John Deacon's last performance with Queen

I have that on VHS. I bought it on vhs cause I didn't have a DVD player.

GREATEST FLIX III

I'm guessing 1999 or 2000. It's been a while. I bought a South Korean poster for it. The poster unfortunately got wet somehow in my closet and I intend to unstick it someday.

I think this was also released some 6 years ago or so when a complete recording of the Ballet was sold. (Not that I find it interesting - but boy am I grateful they did it.)

Roger and Brian talk about what John was like in his final appearance here. It's quite sad:

It also appears a different take of that live performance on the DVD/Bluray of Queen and Bejart

I have to agree, I've always found this narrative to be a little bit fishy. Especially because we've never gotten any word from John himself about it, just from Brian and Roger. 

I know that it's a bit of a taboo topic, but when I really sat down and thought about it, it doesn't make sense.

If you actually look at the years between Freddie's death and No One But You, John seems to have handled Freddie's death better than even Brian did. I just don't think John would be generally fine with Queen and working on Made In Heaven from 1992-1995 only to suddenly have this alleged huge wave of grief in 1997. 

I've heard that Brian apparently scrapped most of John's work on MIH from before Brian hopped onto the project, so I honestly think that sounds more plausible of a reason than this grief explanation. Because even if the grief explanation were the case, that wouldn't really explain why John seemingly doesn't talk to Brian and Roger unless it's for legal or business reasons. They were actively in that band for 20 years, and did several co-operations for 7 more. It's just weird that it went from 27 years of close collaboration and adult friendship to seemingly NOTHING at all.

In the end, who knows?

You can only really understand the situation once you're middle aged. Remember the band you were in at university? You didn't really like the music but the singer was a laugh and you shared some of the same musical interests with him. The other 2 were not really your cup of tea, but you all hung out and it was fun riding the wave of band stuff. Then, by accident, you actually became successful. It makes you money and you can buy a house and go to places you never dreamed of. You treat it as a job.

Now, at the same time, remember those guys you worked with in that office job you had straight after university? You know, those 2 guys who you have nothing in common with but it was OK having drinks with them every now and again after work? Ah, but you liked that other one. He was funny. God, the job paid well, you really landed on your feet with that one but I'm amazed you stuck with it that long. You didn't see eye to eye with those guys, but having the job in common meant you always had something to talk about. The vibe in the office totally changed once that funny chap you liked left and you were just left with those other guys. I guess you can afford to leave now and spend time with your family.

I agree, exception is only ,if Cozy had re-united with Rainbow , there were rumours in 1998 before his Death that , Ritchie was thinking to reunite the band.

I've tweaked the smiley code so that shouldn't happen now.  

I think the difference between John and Brian and Roger is that he has not changed the way of thinking that he had in 1991-1992. Initially none of the three members of Queen, after Freddie's death, wanted to continue with the band (with the exception of the "Made in Heaven" project). It's Brian and Roger who changed their minds in the late 90s. Have any of you ever felt that something you had been doing for years no longer made sense and it was necessary to abandon it and start a new path? I think John went through that situation after Freddie died. And in some ways, I think Brian and Roger went through the same situation as John.

Does anyone remember the time when it was rumored that George Michael or Robbie Williams could replace Freddie? I think I'm right when I say that most of us writing here and even John, Brian and Roger didn't agree with that happening. However, Brian and Roger's opinion changed as the years went by.

What saddens me is John's radical disappearance from public life. It would have been nice to see him give an interview from time to time or send a message to the fan club or something like that. Unfortunately this has not happened. I guess now he feels that doing something like that now would be out of character.

In my opinion, Brian and Roger should have continued with their solo careers and, very occasionally, done something like Queen, but they have done it just the opposite. The band's legacy could have been maintained with the release of archival material, anniversaries, etc. Without resorting to collaborations like Q+AL.

Finally, my opinion is that both John, Brian and Roger have chosen a path and all three have taken it to the extreme. Surely none of the three have been in the right place, but I'm embarrassed to tell three Rock legends what they should do. After all, these three gentlemen, along with Freddie, have made many of us happy for decades.

To hear Jon's side of the post Fredie-years is perhaps at the top of my wish list. (just slightly behind the catalouge having physical surround releases!)

I'm sure there is more to the story than we know. And probably will ever know. But if they haven't talked about it yet, it probably won't happen. I'd be very surprised if John all of a sudden agreed to an interview where he spilled the beans.
Wouldn't have to be dirty laundry though - just an honest perspective. His point of view is as valid as Brian's and Roger's.

It's interesting to look at the timelines though, and try and figure out how it has unfolded...

The current "John was too fragile (in 1997) and opted out" narrative is something I don't buy. If that was the case - why did he agree to do No One But You, later that year? The song had a video, no less...

Obviously, John reached a point where he walked away. But don't forget that John & Roger, billed as Queen, did that charity gig in 1993. They also started Made in Heaven without Brian. That's also around the time of a radio interview where Roger is fairly honest and critical towards Brian's current solo career / focus... In this interview Roger states that himself and John have plans to continue, with or without Brian.
We also know that Brian came on board MIH late, and by his own account, made them change / scrap A LOT of what had been done up to that point....
Maybe Roger, compared to John, was less fed up with this creative arguing / back and forth process, and prepared to continue with it?
Add to the fact that as someone said above; how close were the 3 guys anyway? "Forced" to worked together when the band took off is not the same as friends / getting along.
I know that some of the guys I used to hang out with 20 odd years ago have turned into characters I'm not in tune with anymore. Nothing wrong with them, or me, we've just grown apart in different directions.
If I was a multi millionaire and didn't have the passion anymore, would I keep working to please the fans etc? Probably not....

The fundamental issue, which I think we should not fail to keep in mind, is that Freddie was no longer there, and Freddie was the soul of Queen and, surely, the biggest reason why John was there for 20 years. If I had been in John Deacon's situation I probably would have made the same decision as him, perhaps not in such an extreme way, but I would have gradually distanced myself from the music business. He actually did something like that because, in some way, he remained active until 1997.

Another issue that I would like to highlight is that time has proven John right in something important. It's been 33 years since Freddie died and Queen has only recorded one album with new songs (the one they recorded with Paul Rodgers). 1 album with new songs in 33 years. I think this data says it all.

Regarding John's interview, I think there's a 0% chance of that happening, and maybe that's for the best.

Finally, it catches my attention that Brian and Roger do not meet John for coffee, not for professional reasons, but to give each other a hug and remember distant times, in a private way. It's a real shame.

I think it's important to distinguish between dirty laundry and what may be a case of someone who was tired of his job and had no financial reasons to stay in a situation that perhaps was less fun and more work compared to earlier.

If they chose to talk about this with honesty and dignity, it's not dirty laundry. The current narrative Bri/Rog present is too easy imo, I'm sure there's a bit more to the story.

As mentioned above, it's quite remarkable that, by all accounts, the last time the 3 guys met in person was in 2002.
(backstage at Party at the Palace I think? I know John was present at the WWRY after party in 2002 as well, but whether or not they actually met is not known? Even so, I suppose this was right before Party at the Palace...)

queenonline.com/features/queen-remixed-mike-spencer-fan-feature-by-adam-unger

Here it is. I'm sure I've seen a tracklist of those sessions but can't find it now Surely someone must've saved that. 

This must be one of the most common myths about Queen, that John retired in 1997. He clearly didn't. No One But You video was shot on 29 October 1997, which is already very late into 1997. Later on not only he was working on the Under Pressure remix in 1998/99, but was regularly writing for the fan club magazine at that time. It was still business as usual.


Spring 98 issue:




Winter 98 issue:




Spring 99 issue:



And then, some time in 1999 or around that time, he gave up.

But even as late as 2002 he went to the premiere of WWRY musical.

John must've really dreaded writing those letters. Even at that point in time, where I was a Stepford-fan buying anything to do with Queen I felt his letters were so completely empty of information. One letter in a year and all you can think of was "I watched a video last night"? Still, it's weird to think that John had just turned 40 when Freddie died - I'll be the same age in three months.

The Elton John version of the show must go on just doesn't work for me.