NathanH
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Post by NathanH on Jul 3, 2020 7:11:26 GMT
I don't know whether anyone has read an interview by Roger the other day. He first said that he still believes Queen would still be making music today with Freddie if he still was alive. But this extract is very interesting:
Roger added it was unlikely that bassist John Deacon, who retired from music in 1997, would have stayed in the band. "I don’t know if John Deacon would allow… of course John wasn’t quite mentally suited for it, the other three were,” he said.
I always assumed John left because he couldn't get over losing Freddie but perhaps he had enough for years prior (lyrics of I Want To Break Free and lack of songwriting after A Kind Of Magic, did he only really write two songs in that period? Rain Must Fall and My Life Has Been Saved).
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Makka
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Post by Makka on Jul 3, 2020 7:42:22 GMT
Well, I guess Roger would know. Freddie's death probably just worked out to be the perfect timing to leave if he'd had enough of the R&R lifestyle. I'm sad John doesn't do guest appearances on anyones albums anymore. I wonder if he still even owns a bass?
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Steve
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Post by Steve on Jul 3, 2020 10:21:02 GMT
Well, I guess Roger would know. Freddie's death probably just worked out to be the perfect timing to leave if he'd had enough of the R&R lifestyle. I'm sad John doesn't do guest appearances on anyones albums anymore. I wonder if he still even owns a bass? I'm sure he has a little tickle of his bass every now and then! |
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jul 3, 2020 10:54:47 GMT
I always assumed John left because he couldn't get over losing Freddie but perhaps he had enough for years prior (lyrics of I Want To Break Free and lack of songwriting after A Kind Of Magic, did he only really write two songs in that period? Rain Must Fall and My Life Has Been Saved). as good a bass player he was and how intrinsic he was to the band, i always felt that John was a square peg in a "very round" rock n roll hole. an absolute fish out of water. a committed volvo driver, who when he did get a car more fitting with rock n roll, was promptly banned for drink-driving. his song-writing (good as it was) was very vanilla: pop songs, ballads, and dance. no real diversity in his writing. perhaps when all is said and done - his grounded apparent dullness was a key balancing factor in a band with 3 strong personalities. |
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NathanH
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Post by NathanH on Jul 3, 2020 11:17:10 GMT
Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac left the band in 1998 and didn't return to them again until 2013. In that time she released her own solo album recorded in her garage with her nephew but she never played her own grand piano in her house or even travel anywhere as she developed a fear of flying and she had her car but never drove anywhere. She became deeply disconnected from the world and rarely socialised, she realised she was in deep deep trouble doing that so she got help. Along as if John is happy with whatever he does that's what matters most.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2020 15:17:08 GMT
People tend to see John and Frederick as such close friends, and what live witnesses have claimed over and over is that they weren't: they were bandmates and colleagues who had enormous respect for each other, that was all. John was basically out by the mid eighties and, if anything, Frederick's death may have prompted him to stick around a bit longer in order to close that part of his life before moving on.
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Dimitris
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Post by Dimitris on Jul 3, 2020 18:18:01 GMT
It is true, John was not satisfied in mid 80s and during Innuendo sessions, he was absent many times so he recorded his bass parts afterwards.
I think that, if the remaining three in mid 90s were closer and music active under any name, project etc, then John would have not retired.
He wanted the things to flow in a creative way not in a slow with less creative output.
Also growing older the excess of RnR life style is ridiculous and I think John wanted some peace of mind.
I also think that, if Freddie was alive the band would have find a good balance between music, business and personal time. But all these are my thoughts.
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vh
Ploughman
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Post by vh on Jul 4, 2020 10:29:51 GMT
People tend to see John and Frederick as such close friends, and what live witnesses have claimed over and over is that they weren't: they were bandmates and colleagues who had enormous respect for each other, that was all. John was basically out by the mid eighties and, if anything, Frederick's death may have prompted him to stick around a bit longer in order to close that part of his life before moving on. This sums things up perfectly. Also after Freddie's death it was John, with Roger, who seemed to want to get thing moving and even performed live as Queen. |
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Post by Chopin1995 on Jul 4, 2020 17:07:12 GMT
In my opinion losing his father at the very early age might have left John traumatized since then. There must be a reason why people who were close to the band always said John was "very shy", "depressed", or as Roger said a "sociopath". I can't see any other reason for that. I'm afraid he never overcame that mental disorder. As far as I know, he never really searched for a help as well. He always seemed insecure, even in those recent videos with fans. I just hope he is happy and leads a normal life now.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jul 6, 2020 6:55:01 GMT
I always assumed John left because he couldn't get over losing Freddie but perhaps he had enough for years prior (lyrics of I Want To Break Free and lack of songwriting after A Kind Of Magic, did he only really write two songs in that period? Rain Must Fall and My Life Has Been Saved). Bingo. It's pretty well established that Deacon was already disillusioned with the business by the mid 80s.
I'd say Roger is bang on. They would have picked up Pino Palladino or something.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jul 6, 2020 6:56:33 GMT
I always assumed John left because he couldn't get over losing Freddie but perhaps he had enough for years prior (lyrics of I Want To Break Free and lack of songwriting after A Kind Of Magic, did he only really write two songs in that period? Rain Must Fall and My Life Has Been Saved). as good a bass player he was and how intrinsic he was to the band, i always felt that John was a square peg in a "very round" rock n roll hole. an absolute fish out of water. a committed volvo driver, who when he did get a car more fitting with rock n roll, was promptly banned for drink-driving. his song-writing (good as it was) was very vanilla: pop songs, ballads, and dance. no real diversity in his writing. perhaps when all is said and done - his grounded apparent dullness was a key balancing factor in a band with 3 strong personalities. Exactly - just like John Entwistle. Pretty well every band needs that guy.
But he was still the loudest guy in the room when absolutely necessary - especially the board room.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2020 14:29:25 GMT
By the way, John did write more songs post-Magic:
- 'My Life Has Been Saved'.
- 'You Don't Fool Me' (with Frederick, but if 'My Baby Does Me' and 'Rain Must Fall' count, then so does this one).
He was also involved, however briefly, with 'The Show Must Go On' (he and Roger came up with the sequence which Brian then used as the basis for most sections), 'The Miracle' (he and Frederick came up with some germinal ideas, and then Frederick developed it from there; John also reportedly wrote about a quarter of the lyrics), 'Party' (lyrics, with Brian and Frederick) and 'The Hitman' (sequencing the sections after Brian had taken Frederick's riff and built up the basic skeleton from it).
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Rick
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Post by Rick on Jul 7, 2020 9:06:58 GMT
I always assumed John left because he couldn't get over losing Freddie but perhaps he had enough for years prior (lyrics of I Want To Break Free and lack of songwriting after A Kind Of Magic, did he only really write two songs in that period? Rain Must Fall and My Life Has Been Saved). as good a bass player he was and how intrinsic he was to the band, i always felt that John was a square peg in a "very round" rock n roll hole. an absolute fish out of water. a committed volvo driver, who when he did get a car more fitting with rock n roll, was promptly banned for drink-driving. his song-writing (good as it was) was very vanilla: pop songs, ballads, and dance. no real diversity in his writing. perhaps when all is said and done - his grounded apparent dullness was a key balancing factor in a band with 3 strong personalities. You and I is a pretty clever song, IMHO. Especially the 'bridge' part. What about Misfire with all the guitars? I do agree with you, though. He wasn't your typical rock star. But god, his playing was damn solid. He played/wrote some great lines. |
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CoolCat
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Post by CoolCat on Jul 7, 2020 20:36:21 GMT
Good to know I‘m not the only one with this opinion. He may not have been the typical rock band member, but he was a good song writer. We are talking about the guy who wrote AOBTD, remember?
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BrƎИsꓘi
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They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jul 7, 2020 20:50:01 GMT
He may not have been the typical rock band member, but he was a good song writer. We are talking about the guy who wrote AOBTD, remember? with a lot of "help" from Nile Rodgers  |
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Post by staysweet on Jul 9, 2020 2:06:33 GMT
People tend to see John and Frederick as such close friends, and what live witnesses have claimed over and over is that they weren't: they were bandmates and colleagues who had enormous respect for each other, that was all. John was basically out by the mid eighties and, if anything, Frederick's death may have prompted him to stick around a bit longer in order to close that part of his life before moving on. I’m glad others recognize this...their friendship gets so glorified and yet John didn’t visit Freddie when he was ill near the end, while Roger and Brian both did. I think they did like and respect each other, but their closeness is exaggerated. |
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georg
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Post by georg on Jul 9, 2020 13:46:48 GMT
Playing devil's advocate here, I'm sure their relationships were a lot more complicated than we could ever understand. We know that John was emotionally fragile, and watching Freddie's health decline probably hurt him a lot more than it may have hurt Roger and Brian, or at least John processed his emotions much differently. Remember too that John lost his father at an early age, which would affect anyone differently from losing a parent much later in life. When my godfather, who I was very close with and still miss tremendously, died, I couldn't go to his funeral because I couldn't accept that he was dead. That was 20 years ago and I still feel guilt for not attending and getting the closure I needed. We shouldn't make assumptions that they were best friends, but we also shouldn't make assumptions that they were simply coworkers – I think the truth is more like Steve Howe: somewhere in the middle.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2020 20:30:01 GMT
I wasn't there so I don't know if they were friends or not. I do, however, trust what people who were there have said, which differs greatly from fanfic.
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