Brian May Talking About Freddie Mercury During The Early Days Of Queen ❣️

2024 Neon boot boys support post

He loved you, he loved you and that scared you,

rather than face loving him too, you ran.

Video from where the new Freddie photos originated! You can watch it here. Thank you Moko for sharing it!

Some shots you've already seen around:

A shot of who I think is Dominique? Thank you @eileen-crys for pointing it out!

And the big prize for me... Brian and Chrissie wedding shots. Thank you Sandy for sharing!

Edit (as of 30 ish mins after posting): I took out the last one, I don't think it was Chrissie 🙈

Some parts of the interview with Chris "Crystal" Taylor (done by Roger M. Takahashi, translated from Japanese by deathtoming. And on this link you can read the whole interview):

[...]

RT: After working with them, how would you describe them briefly?

Crystal: The four of them have completely different personalities. Brian is really serious. As for John, he’s really quiet before you get to know him, but once you do, he’s a really fun guy. And Roger, we probably all know what kinds of things he likes. I have the same interests as him so we got along really well. Freddie is really shy, but a fun guy to be with. Most people probably don’t know this, but he has a surprising sense of humour.

RT: Please tell us more about Roger. What’s his personality like, and what kind of person is he?

Crystal: This is a hard question. He was born to be a rock star. First of all, he was the first one to buy a really huge house. A really expensive car, too. It was a black Ferrari 308 GTB. He was also the first to buy a house overseas, and the only one to buy a cruiser motorcycle. Off stage as well, he was acting like a rock star. Of course, he liked “various things” associated with rock stars. Ah, oh yeah, he was a wonderful drummer. Of course as a person, too!

RT: Was it easy working for Roger?

Crystal: Yeah. Like anyone, he can get into a rage quickly. But he goes back to his regular self immediately. I met him through work, but we became really good friends, and often went out to do stuff together. On days off, too.

[...]

RT: Haha. Please tell us any stories that make you laugh when you think about them.

Crystal: There are too many that I can’t answer. It makes me laugh just thinking about all the things we got up to together. We were really like high school students you couldn’t control.

RT: Do you ever listen to Queen songs?

Crystal: No, I don’t. It’s always on the radio.

RT: What are your top three favourite Queen albums?

Crystal: I still think to this day that Side Black of Queen II is amazing. After that, A Night at the Opera, I guess. Third, I’d say New of the World, I think.

RT: In contrast, please tell us if there is any work you don’t like.

Crystal: Dreamer’s Ball! I really hate this one!! This kind of song is inconceivable. And I saw Brian and Roger have a tremendously horrible argument about this song, so I also came to hate this song when it was played live. I’ve also had enough of We Will Rock You!! I probably heard it too much live. Body Language is also terrible. For albums, I hate Hot Space and The Miracle.

[...]

RT: What are the details of the biggest trouble you experienced during a show?

Crystal: The biggest trouble, eh. Not being asleep during the show, I guess! Ah, sorry, just kidding, haha. I always keep a spare bass drum pedal and snare drum nearby. Also, drum heads in all sizes. Roger tears them fairly quickly. The snare stand is always firmly secured to the drum riser, so if the head of the snare tears, you have to remove the snare drum only from the stand and replace it with a new one. Same for the bass drum pedal. We use Ludwig’s Speed King, and it’s a good pedal, but it breaks really frequently. When that happens, I have to slide between the snare and floor tom by Roger’s feet while he’s playing to switch out the pedal. I’m a big guy, so it’s really tough to slide in there. The most it ever happened was when it broke three times! That really was a tough one. When we get a new kit, we always order two bass drums. Roger always asks me why, but I always answer that it’s just in case. The second bass drum is always tuned so that it’s ready to go, and every evening during the show, it’s placed close to me. And, one night during a show in the US, it happened. Every night, I observe all of Roger’s movements in great detail, and here the kick pedal’s beater gets sucked right into the drum head. I immediately said, “Oh shit!” and went over to the middle of the stage with a bass drum. I removed the mics for the bass drum and toms, and removed the screws from the two toms above. I switched out the broken bass drum for the new one, put the two toms and mics back in place, and disappeared off the stage with the broken bass drum. Freddie saw this and announced, “This has never happened before!” The crew cheered and gave me a round of applause, but I paid no attention to it and returned to my spot. Someone was timing it, and I finished the job in 45 seconds. This is an accomplishment I should really be proud of!!

[...]

RT: Roger often changes his kit to match the album or songs he’s playing. Does Roger come up with those ideas? Or do you and Roger work together to assemble the kit?

Crystal: He had an endorsement deal with Ludwig, so it was all free of charge. We discussed what colours we should pick, or how we should do this and that. Of course, in the end Roger had the final say.

[...]

RT: Starting from 1977, the bass drum front head design went from the crest to album covers. Whose idea was that?

Crystal: Roger’s. I offered up some ideas, too, but Roger’s were excellent. We used a company called Cream. Do you remember the first drum head with the Queen crest? That was a silkscreen print. The others were all printed. It’s funny, I remember the name of the woman from the company that worked with us. You can remember it like this: Roger Taylor, Chris Taylor, Margaret Taylor!

[...]

RT: Whose idea was it to have Roger’s face on the drum head? It’s from a 1977 promo shoot; who decided to use that?

Crystal: This was Roger’s idea, too. Roger thought of it when the book he was reading had a cover like that. We both thought, “It’d be cool to use this!” and reached out but the fee to secure the rights was ridiculous. So I picked the most appropriate photo of Roger and made one. So, both Roger and I worked together on that one.

Photo added by deathtoming.

[...]

RT: During Live Aid, you were sitting between David Bowie and Roger, and behind Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Please tell me your memories from this time.

Crystal: Those were good seats! That day, all of the performers were granted the right to go to the seats with the royal family. John and Freddie opted out, saying they didn’t want to sit around all day. A limousine came to pick me up, and then went to pick up Roger and Brian. It was 10:30 am. And at 11:00 am we met some members of the royal family, and received our tickets for reserved seating. Of course I knew the royal family would sit in the royal box, and but I didn’t know where that would be. Then Andy, a friend of mine who worked for promoter Harvey Goldsmith, says to me “I got you amazing seats.” David Bowie, Roger, Brian and I weren’t concerned at all about who might sit in front of us and we were just chatting idly when God Save the Queen plays loudly and Prince Charles and Princess Diana appear in front of us. It’s our national anthem so I stood up and when I looked at the stage, I saw on the huge screen a 30-foot version of me! I thought, the whole world is looking at me. The next day, all of the newspapers had a picture of me in it! Amazing, haha!!

[...]

RT: I’ve been wondering about this a long time, but seeing how Roger is habitually fashionably-dressed, I’m guessing that he has been choosing his own stage outfits since around 1976, but is this correct? Aside from Freddie’s tights, was someone choosing the stage outfits for Rogers and the others?

Crystal: It was completely their tastes, and they were choosing and buying things themselves.

RT: Were there stylists and make-up artists that would go on tour with them?

Crystal: Someone in charge of the wardrobe would always go on tour with them. They took care of things like dry cleaning and ironing. Make up was always self-applied.

[...]

RT: After touring stopped, Roger had more opportunities for solo work. Were you assisting him at those times, too?

Crystal: For Fun in Space, Strange Frontier, and The Cross’s Shove It, yeah. They were all done at the studio I hate, Mountain Studios in Switzerland. For all of them, it was just the three of us: Roger, David Richards, and myself. I was so bored, and skiing was the only thing you could do there. Oh, that and drinking, haha. Roger produced Jimmy Nail, Feargal Sharkey, Mel Smith, and others. We were always a team. It was a good team....

RT: What was the deciding factor when you decided to leave Queen Productions?

Crystal: I knew that Freddie was ill and that they wouldn’t continue touring. I’d also been touring for 20 years, and thought it was the right time. I can’t get into the real reason, but I thought there was nothing left for the Queen members to do. If I ever get a chance to write a book, I’ll tell the whole story.

RT: Were you satisfied with the working conditions of the crew?

Crystal: I was very satisfied! The pay wasn’t bad, and most of all, all of the members treated me well. I never asked for a pay raise, and never thought the workload didn’t match the pay. I was allowed to use the company Range Rover whenever I wanted, and when I had a girlfriend in Los Angeles for 4 years, I could visit her whenever I wanted on days off and Roger would let me use his house and car. When I went to New York, Freddie would let me borrow his place. I was happy to work with them.

RT: When you watched the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, did the inaccuracies with the equipment stand out and bother you?

Crystal: I hate that movie. They went off and formed a band with the Queen name somewhere that wasn’t true, had them play Live Aid, and everything else is full of mistakes. You’re telling me they hadn’t played for two years before Live Aid? They had played five weeks earlier in your country, Japan, right? Before that, there was a tour in Australia. Rami Malek as an Oscar winner, that’s something he doesn’t deserve. I don’t mean to say bad things about Rami, but he completely missed his “true funniness.” [Translation note: the Japanese word used is difficult to translate, so “funniness” can be ridiculousness or strangeness.] The production team depicted him as a sad, miserable, lonely person. The exact opposite of all of this is the real Freddie. The We Will Rock You recording scene where the wives did the foot stomps and handclaps, give me a break with this bad joke. It’s all of the road crew and band that did that. It’s a fond memory of mine. Do you want to know more? Well then, if you do a talk or something through Music Life, I’ll talk about eeeeverything! Nudge nudge, wink wink!

RT: Haha. When I see Roger’s recent drum kit, there is not an ounce of beauty, and it’s very disappointing. Do you feel like giving him advice?

Crystal: Ah, that………. No!

[...]

RT: And, finally, if you have memories from Japan, please share with us.

Crystal: I have lots of memories from Japan! Only wonderful ones. I was completely culture shocked when I went in 1976. It was full of things I had never seen before. The buildings, billboards, and the food. I’d never used chopsticks before and it was my first time with Japanese food. I thought I might die if I didn’t learn how to use them. Every single person I met was really polite. I did a lot of sightseeing in Japan. More than any other country on this planet! The temples and castles took my breath away. Of course, there was the shopping, too. In particular, I got addicted to Walkmans and digital watches. I also bought aaaaall of the lenses and accessories for Nikon cameras! I could master it quickly and painlessly. I’d guess all of the crew spent money until they were broke. They’d buy kimono for their girlfriends. The concerts were wonderful. For Queen, the best fans were Dutch and Japanese, and that fact will never change. On the first Japanese tour, we played twice in one day, with the first show at 2 pm. You want us to rock at this time of day? The next was 6 pm. We were done by 9 pm and headed to Byblos [night club in Tokyo]. That, or Lexington Queen [another night club]. The Japanese road crew was always superb. As soon as they put the equipment in the flight cases, they would load them into the truck! Ahh, I’d better stop here, so I have stuff to say in my book, haha!

RT: When you look back to your brilliant days with Queen, when would you say was the best moment?

Crystal: That would probably be the time I answered the phone the first time. If I hadn’t answered, I wouldn’t have met wonderful friends and crew, and the four wonderful members of the band. It was really a wonderful time.

RT: Please give a message to fans in Japan.

Crystal: Usually, I don’t speak for other people. But this is a very good opportunity, so today I’d like to speak on behalf of Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Brian May and everyone on the road crew. Everyone… that’s right, each and every one of us loved Japan. No matter the tour, everyone happily welcomed us. I love the country of Japan, and above all, all of the people are wonderful as humans, and I loved them. Thank you so much for being kind.

Brian's letter, from the Winter 1991 edition of the Queen Fanclub Magazine.

Here's the text for those who find it difficult to understand the writing.

Wed. 27th Nov 91

3:00 Early morning

Dear folks,

This time I'm putting pen to paper for the 3 of us, John, Roger and myself. We have spent many hours together over the last few weeks and especially the last few days, and I think we feel very closely the same. We couldn't let this special magazine go out without a very special message of thanks to you, our wonderful friends ('fans' has never seemed quite the right word for you guys, (by which I mean ladies and gentlemen) who have been so incredibly understanding and supporting to us over the years). As you know by now, Freddie was fighting the terrible AIDS disease for many years, and for much of the time even we didn't know. For Freddie, his art and his friends were everything. He poured himself with huge vigour into both. He was determined that no hint of frailty should mar his music, or our music, or make life difficult for his friends. By refusing to concede anything to the illness, his amazing strength and courage enabled him to continue at full strength in making albums, videos, etc., even though it cost him more and more in private(?) pain. Life was already almost impossible for him while we were making the Innuendo album (After pacing himself very carefully during 'The Miracle' he hardly expected he would be alive for another.) By the time 'Days Of Our Lives' was being shot on video, he could barely stand. He never in our hearing complained about his lot, and never let despondency creep into his work. His voice seemed to get miraculously better and better. And he died without ever losing control. Freddie never wanted sympathy - he wanted exactly what you, Queen fans, gave him :- belief, support, and the endorsement of that strangely winding road to excellence that we, Queen, have tried to follow. You gave him support in being the outstandingly free spirit that he was, and is.

One final word. Whatever the despicable press may have made out, Freddie had nothing to be ashamed of. He lived life to the full, and was generous to everyone he came close to. His announcement, made by his own will only when he knew his fight was over, will, with our help and yours, be a major factor in persuading the public that AIDS is now EVERYONE'S problem. But Freddie, his music, his dazzling creative energy - those are forever.

Thank you all so much from us:-

Brian, Roger and John.

you know it's always "Brian May Cries while shaking hands with Imaginary Freddie in concert" or "Emotional moment as Freddie joins Brian May for Love of My Life" but WHEN are we going to acknowledge that the single most heartbreaking performance of LoML ever is actually from Brian's Oct93 New Haven show ???

David Coulthard congratulates Mika Hakkinen after the finn won his first championship | Suzuka 1998 |

“It started off so well…” [Brian doesn’t come in with piano] “It didn’t start off so f****** well!”

4463 + Say It by Maggie Rogers