Transcription - The Queen Phenomenon
Starts with usual DoRo "Queen Talks" type of thing over a piano backing.
Montage of live clips.
German language bit (fortunately not much of this in interesting places and
I'll ignore the rest of it)
Another montage of <2 second interview clips in DoRo style.
New song, probably called "Mother Love"
I don't want to sleep with you
I don't need the passion too
I don't want a stormy affair
To make me feel my life is heading somewhere
All I want is comfort and care
Just to know that my woman gives me sweet mother love
Clip of Smile (very grainy) from Albert Hall 1969, with April Lady playing on
the audio track, synched to the pictures reasonably well. Brian (maybe new
interview) talks over some of it about the Albert Hall show - who else was on
the bill, how they got it and the Times review "The loudest group in the
western world unpluged and left the stage"
Old BHM interview about starting out - how do you get to play at the marquee -
if you've released a record; and how do you get to release a record - if you've
played at the marquee.....
Something which a lot of people will think is a video for "My Fairy King" but
which is actually "My Fairy King" played over the "We Are The Champions" video.
This will cause a lot of FAQs :(
Live clips
Brian about the old days. Clips of videos
Rog "As you get older you just change coz you get more experience. You're never
going to be a silly teenager again, though sometimes you feel like one"
Fred talking about growing up and not wearing black fingernails etc.
Brian talking about Live Aid and how it was Freddie's day.
Gerry Stickells talking about Freddie and how the band were perfect for
stadiums, and about how the Knebworth show came about.
Jonathan Ross and Cilla presenting award for top band of the 80s, and Brian's
acceptance speech.
Montage of clips from making videos - long bits of Making of Breakthru,
auditions for The Miracle, chat about Innuendo, Making Of Slightly Mad and
chat about Days Of Our Lives
about innuendo:
Rog "A very English track - Oscar Wilde meets Led Zeppelin"
Director "we decided for a different look for each member of the band. Freddie
was Leonardo da Vinci, Brian was Victorian etchings, John was Picasso and
Roger was Jackson Pollock"
about slightly mad
Rog "the character was a good piece of camouflage at the same time as being
this slightly leerish slightly Noel Coward type of humour in it, and the
sort of wild haired character with the heavy make-up and the black and
white all did help hide the fact that Freddie was in fact pretty ill at
that point"
about Days Of Our LIves
Bri "so with Days Of Our Lives there are lots of things in there which to us
looking at it now are completely about Freddie saying goodbye in a way"
Rog "I would imagine that that was probably going through his mind - this
is a nice line to go out on"
montage of clips of Freddie - news reports of his death and film of his
funeral. (Piano backing is "You Take My Breath Away" piano version, though
whether this was specially comissioned or is an outake is hard to tell)
Feebie (Freddie's PA) "after he died I did all the arrangements for it - the
funeral - because we'd spent so many years making him look presentable
before he left the house, making sure that Freddie's tie was straight,
making sure he looked so good, that it was the last thing I could do for
his last leaving was just to make everything as perfect as I possibly
could"
clips of Freddie
Brian and Roger announcing tribute concert at BPI awards
Clips of rehersals with chat by David Bowie, Slash, Robert Plant, Roger Daltry,
Elton, Seal, George Michael, Axl, Mick Ronson, Ian Hunter, Zuchero, etc.
Interview with administrator of Mercury Phoenix Trust and clip of some of the
trust's work in Africa. It has raised over GBP3.5m for AIDS work.
Clips of convention bits - some from Yarmouth 86, some from Southport 95.
Bit about sports anthems with WATC and WWRY played over some sporting clips.
Rog "When we first went to America it was all big and all new and all exciting,
when we were having a lot of success there I don't think we were under any
illusions because it had taken quite a while to get there and really when
we became less popular in America through the 80's, we hardly noticed
because in fact we were spending most of our time outside America. We've
really ignored America for quite a while, I think the last time we toured
there was 1982"
Head of Capitol talking about how they didn't tour in the USA
Clip of "Under Pressure" on "Saturday Night Live"
Jim Beach "It became a chicken and egg situation where Freddie didn't want to
go back to America until he felt that it would be a successful tour, he
didn't want to go back to work to make it successful and therefore we
absolutely adopted the attitude that until we had a major record there
would be no touring of America. The major record didn't come and therefore
the tours didn't come either. Out of the blue came the Paramount film
Wayne's World with Bo Rhap and the very famous seqence in the car.
Mike Myers talking about how they felt when they saw the new version of the
video and how they were worried that everyone would hate them for "wizzing
on a picasso" and were amazed when they got a letter saying "thanks for
using our song"
Head of Capitol going on about what a generally great bunch of chaps the band
are.
Rog talks about how some songs came out of thin air in the studio and some are
written beforehand.
Brian about how "Mary Potts of Biggleswade" wouldn't notice if a note was a
little bit out and so they try not to be too obsessive. And how they seem to
be able to write together these days.
Rog and John about how there is more teamwork but people still get possessive
about songs they started.
"Mother Love" music in backround while Dave Richards talks about how Roger
and Brian in particular come in with a pretty definite idea including lyric
and chords and the band get together and transform it into a song. And the
other way is a complete jam session, such as Under Pressure.
"Mother Love" again (same bit as at start)
Jim Beach "When Freddie first came here[Montreux] he probably thought it was
the most boring place on earh, but it's funny how gradually over the next
12 years Freddie himself fell in love with Montreux and began to appreciate
the special charm of this place"
"Heaven For Everyone" intro and 1st verse - rearranged vocals, new harmonies
and new backing track
Bri "By the time we were doing these other tracks, after Innuendo, we'd had
the discussion and we knew we were totally on borrowed time because Freddie
had been told he wouldn't even make it to that point. So our plan was just
go in there whenever Freddie felt well enough, we just lived there for a
while so we were always at the end of a phone. Freddie would say 'I can
come in today for a few hours' and what we would do would be just make
the best use we could of him, that's what he asked. He said 'Just get me
to sing anything you can, write me anything and I'll sing it and I'll
give you as much material as I can'"
"Too Much Love Will Kill You" - piano, guitar and orchestral backing. Much
more polished than the Demories version, as though that was the first time
Freddie sang it and this is the proper time. Freddie's voice is very powerful.
Bri "He was faitly lighthearted about it. He said 'yeah, I'll do anything I
can, just write me more words, more words' And so we did. And a few of
those things you will hear. And of course you never knew what was going
to be the last bit. You never knew - you just did another bit and another
bit. We had some great times, we really did"
New song, called "A Winter's Tale" - style is very much like a musical
Dreaming
The nights draw in
There's a silky moon up in the sky
??????? (can't hear this line - the german continuity guy is yakking)
Grown up and standing by (maybe - more yakking)
But I should be feeling
Am I dreaming
Am I dreaming
So quiet and peaceful
Tranquil and blissful
There's a kind of magic in the air
What a truly magnificent view
A breathtaking scene
Dreams of the world in the palm of your hand (this line is all harmonies)
Freddie's last interview (obviously very heavily edited and not really an
interview at all)
"You're the last person I'm talking to, so you'll probably get the best
interview darling. I don't want to change the world. For me, happiness
is the most important thing and if I'm happy then it shows in my work.
In the end, all the mistakes and all the excuses are down to me. I like
to feel that I'm just being my honest self and as far as I'm concerned
I just want to pack in as much of life and fun, having a good time as
much as I can within in the years I have. Well there you are, you
have it on tape. Use it. Well that's then nearest I've come to a lot of
passion in terms of interviews. How much more have you got? Come on I'm
getting bored"
Exit to "Heaven For Everyone" intro and first verse, with album cover on
screen.