You see the sun rising and then setting. If you didn't know better you'd think the earth doesn't move and the sun is actually revolving around it, because that's what logic and perception indicate, right? In fact, 99% of people believed so for 99% of the time humans have existed (i.e. from ca. the year -50K until roughly half a millennium ago), and it doesn't mean they're stupid, it just means they hadn't discovered yet that it's (mostly) the other way around and that senses trick us into perceiving things otherwise.
It's the same when people (possibly including you, dear reader) assume you catch a cold by being outdoors in ... well, cold weather; or that mice and rats have some odd cheese addiction; or that mediaeval people's life expectancy was 30; or that Napoleon was a dwarf, sushi's synonymous with raw fish, elephants predict their own death and go to a graveyard, lemmings commit mass suicide, bulls get pissed off by the colour red, bats are blind, nails and hair keep growing after death, shaving results in hair getting thicker, the list goes on.
It happens in the Queensphere as well: things that would seem logical and which you see 'confirmed' by infallible sources such as ... wait for it ... wait for it... the internet (where it's utterly impossible to find false info, right?).
Without further ado, here's my top ten:
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No 10: Roger played drums on We Will Rock You
The famous boom-boom-tish is one of the best-know drumming patterns ever... even on a specialised publication such as Modern Drummer they asked Roger (October 1984 issue) about the kind of sticks he'd used. Both him and Brian (e.g., Guitar World, October 2002) have cleared up that the song has no drums but somehow the legend continues.
Why people believe it: Well, it'd be logical to think those loud noises come from bass-drum and/or floor toms plus snare. That's the way it's been done on stage by Roger, so if you've been to (or watched on YT) any concert or event where the artist's labelled as Queen or Queen+..., you've seen him playing the beat on drums.
But in fact...: There are no drums on that recording. The sound in question, probably inspired by John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance, was made by getting loads of people to stomp and clap and then multi-track and add delays. The sound Brian May (the track's composer, lyricist, arranger and producer) and Mike Stone (engineer) obtained was so unique and distinctibe it's been impossible to accurately replicate ever since, so loads of people just sample it, including Brian May, Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers (under the moniker Queen + Paul Rodgers).
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No 9: Brian composed the guitar parts for Bijou
Queen were much more than Rock You, Champions, Ga Ga, Break Free and Magic (oh, and the one with the Galileos), they also had some wonderful tracks on their studio albums. Bijou is quite popular in the fandom and for guitar lovers, as two thirds of the track are guitar solos. People assume guitar hero Brian May wrote those lines but, surprise surprise, he didn't: Freddie Mercury was the chief creator, as confirmed by Brian May himself at least twice (his own website in February 2004 and Guitar Player in November 2007).
Why people believe it: People assume guitarists write all guitar parts, bassists write all bass parts, keyboardists write all keyboard parts, etc. Moreover, non-musicians (which is easily 99% of the public anyway) tend to believe that to compose/arrange something, you have to be able to play it. As Freddie wasn't a professional guitarist, they logically think only Brian would be capable of writing those guitar parts.
But in fact...: Playing and composing are different disciplines. It's not restricted to classical music and soundtracks: Paul McCartney often wrote bits for John and George to play; Kansas' Kerry Livgren ,excellent guitarist and keyboardist, didn't play any bowed strings but he still composed, not for note, the violin, viola and cello solos that Robby Steinhart played; Don Felder from Eagles scored drum, bass, keyboard and guitar parts for his bbandmates to play. Freddie didn't have the technical ability to play Bijou on guitar but he had the creativity and composing skills to come up with the lines, sing them and have Brian to mimick them on his six-string.
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No 8: Freddie was a shitty guitarist
When you hear the name Freddie Mercury, you don't automatically picture him playing guitar, do you? Well... for loads of music buyers/listeners with black & white mentality (of which there are many), people who aren't guitar heroes automatically belong to the group of 'shitty guitarists' and there's no middle ground. Freddie's guitar skills are thought to be minimal, but he was actually quite a good player.
Why people believe it: Freddie rarely played guitar in studio recordings and only played live on one song, which was quite an easy one, by the way. Freddie was self-deprecating of his guitar skills and claimed he could only play three chords.
But in fact...: 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' has six chords, so he debunked his own myth every night the band performed live between late 1979 and 1986. As his bandmates have confirmed, he could play well and would sometimes write on guitar. Of course he wasn't nearly as good as Brian, but that doesn't mean he sucked - a 6 ft tall man is not the tallest person in the world (not even top 100,000), but it doesn't make him a dwarf. Roger Taylor was also a good guitarist. All four band members played guitar at some point.
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No 7: Roger wrote Under Pressure
When Queen and David Bowie released Under Pressure in 1981, it was credited to the five of them, but people soon started speculating who the actual (chief) author was. Roger's often unofficially credited for it even though he wasn't involved in the song's creation at all.
Why people believe it: He used to sing it in his solo tours, and Under Pressure shares some chords with Feel Like, an unreleased demo which, according to Wikipedia, Roger wrote.
But in fact...: There's no official confirmation or even suggestion that Roger wrote Feel Like; it could easily be his and it could just as easily be John's, Freddie's or Brian's; Roger sang I Want to Break Free, We Will Rock You and Show Must Go On on solo concerts, none of which he wrote. Under Pressure was, in fact, a collaboration between Freddie and David, but got credited to all five as it originated from a jam session. The bass-line, by the way, was written by Bowie.
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No 6: Freddie hardly wrote anything in his last years.
Freddie's health started to visibly deteriorate since late 80's, which didn't stop him from working. Fans and connoisseurs alike often understandably praise his voice and his determination to keep singing until the very end, but few know that he was also composing, arranging and producing alongside his vocal and keyboard duties.
Why people believe it: People incorrectly assume that an ailing AIDS patient is incapable of writing songs; while the disease certainly makes the body become weaker and affects all areas, it doesn't mean it disables the ability to create. With people close to him commenting he was asking his bandmates to write him 'anything', people often misinterpreted it as Freddie being solely a performer of the later day works, not a songwriter.
But in fact...: Freddie was the dominant songwriter for 'The Miracle' album (being chiefly responsible for nearly half of the songs they included there), 'Innuendo' (where he was the main writer on over half of it) and *all* of the post-Innuendo creations included on 'Made in Heaven' (there were three: he wrote one with Brian, one with John and one by himself). A determined consummate musician indeed. but not just as a singer.
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Sebastian · Member since
No 5: Brian sang the low vocals.
Three-part harmonies are common in famous bands and groups. Usually one person sings the top line, another one sings the middle and the other one sings the bottom part. You get people like The Beatles (sans Ringo, usually), The Bee Gees, Yes, The Who (sans Keith, usually), etc., as examples.
Why people believe it: When performing on stage, Queen used to do exactly that (Roger/Freddie/Brian from the top), leading to people incorrectly believing Brian was the 'bass' singer and that all the low vocals found on the records were sung by him.
But in fact...: If A can sing higher than B, it doesn't necessarily mean B can sing lower than A. Most Queen backing vocals in the bass register were recorded by Freddie (e.g., Bo Rhap, Somebody to Love, Leroy Brown). There were cases of Brian singing a bit low (e.g. Good Company - backing vocals), but those were usually brief and not too low anyway. In fact even Roger sang lower than Brian on several occasions (e.g. Action This Day, he's doing a three-part including some really low notes on the bass).
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No 4: Roger was replaced by machines in the later days.
The frequent use of electronics in commercially-available music meant that many songs are made with actual 'analogue' instrumentation being reduced or even eliminated, as synths, sequencers, samplers, machines and computers allowed a quick and inexpensive way to record. Why spend two hours setting up and micing a drum kit when you can press a couple of buttons or click a mouse and generate perfectly quantised rhythm tracks in seconds? Most people won't notice and won't care anyway. That's not to say drummers have become extinct; far from it, but a lot of them have indeed been replaced by programming. Roger's often thought to be one of them in the late 80's and early 90's, but he wasn't.
Why people believe it: Roger was in two bands at the same time (in the other one, he was the singer and rhythm guitarist, not the drummer), the sound of the drums changed a lot in those years compared to the 'old' Queen days (or even the Mack era of 1979-1986) and it was trendy to use MIDI drums as well as Linn machines.
But in fact...: Most drums on 'The Miracle', 'Innuendo' and 'Made in Heaven' are real. Some things are indeed programmed such as 'Delilah', 'All God's People' (except the middle bit) and 'Mother Love', but for the most part Roger was actually playing, and playing quite well... so well, that people often think it's machines (e.g. 'Days of Our Lives', where the conga percussion is in fact programmed but drums are real).
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No 3: Freddie wrote 'Bicycle Race' in France
Even people with some rudimentary knowledge of Queen tend to pinpoint some of their biggest hits and where they were written: 'Innuendo' and 'Under Pressure' in Montreux (Switzerland), 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' in Munich, 'Bicycle Race' in France ... wait, no, it wasn't! Freddie actually wrote it in Switzerland.
Why people believe it: It sounds logical: Freddie wrote it inspired by the Tour de France, and part of the 'Jazz' album was recorded at Super Bear Studios in the south of ... yeah, you guessed it, France.
But in fact: Despite its name, the Tour de France is not just France; in fact, that year it kicked off in the Netherlands and on 19th July (Brian's 31st birthday) it went through Montreux in Switzerland, where the band were. By the time the tour ended (on 23rd July) the band were still in Switzerland, as evidenced by them hosting birthday parties for both Roger (26th July) and John (19th August) there. They moved to France around September, long after the tour had ended.
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No 2: Brian was the mastermind behind 'Made in Heaven'
With Freddie out of the picture, literally, Brian's taken a de-facto role as leader and 'face' of Queen (however you choose to define it) for the last twenty-plus years. People assume that it was he who masterminded the 'Made in Heaven' project, when in fact his contribution, huge as it was, was no bigger than Roger's or John's, both of whom, in fact, worked much more on it, as Brian missed out almost a year of its sessions embarking on his solo career.
Why people believe it: Brian's a magnificent musician and a great producer, so it seems logical that he was the leader, especially without Freddie to counteract him.
But in fact...: Roger and John began the project in 1993 using old tapes from Freddie's piano and voice, and Brian refused to participate as he was busy pursuing his solo career and telling people in no uncertain terms that he wasn't interested in Queen. Once his solo tour finished with very limited success compared to what he could achieve as 1/4 of Queen (or 1/3, or 1/2, depending on how you look at it), he coincidentally decided to join John and Roger and the three of them continued with the project until summer 1995, when they delivered the album to be mixed, mastered and finally released near the end of the year.
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No 1: John was the mastermind behind Hot Space.
'Hot Space' is by far the most controversial Queen album because of its very limited financial success, its disco flavour and the fact it's hated (or at least, not loved as much as the others) by so many fans and critics. People often place the blame on John, the R&B/funk/disco member of the band, ignoring the fact he was the Queen member who was *least* involved with the album, and ignoring the fact he himself publicly stated his dislike for it.
Why people believe it: 'Hot Space' was largely inspired by the success of John's 'Another One Bites the Dust', plus there's the whole four-band persona aspect where, as far as the man in the street is concerned, Freddie wrote piano ballads, Roger wrote fast songs about cars or birds and Brian was the metalhead, so John's, by default, thought to be the Disco Stu. The man in the street, moreover, isn't gonna listen to 'Body Language' or 'Staying Power' and think 'hey mate, that sounds like a Roland Jupiter 8 analogue-subtractive synthesiser, which means the bass player didn't take part of this recording, he must be pissed off'; he'll usually say 'that song's got a lot of bass, that means the bassist must have written it or at least played a strong role.'
But in fact...: John wrote less songs for the album than anyone else in the band (all in all, 86.36% of 'Hot Space' was NOT written by John) and his bass-playing suffered the some of the bass lines would be played on synthesiser by one of the others. Freddie sang lead on every track on the album, Brian played guitar on all songs but one, Roger played drums and/or sang backing vocals a lot, but John's bass was absent on three or four tracks (over a third of the album).
Ghostwithasmile is BACK! · Member since
Okay but Boh Rhap is about aids isn't it ? That has to be true :-)
Garden Lodge · Member since
Nice to see a good thread. Finally.
I've been a Queen fan for 30+ years and I have to say that probably the most frequent myths that people bring up when they learn that I have a widespread and an almost sick obsession with Queen are:
1.) All in Queen were gay. Wrong. Just because it was clear (or at least apparent) that Freddie was gay people always imply that Brian, Roger and John were too. Amazing isn't?
2.)Crazy little thing was either written and /or sung by Elvis. Yes it was Elvis inspired (Rockabilly) and Freddie kind of sings like him but certainly it doesn't make it his!
I've heard people swear that they had heard Elvis singing this one.
3.) After BoRhap launched lots of people wrongly assumed that all in Queen had classical music formal training for some strange reason. The operatic section perhaps?
4.) That Freddie grew a moustache just for the sole purpose of hiding his teeth. Even though this helped, the real reason was because Freedie wanted to adopt the gay clone look of the Catro district of San Francisco. Very popular look back in the 80's. Tight jeans, white wifebeater (muscle shirt), moustache, cropped hair, aviator ray bans etc…
5.) and probably the most absurd of them all: that Freddie was straight and had a wife which he hid from the public. And the whole gay and camp look was just part of his show or his stage persona.
mooghead · Member since
The OP's number one is ridiculous, I never saw that coming at all and never thought John was behind Hot Space.
Chief Mouse · Member since
Interesting thread. Thanks.
antiden · Member since
Sebastian, you're so wrong about the credits for 'Under Pressure' bass line. John came up with it. In 'DOOL' documentary it is clearly stated by Roger.
Stelios · Member since
About the myth No 1: John was the mastermind behind Hot Space.
I believe it's more complex than that. Although John was not a very active composer /bass player on Hot Space that dosen't mean that he is "responsible" for 15% as you state.
John and Freddie were mooving towards the black/funk area at that time so it's reasonable they influenced more the profile of the album.
Songs may as well been written by Brian or Roger but i assume it was the other two that directed the orchestration/structure/production to the disco /funk genre of witch the album is infamous for.
Sebastian · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]antiden wrote:[/b]
Sebastian, you're so wrong about the credits for 'Under Pressure' bass line. John came up with it. In 'DOOL' documentary it is clearly stated by Roger.[/QUOTE]
John clearly stated (1982 and 1984) that Bowie wrote the bass-line. So we have two conflicting stories, let's check the context:
* The person who played it, months after having played it.
* Someone who didn't play it, 30 years after the song was done.
I think, for that particular case, 1982 John is far more accurate as a witness than 2011 Roger.
[QUOTE] [b]Stelios wrote:[/b]John and Freddie were mooving towards the black/funk area at that time
[/QUOTE]
So were Brian and Roger (Dancer, Action This Day).
[QUOTE] [b]Stelios wrote:[/b]i assume it was the other two that directed the orchestration/structure/production to the disco /funk genre of witch the album is infamous for.
[/QUOTE]
Not really. Orchestrations and structure are directed by the songwriter. So:
Staying Power: Freddie; not John.
Dancer: Brian; not John.
Back Chat: John.
Body Language: Freddie; not John.
Action This Day: Roger; not John.
Put Out the Fire: Brian; not John.
Life Is Real: Freddie; not John.
Calling All Girls: Roger; not John.
Las Palabras de Amor: Brian; not John.
Cool Cat. Freddie and John.
Under Pressure: Freddie and David.
Freddie clearly said (part of the interview's shown on Great Pretender documentary) that he forced the other three and that they hated him for it as the album didn't sell. So there you go: Freddie was the chief 'conductor' of the album, not Brian, not Roger and not John.
YourValentine · Member since
My favourite Queen myth is the story that Freddie was booed and had things thrown at him at the 1st Rio 1985 night when he appeared on stage with the wig/false boobs for the encore. Legend has it that Freddie tore down wig and boobs and nearly burts into tear.
Funnily, the existing video of the concert shows that the whole story is totally made up and never happened. Nothing was thrown and Freddie did not remove his falsies in a hurry. Still the story has survived for decades...
Nitroboy · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]YourValentine wrote:[/b]
My favourite Queen myth is the story that Freddie was booed and had things thrown at him at the 1st Rio 1985 night when he appeared on stage with the wig/false boobs for the encore. Legend has it that Freddie tore down wig and boobs and nearly burts into tear.
Funnily, the existing video of the concert shows that the whole story is totally made up and never happened. Nothing was thrown and Freddie did not remove his falsies in a hurry. Still the story has survived for decades...[/QUOTE]
Peter Freestone himself has said that he did have things thrown at him, so that part is true. Obviously, he didn't burst into tears, as evidenced by the video.
Sebastian · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Nitroboy wrote:[/b]
Peter Freestone himself has said that he did have things thrown at him, so that part is true.[/QUOTE]
No, it's not. Video evidence's always way more accurate than witness recollection. Witnesses can misremember, lie, exaggerate, fabricate... video shows it like it is.
Thistle · Member since
Another popular "myth" is that when people don't have an accurate number when highlighting public opinion, they just express it as "99% of people" or "99% of the time"....
well, actually, that's not true.....only 99% of them do.
Thistle · Member since
Apart from that, excellent thread Seb - and good to see that even some of the facts you use to justify your thoughts on the matter are being challenged, too: proving that QZ CAN be a place for intellectual debate.
Sebastian · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Thistleboy1980 wrote:[/b]
well, actually, that's not true.....only 99% of them do.[/QUOTE]
