Pianos used in the studio

Part I: Overview

Unlike guitars, bass, drums or woodwind and brass instruments, piano players aren't expected to take their instrument with them, instead relying on whatever the venue's got. Queen also did that in the 1974 - 1976 period, using either what concert organisers managed to get them, or whatever the venue already had, or in some special cases renting one (e.g. Hammersmith and Hyde Park both feature the famous white Bechstein). The first time they toured with a piano was A Day at the Races in 1977: they'd borrowed a Steinway from Elton John, and it subsequently got into an accident so they had to swiftly rent one. Frederick bought another Steinway (a 1972 NY model) in November 1977 and that's the piano used from then on for every single Queen concert.

Touring with one's own piano makes sense, especially for large venues, as that shrinks the odds of tuning or toning issues for the performer(s). People such as Elton John and Frederick Mercury were wealthy enough to afford transporting their pianos as there already were tons of equipment requiring a dozen trucks or so, and one more wouldn't make a massive difference. It's different for classically-trained concert pianists such as Barenboim or Lang Lang as they tend to only play venues which are largely used for those types of concerts and therefore tend to keep their pianos in the best possible condition, which wouldn't necessarily be the case for sports arenas or MP halls which pop/rock artists tend to perform at.

In the studio, especially in those years, it'd be a similar case to classical venues: places like EMI Studios on Abbey Road would be expected to do regular maintenance to their pianos and they were already there, already placed at the right position for optimal acoustics, the engineers knew how to mic them and what to use, so in most cases whoever recorded there (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, etc) would use the studio house piano, rather than bringing their own. Imagine the costs and troubles moving the studio's Steinway out of the way and then having a truck move a different piano from, say, McCartney's house, and then bringing it into the studio (which in some cases could involve stairs or lifts, good luck with that!), and then having to return it at the end of the session. It wasn't unheard of and there were a few times in which Queen did just that, but it'd be difficult and quite expensive so those who did it usually had a good enough reason to invest all that time, money and effort.

Queen would, therefore, bring their own piano (or one they'd rented from elsewhere) in the following scenarios:

• The studio had no house piano: Some recording facilities wouldn't make such an investment and instead simply rent one whenever it was required. That was Trident's case as well, by the way, though they eventually did purchase the black 'Hey Jude' Bechstein but that'd be long after the Queen days.
• The studio was massively large and Queen were going to stay there for a while: That's a possibility for the likes of Rockfield in Wales and The Manor in England (both residential countryside studios), as the band (mostly Frederick, but also Brian) could be keen on a particular piano sound and they were moving tons of equipment anyway (trucks loaded with guitars, drums, the gong, amps, personal effects, clothing as they were also staying there for a few weeks).
• The studio did have a piano, but the band didn't like the sound: That wouldn't have been an option in the early days as they wouldn't have had the money, but later on they would. There are two documented instances of Frederick doing that, once in a recording studio (Metropolis, rendering the Fazioli myth as even more of a myth) and once in a hotel where he was staying in New York.

Part III: Bechstein Pianos

Bechstein is the piano make most closely associated with early Queen albums, and with good reason. There were at least three important Bechstein grand pianos they used:



The black 'Hey Jude' Bechstein at Trident, pictured here in the inner sleeve of Peter Hammill's 1971 album Fool's Mate. Judging by the photograph and assuming Mr Hammill's got average or slightly-above-average height, I'd say it's possibly a V model (6 ft 7 in or 2 metres), which was also the one most frequently built in the late 19th century. Beatles books and websites often claim its Serial No was 44064 and its Bracing No was 11870, which would mean it was made in 1898 (source).

A Billboard inventory published in June 1972 claims Trident had a Steinway, which could've been a mistake or perhaps not... actually, they didn't own a piano so they'd rent, and perhaps when that list was compiled they happened to have rented a Steinway instead due to client's instructions or perhaps the Bechstein wasn't available. The Bechstein was rented from Jaques Samuel which, as those who've been in London probably know, is located quite nearby from where Trident Studios used to be.

It was, therefore, most likely used on the following Queen and Queen-related records:

• Doing All Right
• Father to Son
• Funny How Love Is
• God Save the Queen
• Going Back
• Jesus
• My Fairy King
• Nevermore
• Seven Seas of Rhye (the first one)
• The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke
• The March of the Black Queen

The third Bechstein is this dark-brown one which was housed at Wessex at least until November 1976. It looks almost black here because of lighting and balance. The alternative version of the 'Somebody to Love' video very briefly shows it from an angle from which, pausing at the right time and moving the balance a bit, the Bechstein brand can be read on top of the keyboard.



This is the same piano at the same studios when the Sex Pistols first visited them, which was also when both bands first met. I'm not a Pistols expert but it looks like it was the pre-Vicious days, therefore 1976 rather than 1977.

Besides the video, it's not known for sure if it can be heard on any Queen record. Granted, Queen did loads of overdubs for both Sheer Heart Attack and A Day at the Races at Wessex, but the piano parts could've been recorded earlier on at Rockfield and The Manor, respectively. Still, if there was any song they did entirely at Wessex (e.g. 'Dear Friends', hypothetically) or a specific piano overdub or correction, then it could've been played on this one.

Wessex changed the Bechstein for a large Bosendorfer at some point. There's a story about The Clash pouring wine on the Bosendorfer which is supposed to have taken place in 1979 (earlier Clash albums weren't done there).

In other words, we know the piano was a Bechstein between 1972 (Billboard inventory) and 1976 ('Somebody to Love' video and Sex Pistols photo) and a Bosendorfer in 1979. What about 1977 - 1978? No idea!

A fourth key Bechstein was the one Super Bear Studios in France hired for Queen's visit in 1978. Considering they'd already done the backing tracks at Mountain in Switzerland, it's unlikely the Bechstein featured anywhere on Jazz, unless they happened to add some piano overdubs at a later stage (e.g. on something like 'Let Me Entertain You').

Part V: Steinway



Steinway is by far the most successful piano maker in the world and loads of their pianos (some made in Hamburg, some made in New York) are housed by studios all over the world, including:

• Basing Street.
  
• De Lane Lea Music Centre (they had three pianos: Steinway, Bechstein and Bosendorfer).
• EMI (aka Abbey Road).
• Lansdowne.
• Olympic.
• Roundhouse.
• Sarm, at least in 1975 (it was swapped at some point for a Bosendorfer, but I've no idea if that was before, during or after the Queen days).
• The Town House (they had, reportedly, two Steinways and a Bosendorfer).

Part VII: The Record Plant



Ten or so years ago I read a Record Plant inventory from the early eighties listing a Yamaha, leading me to conclude that's the piano used on most of The Works ('Keep Passing the Open Windows' being an exception) and 'Let Me Live'. I can't find the source now, and I was silly enough not to save it. Whatever it was, it was probably used on:

• 'It's a Hard Life'.
• 'Let Me in Your Heart Again'.
• 'Let Me Live'.
• 'Man on the Prowl'.
• 'Radio Ga Ga', assuming the piano overdubs were in Los Angeles instead of Munich.

The following are quite likely to be one of two options:

• 'All God's People': Either one of the two Town House Steinway's or the Town House Bosendorfer.
• 'Delilah': Either the touring Steinway or the Mountain Steinway.
• 'Flash's Theme': Either one of the two Town House Steinway's or the Town House Bosendorfer.
• 'Forever': Either one of the two Town House Steinway's or the Town House Bosendorfer... or perhaps an Abbey Road Steinway, for that matter!
• 'Las Palabras de Amor': Either the Musicland Yamaha or the Mountain Steinway.
• 'Let Me Entertain You': Either the touring Steinway or the Super Bear Bechstein.
• 'Radio Ga Ga': Either the Record Plant Yamaha or the Musicland Yamaha.
• 'The Great Pretender': Either one of the two Town House Steinway's or the Town House Bosendorfer - unless the piano was recorded at Michael Moran's house.

Re the Sex pistols. Glen Matlock is the bassist in the photo, and I'm pretty sure Sid doesn't actually play bass on any studio recording anyway - it was either Matlock before he left or Jones after.

Epic thread! Some things I'd like to add:

I have friends who own a restoration facility and they do work for Bechstein and Blüthner, and they rebuild all other makes including Bösendorfer, Yamaha, Steinway and Sons, etc.... and in the UK, Bechsteins were the most imported piano in the early 20th Century and we have hundreds of them kicking around in people's houses, schools, sports halls, venues, in various states of repair.

I can tell that the white piano that Freddie is pictured at on Post number 4 is not a Bechstein V, but a longer model. It's not the full concert grand and so I think it's a Bechstein D (which in the early 20th Century was their second-to-concert grand length, although now they've designated the D as their 9'). The reason I say that is because the V doesn't actually curve at the back, it actually has corners at either side of the tail end. The later B curves around, but this looks longer than a B. Also I think the "Bechstein Debauchery" was perhaps a little joke to the "D" designation on the piano. Just my hunch.

The baby grand Freddie is pictured at with the Japanese Lacquer is actually not a Yamaha. It is an English grand piano that was sent to Japan to be lacquered. This was common practice amongst a few English makers including Monington & Weston, and Challen. Broadwoods also did one as well. This happened between about 1920 and about 1935, when the English baby grand had a bit of a hey-day. They were actually terrible pianos, but they looked beautiful. The effect was known in the UK piano trade as "Chinoiserie" (even though it was Japanese in this case, it was a less enlightened time for sure!), and some of the pianos were sold in the far east, and some made their way back to the UK. I can tell by the way the piano is carved at the keyboard sides and the treble curve of the piano is squared off. Yamaha never produced a piano with a cabinet of that shape. Look up some English baby grands and you'll see what I mean. It's likely that this is a Challen piano, just a hunch. Peter Freestone did say it was a Yamaha, but he's wrong about that. Freddie definitely bought the piano in Japan, as far as we know. It's also true that Freddie did have a Yamaha in Garden Lodge, and I think this is the piano that Mary Austin can be seen sitting in front of in the Untold Story (you can see the back curve of the piano, and it has pictures on it).

The piano at the Record Plant on close inspection looks like a Yamaha. I think I can see the Yamaha name reflecting when I increase the picture size, and the pedal bracings look Japanese. They don't look like the typical American Steinway bracings (which are actually quite flimsy...)

I think on the "Unblinking Eye" by Roger, you can see him playing a Steinway grand, and it's almost certainly a Hamburg from the 70s or 80s, finished in Satin Black. I know that the NY pianos were routinely finished in Satin until relatively recently but it was a brushed Satin and not a sprayed satin as you can see on that video so I wonder if that's the recording Steinway they bought. The NY is in Brian's house but it was rebuilt, and I think I know the guy who rebuilt it. It was resprayed in polyester. That piano was in terrible condition by the magic tour but it had the bite in the tone that they needed for it to cut through the mix.

I'm not surprised Freddie didn't like the sound of the Metropolis Fazioli. Honestly at that time Fazioli pianos were hit or miss, and they tended to have quite a sharp zing in the tone. They're much better now, although personally I'd take a Bösendorfer over a Fazioli

I have a question:

At the time Freddie composed Bohemian Rhapsody, he wasn't yet that wealthy, right? He was still with Trident and they were still on a salary. Do you think Freddie had a grand piano at the time he was with Trident? I'm not sure.

In 1994 Ron Losby, who is now the CEO of Steinway in New York, was the manager of the London Steinway Hall, so perhaps he'd know about the restoration of the '72 D. I don't know him well enough to ask him though.

The black Trident Bechstein looks like it could be a V or a B but I can't see it clearly enough.

Steinways were more common in recording studios but often artists would bring a piano in. A classical artist such as Ashkenazy would rent a piano from Steinways. Blüthner had two 1930s concert grands that were used for hire until about 1975 and one of them can be seen on the "Let It Be" video being played by Paul McCartney.

Even in the 1970s there were more objective differences between pianos than there are now. A Bechstein, Fazioli, Yamaha, Kawai, and Steinway new today can all be made to sound very similar although they all have their particular voice. I find with old Bechsteins there are a couple of tell-tale signs - one is the way the pedalling sounds. There is a kind of thump when most people play a Bechstein because the pedal travel is very short and the dampers tend to raise very high. On the Bohemian Rhapsody isolated piano track, Freddie does a lot of non-legato pedalling to clear the harmonies (he also pedals through a lot of harmonies for effect, it's weird but it's so effective), and you can hear that tell-tale quirk. Also, the treble of old Bechsteins tends to be very weak and lack sustain, it doesn't bloom like a Steinway.

Interesting that the lacquer piano is a Challen. I've heard various reports of where he might have bought it: the fan club magazine says New York, and the biography "These are the days of our lives" says Japan, but also says it was a 9' which it clearly isn't.

This forum really is a Queen musicology class/discussion forum.

Just to add, it's also possible Freddie had the Baby Grand at his Holland Park flat (shared with Mary). Which would mean it was puchased some time between the ending of the Trident contract in 1975 and 1977.

I'm not convinced this makes sense, as Holland Park was a smaller flat, he already had the upright, and with the Trident contract severance it seems an unlikely and unneccessary expense, at least in 1975. After BR/ANATO were big hits, that's another matter.

Speculation of course. I'm just trying to determine how likely it was that ANATO/BR were written on the Baby Grand. Apologies for going off on a tangent.

Good stuff. The Eddie Howell anecdote indeed seems to indicate then (assuming he was not misremembering) that Freddie had the Baby Grand by the time the ANATO sessions began. A generous EMI perhaps? (The Record Collector article mentions Queen's increased enterouge and vehicles etc on the Opera sessions, so why not).

And yes of course Bo Rhap was possibly/probably composed or at least arranged on different pianos. In fact it was my suspicion about the claims that the Baby Grand was "the one" that sent me on a bit of a search. It seemed rather too convenient that the remaining Garden Lodge piano was the Bo Rhap piano, rather than a shonky old upright that's probably long been dumped. But hey, sometimes the 'legend' is true, or at least partially so.

The problems are:

• We don't know.
• We're unlikely to ever be able to know.

I just realised, looking again at these 2 photos above, that it looks like the same metronome in the background on both pianos.

Yes, it's a Wurlitzer EP-200 on the record.