Had you ever defended Fred(or yourself as a fan)towards homophobic remarks?

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[b]gerry wrote: [/b] No its not speculation its fact.
Freddies personal assistant knew more about freddie than anyone as freddie told him everything.
Phoebe (peter freestone) tells a few interesting things about Freddie in his book, and its worth reading.
check it out.
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As usual, you don't have a clue what a fact is. You are going on a statement by Peter Freestone. You believe that statement because, as you say, "Freddie told him everything". How do you know that this is so? Because Peter Freestone says so. That is not evidence. What he writes in a book is not evidence - it's statements that can, under certain circumstances, be used in support of arguments. They are NEVER facts. You would be a lousy historian.

Peter Freestone may be telling the truth, he may be telling what he believes is the truth while in fact he's wrong, or he might be lying. There is no way for us to tell which of the three is the case. You choose to believe him, and that's fine. But it's not a fact.

[QUOTE] [b]miraclesteinway wrote:[/b]

By then, Paul Prenter was a dying man in a complete mess, and while it's no excuse for his actions, it's fairly easy to see why it happened. He could probably have written to Freddie and asked for help without taking the sleazy route.[/QUOTE]

Somehow I doubt that.

If he couldn't go to him for money and needed to sell him out to the tabloids, then it's pretty clear that they fell out in one way or another. It has been said that Mercury cut ties with most of his gay circles when he found out he was ill. Most people tend to think that was in 87. But we now know that it was 86, or even earlier.

Did Prenter travel with the band on the Magic tour? I wouldn't be surprised if the answer was no. All we have to do is find anyone who worked on the crew in 86 and we could solve this one pretty easily.

[QUOTE] [b]brENsKi wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE] [b]Jazz 78 wrote:[/b]I would defend the band back in the 70's because here in the States it wasn't cool to like Queen or you were thought of as "odd" but I still loved the music. Some of my friends back then would say, "Queen? They're gay!" But I would defend them[/QUOTE] well that's not consistent with what was going on in America at large at that time - otherwise how do you explain the massive appeal of very hetero/male dominated sports stadiums adopting WWRY and Champions? and furthermore, by 1980 Queen were the biggest band in the USA - by some distance. the only way your comment stands up is if you lived in some "duelling banjos" redneck hillbilly backwater...in which case, if you did, then i admire your derring do.[/QUOTE]

I'll step in here, if I may.

As a teenager in the early-mid 90s in Canada I experienced the same stuff - never mind the US in the 70s. I was the outcast for liking a band with a gay singer. In fact, some people even insisted "they're a bunch of fags." That's probably where I learned the lesson that some people just cannot be reasoned with.

Sure, people liked Rock You and Champions in the 70s because they were great songs that served a purpose. But sometimes songs end up in popular culture irrespective to who creates them. Never mind bands merely with gay singers - plenty of people who hate Michael Jackson as a person still love Billie Jean. We still shout "hey!" during Gary Glitter's tune at the game. Chris Brown's records still sell in six figures. And people who abhore rape will still watch the Cosby show. It is indeed very possible to separate the person from the art, even in the worst cases.

So therefore I think it's a bit of a red herring to dismiss the homophobia that absolutely did exist in the 70s on the basis that Queen's songs were played in hockey arenas. As always, there are layers to be examined.

But again - some people hate George Michael because of his personal life. It's weird. There is no algorithm to calculate these things. People are fickle.

^^^ Mercury i think challenged too many barriers with presenting very androgynous, very macho and a blend of two facets of himself. People wounln't know what to think.
That creats friction 'cos it keeps 'em guessing and questioning "boxes".
The easy way to solve that puzzle is to dismiss him.

Judas Priset singer, had it much easier.
Of course his coming out came much later, but then again he belongs to the Heavy Metal realm which is typically more macho ( perhaps more homophobic also).
But then again Metalheads are more loyal to their idols...
My point...too many layers indeed.

Apart from the occasional "Freddie was gay" comment, I didn't experience too much hassle with being a Queen fan in high school (late 2005 was the timeframe Freddie's voice got embedded in my brain for life). I still don't get why people harass other people for liking bands or artists who are gay.

In my days at school I never experience any hassle, maybe due the fact it was Queen highpoint here in Holland, with Killer Queen and out of nothing came Bohemian Rhapsody. I had never had any discussion about Freddie's sexlife. The discussion I had was more about the music, that the band never could perform any of their stuff live. Easy solution, my first booteg called Tokyo Rampage which is in fact a collection of mixed shows, but that aside, just one click on the cassette and another discussion was soon over. In my army days, there were the load discussions about Freddie being gay, or the whole band being gay. I had one answer, the same answer I use today, so what........In my humble opinion, I don't see the connection being gay and making music. Or there must be some kind of a law which says that gay men, or woman for that matter can't make music if their gay. It is such an useless discussion.

Tom

I spent early part of my teenage years in Europe in the early 1990s and later part in the USA in late 1990s. In early 1990s Queen was God in Europe due to Freddie's passing. Freddie touched a lot of people in Europe. Once I moved to the USA, Queen was a historical artifact reserved for the classic rock radio stations with their 1970s music, nothing from the Works and beyond was played. I was a Queen fan and people knew about it, but the music taste in the USA shifted strongly toward black artists' from the ghetto, Dr. Dre etc. No one gave me hard time about Queen, aside from thinking I listen to 'dad's' music. In fact, late 1990s was a time when gay-lesbian community made a final and successful push to be accepted in the main stream. Any mockery of being gay among my peers did not exist, simply because it was accepted, even if not cool, to be a gay if you were college age. Queen music simply did not register with people because people listened to other, modern, stuff. Classic British set up bands (drums, guitar, front man, bass) were on the fringe simply because you could not dance and pick up girls/boys to those tunes at the party. Any anti-gay crap came from my peers' parents, not towards my musical tastes, but towards many of their own children, my friends, who were either openly gay or were finding their way in life. About that, I could tell you some real fucked up stories.

[QUOTE][b]The Real Wizard wrote: [/b]

But again - some people hate George Michael because of his personal life.
[/QUOTE]

Argh.  This fact still annoys me and I know I shouldn't let it.

Faith and Older contain some of the greatest music I've ever laid ears on.  Easily.  And to this day.

Yet some people still 'know' George Michael as the guy who a Beverly Hills Cop got to pull his dick out.

Maddening.  Why do some people insist on being so fucking stupid and closed-minded?

---------

Ah well.  Rant over.

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[b]malicedoom wrote: [/b] [QUOTE][b]Jazz 78 wrote:[/b]
But again - some people hate George Michael because of his personal life.
[/QUOTE]
Argh.  This fact still annoys me and I know I shouldn't let it.

Faith and Older contain some of the greatest music I've ever laid ears on.  Easily.  And to this day.

Yet some people still 'know' George Michael as the guy who a Beverly Hills Cop got to pull his dick out.

Maddening.  Why do some people insist on being so fucking stupid and closed-minded?

---------

Ah well.  Rant over.[/QUOTE]

Well, if it's any consolation: I hate George Michael solely because of his music, no ulterior motives whatsoever.

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[b]thomasquinn 32989 wrote: [/b] Well, if it's any consolation: I hate George Michael solely because of his music, no ulterior motives whatsoever.[/QUOTE]
:)

Well see?  There ya go!  [b]That[/b], I can appreciate.

[QUOTE] [b]malicedoom wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE][b]Jazz 78 wrote:[/b]
But again - some people hate George Michael because of his personal life.
[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

Ha, that's my quote !

[QUOTE] [b]thomasquinn 32989 wrote:[/b] Well, if it's any consolation: I hate George Michael solely because of his music, no ulterior motives whatsoever[/QUOTE] HAHA !! Well played. Even this? He was the first pop artist to play this prestigious Paris opera house. His voice isn't quite as strong as it used to be, but I'd say his songs and arrangements of the covers are excellent.

Years ago, a couple of friends bought me a really gay poster - with Freddie on stage in an ugly, opened chested leotard. I saw the humour.