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Post by The Real Wizard on Apr 12, 2020 4:20:47 GMT
These scans are from the now defunct Queencuttings website (although salvaged with the help of the Wayback Machine), mislabelled as April 75. The article is from early 76, as it's all about ANATO and mentions the band arriving for their third US tour in January.
What's interesting is Brian's comments about Death On Two Legs near the beginning:
"I'm in real difficulty here because I've been threatened with libel because our old management had a good go at stop-ping the album coming out. They thought 'Death on Two Legs' was about them. They wanted us to take the track off and we nearly had to, and in fact they got a load of money out of our publishing company because it supposedly was libelous, but it's never been proven. It's all very stupid – they wanted to sue Freddie, the band, the publishing company, and the record company."
It's entirely possible that Mercury didn't speak to the band about the meaning of the song, as was often the case - but it wouldn't surprise me if Brian was lying to protect themselves. If so, then they were already masters of PR by 1976.
Also interesting is Brian's comments about the Royal American Tour bootleg LP (on page 4).
Thoughts !?
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baronlutenvank
Ploughman
The Username Formerly Known as Killer_queenIII
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Post by baronlutenvank on Apr 12, 2020 4:26:11 GMT
I can only guess John Reid's policy on public press and interview that he imposed on the band taught them a thing or two about PR. That and the "Is This Guy A Prat?" article.
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vh
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Post by vh on Apr 12, 2020 18:54:12 GMT
Great find and interesting reading.
Is Brian's bootleg comment a reflection of the fact they have no control over such product, or genuinely that boots often gave you a screwed take on a gig, suffered pitch issue ( either recording or mastering speeds) and sometimes screwed the set list order and indeed could be from a totally different gig to the one claimed
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Post by The Real Wizard on Apr 12, 2020 22:11:08 GMT
I can only guess John Reid's policy on public press and interview that he imposed on the band taught them a thing or two about PR. That and the "Is This Guy A Prat?" article. Bang on.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Apr 12, 2020 22:11:49 GMT
Is Brian's bootleg comment a reflection of the fact they have no control over such product, or genuinely that boots often gave you a screwed take on a gig, suffered pitch issue ( either recording or mastering speeds) and sometimes screwed the set list order and indeed could be from a totally different gig to the one claimed Probably all of the above. |
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NathanH
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Post by NathanH on Apr 13, 2020 12:16:28 GMT
The thing I don't understand with the ANATO tour why they didn't play more songs from it. I know they couldn't for the British Tour due to them only having a few days to rehearse but for the American Tour they had more time. However, they still only played one song for the remainder of the tour (Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon). However, the short British Tour at the end of 1976 they played the recent single You're My Best Friend / '39.
They didn't even do Death On Two Legs until halfway through the ADATR tour or even worse NOTW Tour with Love Of My Life and I'm In Love With My Car - surely they could've added these songs earlier.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Apr 14, 2020 1:26:44 GMT
The thing I don't understand with the ANATO tour why they didn't play more songs from it. I know they couldn't for the British Tour due to them only having a few days to rehearse but for the American Tour they had more time. However, they still only played one song for the remainder of the tour (Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon). However, the short British Tour at the end of 1976 they played the recent single You're My Best Friend / '39. They didn't even do Death On Two Legs until halfway through the ADATR tour or even worse NOTW Tour with Love Of My Life and I'm In Love With My Car - surely they could've added these songs earlier. I'd say there were a lot of reasons. First off, logistical issues - they were more of a studio band than a live band at the time. They probably felt most of it wouldn't translate well to the stage, similar to The Beatles with Sgt Pepper. When they first put out Queen II they only did five songs off it. Probably the same issue. Their music (especially on the first few albums) was purely a studio creation, and most of it had to be rearranged to play it live. This was the case right up to 1986. Then there are the internal issues. Maybe it took Roger a while to want to sing the lead. Maybe LOML didn't seem feasible at first because they were a "rock" band. Maybe Mercury initially didn't want to sing a song he didn't sing on the album. Maybe Roger was the one vetoing Best Friend since he hated the song at first (particularly the line "happy at home"). Who knows if even they remember, but if they do, it'd be a great interview question. Then perhaps confidence issues - they weren't like Zeppelin who played about 200 shows in their first year of existence alone. Queen hadn't played 200 gigs in the combined five years before ANATO came out. So because they didn't tour as heavily, it took them a while to find their chops and comfort zone. Their busiest year on the road (1977) was 85 shows by comparison. By late 1977 they were playing most of the NOTW album. Granted, that stuff was generally easier to play than things like The Millionaire Waltz or Bring Back That Leroy Brown, but nonetheless by then they had found their identity, and the show had far more breadth than it did a couple years prior. |
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NathanH
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Post by NathanH on Apr 14, 2020 7:26:22 GMT
You made some really good points in that and I agree with your final point. Thanks
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moonhead
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Post by moonhead on Apr 14, 2020 9:16:45 GMT
When this f*uckin' lockdown ends, i've got some old italian articles in my old house. I will scan it for you.
Anyway... love this scan! Thanks a lot!
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