In fairness to Brian, like Mr Wizard touched on, he has traveled so much and appeared on stage so many times it would be hard to recollect every date or even every leg of a tour.
I've toured as part of my job since the early 80's, I've had discussions with people who've asked what I worked on over a specific period, it's amazing what you forget,nespecially when your out on the spot.
Remember as fans we see things differently, your favourite band tours and does a show near you every year or two and releases an album, in your mind it's a major event. To the band the show may be viewed as a major event, by some. But how many of those can you pin point in a 40+ year career.
Not every show is Live Aid, and being so long ago the prep, rehearsal time and nervous energy and then the jubilant reaction of both audience and press probably wiped out most memories of the final leg of the Works tour.
Also as has been pointed out, Brian maybe towing the line as far as the film and the way that industry operates.
RS_Protos · Member since
Marketing and money all they care, the more the better.
k-m · Member since
@ The Real Wizard Do you seriously believe he simply forgot? What on earth are you talking about? I suspect he read this script a few times and had plenty of time to reflect on it. In fact, the producer mentioned he often went "But it wasn't like that" and that's when he explained to him it was Hollywood, not a documentary blah blah. So, I think you were right in your earlier assessment that Brian is simply selling their story now. It just puzzles me he cares so much about marketing that he can't even bring himself to admit they were in fact on tour. It's not going to change a single thing other than not being seen as an asshole by a few fans like you mentioned. People will still go and watch the film and will not give a fuck if they actually split up before Live Aid or not! And finally, it puzzles me they were happy to settle for something as superficial as BR. That script could have easily been given more substance and more depth, without the need to horrify audiences with rough gay sex for two hours and getting Queen banned from the radio for years to come ;-) Instead, it's so cliched and predictable, it hardly even feels like a serious movie.
The Real Wizard · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]k-m wrote:[/b]
@ The Real Wizard Do you seriously believe he simply forgot?[/QUOTE]
When they played It's A Hard Life with Tom Chaplin in 2010, Brian introduced the song as one they'd never played live before.
So I'd say yes - he has likely forgotten.
People have played me recordings of things I'd played on 2 or 3 years prior, and I'd forgotten about them too. Musicians don't spend their free time studying what they did in the past. That's what superfans do - not artists.
People like Jimmy Page are an anomaly. He is the keeper of the flame, but with good reason. Aside from the one Zeppelin reunion gig, he hasn't done much for about 20 years. He spends much of his free time absorbed in the past.
Brian isn't like that. Most artists aren't.
The Real Wizard · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Vocal harmony wrote:[/b]
Not every show is Live Aid, and being so long ago the prep, rehearsal time and nervous energy and then the jubilant reaction of both audience and press probably wiped out most memories of the final leg of the Works tour.[/QUOTE]
Bingo.
The earlier 1985 shows found the band on the verge of breaking up, especially after the Sun City debacle. Roger Taylor has recalled that their show was "stale" by then.
It wasn't a great time for the band. And for all the obvious reasons, the Magic tour was far more memorable.
runner_70 · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]Vocal harmony wrote:[/b]
Not every show is Live Aid, and being so long ago the prep, rehearsal time and nervous energy and then the jubilant reaction of both audience and press probably wiped out most memories of the final leg of the Works tour.[/QUOTE]
Bingo.
The earlier 1985 shows found the band on the verge of breaking up, especially after the Sun City debacle. Roger Taylor has recalled that their show was "stale" by then.
It wasn't a great time for the band. And for all the obvious reasons, the Magic tour was far more memorable.
[/QUOTE]
If I had a chance to see the Magic OR the Works tour I'd choose The Works easily. Their best stage set up with the metropolis background.
k-m · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]k-m wrote:[/b]
@ The Real Wizard Do you seriously believe he simply forgot?[/QUOTE]
When they played It's A Hard Life with Tom Chaplin in 2010, Brian introduced the song as one they'd never played live before.
So I'd say yes - he has likely forgotten.
People have played me recordings of things I'd played on 2 or 3 years prior, and I'd forgotten about them too. Musicians don't spend their free time studying what they did in the past. That's what superfans do - not artists.
People like Jimmy Page are an anomaly. He is the keeper of the flame, but with good reason. Aside from the one Zeppelin reunion gig, he hasn't done much for about 20 years. He spends much of his free time absorbed in the past.
Brian isn't like that. Most artists aren't.
[/QUOTE]
k-m · Member since
@The Real Wizard Sorry, this website works in mysterious ways at times. My reply is below.
Ok, but there's a slight difference between a special gig full of rarities and one particular detail of their past setlists and the band being completely defunct for a few years before the most famous gig of their career, being recreated for a big screen release.
Not to mention that Brian wasn't the only one involved and even if he was suffering from an episode of dementia of epic proportions at the time, someone might have mentioned to him, "Ooh, they changed it a little bit here".
Anyway, you have every right to defend him, I really don't mind. However, what I am struggling to understand is what is he doing it for, that's all.
Holly2003 · Member since
Is there a difference between "artists" and people? Artists don't remember but people do? Odd. I get it that creative people sometimes only want to talk about the current or next thing they are creating, especially if it's currently or about to be on sale, but that doesn't mean their memory of past events is somehow impaired. I interviewed a famous SF author once. I asked him about his last book and he wasn't interested. But he was certainly enthusiastic about his next project AND stuff he had written in the more distant past. However, a lot of what he said was anecdotal -- the kind of comments almost word for word he had made numerous times before. It was an act -- a performance. Brian played IAHL numerous times: it's even on Rock in Rio. When he said that about IAHL he was probably just making the crowd feel like this was a special performance. As for his comments about the movie, let's not forget he is stupidly stubborn and has surrounded himself with yes men. I don't think in that moment he could bring himself to admit that something in the movie was wrong.
The Real Wizard · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]k-m wrote:[/b]
@The Real Wizard Sorry, this website works in mysterious ways at times. My reply is below.[/QUOTE]
I think you'll find your answer here:
[QUOTE]Ok, but there's a slight difference between a special gig full of rarities and one particular detail of their past setlists and the band being completely defunct for a few years before the most famous gig of their career, being recreated for a big screen release.[/QUOTE]
It made for a more dramatic reason for doing Live Aid. They shifted around the timeline to allow for that plot advancement. It's a biopic, not a documentary. Virtually every biopic does this.
[QUOTE]Anyway, you have every right to defend him, I really don't mind. However, what I am struggling to understand is what is he doing it for, that's all.[/QUOTE]
It's not so much defending him as just simply understanding the situation for what it is. I'll expand on it in my next post.
The Real Wizard · Member since
[QUOTE] [b]Holly2003 wrote:[/b]
Is there a difference between "artists" and people? Artists don't remember but people do?[/QUOTE]
Yep. Because most people don't invest themselves so fully into things the way artists invest themselves in their art. And when that much focus is involved, other things go by the wayside. It's not the kind of thing that can be explained in a single paragraph. Unless someone understands it from experience, chances are they'll give you a blank look when you try explaining it to them.
That aside - some people just have better memories than others.
[QUOTE]Brian played IAHL numerous times: it's even on Rock in Rio. When he said that about IAHL he was probably just making the crowd feel like this was a special performance.[/QUOTE]
Perhaps. But considering how the Works tour was a low point in their career, I wouldn't be surprised if it's taken a back seat in his memory.
[QUOTE]As for his comments about the movie, let's not forget he is stupidly stubborn and has surrounded himself with yes men. I don't think in that moment he could bring himself to admit that something in the movie was wrong.
[/QUOTE]
This has nothing to do with stubbornness or yes men. It's the simple fact that Brian fully understands the process. Hollywood invested $50 million so that Queen could greatly expand their legacy. Anyone with half a brain knows not to bite the hand that feeds them. Compromises will be made, and the players involved will stand up for them in the interest of marketing that product. It's smart business. A few people complaining on internet forums are the only casualties at the end of the day.
JW: And in the film, you’re sort of ... Queen have broken up and you know you’re going to get back together to do Live Aid but in fact, just to go to historical fact, you’d just come off a two months’ tour, hadn’t you?
BM: No. It’s pretty much true, really. We hadn’t played together for quite a while, no, and Freddie’d been off making his solo album. And we actually didn’t have much confidence and we weren’t getting on very well.
—————————
I’d say that this would be a point in time that he would remember quite well. Maybe not all details, and timing, but he would remember the emotions involved, their worry that the crowd wasn’t a Queen crowd, the feeling of needing to rehearse to be ready for such a huge world-wide audience, and also that he didn’t feel they were getting along very well, which would make it all kind of difficult. That’s a lot of pressure.
In any case, he is in agreement that the film captured the essense of what happened. The film is its own form of art. Like story telling. For the sake of entertainment, changes are made.
JW: And in the film, you’re sort of ... Queen have broken up and you know you’re going to get back together to do Live Aid but in fact, just to go to historical fact, you’d just come off a two months’ tour, hadn’t you?
BM: No. It’s pretty much true, really. We hadn’t played together for quite a while, no, and Freddie’d been off making his solo album. And we actually didn’t have much confidence and we weren’t getting on very well.
—————————
I’d say that this would be a point in time that he would remember quite well. Maybe not all details, and timing, but he would remember the emotions involved, their worry that the crowd wasn’t a Queen crowd, the feeling of needing to rehearse to be ready for such a huge world-wide audience, and also that he didn’t feel they were getting along very well, which would make it all kind of difficult. That’s a lot of pressure.
In any case, he is in agreement that the film captured the essense of what happened. The film is its own form of art. Like story telling. For the sake of entertainment, changes are made.[/QUOTE]
So you basically say that May is right and the facts are wrong? The Works 1985 tour never happened???
