that he will speak one day...

Maybe he's working on a project like "Chinese Democracy"... Biggles Democracy will be the title perhaps ;)

To John:

"It's the one thing we wish you would do - talk."

Rog and John began work on what would become the Made in Heaven album. Brian was off on his solo career and didn't like what the others were doing. He then took over the project and it chaged directopn considerably (and probably not for the better: far too sentimental and mopey). I imagine that's when John got a bit pissed off. Let's not forget, Brian thinks Queen is his and Roger's band. It started with them in Smile and Fred then John came afterwards. Brian is extremely stubborn about Queen's legacy. Without Fred to support John, he probably had enough of Brian by the late 1990s. IMO.

Another interview: http://www.queenzone.com/forums/1274348/brand-new-interview-with-john-deacon-.aspx