Queen I 50th Anniversary

How's that expectation working out?

sadly, reality will (likely) bite very hard (and deeply)

I have to say I feel your pain because I was born and raised in Small Heath and lived there for 38 years so I can imagine how it must feel being on the other side of things. But yeah, it's a much easier life being a Villa fan especially right now (although Europe is going to be harder than everyone first thought).

I will be dazed and confused if we will listen to Hangman

The same can be said about Face It Alone, actually.
A powerful song in demo form ended up with a not so powerful release, with many elements being thrown out.
As for Hangman, in my point of view, one of the coolest songs
They performed the song at many early live shows and I'm sure there must be a studio recording of the song.

Face It Alone was the one I was thinking about! 

It's different to a lot of Queen songs, certainly unusual, I just wonder why it hasn't seen the light of day yet. Some have said on here that it could be because of certain lyrics no longer appropriate. I don't think anyone has pointed out The March Of The Black Queen has one banned word - oops 😬 

Maybe Queen did a take of it but suspected it wouldn't have been on the album so a rehearsal might be all there is. Surely it would've come out with Mad The Swine in 1991?

MOTBQ is already released, and has been for 50 years. They wouldn't, however, release it today with *that* lyric intact, if it hadn't been heard before. That, I suspect, would be one of the reasons we'll never hear Hangman in its original form.

It would be a surprise if he DIDN'T hint that....

I think we have to decode what he is saying here. How about I haven’t got a clue what’s coming next because I’m in in that record company/artist loop and I’ve run out of semi believable BS to spout at you!

Has anyone, apart from our old friend and almost as big a wind-up merchant as Greg, JSS, actually heard or seen the alleged acetate? or seen the lyrics transcribed? Actually seing the vinyl doesn't count, it could be anything with a dodgy label on it. JSS was fond of his wind ups , especially when it came to filesharing with newbies.

I do wonder if they'll have to edit MOTBQ one day, I'd be surprised if they could play it on the radio in it's current form - even though no one does! Someone will point it out and make a complaint.

So why couldn’t it be released with a warning about the lyrical content. Or have we entered a new dark age where nothing can be expressed, artistically, politically or openly in any way.
If this is the case there are literally tons of printed and recorded or filmed items that shouldn’t be available.

Maybe There’s case for the open release of anything created before the world turned to shit!

further to the quote from John (above), I've located this which does seem to suggest the song may have been recorded:

Russ Williams: Was Hangman ever recorded in the studio?
Roger Taylor: God, d'you know, I can't even remember, I do remember the song, but I can't remember if we recorded it. I'm sure there's a rough version somewhere, yeah.



I'm thinking that Roger is saying there may be a version around that he didn't play on?
There's a contradiction there: I can't remember if we recorded it vs I'm sure there's a rough version somewhere

♦ Does "we" mean the whole band?
♦ Does a "rough version" mean something that just Freddie and Brian recorded acoustically a la Page/Plant did with their WIPs?

In all honesty it’s nothing new. It’s more instant and direct now so everyone is aware from day one because of modern media and communication.



Free speech and art has always had people holding it back.

Back in the 80’s The PMRC a semi political group tried to ban any songs with questionable language or content. Their main target seemed to be Rock and Metal but also Rap and some Dance music. Their wish for a blanket ban failed, mainly due to some high profile speakers in favour of freedom of speech. Frank Zappa amongst others was famous at the time for standing up against them.

Eventually the music industry agree to put stickers on any album that contained anything deemed unsuitable for either underage kids or anyone in general.

The whole ploy backfired on the censors because the warning stickers seemed to draw in an audience who may not have bought an album by a particular artist.

Some people have always and probably will always be offended by what free speech offers.