Relationship between John Deacon and Brian May

There have been some great discussions on this site in regards to the subject of the making of MIH and how John and Roger initiated the first steps towards this emotional project then when Brian finally decided to get involved, it also coincided with John appearances becoming much less which brought up some rumors of a bust up between the two... Also the very little lack of interaction between the two on stage and during the separate song writing days they along with John and Roger, have never co-written any songs.. which got me thinking.. What was John's and Brian's relationship like both within the band Queen 1972-86 88-91 92-95 and now and outside the band..
Out of all members in Queen, would these two would have to share the more mysterious relationship between each other..?

Only the two of them know, and for a lesser extent Roger... as far as it's been told, the four Queen members were friends and colleagues but they were not besties who would spend every waking moment together. They'd see each other in the studio and for concerts and rehearsals, and some band meetings (which would often take place in the studio) to decide on where to go, etc., as well as video shootings, but it's not like two of them would routinely go partying together on their day off, except for Freddie and Roger, according to the former's driver, but that was still not a frequent occurrence.

As for the professional relationship between John and Brian, that one cannot be sussed out either, but at least we as public (or even as researchers) can see some patterns, patterns that at the end of the day do not paint a picture. The fact John and Brian didn't get together to write a song doesn't mean they hated each other. From what it's been said, Freddie didn't get together with Roger to write a song either (it was more like 'bugger off and I'll make it a hit' sort of thing) and it doesn't mean they weren't close. If anything, according to what people like Jim and Peter (Jones) have said, Freddie was closer to Roger than he was to John or Brian; still, we can see that 'in the office,' he was probably collaborating more closely with John (Cool Cat, etc.) or Brian (Mother Love, Is This the World, etc.).

Brian and John's relationship certainly seems the least close. John regularly stood on the drum platform and smiles at Roger. There are also many photos of John and Roger together. However, there is very little interaction between Brian and John on stage and very few photos of them together, laughing or talking.

Quite honestly who cares!!!! These are two separate human beings and if Queen were to be broken down into it's most basic parts it was simply 4 guys that could create, play and arrange some great music but at the end of the day they went home to ????????????????????

OP obviously cares :P
The dynamics between the band members are an interesting thing, it's reasonable to want to know about them as fans.

Guessville Arizona.

I think they were like creative brothers the 4 of them had their own different connections with each other

Yes, I agree! Brian and Roger were both pretty mild mannered really. I doubt there would have been any fundamental problems between them. Making no songs together might be more to do with tastes

Later in their careers they all had separate lives though didn't they, I mean, Freddie never really socialised with the band did he? He said in an interview once that they were all into different things, so didn't tend to socialise together and he didn't make a big deal out of it.

It was probably the same for John, Brian and Roger. John was the first member of the band to start a family, and probably settled into the role of family man quite well I guess. Brian and Roger aren't really on record as socialising all that much together either.

That doesn't necessarily mean they don't get on. We've probably all got work colleagues that we don't hang out with all that much, even if we've worked quite closely together.

Thinking that the relationship between Brian and John was ________ (insert personal fanwank here) is inherently flawed.

Over the course of their association I'd bet that their relationship waxed, waned, fluctuated, and assumed all sorts of states just like you and [i]your[/i] hanging buddies. 20 years is a long time and both men changed over time.
So what their relationship was in 1974 is probably nothing like it was in 1980 or 1991. Before they were dads and after they were dads. Before divorces/affairs, and after. Stuck together on an endless tour or during time off. Partying or recording.
You get the drill.

It's interesting to speculate, but drawing conclusions on complicated relationships based solely on how they interact onstage for two hours might be revealing and it might be bollocks.

Indeed. It's also not really fair to compare Brian and John's interactions to those between the others, because the symmetrical layout they usually stuck with on stage meant that Brian and John were further apart on stage than anyone else. That wasn't done because of the state of their relationship, it was done to make the stage look balanced.

As for interaction on stage, the problem with the concert videos is that they generally focus on Freddie, so you don't get to see what is taking place elsewhere. While he's up on a catwalk, what the others do is generally unobserved.

John interacted the way most bassists do...which is not all that much. Chuck Panozza of Styx was even more 'isolated', but that was his style. It seemed as though the only time he moved more than five feet, was when he would add backing vocals to 'Suite Madame Blue'.

Having been a fill-in for a local band eons ago, I concentrated on my job, as the bass is so often unrelated to the vocals and the lead guitar. If I didn't, I would have been lost.

Not everyone can be Michael Anthony or Flea.

[QUOTE] [b]tomchristie22 wrote:[/b]

Indeed. It's also not really fair to compare Brian and John's interactions to those between the others, because the symmetrical layout they usually stuck with on stage meant that Brian and John were further apart on stage than anyone else. That wasn't done because of the state of their relationship, it was done to make the stage look balanced. [/QUOTE]

I always wondered why Brian was on the right and John on the left (from the point of view of the audience).......always, without fail! (from every photo I've ever seen, anyway) Like, is there any particular reason for that, or is it just how they did it once, and stuck with it.....did Brian or John never say to the other, "lets switch sides tonight just for the heck of it"?

I'm beginning to think I have too much time on my hands.......LOL

I personally think that if it weren't for Freddie's illness, these 4 guys wouldn't never bonded as much as they did in the last 3 years of Freddie's life. I think at the end of the day, Freddie would have gone in something else like in producing, doing more operas who knows. But anyway, I think that if Freddie were still here, the result would be the same, the original Queen lineup would be gone. John would have retired anyway, regardless of Freddie's death.

Oh, that kind of relationship. Dunno, sorry. :)

Cheers,

Ogre-