As you probably know, I love the band Queen.
OK, so after 1984 they went a bit dodgy, but I still think they are incredible.
And yes, I do like their Hot Space album, even if most fans hate it.
People talk about Muse as a band who push musical boundaries, but apart from the fact they sound an awful lot like Queen, if you listen to Freddie, Brian, Roger and John’s 1975 album – A Night At The Opera – you will see they were practitioners of musical diversity decades earlier.
Over the years, I’ve spent a fortune travelling the World to see their gigs, let alone buying albums, books, DVD’s and t-shirts … and while many mock them, the reality is they will go down in history as one of rock and roll’s biggest selling, influential and iconic bands.
I look at that photo at the top of the post and see a band that was at the height of their fame and creativity.
That photo was taken in 1981 and they look like people who have feel confident in their abilities and achievements.
That was the year they did their ground breaking South American tour, playing to crowds of over quarter of a million people … leaving an entire continent blown away by the power of their live performance.
Of course, they surpassed even that when 4 years later, they literally stole the show at the biggest concert in the World, Live Aid.
The fact the band still has a career 40+ years after forming and Freddie is still a beloved figure 23 years after he died is testimony to the impact the band has made on culture.
While there are many who like to heap shit on the band [and me for loving them] … I’ve always been able to dismiss their negative comments because they are fans of bands like The Smiths, the musical equivalent of clinical depression – so imagine how upset I was when I read this:
… laugh it up Northern. Bastard.