"Barcelona" single and album reviews, October 1987-December 1988
Apr 13, 2023 6:18:47 GMT
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Post by fabiogminero on Apr 13, 2023 6:18:47 GMT
Hi everyone.
Below are four articles concerning the solo project of Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé, 'Barcelona': these are four reviews that appeared in the British and French press between October 1987 and December 1988.
Below the svans and the translations! Have a good reading!
1) the first article is the review of the single 'Barcelona' which appeared in the music magazine Kerrang! on October 24, 1987 (very positive!);
Below are four articles concerning the solo project of Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé, 'Barcelona': these are four reviews that appeared in the British and French press between October 1987 and December 1988.
Below the svans and the translations! Have a good reading!
1) the first article is the review of the single 'Barcelona' which appeared in the music magazine Kerrang! on October 24, 1987 (very positive!);
2) the second review, also concerning the single, was published in the French music magazine Rock This Town in October 1987;
FREDDIE MERCURY badly (not badly) from Quee has finally found her queen in the (vast) person of Mrs. Montserrat Caballé, who is neither a transvestite nor her mother, but an internationally renowned opera singer. They sang together on the stage of the Royal Opera House in London and have just released a maxi duet entitled Barcelona, a composition by Alfred Mercure for this (talented) Castafiore.
3) entitled Ludicrous, the third article is the review of the album 'Barcelona', written by journalist David Sinclair and appeared in the British magazine Q Magazine on November 1st, 1988;
3) entitled Ludicrous, the third article is the review of the album 'Barcelona', written by journalist David Sinclair and appeared in the British magazine Q Magazine on November 1st, 1988;
4) the fourth and final article is entitled Bravo, Sir Frederick! and was featured in Q Magazine in December 1988. Author Adrian Deevoy reviews Freddie and Montserrata's performance at the 'La Nit' event on October 8th, 1988, shortly before the album's release.
Bravo, Sir Frederick!
by Adrian Deevoy
Freddie hadn't performed live for 2 years and had chosen La Nit (the concert organized to celebrate the start of preparations for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics) to return to the stage again. Initially he wanted to give up the concert and had thought of organizing a party (with fire eaters, dancing bears, bearded women, etc.) also inviting his journalist friends. Instead he then decided that he would offer journalists and many other people the best possible concert, a little different from the usual. He would combine various musical genres: opera, rock 'n' roll, gospel, choral music etc etc.
The tidbits used by Mercury's public relations to attract the media were both that the Spanish rulers would attend the show and that the British press, being a sort of guest of honour, would sit next to the king and to the Spanish queen.
Journalists went to Spain but in reality many did not want to see the concert: for example the Sunday Express reporter was interested in the royals and hoped to be able to interview them, while a freelance photographer from Fleet Street hoped to obtain material backstage and not during the concert... well everyone wanted to get something substantial.
When the British journalists arrived in Barcelona they were informed that unfortunately the press would not be staying in the same hotel as Freddie and his friends but would be going to a smaller and much less luxurious establishment a mile away from each other (although there were still of vacant rooms in Freddie's hotel). Public relations told the press that Freddie didn't like interviews and therefore didn't do them.
The concert took place in Barcelona's Avinguda De Maria Cristina, a huge street with a fountain. There were more than 40,000 people. British journalists later also discovered that they would not sit next to the rulers. In reality, the "zone" of the royals was located 200 meters from the press area.
Montserrat opened the show with her powerful voice. After her many opera singers have performed, some in classical works and others in more contemporary things like “Summertime” and “My Way”. Then Rudolph Nureyev and a friend suddenly appeared wearing custom Celtic kits and performed a bizarre modern dance. Then Eddy Grant took the stage and sang “Give me hope, Jo'hana” and after 2 more songs he disappeared. Dionne Warwich introduced Jerry Lee Lewis who performed singing “Whole Lotta Shakin´ Goin´on” and Suzanne Vega sang the Spanish version of the song “Luka” (which was about a child who has been subjected to domestic violence).
And after the Spandau Ballet finally Freddie and Montserrat entered the stage hand in hand, accompanied by the orchestra...she wore a loose tunic and he a very tight tuxedo. Freddie's voice was overshadowed by Montserrat's as her voice was not as strong as an opera singer's but was a ringing rock tenor voice. Freddie and Montserrat didn't use microphones and at one point fireworks went off which distracted people from the poorly executed playback. At the end of the show the journalists wanted to meet Freddie to interview him, but a Spanish policeman stopped them despite them repeating that they were guests of honor and that Freddie had wanted them at the concert (he had paid himself to let them go there). They blocked them saying the press couldn't go backstage because Freddie wanted to relax with close acquaintances after the show. Journalists later discovered that the correspondent of "the mirror" had spent the last 2 days in Spain and had photographed Freddie and Juan Carlos and furthermore the photos of him would be published before he even returned to London. So, desperate, they returned to the hotel at 2 in the morning and didn't know what to write. The people of "the sun" and "the time" knew that Freddie lip-synched because he had a throat infection and obviously "the sun" used his discomfort to speculate on it...he did or didn't have the 'aids? Freddie's public relations explained that he had not wanted to meet them as he didn't trust Fleet Street and that he would talk quickly to the press at a party he had organized himself the next day at lunchtime at the Crush Bar at the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden). The party had been organized to launch the 'Barcelona' album in the UK. People from the press, TV, record companies and radio were present there. Freddie sat down at a central table and lit a low nicotine cigarette while playing with a glass of champagne. He looked in pain and said he wanted to do a quick interview. They asked him why he had taken up opera and Freddie explained that a year or a year and a half earlier in Spain he had said that Montserrat's voice was wonderful, she contacted him and proposed that we do something together and then they met in Barcelona. Why had he chosen the opera? he replied that he simply adored Montserrat's voice, the genre of music didn't matter and that he was very surprised when she asked him to do something together. They asked him what he thought Queenians thought when listening to this music and he said he still had to find out and added that in any case that type of music could not be categorized and that some called it in a somewhat odious way: rock Opera. He also explained that it was very difficult to write and sing those songs as they were all duets and so he had to adapt all the registers. Did Freddie feel intimidated when he first met Caballè? At first he didn't know how to approach her being a super diva, but Montsy put him at ease. She had listened to all of her albums before meeting him because she thought they should sing rock'n'roll style songs. Freddie didn't take singing lessons, he used his baritone. Why did he lip sync in Spain? Freddie replied that he didn't want to sing live because it took a lot of rehearsals and it was very difficult for him because the songs were very complex and they didn't have time to rehearse...they were forced to participate because of the Olympic Committee. Did he think he let people down? No, according to him he hadn't let anyone down and he thought that in the future they would probably do something live but the rehearsals would last for whole weeks. Freddie added that he had never sung with the orchestra and that he was afraid to do such a thing because he thought that if his voice wasn't up to par he would let Montsy down and he didn't want to take that risk. Was he nervous when he took the stage in Barcelona? Of course yes, because it was a cultural event and both Dionne Warwick and Nureyev were there. Had he decided to abandon rock? Absolutely not, he would never forget about rock in fact he was working on a new album with Queen which was due out in April/May of the following year. Was it difficult for him to keep the rock side of him in check while he sang that genre? Freddie replied that it was strange for him to wear a tuxedo. Does he have any interests in common with the diva? He revealed that they both had a great sense of humour, which was strange because usually opera singers are thought to be stern and terrible, but she made jokes, never took herself seriously and was a "human being". Did he miss singing with Queen? In a way yes, but first he wanted to complete the album, to have some new songs to sing live and he added that he has been shelving the live for 2 years because he couldn't do everything together. Laughing and reaching for his cigarette, he finished by saying, "Anyway, dear, let's take a break, huh?"
by Adrian Deevoy
Freddie hadn't performed live for 2 years and had chosen La Nit (the concert organized to celebrate the start of preparations for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics) to return to the stage again. Initially he wanted to give up the concert and had thought of organizing a party (with fire eaters, dancing bears, bearded women, etc.) also inviting his journalist friends. Instead he then decided that he would offer journalists and many other people the best possible concert, a little different from the usual. He would combine various musical genres: opera, rock 'n' roll, gospel, choral music etc etc.
The tidbits used by Mercury's public relations to attract the media were both that the Spanish rulers would attend the show and that the British press, being a sort of guest of honour, would sit next to the king and to the Spanish queen.
Journalists went to Spain but in reality many did not want to see the concert: for example the Sunday Express reporter was interested in the royals and hoped to be able to interview them, while a freelance photographer from Fleet Street hoped to obtain material backstage and not during the concert... well everyone wanted to get something substantial.
When the British journalists arrived in Barcelona they were informed that unfortunately the press would not be staying in the same hotel as Freddie and his friends but would be going to a smaller and much less luxurious establishment a mile away from each other (although there were still of vacant rooms in Freddie's hotel). Public relations told the press that Freddie didn't like interviews and therefore didn't do them.
The concert took place in Barcelona's Avinguda De Maria Cristina, a huge street with a fountain. There were more than 40,000 people. British journalists later also discovered that they would not sit next to the rulers. In reality, the "zone" of the royals was located 200 meters from the press area.
Montserrat opened the show with her powerful voice. After her many opera singers have performed, some in classical works and others in more contemporary things like “Summertime” and “My Way”. Then Rudolph Nureyev and a friend suddenly appeared wearing custom Celtic kits and performed a bizarre modern dance. Then Eddy Grant took the stage and sang “Give me hope, Jo'hana” and after 2 more songs he disappeared. Dionne Warwich introduced Jerry Lee Lewis who performed singing “Whole Lotta Shakin´ Goin´on” and Suzanne Vega sang the Spanish version of the song “Luka” (which was about a child who has been subjected to domestic violence).
And after the Spandau Ballet finally Freddie and Montserrat entered the stage hand in hand, accompanied by the orchestra...she wore a loose tunic and he a very tight tuxedo. Freddie's voice was overshadowed by Montserrat's as her voice was not as strong as an opera singer's but was a ringing rock tenor voice. Freddie and Montserrat didn't use microphones and at one point fireworks went off which distracted people from the poorly executed playback. At the end of the show the journalists wanted to meet Freddie to interview him, but a Spanish policeman stopped them despite them repeating that they were guests of honor and that Freddie had wanted them at the concert (he had paid himself to let them go there). They blocked them saying the press couldn't go backstage because Freddie wanted to relax with close acquaintances after the show. Journalists later discovered that the correspondent of "the mirror" had spent the last 2 days in Spain and had photographed Freddie and Juan Carlos and furthermore the photos of him would be published before he even returned to London. So, desperate, they returned to the hotel at 2 in the morning and didn't know what to write. The people of "the sun" and "the time" knew that Freddie lip-synched because he had a throat infection and obviously "the sun" used his discomfort to speculate on it...he did or didn't have the 'aids? Freddie's public relations explained that he had not wanted to meet them as he didn't trust Fleet Street and that he would talk quickly to the press at a party he had organized himself the next day at lunchtime at the Crush Bar at the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden). The party had been organized to launch the 'Barcelona' album in the UK. People from the press, TV, record companies and radio were present there. Freddie sat down at a central table and lit a low nicotine cigarette while playing with a glass of champagne. He looked in pain and said he wanted to do a quick interview. They asked him why he had taken up opera and Freddie explained that a year or a year and a half earlier in Spain he had said that Montserrat's voice was wonderful, she contacted him and proposed that we do something together and then they met in Barcelona. Why had he chosen the opera? he replied that he simply adored Montserrat's voice, the genre of music didn't matter and that he was very surprised when she asked him to do something together. They asked him what he thought Queenians thought when listening to this music and he said he still had to find out and added that in any case that type of music could not be categorized and that some called it in a somewhat odious way: rock Opera. He also explained that it was very difficult to write and sing those songs as they were all duets and so he had to adapt all the registers. Did Freddie feel intimidated when he first met Caballè? At first he didn't know how to approach her being a super diva, but Montsy put him at ease. She had listened to all of her albums before meeting him because she thought they should sing rock'n'roll style songs. Freddie didn't take singing lessons, he used his baritone. Why did he lip sync in Spain? Freddie replied that he didn't want to sing live because it took a lot of rehearsals and it was very difficult for him because the songs were very complex and they didn't have time to rehearse...they were forced to participate because of the Olympic Committee. Did he think he let people down? No, according to him he hadn't let anyone down and he thought that in the future they would probably do something live but the rehearsals would last for whole weeks. Freddie added that he had never sung with the orchestra and that he was afraid to do such a thing because he thought that if his voice wasn't up to par he would let Montsy down and he didn't want to take that risk. Was he nervous when he took the stage in Barcelona? Of course yes, because it was a cultural event and both Dionne Warwick and Nureyev were there. Had he decided to abandon rock? Absolutely not, he would never forget about rock in fact he was working on a new album with Queen which was due out in April/May of the following year. Was it difficult for him to keep the rock side of him in check while he sang that genre? Freddie replied that it was strange for him to wear a tuxedo. Does he have any interests in common with the diva? He revealed that they both had a great sense of humour, which was strange because usually opera singers are thought to be stern and terrible, but she made jokes, never took herself seriously and was a "human being". Did he miss singing with Queen? In a way yes, but first he wanted to complete the album, to have some new songs to sing live and he added that he has been shelving the live for 2 years because he couldn't do everything together. Laughing and reaching for his cigarette, he finished by saying, "Anyway, dear, let's take a break, huh?"