Queen: The Complete Works (148 page)

May 1994
(CD)
: ‘Nazis 1994’
(edit)
/ ‘Nazis 1994’
(radio mix)
/ ‘Nazis 1994’ (kick mix) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (Schindler’s mix) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (Makita mix) / ‘Nazis 1994’ (Big Science mix) (CDR 6379) [22]

October 1994: ‘Foreign Sand’
(edit)
/ “You Had To Be There” (R 6389) [26]

October 1994
(12”)
: ‘Foreign Sand’
(edit)
/ “You Had To Be There” / ‘Foreign Sand’ / ‘Final Destination’ (12R 6389) [26]

October 1994
(CD)
: ‘Foreign Sand’
(edit)
/ “You Had To Be There” / ‘Foreign Sand’ / ‘Final Destination’ (CDR 6389) [26]

November 1994: ‘Happiness?’ / ‘Ride The Wild Wind’
(live)
(R 6399) [32]

November 1994
(12”)
: ‘Happiness?’ / ‘Dear Mr Murdoch’ / ‘Everybody Hurts Sometime’
(live)
/ ‘Old Friends’
(live)
(12R 6399) [32]

November 1994
(CD)
: ‘Happiness?’ / ‘Loneliness...’ / ‘Dear Mr Murdoch’ / ‘I Want To Break Free’
(live)
(CDR 6399) [32]

October 1998: ‘Pressure On’
(edit)
/ ‘People On Streets’
(mashed)
/ ‘Tonight’
(Dub Sangria)
(R 6507) [45]

October 1998
(CD)
: ‘Pressure On’
(edit)
/ ‘People On Streets’
(mashed)
/ ‘Tonight’
(Dub Sangria)
(CDR 6507) [45]

October 1998
(CD)
: ‘Pressure On’
(edit)
/ ‘Dear Mr Murdoch’ / ‘Keep A Knockin” (CDRS 6507) [45]

April 1999: ‘Surrender’
(radio mix)
/ ‘London Town, C’mon Down’ [38]

April 1999
(CD)
: ‘Surrender’
(radio mix)
/ ‘A Nation Of Haircuts’ (club cut) / ‘London Town, C’mon Down’
(edit)
(CDR 6517) [38]

April 1999
(CD)
: ‘Surrender’
(live)
/ ‘No More Fun’
(live)
/ ‘Tonight’
(live)
/ ‘Surrender’ (enhanced live video) (CDR 6517) [38]

November 2009
(download)
: ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’

January 2010
(CD)
: ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’ / ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’
(Almost Completely Nude mix)
/ ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’
(video)
(NJ1001)

FELIX + ARTY

August 2006
(download)
: ‘Woman You’re So Beautiful (But Still A Pain In The Ass)’
(main mix)
/ ‘Woman You’re So Beautiful (But Still A Pain In The Ass)’
(dance mix)
/ ‘Woman You’re So Beautiful (But Still A Pain In The Ass)’
(mad mix)

THE CROSS

October 1987: ‘Cowboys And Indians’
(edit)
/ ‘Love Lies Bleeding (She Was A Wicked, Wily Waitress) ’ (VS 1007) [74]

October 1987
(12”)
: ‘Cowboys And Indians’ / ‘Love Lies Bleeding (She Was A Wicked, Wily Waitress) ’ (VST 1007) [74]

October 1987
(CD)
: ‘Cowboys And Indians’ / ‘Cowboys And Indians’
(edit)
/ ‘Love Lies Bleeding (She Was A Wicked, Wily Waitress)’ (Virgin CDEP 10) [74]

January 1988: ‘Shove It!’ / ‘Rough Justice’ (VS 1026) [82]

January 1988
(12”)
: ‘Shove It!’
(extended)
/ ‘Rough Justice’ / ‘Shove It’! (Metropolix mix) (VST 1026) [82]

January 1988
(CD)
: ‘Shove It!’ / ‘Rough Justice’ / ‘Cowboys And Indians’ / ‘Shove It!’
(extended)
(Virgin CDEP 20) [82]

February 1988: ‘Shove It!’ / ‘Feel The Force’ (Virgin USA 7 99327; USA only)

April 1988: ‘Heaven For Everyone’ / ‘Love On A Tightrope (Like An Animal) ’ (VS 1062) [84]

April 1988
(12”)
: ‘Heaven For Everyone’ / ‘Love On A Tightrope (Like An Animal)’ / ‘Contact’ (VST 1062) [84]

July 1988: ‘Manipulator’ / ‘Stand Up For Love’ (VS 1100)

July 1988
(12”)
: ‘Manipulator’
(extended)
/ ‘Stand Up For Love’ / ‘Manipulator’ (VST 1100)

May 1990: ‘Power To Love’ / ‘Passion For Trash’ (R 6251) [83]

May 1990
(12”)
: ‘Power To Love’
(extended)
/ ‘Passion For Trash’ / ‘Power To Love’ (R 6251) [83]

May 1990
(CD)
: ‘Power To Love’
(extended)
/ ‘Passion For Trash’
(Macrae)
/ ‘Power To Love’ (CDR 6251) [83]

JOHN DEACON

March 1986: ‘No Turning Back’ / ‘No Turning Back’
(Chocs Away mix)
(MCA 1057)

March 1986
(12”)
: ‘No Turning Back’ / ‘No Turning Back’
(Chocs Away mix)
/ ‘No Turning Back’
(Joystick mix)
(MCAT 1057)

As I write this, Queen are more prevalent than ever. Since Brian May and Roger Taylor teamed up with Paul Rodgers in 2004, their status has increased in the music world, all because of an intensive world tour that allowed fans to see them in countries that the original four piece hadn’t been able to perform in. Of course, it wasn’t the real Queen, which was a constant reminder by detractors of the project, but it allowed Brian and Roger to once again perform for a large audience and write an album’s worth of new material. For Brian, it was the former that was the most thrilling; he may lack the command of an audience that Freddie Mercury had, but as a guitarist, his charisma is engaging and always inventive, and being able to play the big hits for a big crowd was artistically fulfilling for him. But at the end of the day, his passions lie in non-music-related endeavours, whether it was attaining his long-standing goal of receiving his PhD in astrophysics, or to save all god’s creatures, great and small, from the indignity of man.

For Roger, it was creating new music that gave him the biggest thrill, and it was the process of writing and recording
The Cosmos Rocks
that was especially fulfilling. It’s no surprise that his five songs on that album were the most adventurous and engaging, and that the experience has left him with a thirst for more. With the release of ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’ in November 2009, Roger has announced that he’s working on a solo album, his first since
Electric Fire
, and that he plans on continuing to write and perform anywhere he can. Stirred from his ennui of occasionally showing up to a
We Will Rock You
musical opening by Brian’s side, Roger has had the creative fire lit beneath him, and it’s especially exciting to see what direction he goes in.

As for John Deacon, the unflinching, rock-steady bassist with a savvy business command, he couldn’t perceive of Queen without Freddie, and effectively retired from the music industry in 1997, after contributing bass to ‘No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)’. Despite some fabricated jabs at his former bandmates and an unsurprising carnal interest in scantily-clad women, John has given his silent blessing to all that Brian and Roger do, preferring to spend his time on the golf course and with his children than on a stage or in a recording studio. Occasionally spotted at a
We Will Rock You
premiere or in the wedding party of one of his children, John is healthy and happy to be away from the spotlight glare.

Queen persists with the revitalization of their back catalogue, with the announcement in 2010 that they were jumping ship to Universal Records, after a lifelong association with EMI. The move wasn’t entirely surprising; EMI’s other big acts, Paul McCartney, Radiohead and The Rolling Stones all walked away after private equity group Terra Firma bought the struggling record label. The general consensus was that EMI had stagnated, and was more interested in turning a profit than encouraging creativity; Queen was one of the acts that followed suit, searching for another company that was more in line with their ways of thinking. Rumours circulated for a while over which label would swoop up
Queen, before it was announced that Universal Records was Queen’s new home, placed on the subsidiary Island Records label. A rigorous campaign was implemented in 2011, with all fifteen studio albums being remastered and reissued in double-disc packages (as of this writing, the final batch is scheduled for a late September release, though no confirmed extras have been released yet) and unique album samplers to whet the appetites of casual and die-hard fans alike. Additionally, the Stormtrooper In Stilettos exhibit, which ran from 25 February 2011 until 12 March at London’s Old Truman Brewery, was a massive success, and showcased memorabilia from Queen’s early formative years, up until their Hyde Park gig in 1976. Over 20,000 curious visitors showed up, and the response was so positive that there are currently plans to take the exhibit on the road. On top of that, Queen’s fortieth anniversary celebrations have also set the wheels in motion for a Freddie Mercury biopic.

In keeping with the portrayals of such legends as Jim Morrison, Ritchie Valens, Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, the Freddie biopic, announced in September 2010 with Sacha Baron Cohen as the lead, is intended to show the commanding singer in a new light, and while shooting has yet to begin, reports indicate that the script will focus on the week leading up to Queen’s triumphant appearance at Live Aid.

The future remains bright for Queen, with their music and legacy firmly instilled in the public consciousness, to an almost inescapable degree. Even if Brian and Roger don’t play another note on record or on a stage, their status as a top-selling and successful act is indisputable, and will remain untouched for years. Even twenty years after his death, Freddie is still treated with reverence by fans and musicians (more begrudgingly by critics), and Queen’s discography continues to inspire musicians as diverse as The Darkness, Lady Gaga, Foo Fighters and My Chemical Romance. Queen’s staying power is undeniable, their countless records – physical and rewarded – untouchable, their draw unavoidable. Despite some questionable collaborations after Freddie’s death, their legacy is in safe hands, with Brian and Roger keeping their past alive with an eye rooted on the future.

BOOKS

Blake, Mark:
Is This The Real Life? The Untold Story Of Queen
(Da Capo Press, 2010)

Brooks, Greg,
Queen Live: A Concert Documentary
(Omnibus Press, 1995; revised 2005)

Brooks, Greg, sleeve-notes for
The Freddie Mercury Collection
(EMI, 2000)

Dean, Ken,
Queen: The New Visual Documentary
(Omnibus Press, 1992)

Freestone, Peter with David Evans,
Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir
(Omnibus Press, 1998)

Gunn, Jacky and Jim Jenkins,
Queen: As It Began
(Hyperion, 1992)

Hodkinson, Mark,
The Early Years
(Omnibus Press, 1995; revised 2004)

Hogan, Peter K.,
The Complete Guide To The Music Of Queen
(Omnibus Press, 1994)

Jackson, Laura, Queen and I: The Brian May Story (Smith Gryphon, 1994)

Lewry, Peter and Nigel Goodall,
The Ultimate Queen
(Simon & Schuster, 1998)

Lowe, Jacques,
Queen’s Greatest Pix
(Quartet Books, 1981)

Nester, Daniel,
God Save My Queen: A Tribute
(Soft Skull Press, 2003)

Nester, Daniel,
God Save My Queen II: The Show Must Go On
(Soft Skull Press, 2004)

Power, Martin,
Queen: The Complete Guide To Their Music
(Omnibus Press, 2006)

Rider, Stephen,
These Are The Days Of Our Lives: The Essential Queen Biography
(Castle Communications, 1993)

St Michael, Mick,
Queen: In Their Own Words
(Omnibus Press, 1992)

Sutcliffe, Phil,
The Ultimate Illustrated History Of The Crown Kings Of Rock
(Voyageur Press, 2009)

Over the years, many books have been published about Queen, but few have been able to expand on
As It Began
, written by Jacky Gunn (now Smith) and Jim Jenkins. Because it features an impartial look at Queen’s career, usually downplaying the raunchier or more controversial events, it’s still the place to start since it simply tells the story. Additionally, it doesn’t dwell on Freddie’s sexuality or final days, since it was written mainly in the late 1980s and early 1990s, shortly before the singer’s death.

In 1995, two meticulously researched books were published with contrasting subject matter and offering something new: Mark Hodkinson’s
The Early Years
and Greg Brooks’
Queen Live: A Concert Documentary
. The former was a fascinating tome chronicling the pre-‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ days, from each member’s early bands to Queen’s formative years, with enough information to overwhelm even the most ardent fan. The latter explored a subject that few had attempted before: Queen’s live shows, which were always spectacles to behold. However, the book contained several errors that would be discovered only with the benefit of subsequent research – errors, unfortunately,
not rectified in the book’s 2005 update. Despite fans offering corrections and Brooks’ subsequent experience as Queen’s official archivist, only the concerts performed in 1979 were given a complete overhaul, even though fans such as Martin Skála, Bob Wegner, Erin and Pieter Cargill, and countless others on the internet, devote time and energy to make sure such information is accurate and readily available.

For a firsthand account, Peter ‘Phoebe’ Freestone’s
Freddie Mercury
is a superb read, with many insider stories on just what taking care of the man was like. Inevitably, it becomes sombre toward the end, but most of the time it’s a lighthearted and often amusing book. Daniel Nester’s two books,
God Save My Queen
and
God Save My Queen II
, are endearing, touching and humorous hybrids of prose and memoir, chronicling the American fan’s obsession (and latter-day frustration) with the band, their albums and their absence from US airwaves and stages. A book devoted to Queen’s discography is presently in the works, compiled by Greg Brooks and Brian May; Brian was evidently an avid collector of his own band’s memorabilia, acquiring everything from standard single releases to curios like a replica of the robot from
News Of The World
. Tentatively titled
I Want It All!
, the book has been on and off the scheduled-to-be-released list since 2004, and, much like Gerry Stickells’
Roadworks
(a tell-all book of Queen’s days on the road initially announced for a 1996 publication date, but pushed back and quietly forgotten about), this book seems to have been put on the backburner for now.