0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains strong language
0:00:07 > 0:00:11# So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye? #
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Here we are now 40 years on,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16talking about Bohemian Rhapsody.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21# Oh, baby
0:00:21 > 0:00:24# Can't do this to me, baby... #
0:00:24 > 0:00:28It was just another track, that we thought was great at the time,
0:00:28 > 0:00:30but we always thought we were great, you know?
0:00:30 > 0:00:33And, erm, you know, we always had this insane belief
0:00:33 > 0:00:37that we had something that no-one else had ever ventured to create.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I don't think we would have imagined that 40 years later
0:00:45 > 0:00:48people would still be that excited about it.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Whenever you're releasing a record,
0:00:51 > 0:00:53you never know how well it's going to do.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54You may have a hunch.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57You may think this one could be a hit,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59but you never know what is going to be massive.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01# Oooh, yeah
0:01:01 > 0:01:03# Oooh, yeah... #
0:01:05 > 0:01:07I think it's a lot of timing, a lot of luck...
0:01:08 > 0:01:11We were just writing like crazy. I mean, there was so much hunger.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14We just had so much that we wanted to bring out
0:01:14 > 0:01:15and so we had all kinds of songs.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Bohemian Rhapsody was basically, like, three songs
0:01:18 > 0:01:20that I wanted to put out and I just put the three together.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23And then it had a very big risk factor.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27# Any way the wind blows.... #
0:01:27 > 0:01:31THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:01:40 > 0:01:43- All right, let's talk about the very early days...- All right.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45..shall we, Rog?
0:01:45 > 0:01:48So, what did you do? Put your kit on your back and come up to London?
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Well, no. Erm...
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Not really, actually. I sort of...
0:01:52 > 0:01:54I came up and did dentistry in London.
0:01:54 > 0:01:55I did a electronics.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58I was going to be a graphics illustrator.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00It was going to be astronomy. It was going to be physics.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03And I suddenly realised I couldn't stand not being in a group.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05I had a group called...
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I dread to tell you! No, I won't tell you.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13- Oh, go on!- I think it was called The, er, Mind Boggles.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14We needed a drummer,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18so we advertised in my college noticeboard.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21We need Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell-type drummer,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25and, erm... Brian wrote me this long involved letter.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27He sounded quite intelligent,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30because he liked Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32I met him, and we got on very well.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34That was sort of the beginning.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37The singer of that band was a guy called Tim Staffell.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40So the line-up at this point was drums, bass...
0:02:40 > 0:02:43And guitar, but everybody sang.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45And Tim was the lead singer -
0:02:45 > 0:02:48had a tremendously powerful voice, he's done a few things since.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50I used to follow Smile a lot.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51We were like friends.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53I used to go to their shows
0:02:53 > 0:02:55and they used to come and see mine.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Brian and I were a sort of duo, before.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Well, we were...
0:03:00 > 0:03:03We worked together before and we knew we worked together worked well
0:03:03 > 0:03:06and we respected each other's musicianship.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Freddie really caught on to that.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Freddie was always so keen.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12And he literally sort of taught himself to play...
0:03:12 > 0:03:15to understand chords on a guitar, et cetera, et cetera.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18And then he joined a couple of bands while we were in Smile.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Had Freddie had any experience at all at this point?
0:03:21 > 0:03:23None at all before Smile was formed. Absolutely none.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Apart from Cliff Richard impersonations in front of his mirror.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29He didn't suddenly become this rock star, he always was, in a sense.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31He always believed he was a star.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34And he wandered around as if he was Robert Plant, really.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37But, with a sense of humour, you know.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40What did you see in what Brian and Rog were doing with Smile?
0:03:40 > 0:03:41Nothing!
0:03:41 > 0:03:43THEY CHUCKLE
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Erm...
0:03:45 > 0:03:48I don't know, I think they had the basic ingredients
0:03:48 > 0:03:51of what we wanted to do, which was, sort of, couple...
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Just very briefly,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56couple hard-rock with
0:03:56 > 0:03:58an overlay of harmonies.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Do you think the Queen sound is there in Smile, isn't it?
0:04:01 > 0:04:03I think a lot of it is. Yes, it is really.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08I think the basis of it is when me and Roger start hitting things.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14And that's what Freddie saw and in a sense fell in love with, I suppose.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17He wanted that for his...
0:04:17 > 0:04:19For his uses.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22We split up two or three years later
0:04:22 > 0:04:26completely disillusioned because although we'd had a lot of successful gigs
0:04:26 > 0:04:28and we'd played colleges and pubs,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31and small clubs up and down the country,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33we just never got anywhere.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34We didn't have a good manager.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38We didn't really have anything. We were lost in the wilderness.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40And that was really the chastening experience
0:04:40 > 0:04:44which led to the way we decided to organise Queen.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47I think that was perhaps the biggest influence of all -
0:04:47 > 0:04:49the failure of that early venture.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Freddie sort of got us.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53He said, "Come on! You can't give up.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54"I want to sing for you."
0:04:54 > 0:04:57And nobody really took him that seriously.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01But he really, sort of, fused it together.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04And then... Which made a core of the three of us.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07So we decided we'd take the plunge.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11And it was then that I sort of thought about
0:05:11 > 0:05:14the name Queen. I had it in the back of my mind.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17I thought one day that could be, erm...
0:05:18 > 0:05:21- We could put that to good use. - Why Queen?
0:05:21 > 0:05:23At the time it was, er...
0:05:23 > 0:05:24It was outrageous.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27It was very grand, very pompous.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30The name lent itself to a lot of things - theatre...
0:05:30 > 0:05:32The kind of things we wanted to do.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38We then spent a couple of years looking for a bass player.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40We had several bass players.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Very hard to find the right guy.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44They had quite a few bass players, I hear.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46I never actually met any of them.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48I've heard some stories about them.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51I've had some stories about some of them.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54And I happened to have got my equipment down in London,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56so I got myself introduced to them
0:05:56 > 0:05:57and said I'd be interested.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00So, basically, I went along for an audition.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02I learned some of the songs.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05They were doing a lot... Some of the numbers
0:06:05 > 0:06:07I remember things like Great King Rat,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and one or two other numbers off the first album.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14# Gotta make do with a worn-out rock and roll scene
0:06:14 > 0:06:16# The old bop is gettin' tired
0:06:16 > 0:06:19# Well, you know, you know what I mean
0:06:19 > 0:06:20# Fifty-eight that was great
0:06:20 > 0:06:23# But it's over now that's all
0:06:23 > 0:06:24# Somethin' harder's coming up
0:06:24 > 0:06:27# Gonna really knock a hole in the wall
0:06:27 > 0:06:30# Gonna grab you, hit you hard
0:06:30 > 0:06:32# Make you feel ten feet tall
0:06:37 > 0:06:40# Well, I hope that a brand-new baby's gonna come along soon
0:06:40 > 0:06:45# I know it could happen any old rainy afternoon
0:06:45 > 0:06:50# With the juke box blowin' juke box blowing no fuse
0:06:50 > 0:06:54# And the temperature's like, just like a Sunday school cruise
0:06:54 > 0:06:57# And you know what everybody in this world could use... #
0:06:59 > 0:07:01The group were, in a way, very much well formed.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04They had all the material for the first album -
0:07:04 > 0:07:07all bar one or two tracks they were already doing...
0:07:07 > 0:07:11They had quite a backlog of songs and...
0:07:11 > 0:07:13and the ideas for stage production
0:07:13 > 0:07:16and how to put the group over were all there, in a way.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20As soon as John was in the band it felt complete.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23I think we all knew that was the line-up as soon as John was there.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Previously, it'd been bass players came and went,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28but John felt like he was part of the family.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30And we were a family from that point.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34It was only a spare-time thing, even... Really, even with Queen.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37I really didn't expect it to take off.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39I think John only realised that the whole thing was actually
0:07:39 > 0:07:42serious when we actually had an album that came out.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Up until then he thought, "Oh, I'll just tag along with this."
0:07:45 > 0:07:49I'm not going to say we were harmonious the whole time,
0:07:49 > 0:07:49because we weren't.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51We used to have a lot of differences.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55- INTERCOM:- Right, take two. - I'm trying to slow the thing down!
0:07:55 > 0:08:00Well, it doesn't need slowing down! God, it's creaking at the moment.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03But we did feel that we shared something that was special.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06And so when we got knocks from the outside, we thought,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08"Huh, screw you guys. We know better than you.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11"We know what we've got and you don't."
0:08:11 > 0:08:14So there is great strength in having a good kind of democratic bond
0:08:14 > 0:08:16between the band members.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19We were still a group of people without any context in the music business.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Without any way in, it seemed.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23I used to go and see groups at the Marquee and think,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25"How do you get to that situation?"
0:08:25 > 0:08:28And the answer was, people want to book you if they've heard of you.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30If you've made a record, or something.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31How do you get to make a records?
0:08:31 > 0:08:34You get to make records if you've played at places like the Marquee
0:08:34 > 0:08:36where people notice you.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40And it was definitely head up against a brick wall department!
0:08:40 > 0:08:44First of all, we decided we were going to be ready when the opportunity came.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46So the first job was to rehearse and write
0:08:46 > 0:08:48to the point where we thought we had an act
0:08:48 > 0:08:50worth presenting to the public.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55The second thing we thought was to make a good demonstration tape.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58So one day this chap turned up who was a friend of a friend, basically,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00working at De Lane Lea studios,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03the new De Lane Lea studios in Wembley
0:09:03 > 0:09:04which was just being built
0:09:04 > 0:09:06and they were testing the acoustics.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08And he said to me, we need a group
0:09:08 > 0:09:10to come in here and make some noise
0:09:10 > 0:09:14so that we can test all our lines, and the soundproofing, and whatever
0:09:14 > 0:09:16and in return we will make some tracks.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22I remember being on the train, you know, with Fred...
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Can you believe it? He did used to travel on the train!
0:09:25 > 0:09:26Hated every second of it.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29..and we were clutching this one little reel of tape
0:09:29 > 0:09:33and that was our entire future in that little tiny reel of tape.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37And I remember thinking, "That's our future."
0:09:37 > 0:09:39And it was a hard slog round.
0:09:39 > 0:09:40Didn't come overnight.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43- Basically, they all said no. - THEY CHUCKLE
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Basically they said, "Fuck off and don't come back."
0:09:45 > 0:09:47It was tough.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50We were all students, so we'd run out of student grant.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54I was teaching in a comprehensive school to make ends meet.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I drove the odd van.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Freddie and I had a stall at one...
0:09:58 > 0:10:01For quite a while in Kensington Market.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05We used to flog old Edwardian scarves and...er...
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Russian fox furs.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10HE LAUGHS
0:10:10 > 0:10:11Erm...
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I don't think Brian would've liked that very much!
0:10:16 > 0:10:21The first three years were really faith and fumes.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24We were very penniless, but we had a lot of faith,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26and we had a lot of energy.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30The band was first brought to my notice in 1971.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33My brother went and saw them at a nurses' dance in Norwood.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38He came back and said they were really amazing.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42I bought some tapes from De Lane Lea sessions
0:10:42 > 0:10:44that had taken place,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47and we listened to those.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48Test sessions.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52And we realised the band had amazing internal drive.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Queen caught my imagination really by just their own ability,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01the way they worked together as a four-piece.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03It was totally interlocked -
0:11:03 > 0:11:04in their thinking and playing.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07That was different to what was going on.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09# Well, I've loved a million women
0:11:09 > 0:11:11# In a belladonic haze
0:11:11 > 0:11:12# And I ate a million dinners
0:11:12 > 0:11:14# Brought to me on silver trays
0:11:14 > 0:11:16# Give me everything I need
0:11:16 > 0:11:18# To feed my body and my soul... #
0:11:18 > 0:11:21I think it was the first song that we actually wrote ourselves,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23ever, as Queen.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25There were a couple of things that we tried before
0:11:25 > 0:11:27when Roger and I were in Smile.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29But I think this is the first sort of Queen song.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31# But if I crossed a million rivers
0:11:31 > 0:11:32# And I rode a million miles
0:11:32 > 0:11:34# Then I'd still be where I started
0:11:34 > 0:11:36# Still be where I started
0:11:36 > 0:11:38# Keep yourself alive... #
0:11:38 > 0:11:40So we finally signed to a production company
0:11:40 > 0:11:42who didn't really feel obliged to give us studio time
0:11:42 > 0:11:44except when the studio was empty.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47We'd get a call at any time of day or night -
0:11:47 > 0:11:49usually middle of the night.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51You know, it was basically the off-time at the studio.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55When the studio had dead time and nobody was in.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58But we would grab those hours
0:11:58 > 0:12:00and regard them as gold dust.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03On the first album we learnt a lot of the ins and outs of a studio.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05We started working with Roy Baker,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08who's a very technical whiz.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11He could actually enable us to do all the ideas that we had,
0:12:11 > 0:12:12and could keep it under control.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17All the technical things that we wanted to do in the studio
0:12:17 > 0:12:21he was able to put those into effect for us.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24We had a clear picture of what we wanted to do.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26There were certain fixed ideas we had
0:12:26 > 0:12:28and were going to bloody do them,
0:12:28 > 0:12:30you know, whether people said yes or no.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34So, at that point, was Freddie already established with Brian
0:12:34 > 0:12:36as the major writer for the band?
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Yes, I suppose so.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Because they were the ones that did most of the writing.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Freddie, by this time, was sort of remembering all his piano lessons.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48I remember lifting a dreadful old piano up to his top-floor flat.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52We nearly killed ourselves in the process.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54And Freddie sort of hammered out the songs which he wrote
0:12:54 > 0:12:56on the first album.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15Hard rock in those days was always done in a sort of blues way.
0:13:15 > 0:13:16There were 12 bars,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19lots of heavy crashing chords.
0:13:19 > 0:13:20And then there was the other side,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23where it was a lot of melodic ballad type things.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25And I just thought why can't the two come together.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Why can't you have a good melodic song
0:13:27 > 0:13:29with a lot of heavy content,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31and we just thought that would be interesting.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34I mean, subsequently songs like Liar...
0:13:34 > 0:13:36# I have sinned, dear Father
0:13:36 > 0:13:39# Father, I have sinned
0:13:39 > 0:13:42# Try and help me, Father
0:13:42 > 0:13:45# Won't you let me in?
0:13:45 > 0:13:47# LIAR!
0:13:47 > 0:13:52# No... Nobody believes me
0:13:52 > 0:13:53# LIAR!
0:13:53 > 0:13:54# Ohh...
0:13:56 > 0:13:58# Why don't they leave me alone?... #
0:13:58 > 0:14:01So how long before the album came out was it recorded and finished?
0:14:01 > 0:14:03I'd say a good year.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05A good year.
0:14:05 > 0:14:06And that year was spent doing what?
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Uh...
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Giving free concerts for our friends.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Playing the odd gig that we could scratch.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17We turned up at Bedford College once in London,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19and there was nobody.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21So we treated it as a rehearsal.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23And played to an empty room.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27I think about three people turned up in the end.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30You know, this is character building.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32We went to this college in...
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Somewhere in the Midlands,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36and we played the first set.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39We were booked - I think, £20 we were paid to play a night.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42We played the first half and then there was an interval
0:14:42 > 0:14:43where they played the disco.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46And we were due to go back on for the second half
0:14:46 > 0:14:48and the lady - bless her - who was the chair of events,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51came up to us in the interval and said, "Um...
0:14:51 > 0:14:54"Really good, boys. We've had a request."
0:14:54 > 0:14:56And we went, "Yeah, what is the request?"
0:14:56 > 0:14:59"Well, the request is, the people would kind of like
0:14:59 > 0:15:02"to have the disco in the second half instead of you guys."
0:15:02 > 0:15:03So we went,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06"Fine. Give us the money. Bye."
0:15:06 > 0:15:08You know, but that's kind of...
0:15:08 > 0:15:10That's a blow to your confidence.
0:15:10 > 0:15:11# All day long
0:15:11 > 0:15:14# All day long
0:15:14 > 0:15:17# All day long. #
0:15:17 > 0:15:20I remember Freddie and I used to get on the number nine bus,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23go up to Trident Studios in Wardour Street
0:15:23 > 0:15:26to try and talk to our managers, day after day
0:15:26 > 0:15:27and say, "Why is nothing happening?
0:15:27 > 0:15:29"What are we doing here?"
0:15:29 > 0:15:30We got very angry and said to him,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33"We just need this record out, because it's getting old
0:15:33 > 0:15:36"and things are happening and leaving us behind."
0:15:36 > 0:15:39So, it was a very, very frustrating time.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49The album came out and sort of resoundingly crashed.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51It didn't really do much.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56When you're recording an album, you tend to think
0:15:56 > 0:15:57when you first mix it, et cetera,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00you tend to think it's the eighth wonder of the world,
0:16:00 > 0:16:02which it invariably isn't.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06But we were always perhaps overconfident -
0:16:06 > 0:16:09even arrogant.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11We were fairly arrogant, yeah.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14- I don't quite know why. - LAUGHTER
0:16:37 > 0:16:38# All right
0:16:40 > 0:16:43# Now didn't you feel surprised to find
0:16:43 > 0:16:46# The cap just didn't fit?
0:16:47 > 0:16:49# A woman expects a man
0:16:49 > 0:16:52# To buckle down and to shovel it
0:16:53 > 0:16:56# What will you do for heaven
0:16:56 > 0:16:59# If it's back from where you came?
0:17:00 > 0:17:05# I want you
0:17:05 > 0:17:07# To be a woman
0:17:09 > 0:17:11# A woman, I said. #
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Thank you. APPLAUSE
0:17:45 > 0:17:48MUSIC: Procession by Queen
0:17:48 > 0:17:54- So, Queen II was the next major stepping stone, wasn't it?- Yes.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59By this time, we had actually managed to attract some attention.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01The moment we came out with the first album,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04it put us in an immediate "heavy" category.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06And to a lot of other bands,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08that would have meant, "Oh, great.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11"Let's do what the media expects us to do."
0:18:11 > 0:18:15But we didn't. I mean, we knew we wanted to do a particular thing,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19like branch out into actual songwriting.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22In Queen II, we had very big ideas of writing things
0:18:22 > 0:18:25which had a very heavy substructure, if you like -
0:18:25 > 0:18:28but lots of melody and lots of harmony on top.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30So...
0:18:30 > 0:18:34we gave ourselves the go-ahead to get complex.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37How long did that album take then, altogether?
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Well, it took about three and a half months,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41which in those days, was an epic.
0:18:41 > 0:18:47That album was the first aesthetic nervous breakdown producer we'd had.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Because we worked all hours for months.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52It was the first mammoth job we did.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56We went about triple the budget that we were originally allowed,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59but because the record company and the production company
0:18:59 > 0:19:02were pretty sympathetic, artistically, at that time.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05They kept hearing bits and saying, "It's great. Go on!"
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Anyway, once you're halfway through,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11they can't really get you to stop. They want an album!
0:19:11 > 0:19:15# Fear me, you lords and lady preachers
0:19:15 > 0:19:18# I descend upon your earth from the skies
0:19:18 > 0:19:22# I command your very souls you unbelievers
0:19:22 > 0:19:25# Bring before me what is mine
0:19:25 > 0:19:27# The seven seas of Rhye... #
0:19:28 > 0:19:32We realised that the easiest way of getting a hit album
0:19:32 > 0:19:35is to have a hit single that has some musical validity.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41That's what we thought, and that's what we set about doing.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45And it happened very smoothly there and Queen II came out.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47It had Seven Seas Of Rhye on it.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Almost within two weeks, I think, the single was a hit.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53And the album went straight in as it was released,
0:19:53 > 0:19:54which was great for us
0:19:54 > 0:19:58because we were in the middle of our own first headlining tour.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03We'd done our support tour and then, Mel Bush came to us -
0:20:03 > 0:20:06he was a pretty top promoter at the time -
0:20:06 > 0:20:08and he said, "I think you guys can headline the next tour."
0:20:08 > 0:20:10And we were surprised.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12I remember thinking, "Wow, that's very quick",
0:20:12 > 0:20:14because normally, you would support a few acts
0:20:14 > 0:20:17and build a following, and then you would go on your headline tour.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19But he said, "No, I feel you can do it.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21"You can sell out all these places."
0:20:21 > 0:20:23And he gave us a big list -
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Newcastle City Hall, Manchester's Free Trade Hall -
0:20:25 > 0:20:28all the sort of classic gigs that rock bands do -
0:20:28 > 0:20:30and he said, "You can fill all these.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32"And at the end, we're going to do the Rainbow."
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Well, they're just about to build up their momentum again now,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37with their new album, Sheer Heart Attack,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39released at the beginning of November -
0:20:39 > 0:20:41and a British tour, which starts on October 31st
0:20:41 > 0:20:43and which takes them through to November 19th
0:20:43 > 0:20:45and a concert at the Rainbow.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47The Rainbow was almost like the pinnacle.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00Not long before, we'd seen David Bowie rise from obscurity
0:21:00 > 0:21:03to being able to play the Rainbow, and it seemed like such a big deal.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05And I remember thinking at the time,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07"How amazing would it be if we could do this?"
0:21:07 > 0:21:11And I think it was only a year later that we actually did that gig.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13And live, of course,
0:21:13 > 0:21:17we very quickly became aware of the fact that you get one shot.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19So, you've got to deliver. You've got to really capture people.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23You've got to move them, you've got to engage them, and we used to say,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26"Deafen them and blind them and leave them wanting more."
0:21:32 > 0:21:35# I have sinned, dear Father
0:21:35 > 0:21:38# Father, I have sinned
0:21:38 > 0:21:41# Try and help me, Father
0:21:41 > 0:21:44# Won't you let me in?
0:21:44 > 0:21:47- # Liar!- Oh
0:21:47 > 0:21:49# Everybody believes me. #
0:21:49 > 0:21:51INSTRUMENTS CUT OUT
0:21:53 > 0:21:56We had so many mishaps on stage.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Power cuts were quite normal.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Tell you what, we'll just pose and you just look at us.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05DRUM SOLO
0:22:11 > 0:22:15Anybody who'd like to pose with us is cordially invited onto the stage.
0:22:15 > 0:22:16Come on.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19It was nice, really, because the audiences were so friendly to us
0:22:19 > 0:22:22that it really didn't matter. They were very patient.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24It's a great feeling when you realise that,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27because I think when you're starting off, you think...
0:22:27 > 0:22:30"What's going to happen if something goes wrong? It's all going to go pear-shaped!"
0:22:30 > 0:22:32But actually, you've got a great audience
0:22:32 > 0:22:35and you've got a band who knows what it's doing
0:22:35 > 0:22:38and no matter what happens, you can normally deal with it in some way.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41# A word in your ear
0:22:43 > 0:22:46# From father to son
0:22:46 > 0:22:52# Funny, you don't hear a single word I've said
0:22:53 > 0:22:57# But my letter to you
0:22:57 > 0:23:01# Will stay by your side through the years
0:23:01 > 0:23:05# Till the loneliness has gone
0:23:07 > 0:23:10# Sing if you will
0:23:11 > 0:23:16# But the air you breathe
0:23:16 > 0:23:19# I live to give you
0:23:20 > 0:23:22# Father to son
0:23:24 > 0:23:30- # Father to- Father to - Father to son. #
0:23:33 > 0:23:37- Then we almost immediately went on tour with Mott The Hoople.- Yes.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41Which was, for us, very successful. It brought us to so many new people.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44And a lot of them have stuck with us ever since. It's quite amazing.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49From being a support act on a major tour - just a support act -
0:23:49 > 0:23:52people have actually stuck with us right through.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55It was the first time we'd really got into the big halls -
0:23:55 > 0:23:58you know, Madison Square Gardens, The Forum in Los Angeles
0:23:58 > 0:24:01and the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto - those sort of big things.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03We had some bad luck on that tour,
0:24:03 > 0:24:09because Brian got hepatitis then and we had to cut the tour in half
0:24:09 > 0:24:11and come home halfway through, because Brian was very ill.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15So, after the anxiety attack came Sheer Heart Attack?
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Yeah, that was made in even more trying conditions, really,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22because Brian had just recovered - supposedly recovered -
0:24:22 > 0:24:25from his hepatitis when we made that album.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28We started off in Wales
0:24:28 > 0:24:30and Brian started collapsing all over the place.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33We found out eventually, he had an ulcer
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and he'd had it for six years and it was just getting really bad.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39So, Brian had to go into hospital
0:24:39 > 0:24:42and the three of us carried on
0:24:42 > 0:24:45and did a tremendous amount of work on the album,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47leaving all Brian's bits out.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50And when he was well again, he came back and did them
0:24:50 > 0:24:52and slotted them in.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55And strangely enough, I think it's my favourite album.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57My particular favourite, obviously, is Now I'm Here.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00# Look around around around around... #
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Which also was written about America, presumably.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06It was - and with Mott. It was a bit of a nod to Mott.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08# You won't see me
0:25:08 > 0:25:11# Now I'm here Now I'm here
0:25:15 > 0:25:18# Now I'm there Now I'm there
0:25:22 > 0:25:24# I'm just a...
0:25:30 > 0:25:33# Just a new man
0:25:33 > 0:25:37# Yes, you made me live again
0:25:47 > 0:25:50# A baby I was when you took my hand
0:25:50 > 0:25:54# And the light of the night burned bright
0:25:54 > 0:25:57# The people all stared didn't understand
0:25:57 > 0:26:00# But you knew my name on sight
0:26:01 > 0:26:04# Whatever came of you and me
0:26:04 > 0:26:08# America's new bride to be
0:26:08 > 0:26:12# Ooh, don't worry, babe I'm safe and sound
0:26:12 > 0:26:15# Down in the dungeon Just Peaches and me
0:26:16 > 0:26:20# Don't I love her so
0:26:20 > 0:26:23# Yes, she made me live again
0:26:25 > 0:26:26# Yeah
0:26:31 > 0:26:32# Yeah
0:26:32 > 0:26:36# A thin moon me in a smokescreen sky
0:26:36 > 0:26:39# Where the beams of your love-light chased
0:26:39 > 0:26:43# Don't move don't speak Don't feel no pain
0:26:43 > 0:26:46# With the rain running down my face
0:26:47 > 0:26:50# Your matches still light up the sky
0:26:50 > 0:26:55# And many a tear lives on in my eye. #
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Yeah, it was a very enjoyable track.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00It was done very quickly, at the end of the album.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Most of the album...
0:27:02 > 0:27:07Actually, it was a hit. We never seemed to have as big a hit...
0:27:07 > 0:27:11It's very hard to get a rock and roll hit single anywhere -
0:27:11 > 0:27:13America or here, or Japan.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16People will always go for the more melodic things.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18# She's a Killer Queen
0:27:18 > 0:27:22# Gunpowder, gelatine Dynamite with a laser beam
0:27:22 > 0:27:25# Guaranteed to blow your mind
0:27:25 > 0:27:27# Anytime. #
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Our first album had done very well in Japan.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32The old cliche - "big in Japan".
0:27:33 > 0:27:37So, we were booked to do a tour of there and we arrived in Japan
0:27:37 > 0:27:41and it was into what we'd known as Beatlemania.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45There really were thousands of kids and it was bedlam from then on.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51They were all hanging out in the hotels,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53hiding behind curtains in the corridors
0:27:53 > 0:27:56and everywhere we went, we got followed.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00I understand that in Japan, you couldn't even leave your hotels.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02- It was very difficult.- Very hectic.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07It was. This time round, we had to have bodyguards all-round.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09We did see a lot of the kitchens, though.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13Yes, and we were reduced to travelling in laundry lifts
0:28:13 > 0:28:14and things like that.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16The price of fame, they tell me.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20We're completely overwhelmed by what's happened since we came here.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23It's never happened to us in any other country,
0:28:23 > 0:28:25in this kind of style.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34I just want to say thanks to everybody for being so great.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36We feel really at home. Thanks for the presents
0:28:36 > 0:28:39and thanks for making such a noise at the concert.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Hello, boys and girls. It's very nice to be in Japan.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47Thank you very much for the reception and the amazing welcome.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49And from me and the boys, from Queen,
0:28:49 > 0:28:51thank you very much. Sayonara.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56'It was odd, because in a way, we were stars outside England
0:28:56 > 0:28:59'before we were very well known at home.'
0:28:59 > 0:29:03I'll just tell you about this one, it's called Death On Two Legs.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06'We were still very poor.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08'Nothing had changed from that point of view.'
0:29:08 > 0:29:11This is about a nasty old man that I used to know.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14'The first three years, we were with a company called Trident, right?'
0:29:14 > 0:29:18And we were very badly handled... Well, not badly handled. No...
0:29:18 > 0:29:20We were badly handled. LAUGHTER
0:29:22 > 0:29:24There we were, we'd had three albums
0:29:24 > 0:29:29and we were still on a basic wage, you know?
0:29:29 > 0:29:31I think we were on 20 quid a week at that point,
0:29:31 > 0:29:34from our management company. I'm not exaggerating.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37It was that point where the managers were all building swimming pools
0:29:37 > 0:29:40and driving their Rolls-Royces and you're thinking, "Hmm...
0:29:40 > 0:29:43"Where did it all go?" So, there was a crunch coming.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54What we decided to do was go with a production company,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56rather than with a record company.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59The deal was that we made the album for the production company,
0:29:59 > 0:30:01which is something like a middleman.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04It's between the artist and the record company.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06We make the album for the production company,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09they sell it to a record company afterwards.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12And in retrospect, it's probably the worst thing we ever did.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15# You suck my blood like a leech
0:30:15 > 0:30:17# You break the law and you preach
0:30:17 > 0:30:19# Screw my brain till it hurts
0:30:19 > 0:30:24# All my money and you want more
0:30:26 > 0:30:29# Misguided old mule With your pig-headed rules
0:30:29 > 0:30:37# With your narrow-minded cronies Who are fools of the first division
0:30:37 > 0:30:40# Death on two legs
0:30:40 > 0:30:42# You're tearing me apart
0:30:44 > 0:30:47# Death on two legs
0:30:47 > 0:30:51# You never had a heart of your own
0:30:51 > 0:30:55# Kill joy Bad guy
0:30:55 > 0:30:58# Big talking Small fry
0:30:58 > 0:31:00# You're just an old barrow-boy
0:31:00 > 0:31:03# Have you found a new toy to replace me?
0:31:03 > 0:31:06# Can you face me?
0:31:06 > 0:31:09# But now you can kiss my ass goodbye. #
0:31:09 > 0:31:11So basically, we got out of that one
0:31:11 > 0:31:14by re-signing with a guy called John Reid,
0:31:14 > 0:31:16who also manages Elton.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18There was a moment where John said,
0:31:18 > 0:31:20"OK, you can now do this,
0:31:20 > 0:31:24"you're going to be free of your old commitments to Trident.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27"And you go away and make the best record you've ever made
0:31:27 > 0:31:29"and I will sort out the money side."
0:31:29 > 0:31:32So, I think he put us on 30 quid a week, instead of 20 quid a week -
0:31:32 > 0:31:34and we were made!
0:31:39 > 0:31:41It was do or die, really.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44I think if we hadn't made A Night At The Opera, it's questionable
0:31:44 > 0:31:47whether we would have been able to carry on.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50# Talk like a big business tycoon
0:31:50 > 0:31:52# You're just a hot-air balloon
0:31:52 > 0:31:54# No-one gives you a damn
0:31:54 > 0:31:56# Overgrown school boy
0:31:56 > 0:32:01# Let me tan your hide
0:32:01 > 0:32:04# You're a dog with disease You're the king of the sleaze
0:32:04 > 0:32:08# Put your money where your mouth is Mr Know-all
0:32:08 > 0:32:12# Was the fin on your back part of the deal... shark!
0:32:13 > 0:32:15# Death on two legs
0:32:15 > 0:32:19# Tearing me apart
0:32:20 > 0:32:22# Death on two legs
0:32:22 > 0:32:27# You never had a heart of your own
0:32:27 > 0:32:30# Insane should be put inside
0:32:30 > 0:32:35# You're a sewer rat Decaying in a cesspool of pride
0:32:35 > 0:32:38# Should be made unemployed Make yourself null and void
0:32:38 > 0:32:42# Make me feel good I feel good. #
0:32:42 > 0:32:44There was this kind of feeling of abandon, I think,
0:32:44 > 0:32:46about A Night At The Opera.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49We thought, no holds barred, no barriers.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53We'll do exactly what we think we can do, push ourselves to the limit,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56make the finest tapestry that we possibly can.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58And that will be us, there'll be no apologies,
0:32:58 > 0:33:01there's no pandering to commerciality.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05We just make something wonderful that's always been in our heads.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07Can you tell us what Queen is all about?
0:33:07 > 0:33:11It's basically a rock and roll band with lots of harmonies,
0:33:11 > 0:33:13lots of everything.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16- Can you stay in one bag today and be safe?- No, no.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20That's one of the things that I think people can't put us into -
0:33:20 > 0:33:21is one category.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26There's a lot of ingredients that make up Queen
0:33:26 > 0:33:29and you can't put your finger on it, really.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33# Don't you hear my call Though you're many years away
0:33:33 > 0:33:37# Don't you hear me calling you
0:33:38 > 0:33:43# Write your letters in the sand For the day I take your hand
0:33:43 > 0:33:47# In the land that our grandchildren knew. #
0:33:47 > 0:33:48Altogether!
0:33:48 > 0:33:53# Don't you hear my call Though you're many years away
0:33:53 > 0:33:57# Don't you hear me calling you
0:33:57 > 0:34:02# All your letters in the sand Cannot heal me like your hand
0:34:02 > 0:34:07# All my life still ahead Pity me.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15# Oh oh oh. #
0:34:16 > 0:34:17All right!
0:34:17 > 0:34:21It was Night At The Opera time and we were just writing like crazy.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23I mean, there was so much hunger there.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25We just had so much that we wanted to bring out.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29It was all kept in and so, we had all kinds of stuff.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32# Ooh, you make me live
0:34:32 > 0:34:35# I've been wandering round
0:34:35 > 0:34:38# Still come back to you... #
0:34:39 > 0:34:42This was John's first hit and this was quite a big hit.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45# I'm happy at home
0:34:45 > 0:34:47# You're my best friend... #
0:34:47 > 0:34:50That line, "happy at home" - I can remember Roger going,
0:34:50 > 0:34:52"I don't want that fucking line on here!
0:34:52 > 0:34:56"We're not singing "happy at home", for fuck's sake! It's rock and roll!
0:34:56 > 0:34:58"What is this? The Women's Institute?"
0:35:04 > 0:35:07# Happy at home
0:35:07 > 0:35:10# You're my best friend
0:35:13 > 0:35:16# Oh, you're my best friend
0:35:17 > 0:35:20# Ooh, you're my best friend
0:35:20 > 0:35:24# Ooh, you make me live... #
0:35:24 > 0:35:26We would really go in the studio and say, "What have you got?"
0:35:26 > 0:35:28You know, "I've got this."
0:35:28 > 0:35:30And we would sort of hammer it out there
0:35:30 > 0:35:33and stuff happened very much in the studio.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36By the fourth album,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39it was much more flying by the seat of your pants.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41It was kind of more interesting, in a way.
0:35:41 > 0:35:48More natural growth from the band of developing a song.
0:35:48 > 0:35:54We don't look upon singles the same as other people look upon singles -
0:35:54 > 0:35:55like, commerciality...
0:35:55 > 0:35:58I suppose that's one of the ingredients.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00But I think it's just our way of saying,
0:36:00 > 0:36:01this is what we're doing at the time
0:36:01 > 0:36:05and we felt that Bohemian Rhapsody summed it up at that time,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08when we were doing a lot of diverse things, complex harmonies...
0:36:08 > 0:36:11It was full of extremes and we thought, "Why not?"
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Bohemian Rhapsody happened to be...
0:36:14 > 0:36:16It was basically like, three songs that I wanted to put out
0:36:16 > 0:36:18and I just put the three together.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21- ENGINEER:- Take one of mark two version of Fred's thing.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27It's one of those songs I had a lot of fun in, because I thought,
0:36:27 > 0:36:29I'm going to do exactly as I please,
0:36:29 > 0:36:33do as many multilayer harmonies as possible -
0:36:33 > 0:36:35go well over the top.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39And you know, I didn't give a shit about anyone else.
0:36:42 > 0:36:43Fuck!
0:36:43 > 0:36:46We did a lot of things with piano-bass-drums, actually, yeah -
0:36:46 > 0:36:49as the spine, as a core.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52Freddie had a fantastic sense of time,
0:36:52 > 0:36:54so he was great to play with.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57He had a very attacking piano style and very definite -
0:36:57 > 0:37:01and it was very concise and precise
0:37:01 > 0:37:07and so, it was really great to play, to make backing tracks with,
0:37:07 > 0:37:08so you had everything, really.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10You had the whole range -
0:37:10 > 0:37:14the piano, the melodic range, the bass and drums.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16- It's still too slow. - No, that's nice, that's nice.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18I'll tell you, that is slower on there.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21It was a very strange song to record in a way,
0:37:21 > 0:37:23because we actually did it in sections.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25DRUM LOOPS I like that first bit.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27I'll come in from here, now. Carry on.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29I remember doing one recording session in Rockfield.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33PIANO CUE Oh, fuck, I missed. Fuck it.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Freddie was saying, these are the notes. It goes, dum-dum-dum-dum...
0:37:36 > 0:37:39And it seemed to have no connection with anything.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45But he had all the ideas of what he wanted to go on top.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52FREDDIE LAUGHS Did you hear that?
0:37:52 > 0:37:55Plomb-plomb-plomb! It's too much!
0:37:55 > 0:37:59It was the three of us - we all came in a beat late!
0:37:59 > 0:38:02You didn't shout "one" or anything!
0:38:02 > 0:38:06I know, I shouted "one" and came in myself late!
0:38:06 > 0:38:09It's so fucking hot in here, I'm not kidding.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11I did kind of request the piece for the solo.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14I said, "I would like to be soloing over a verse,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16"and I can hear something in my head which is not
0:38:16 > 0:38:19"the melody of the song, but some sort of counterpoint to that."
0:38:19 > 0:38:25And so, Freddy built that into his plan of the backing track.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35Let's talk about writing for a second, Freddie.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37How prolific a writer are you?
0:38:37 > 0:38:40Oh, I write a dozen a day!
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Usually, the way I write it, I get the melody first,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46because that's the most important. It comes easier to me, anyway.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49I work out the melody, the song structure.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51And then somehow, the words fit in afterwards.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Lyrically, I'm very bad, actually.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56I really have to work.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Fred's lyrics came from the left, from the right, from the...
0:38:58 > 0:39:01You never knew where they were coming from.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03# I see a little silhouetto of a man
0:39:03 > 0:39:06# Scaramouche, Scaramouche Will you do the fandango
0:39:06 > 0:39:10Thunderbolt and lightning Very very frightening me
0:39:10 > 0:39:13- # Galileo- Galileo- Galileo- Figaro. # - I never saw him reading a lot.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15I never saw him with a book, actually.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17No, I didn't see him with one.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20I saw him with a Sotheby's catalogue...
0:39:20 > 0:39:23# He's just a poor boy from a poor family
0:39:23 > 0:39:26# Spare him his life from this monstrosity. #
0:39:26 > 0:39:29That is one aspect of Queen that people seem to like.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32They love the big choral,
0:39:32 > 0:39:37the big harmony thing, which we are capable of doing,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40linked with a strong melody.
0:39:40 > 0:39:45And perhaps a little touch of bizarre-ness. Not too much.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47# Bismillah No, we will not let you go
0:39:47 > 0:39:49# Let him go... #
0:39:49 > 0:39:52We sort of came up in the end with everybody sings -
0:39:52 > 0:39:55the three of us all sing each line
0:39:55 > 0:40:01and Brian was quite strong in the low register,
0:40:01 > 0:40:03Freddie was stronger over the whole register
0:40:03 > 0:40:05and I was very strong on the higher register,
0:40:05 > 0:40:09in full voice and falsetto as well.
0:40:09 > 0:40:16So, we devised this sort of way of getting that sound.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19It does encapsulate a lot of the different things which were Queen -
0:40:19 > 0:40:22our essential style, which was still evolving at that time.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25So, it's got the heavy stuff, it's got the melodic stuff,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27it's got lots of harmonies, it's got guitar harmonies
0:40:27 > 0:40:31and orchestrations in the guitars and the voices.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33And again, it was just the four of us
0:40:33 > 0:40:38and it does sound like a huge symphony ensemble
0:40:38 > 0:40:40with a choir and whatever, but it's just the four of us.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44- # No no no - No no no no no no no. #
0:40:44 > 0:40:47So, we were consciously experimenting with
0:40:47 > 0:40:51how far you could push that studio technique,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54to make something massive and grand and...
0:40:56 > 0:40:59..and stupendous. It did come out quite stupendous.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03# Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me... #
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Somebody wrote me a letter about that and said,
0:41:05 > 0:41:09"I study demonology and Satanic things. Why did they use Beelzebub?"
0:41:09 > 0:41:11I suppose that's a legitimate question.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14- Why do we use it?- Yeah. - Why do we use anything?
0:41:14 > 0:41:18I mean, it doesn't actually mean I study demonology and things.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22I just love the word "Beelzebub".
0:41:22 > 0:41:23LAUGHTER
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Great word, isn't it?
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Well, it was a great vision from Freddie.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30That was something very unusual, I think.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34It's only in retrospect I think, we realise how unusual it was.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36But in a sense, it was part of the flow.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40It didn't seem that abnormal to us at the time.
0:41:40 > 0:41:41It was a very big risk.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44I mean, I remember Roger saying that it's one of those things...
0:41:44 > 0:41:47We said, OK, it's either going to be a huge flop, or...
0:41:47 > 0:41:49As it was a song of extremes.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51That was the way we were going to approach it.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54We had this kind of perverse belief that our vision
0:41:54 > 0:41:57would be something that people would understand, so we didn't...
0:41:57 > 0:42:00We consciously didn't go the commercial route.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03The radios didn't like it initially, because it was too long
0:42:03 > 0:42:06and the record company said, "You can't market it that way."
0:42:06 > 0:42:10And after me having virtually put the three songs together,
0:42:10 > 0:42:11they wanted me to slice it up again.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16The record company all, as a mass, came to us and said,
0:42:16 > 0:42:17"Don't do this.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20"This thing is too long, nobody's going to play it.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23"Please don't make us put out this record as a single -
0:42:23 > 0:42:27"this Bohemian Rhapsody - or else, please, let's edit it."
0:42:27 > 0:42:29And John actually delivered an edit.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31I don't know if this is a fact that's known.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33John Deacon went away and made a cut
0:42:33 > 0:42:35which cut out all the operatic stuff.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51It did sound odd and everybody else said it was odd
0:42:51 > 0:42:53and you can't do it, and all that sort of thing.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55And yeah, I was wrong.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59I just said, it either goes out in its entirety, or not at all.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01We just thought, no, that's what you're getting
0:43:01 > 0:43:04and we're not going to give you another one, so it was done that way.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07And it was given a lot of help from people like Kenny Everett,
0:43:07 > 0:43:12who was a sort of visionary genius DJ.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14So, ladies and gentlemen,
0:43:14 > 0:43:16for the first time anywhere in this universe of ours,
0:43:16 > 0:43:21we present at this moment of time the new Queen single.
0:43:21 > 0:43:26He got right behind it, played it 14 times in the weekend on his show,
0:43:26 > 0:43:29which really didn't hurt, you know?
0:43:29 > 0:43:32# I see a little silhouetto of a man
0:43:32 > 0:43:36# Scaramouche, Scaramouche Will you do the fandango
0:43:36 > 0:43:39# Thunderbolt and lightning Very very frightening me... #
0:43:39 > 0:43:42We made a video for Bohemian Rhapsody,
0:43:42 > 0:43:44simply because we were on tour
0:43:44 > 0:43:47and we weren't able to go on Top Of The Pops.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50To be honest, we weren't too keen on going on Top Of The Pops
0:43:50 > 0:43:53and standing on those little podiums and miming premium Rhapsody.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55It would have been really crap.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59We used an outside broadcast sports unit
0:43:59 > 0:44:03to bring their cameras into Elstree, where we were rehearsing.
0:44:03 > 0:44:08And we could go on the road and that could be on Top Of The Pops
0:44:08 > 0:44:11and on television throughout the world, then.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14# Easy come, easy go Will you let me go?
0:44:14 > 0:44:17# Bismillah No, we will not let you go! #
0:44:17 > 0:44:18And we realised,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21wow, you don't even have to be here to promote your record now.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24You just make one of these little video films
0:44:24 > 0:44:27and that's got to be the way in the future.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29And we were the first to do that.
0:44:29 > 0:44:30- # Let him go!- Bismillah
0:44:30 > 0:44:33- # We will not let you go - Let me go! #
0:44:33 > 0:44:34I think it's the first video
0:44:34 > 0:44:37that actually took any kind of effect into actually making sales.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43A lot of videos were probably made before, but they didn't sell records.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46I think that's the first one that actually...
0:44:46 > 0:44:47There was this chemistry
0:44:47 > 0:44:51that actually linked visuals with the music and it worked.
0:44:51 > 0:44:52# O Mamma mia, mamma mia
0:44:52 > 0:44:54# Mamma mia, let me go
0:44:54 > 0:44:59# Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me
0:44:59 > 0:45:00# For me
0:45:00 > 0:45:03# For me! #
0:45:03 > 0:45:06A Night At The Opera changed the financial outlook of things.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09After that, it wasn't so much,
0:45:09 > 0:45:12"Where's the next fiver coming from?"
0:45:12 > 0:45:17It was very, very successful. It had a very successful single, obviously.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20We were just checking into one of the hotels
0:45:20 > 0:45:24and we realised that Bohemian Rhapsody had gone to number one
0:45:24 > 0:45:27and the four of us were in a lift -
0:45:27 > 0:45:28probably the first time it had happened,
0:45:28 > 0:45:31because normally, we'd have bodyguards and everything -
0:45:31 > 0:45:34and we were jumping up and down and the fucking lift stopped.
0:45:34 > 0:45:35So there we are, I thought, my God,
0:45:35 > 0:45:37here's the number one group in England,
0:45:37 > 0:45:39going to suffocate in this damn lift!
0:45:39 > 0:45:42- Ladies and gentlemen, this is Queen! - CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:45:42 > 0:45:44And then, we got a call saying,
0:45:44 > 0:45:48"Would you like to play live on Christmas Eve, on BBC One?"
0:45:48 > 0:45:49We went, "Whoa!"
0:45:49 > 0:45:53Thank you! Thank you and good evening, everybody!
0:45:55 > 0:45:58It was a big honour and a big thrill and scary.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01You know, we'd never done anything live like that on TV.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03We'd better be bloody good at this.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05We normally did a big, dramatic entrance
0:46:05 > 0:46:08and everything was dark and there was lots of noise and smoke
0:46:08 > 0:46:11and dry ice and explosions and stuff.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13It gave you great confidence, coming on the stage.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16On this occasion, they had the audience lit for TV,
0:46:16 > 0:46:18so we went on stage and looked around
0:46:18 > 0:46:20and there were all the people's faces.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22It was quite nerve-racking.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24MUSIC: Now I'm Here
0:46:26 > 0:46:28As soon as we were on, we were on.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30Everything changed and the audience got up
0:46:30 > 0:46:32and did a load of waving, a lot of noise,
0:46:32 > 0:46:34which was great and we were into it.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36# Yes, you made me live again
0:46:45 > 0:46:49# A baby I was when you took my hand
0:46:49 > 0:46:53# And the light of the night burned bright... #
0:46:53 > 0:46:54We'd finished the tour,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56we'd already done four nights at the Hammersmith Odeon
0:46:56 > 0:46:58and so, this was a fifth night
0:46:58 > 0:47:00and I think there was about a five-day period
0:47:00 > 0:47:02in between the end of the tour.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04So, it was quite difficult.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06We were just starting to wind down and actually,
0:47:06 > 0:47:08then you've got to go back and do this one, all-important show.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10It was a big deal, in the fact that
0:47:10 > 0:47:12it was going out live on Christmas Eve.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15Obviously, there'd be a really good audience.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18I remember thinking, "Will we have lost our momentum?"
0:47:18 > 0:47:20That sort of kick-arse stuff that you developed on a tour.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23I do remember being quite worried about it.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25And I had a kind of flu at the time
0:47:25 > 0:47:29and I remember feeling like absolute death.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31But the power of adrenaline is amazing.
0:47:31 > 0:47:36You start to sweat and work a bit and you kind of forget about it.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40Hammersmith Odeon was sort of our local, I suppose.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44In Japan, we were expected to be rock stars, pop stars, whatever.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46In England, you can't strut around as if you're a star.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49We really felt we had to work very hard in England
0:47:49 > 0:47:51to prove that we were the real deal.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Thank you and good evening everybody! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:47:57 > 0:48:02Now then, we're going to do a nice, tasty little medley for you -
0:48:02 > 0:48:05just like the one we did the other day, yes.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08And we're going to start off with a little segment
0:48:08 > 0:48:11from a number called Bohemian Rhapsody.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13CHEERING
0:48:18 > 0:48:21# Mama
0:48:21 > 0:48:23# Just killed a man
0:48:24 > 0:48:27# Put a gun against his head
0:48:27 > 0:48:31# Pulled my trigger now he's dead... #
0:48:31 > 0:48:34I guess every major act has a certain song,
0:48:34 > 0:48:36which becomes their anthem,
0:48:36 > 0:48:39becomes their big hook on people's consciousness.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41# But now I've gone and thrown it all away... #
0:48:41 > 0:48:44We could feel the sort of whirlwind picking up.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48So, '75 really was a great year for us.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50It put us from Championship into the Premier League,
0:48:50 > 0:48:52if you know what I mean.
0:48:52 > 0:48:53CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:49:09 > 0:49:11Yeah, the Live Aid thing was unusual,
0:49:11 > 0:49:12because it wasn't a Queen audience.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15All those tickets were sold before we were announced.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17# Mama
0:49:17 > 0:49:19# Ooh
0:49:19 > 0:49:21# I don't want to die... #
0:49:21 > 0:49:24The big shock was how well that audience knew us,
0:49:24 > 0:49:27as opposed to the Queen audience, because they'd all seen the video.
0:49:27 > 0:49:32In a sense, that's the great signal that the video age had taken over -
0:49:32 > 0:49:36had become the major force in promoting rock music.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57Queen, with Bohemian Rhapsody - an incredible song,
0:49:57 > 0:49:59written and performed by the matchless Freddie Mercury,
0:49:59 > 0:50:01who died on Monday.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04It's being rereleased on 9th December
0:50:04 > 0:50:07and all the proceeds will be going to the Terrence Higgins trust.
0:50:07 > 0:50:12Yeah, we rereleased Bohemian Rhapsody
0:50:12 > 0:50:14and it sold a million.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Which is a lot, you know, for single.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20It would never happen now to anyone, but a million was a lot
0:50:20 > 0:50:24and we donated all the profits to AIDS - every penny.
0:50:24 > 0:50:28Magnificent performer, magnificent single and a magnificent song.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32Sadly missed, Freddie Mercury, who I think will be very pleased to know
0:50:32 > 0:50:35that he's almost certainly got the Christmas number one.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38At least this is the chance for something positive to come out of it.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41- So much positive can come out of it, yeah.- You can do so much.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44That's exactly what Freddie wanted and we intend to carry that through
0:50:44 > 0:50:46and we're thinking of doing something next year -
0:50:46 > 0:50:50some kind of event, probably in his name,
0:50:50 > 0:50:54that will be something positive and we'll raise a lot of money, we hope.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56# Too late
0:50:56 > 0:50:59# My time has come
0:50:59 > 0:51:02# Sends shivers down my spine
0:51:02 > 0:51:05# Body's aching all the time
0:51:05 > 0:51:07# Goodbye, everybody... #
0:51:07 > 0:51:09Elton and Axl...
0:51:09 > 0:51:13Yeah. I mean, that's a moment to treasure.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15# Got to leave you all behind and fade away... #
0:51:15 > 0:51:18My dearest wish was to get those two together.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22It wasn't easy. There was a bit of controversy at the time.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26I think Axl had said some fairly unwise things.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30Elton was very broad-minded, terrific about it.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34# I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all. #
0:51:34 > 0:51:38Axl, of course, never turned up to any of the rehearsals,
0:51:38 > 0:51:40so they came on and of course,
0:51:40 > 0:51:42Elton and he had never performed together before.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45I don't know if they'd even met before they stepped on stage
0:51:45 > 0:51:50to do Bohemian Rhapsody in front of a billion people, or whatever...
0:51:51 > 0:51:53I thought it was amazing.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56It's one of the moments I will never forget in my life.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59- # O Mamma mia Mamma mia - Mamma mia let me go
0:51:59 > 0:52:02# Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me... #
0:52:02 > 0:52:05Axl comes on like this whirling dervish
0:52:05 > 0:52:07and canes the middle bit.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09I mean, just rocketed to the sky.
0:52:17 > 0:52:23# So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
0:52:23 > 0:52:28# So you think you can love me and leave me to die
0:52:28 > 0:52:31# Whoa, baby
0:52:31 > 0:52:35# Can't do this to me, baby
0:52:35 > 0:52:36# Just gotta get out
0:52:36 > 0:52:39# Just gotta get right out of here. #
0:52:47 > 0:52:51And then, they come together at the end - "Nothing really matters."
0:52:51 > 0:52:54And they end up holding hands, going to the front of the stage
0:52:54 > 0:52:56and we're looking at this from the back, thinking...
0:52:56 > 0:53:00"Hmm. Who would have known that this would happen?"
0:53:01 > 0:53:05# Nothing really matters
0:53:05 > 0:53:07# Anyone can see... #
0:53:07 > 0:53:11And that was a really good joining together, I thought.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14# Nothing really matters
0:53:14 > 0:53:18# Nothing really matters
0:53:18 > 0:53:22# To me... #
0:53:23 > 0:53:26It was an amazing night.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29So yeah, Bohemian Rhapsody came through again
0:53:29 > 0:53:31as a great moment of that show.
0:53:37 > 0:53:42# Any way the wind blows. #
0:53:45 > 0:53:49CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:53:54 > 0:53:56There have been so many great songs over the years,
0:53:56 > 0:53:58those standout songs.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01It's just nice to have one of them -
0:54:01 > 0:54:03maybe the most popular one.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06# If I'm not back again this time tomorrow... #
0:54:06 > 0:54:08You turn up someplace and you do a whole show
0:54:08 > 0:54:13and you haven't done Bohemian Rhapsody, people look at you funny.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16You know that's going to be a sort of pivotal moment of the set.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19Adam is well capable of singing it all,
0:54:19 > 0:54:23but everybody wants to see Freddie sing a piece of it.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26# Too late
0:54:26 > 0:54:29# My time has come
0:54:29 > 0:54:32# Sends shivers down my spine
0:54:32 > 0:54:35# Body's aching all the time... #
0:54:35 > 0:54:39It was just nice to design a way where Adam could do a verse,
0:54:39 > 0:54:40Freddie could do a verse...
0:54:42 > 0:54:46# Got to leave you all behind and fade away
0:54:48 > 0:54:50# Mama
0:54:50 > 0:54:52# Ooh... #
0:54:53 > 0:54:55What is Bohemian Rhapsody about?
0:54:55 > 0:54:57Well, I'm thankful that none of us know, really.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00We all guess, we all have our own ideas.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03But Freddie never talked about it, to my knowledge -
0:55:03 > 0:55:04and didn't want to.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07I think that's the way it should be.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09I get asked that all the time.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13I have no answer.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22Freddie would laugh. Freddie's probably laughing at this moment,
0:55:22 > 0:55:24at me trying to talk about it.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28But you know, he had something in his mind and...
0:55:29 > 0:55:33..what he loved was to spin these little pieces of magic.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37He was a songwriter and that's what songwriters do -
0:55:37 > 0:55:39a little bit of reality, a little bit of fantasy,
0:55:39 > 0:55:43a little bit of something that expresses your emotions.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45And if anyone really tries to unravel it,
0:55:45 > 0:55:46they're never going to quite do it,
0:55:46 > 0:55:50because they're never going to quite know what went into those lyrics.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53# Nothing really matters... #
0:55:53 > 0:55:55One of the great things about it is that nobody can really say...
0:55:55 > 0:55:58They can say it's monstrous, or whatever,
0:55:58 > 0:56:00but they can't say it's not good.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04We're lucky that we have a lot of hooks in people.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08So many of these songs became part of people's lives,
0:56:08 > 0:56:10which is a great privilege,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12but Bohemian Rhapsody is a big one
0:56:12 > 0:56:14and there is no getting away from that.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19# Any way the wind blows. #
0:56:19 > 0:56:22CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:56:27 > 0:56:31MUSIC: God Save The Queen by Queen