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Taken from Vegna News (August 19, 2021)
John Deacon turns 70: bassist and Queen's greatest hits creator
by Edison F. Waters
John Deacon (Queen). Courtesy Image |
John Deacon, el quiet but essential bassist of Queen from his authorial contribution in unforgettable hits of the band, he turns 70 years old this August 19, totally removed from public life practically since the dissolution of the historical formation, in 1991, after the death of Freddie Mercury.
Despite his low profile, John Deacon was essential in the walk of the legendary group, not only because of the solid rhythmic base formed with the drummer Roger Taylor, but by creating hits like Another One Bites the Dust, ANDou're My Best Friend, I Want to Break Free, Spread Your Wings and the ballad Friends Will Be Friends, the latter in collaboration with Mercury, among others.
He was also the author of the famous bass intro to the theme. Under Pressure and excelled in performances where he showed his quality as an instrumentalist in Crazy Little Thing Called Love, A Kind of Magic and Dragon's Attack, to name just a few songs.
In this way, the bassist positioned himself as the musician who gave Queen a pop pulse, in balance with the rockier touch of Taylor and guitarist Brian May, and the operatic and vaudeville profile of Mercury.
He left but he let them go
Outside the group, the musician was the only one who hardly ventured into solo adventures and, beyond some sporadic appearance, refused to move on after Mercury's death, although he gave the go-ahead for May and Taylor to continue to keep their legacy alive.
John Deacon and Brian May, live at Wembley Stadium on July 11, 1986. Photo: Tony Mottram / NurPhoto / AFP |
"When Freddie died we lost John too", the other two members of the group commented with total certainty on some occasion.
Born in Leicester on August 19, 1951, John Deacon studied guitar as a boy but became a bass player when he was part of a youth band, faced with the need to fill that role.
After some unsuccessful experiences, he met his future Queen companions in 1971, who invited him to audition to fill the bassist position that was vacant.
Queen in Argentina, with Diego Maradona. He is surrounded by Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. |
From then until 1991, the musician dedicated himself exclusively to the group, in a work that, in addition to the musical, extended to the technical, due to your training as an electrical engineer, which allowed him to create some special amps for basses and guitars.
An ace for numbers
As Billy Bond, responsible for Queen's tour of South America in the summer of 1981, told Telam, when he was consulted for the 40 years since that milestone, Deacon was the member who dealt with finances almost personally from the band.
The cover of 'The Game', Queen's eighth album. Deacon, center, left of Freddie Mercury. |
"Brian and Roger were the bosses of the group who were in everything and John was the administrator," recalled the legendary creator of La Pesada del Rock and Roll.
As the only member who never provided lead vocals for any Queen song, Deacon barely recorded a single in 1986 titled No Turning Back, in an ephemeral formation which he baptized The Immortals, which became his only musical project outside the popular group.
Throughout his artistic career, unlike Mercury and Taylor, the bassist stayed away from excesses and cultivated a profile of a father of the family that, added to its appearance, was located in the antipodes of the common prototype of rock stars.
He was hardly part of a controversy when in the late '80s he confronted rapper Vanilla Ice over the undoubted similarity between the bass introduction of Under Pressure and Ice Ice Baby.
After the death of Mercury, the bassist moved away from public life and had some episodic interventions, such as his participation in the famous tribute concert of 1992 at Wembley Stadium or the production of the posthumous album Made in Heaven, 1995.
In recent years, you could hardly see a few photos of him taken by paparazzi while he was walking through the streets of his neighborhood. No unsuspecting person would bet a penny that this man was part of one of the most famous rock bands in history. Although he probably wouldn't have done it if he ran into it under a stage when he was part of Queen.
Queen, live. John Deacon, Freddie Mercury and, with his back turned, Brian May. Photo Jean-Claude Coutasse / AFP |
Source: Telam / Hernani Natale
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