By the 1970s, there was no other band that could hope to match what Led Zeppelin had done. All of the building blocks of hard rock were at their feet by the late 1960s, but from ‘Good Times Bad Times’ onward, they carved out their niche as one of the hardest-hitting rock and roll outfits […]
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People think that the members of The Beatles, particularly George Harrison, were a law unto themselves in the 1960s, but that isn’t strictly true. It does have certain aspects of salience. Put simply, you can’t ignore any part of culture within the decade without the influence of the Fabs creeping in somewhere, but that sometimes […]
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In music history, but especially in Beatles history, it seems that so many people are so keen to point and laugh at the women. There is the classic, bland and outright incorrect theory that Yoko Ono’s mere presence caused the band to split, and then there’s this, the story of Linda McCartney’s endlessly mocked addition […]
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With Queen, Brian May helped craft a collection of songs which are forever locked in the psyche of people across the globe. Despite the tragic passing of singer Freddie Mercury over 30 years ago, the group remain one of the most popular bands on the planet and their position at the top of the musical […]
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The 20th century was when the idea of modern pop music was invented, and sure, Mozart may well have been a proverbial chart topper in the 18th century and a pop star to the royal elite of the gallery, but music delivered with lyricism and centred around what we now know as a hook only […]
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The final installment of the three-part YouTube series looking back at Freddie Mercury‘s debut solo album, Mr Bad Guy, has just been released, and it focuses on the songs on the album. Once again, the clip features archival footage of the Queen frontman’s 1985 interview with journalist David Wigg. When asked what song he finds […]
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Any musician who is not a fan of The Beatles is instinctively not to be trusted. There is, however, a very big difference between appreciating the musical genius of the Fab Four and attempting to work alongside the band, as Donovan found out back in his 1960s heyday. Beatlemania was already in full swing by […]
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The most tragic thing about the end of Queen’s original tenure was not just the death of Freddie Mercury. It was that the band also lost their friend in John Deacon. Deacon was never destined as the most effervescent member of the group. Mercury’s pomp and regalia already made up for that, and then some […]
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The debate over who the greatest rock and roll guitarist of all time is has waged on since the dawn of rock and roll itself, and it will likely continue to be discussed and dissected for many years to come. Whatever the truth of that debate, though, when it comes to sheer impact and influence, […]
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“What will I be doing in 20 years’ time? I’ll be dead, darling! Are you crazy?” – Freddie Mercury To select one’s own songs to be played at one’s funeral is a morbid fascination for those afflicted with a lifelong love of music. Some like the thought of a big ballad to act as their […]
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