Jump to content

Queen Appreciation


johnlennon696

Recommended Posts

  • 1 month later...
  • 6 months later...

Yeah, a Queen thread! :-)

Did not expected one here to be honest.

I kinda grew up with Queen (aside from Led Zep), because my Dad is a HUGE Queen-Fan (he even has an own room for all his Queen and other music stuff, it's great! :-)). So I get to listen to their songs since I was little and for me it's still one of my favourite bands of all time.

I really like their early stuff, such as Queen I & II, but also 'a kind of magic' and what they did for the movies Highlander and Flash Gordon. At least Made in Heaven really touches me every time, because it is so full of emotions and breaks my heart to think about Freddie had to past so early...

Really would have loved to see them live with Freddie! I saw Roger and Brian together with Paul Rodgers touring as Queen - it was a nice show but it wasn't really Queen in my opinion. There was 1/2 missing!

Did anyone else saw them with Rodgers? What did you think about it?

Edit: I am sorry for bad english :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

There are quite a few Queen threads around here, but I figured that this interesting article about an actual scientific study of Freddie's vocal techniques, would fit into this thread! :peace: 

Scientists break down Freddie Mercury's vocal skills

News / 4 hours ago / by Christina O'Neill

Study shows late Queen frontman employed distortion and growling techniques pioneered by Mongolian throat singers

Researchers have investigated the secrets behind Freddie Mercury's singing voice and revealed why it was one of the most distinctive and unparalleled in rock history.

A group of Austrian, Czech and Swedish researchers conducted a study to analyse the late Queen frontman's voice.

While they couldn't substantiate claims that Mercury had a four-octave vocal range, they discovered some interesting findings about the voice once described as “a force of nature with the velocity of a hurricane.”

Through examining archive recordings, and filming the larynx of a rock singer imitating Mercury's singing with a high-speed camera running at over 4000 frames per second, the researchers found a physical phenomenon called 'subharmonics'. This is an intentional voicebox distortion using both vocal folds and ventricular folds to produce an extreme 'growling' sound which is traditionally used by Tuvan throat singers in Mongolia.

They also concluded that Mercury was likely a baritone, despite being known as a tenor, and found that his vocal chords moved faster than other people's at 7.04 Hz, compared with the typical vibrato rate of between 5.4 Hz and 6.9 Hz.

Dr Christian Herbst, from the University of Vienna, wrote in the journal Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology: "The occurrence of subharmonics aids in creating the impression of a sound production system driven to its limits, even while used with great finesse.

"These traits, in combination with the fast and irregular vibrato, might have helped create Freddie Mercury's eccentric and flamboyant stage persona."

Source: http://teamrock.com/news/2016-04-19/scientists-break-down-freddie-mercury-s-vocal-skills

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Wow! What an honour....just days before his 70th birthday! :D 

Here's where he was just a poor boy, from a poor family: Queen bandmate Brian May unveils blue plaque at Freddie Mercury's childhood home 

The childhood home of Freddie Mercury, Queen's flamboyant frontman, was honoured with a blue plaque

Mercury spent his teenage years living in the Feltham home with his parents, who fled from Zanzibar

Bandmate Brian May honoured the singer with a touching speech about his lasting legacy on music 

'It's a happy occasion with a tinge of sadness because he should be here - he should still be here creating'

Queen guitarist Brian May said it was a sad occasion when he unveiled an English Heritage blue plaque at the childhood home of his former bandmate, legendary frontman Freddie Mercury.

 

Mercury died in 1991, but May said he could feel his presence when he revealed the memorial at the terraced house in Feltham, west London.

 

Mercury was living at 22 Gladstone Avenue with his parents when he met May - who also grew up in Feltham - and Roger Taylor, his future bandmates.

 

May said: 'The last thing we would have thought is that I would be here at this point, commemorating him with a blue plaque.'

 

'It's a happy occasion with a tinge of sadness because he should be here - he should still be here creating.'

Mercury's parents, Jer and Bomi Bulsara, bought the Feltham house in 1964 when Mercury was a teenager. 

 

May continued: 'As boys we conquered the world in a way that was beyond our wildest dreams, which is why we are here today.

 

'What I remember of Freddie is hard to sum up. He was a shy boy and embarrassed of still living with his mum, so he often slept on people's floors to feel like he had broken away.

 

Queen guitarist Brian May unveiled a British Heritage blue plaque at 22 Gladstone Avenue in Feltham, West London to honour Freddie Mercury

 

Karen Bradley,  Kashmira Cooke, Brian May, an unnamed guest and Peter Bazalgette convened at the unveiling

 

'He had an extraordinary capacity to energise people and make them feel excited. We knew he was something very special, he made people feel like they could do it too.'

Mercury joins a venerated club: his idol Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart have all been honoured with the famed blue plaque. 

 

May spoke to a crowd of family and friends, who celebrated Mercury's short life - he died at 45 due to AIDS-related complications

 

 

 

Brian May poses with Kashmira Cooke, Mercury's sister

 

 

'It's emotional, but I'm so happy. Our parents would never have imagined this would be a blue plaque house when they bought it' said Cooke

 

 

 

The Guardian reports that neighbours remember Mercury as an 'occasionally noisy' boy who turned heads with his 'homemade, hand-embroidered velvet flared trousers.'

 

On summer nights, Mercury would practice guitar in the garden or in his room with the windows open.

He had a number of jobs in Feltham and greater London: he worked in catering at Heathrow Airport, on the Feltham trading estate and at a warehouse doing manual labour.

 

Mercury wanted to go to art school, and worked hard to achieve his Art A-level. After biding his time at Isleworth Polytechnic, he got his marks and began studying graphic illustrating at Ealing College.

 

He left Feltham to live with his friend Chris Smith in Kensington - which was, at the time, the ultimate place to be for artists. 

 

May told the Press Association: 'I can see his little wicked smile. He always had this feeling he was a legend, we would joke about it, but it happened. He was thinking of leaving something great to the world.' He added: 'Freddie is so much a part of our lives now, both privately and publicly, he's very much part of the Queen show, Freddie is there every night always, he's a part of what we built.'

 

 

Mercury was only 45 when he died from bronchial pneumonia, a complication from his battle with AIDS.  

 

 

Mercury's sister Kashmira Cooke and culture secretary Karen Bradley joined May for the ceremony. Afterwards Cooke said: 'It's emotional, but I'm so happy. Our parents would never have imagined this would be a blue plaque house when they bought it. 'I miss him but I have this feeling he's watching over me. Just when I'm not aware, something happens: he speaks through the radio, through music, at the most uncanny times.'

 

Bradley said she had fond memories of Queen music playing on the jukebox in her family's pub growing up, and watching the band perform was her earliest recollection of Top of the Pops.

She told the crowd: 'To suggest that Freddie and Queen are not timeless and not worthy of this sort of honour is utterly bizarre. He is one of the most worthwhile recipients I can think of.' 



Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3769753/Queen-bandmate-Brian-unveils-blue-plaque-Freddie-Mercury-s-childhood-home.html

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Freddie Mercury's modest London home gets blue plaque

Neighbours in suburb of Feltham remember noisy neighbour who became flamboyant Queen star

 

4644.jpg?w=700&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&f

 

The present occupier of Freddie Mercury’s bedroom in the London suburb of Feltham, nine-year-old Daria Mihailuka, was playing it cool amid the hordes of media camped on her narrow street of brick and pebble-dash terraced houses. “I’m not like his greatest fan,” she said of the late Queen singer. “I’m more into modern music – I like Justin Bieber.”

But Daria said Mercury’s trajectory, from the springboard of the small suburban bedroom to one of the biggest pop stars in the world, was an inspiration. “I want to be a singer-actor-dancer, and I am a good achiever – my vocal skills can get better – and he shows me that you can start out just right here and become a huge star.”

3600.jpg?w=700&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&f

 

The house’s owner, family friend Ray Edwards, shook his head in amazement at the coterie assembled on his small front garden: Mercury’s sister Kashmira Cooke; the new culture secretary, Karen Bradley; former arts council chair and English Heritage blue plaque panel member Sir Peter Bazalgette; and, towering over them and the garden wall lined with cameras, Queen guitarist Brian May and his silver mop of curls.

Fortunately Edwards is a serious fan. When Bohemian Rhapsody is blasting out too loud, Daria shouts down from her room: “Turn it down Ray!” He thought the estate agent was winding him up when he was told the Bulsara family – Freddie’s birth name was Farrokh Bulsara – had previously owned the house.

Although a paradise for plane spotters due to its proximity to Heathrow, even Feltham’s most loyal residents would hardly describe the west London suburb – where Mercury once had a holiday job washing dishes – as glamorous. On Thursday however, there was nearly as much excitement on Gladstone Avenue as when Mercury used to arrive in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce to visit his mother.

 

Mercury, the embodiment of flamboyance and effervescence, died in 1991 of an Aids-related lung condition, aged 45. Outside the Feltham home, Mercury’s immaculately dressed cousin Pouras Dastur remembered the neighbourhood’s reaction to the teenaged Mercury’s homemade, hand-embroidered velvet flared trousers: “Heads turned.” His sister remembers competing for the only bathroom with a brother whose hair was high maintenance even then.

Many neighbours well remember the family, and their occasionally noisy son. Carole and Derick Burgess bought their house in 1964, a month before the Bulsaras – still family friends – moved in two doors up, fleeing the revolution that had gripped their home island of Zanzibar. 

On summer evenings they remember Mercury practising guitar in the back garden, or in his room with the windows wide open. Burgess is more of a modern jazz man, and remembers snapping to his wife: “Does he only know one chord? When is that boy going to learn to play that guitar?”.

 

May also remembers the small back bedroom. He was another local boy, at one point living only a few hundred yards away, when he was introduced to the Ealing Tech art student through the singer of his first band, Smile. Mercury insisted they listen to a Jimi Hendrix track on his Dansette record player – the posh model with the autochanger. “Yeah, Jimi Hendrix, great,” May said, but Mercury forced them to listen to it again and again, bouncing around the place in excitement, analysing the sound and the production technique bar by bar. “That’s what we’re going to do. We’re gonna be a group,” Mercury assured him. “I was thinking, well … can you even sing?” May recalled. As it turned out he could, with one of the most spectacular vocal ranges in pop music. “I won’t be a rock star, I will be a legend,” May remembered him saying. And that turned out to be true too.

 

Bazalgette, as a member of the blue plaques panel, pushed hard for the honour for the modest house and the immodest man, but he was pushing an open door: many of the others agreed that Queen’s music was “the soundtrack of our lives”.

The culture secretary nodded in agreement: the first number Bradley can remember watching on Top of the Pops was Bohemian Rhapsody, and the jukebox in her parents’ pub, the appropriately named Queen’s Head in Buxton, took more money from it than from all the other records together.

 

“This is a very happy occasion,” May said, “with a tinge of sadness – because he should be here.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/01/freddie-mercury-feltham-london-home-blue-plaque

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Ddladner said:

^^^ "I won't be a rock star, I will be a legend."

Indeed! :) 

Thanks for posting, Kiwi.

You're very welcome, Dd! I was so excited when I heard the news! What an honour for Freddie! :D 

Since Freddie's 70th birthday is tomorrow, my home will be filled with his music to mark the occasion! B) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 said:

You're very welcome, Dd! I was so excited when I heard the news! What an honour for Freddie! :D 

Since Freddie's 70th birthday is tomorrow, my home will be filled with his music to mark the occasion! B) 

Well, happy birthday to the great Freddie Mercury!  Sounds like a great plan, Kiwi, and I will listen to a few in his honor as well! :friends: 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Ddladner said:

Well, happy birthday to the great Freddie Mercury!  Sounds like a great plan, Kiwi, and I will listen to a few in his honor as well! :friends: 

Thanks, Debbie! :friends: It's been a blast so far! :D Hope you have fun too, listening to Freddie! 

By the way, I just found out that an asteroid has been named after Freddie! How incredible is that, huh? B) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A shooting star leaping through the sky: asteroid named after Freddie Mercury on '70th birthday'

 

 

Freddie Mercury on stage

 

5 SEPTEMBER 2016 • 12:01AM

An asteroid has been named after Freddie Mercury to mark what would have been the singer’s 70th birthday.

The Queen frontman who sang of ‘leaping through the sky’ like a shooting star in the hit Don’t Stop Me Now will have his name attached to Asteroid17473, which was discovered in 1991, the year of his death.

The honour was granted by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre, which has previously named asteroids after The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen.

The asteroid cannot be seen from Earth

 

Brian May , the Queen guitarist and astrophysicist announced the honour during a party in Switzerland to remember the singer last night.

“I’m happy to be able to announce that the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center has today designated Asteroid 17473, discovered 1991, in Freddie’s name, timed to honour his 70th birthday,” said May.

“Henceforth this object will be known as Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury.  This announcement is to recognise Freddie’s outstanding influence in the world.

“It’s a dark object – rather like a cinder in space.  Viewed from the Earth it is more than 10,000 times fainter than you can see by eye, so you need a fair-sized telescope to see it and that’s why it wasn’t discovered until 1991.”

A graphic showing the position of asteroid Freddie Mercury 

 

The space rock sits in the main Asteroid Belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and is about two miles across.

The International Astronomical Union said that Mercury was given the honour because of his ‘distinctive sound and large vocal range were hallmarks of his performance style and he is regarded as one of the greatest rock singers of all time.’

Joel Parker of the Southwest Research Institute, who worked on the European Space Agency’s Rosetta Mission, and applied for the honour said: “ The name approved by the IAU is the formal and official name forever to be associated with this asteroid; so, any scientific papers in the future that study this asteroid will refer to it as ‘17473 Freddiemercury’

“Even if you can't see Freddiemercury leaping through the sky, you can be sure he's there.”

Mercury with bandmates including Brain May, far right, in 1976 

 

Mercury's birth name was Farrokh Bulsara but he legally changed his name to Freddie Mercury around 1970, when Queen was formed.

He was voted number 59 in the BBC's poll of the 100 greatest Britons, but was born in Zanzibar. Mercury died in November 1991, just two days after publically  confirming that he had AIDS.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/09/04/a-shooting-star-leaping-through-the-sky-asteroid-named-after-fre/
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 said:

Thanks, Debbie! :friends: It's been a blast so far! :D Hope you have fun too, listening to Freddie! 

By the way, I just found out that an asteroid has been named after Freddie! How incredible is that, huh? B) 

Yes, that is super cool!  And who better to announce the honor than guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May!!   

:thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All you Queen fans either living in or visiting London, listen up!! 

A Kind of Magic

A Celebration of Freddie Mercury’s 70th Birthday

6th September – 5th November 2016

To mark Freddie Mercury’s 70th birthday, Richard Young Gallery is proud to present A Kind of Magic, an exhibition of iconic photographs documenting sparkling moments in the life of the legendary musician. Shot through the lens of photographer Richard Young, a close friend, this collection of photographs celebrates the unforgettable musical legend, combining both rock and roll concert images and intimate real-life shots.

Richard Young first met Freddie Mercury properly on New Years Eve in 1978 at a small club in Jermyn Street called Maunkberry. With camera in hand, no expectations and a few hours to kill, this turned out to be one of the best nights of Young’s photographic career:

“First in the door Keith Richards, Ron and Jo Wood, followed by Roger Taylor, Freddie Mercury, Rod Stewart and Britt Ekland. Although I had shot Freddie at various parties around town, this was the evening that cemented our relationship thanks to Queen’s International Publicist, Roxie Mead.”

Roxie recalls, “The sooner I persuaded the band and their manager to trust Richard the sooner the benefits would be visible across the press. Predictably, the likes of Queen and all artists of that calibre are not quick to bestow trust, but Richard with his irrepressible sunny nature was admitted to the inner circle to record behind-the-scene moments.”

These moments are featured in A Kind of Magic where the insider’s view of Freddie Mercury’s glamorous world will be on display, including extravagant private and public birthday parties; backstage and onstage shots of international concerts from Ibiza, to Budapest, Rio and Barcelona; and music video shoots. Young’s favourite memory was Mercury’s 39th birthday:

“The parties were always wild, full of laughter and unique. When you were in Freddie’s inner circle you would always be given a nickname, mine was Muriel Young. This was after the TV presenter from the 50’s, and Freddie would always say, “Come on Muriel!” I loved it. I felt I was part of his family.”

There were also many times Freddie Mercury invited Young to capture intimate portraits. In October 2013, Young’s candid photograph of Mercury at home was inducted into the National Portrait Gallery. Roxie Mead comments, “In those latter years wherever, whenever, Richard was invariably there and his photographs are a remarkable testament of this remarkable man.”

Richard Young’s archive contains an impressive number of images of Freddie Mercury that have only recently been uncovered, and this landmark birthday commemoration is a significant time to exhibit them. “This year Freddie would have been 70, I am a year younger and we are both Virgos. I have the most wonderful memories from my time with Freddie. It was a unique part of rock and roll history, and I feel so honoured that I was able to capture so many wonderful, fun and also poignant times of him over a thirteen-year period. He left us far too early.”

For further information, images or to request an interview, please contact Susan Young at Richard Young Gallery. For press enquiries, please contact Sarah Henderson, sarah@murraychalmers.com

Richard Young Gallery

4 Holland Street, London W8 4LT

Tel: 0207 937 8911

gallery@richardyoungonline.com

www.richardyounggallery.co.uk

Source: http://www.richardyounggallery.co.uk/2016/08/02/a-kind-of-magic/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

QUEEN AND GOOGLE PLAY COLLABORATE ON “THE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY EXPERIENCE”, A MUSICAL VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIMENT

 

 

 

Google Play and British rock legends Queen have teamed up to create The Bohemian Rhapsody Experience, a virtual reality experiment powered by groundbreaking immersive audio and interactive technologies that aim to push the boundaries of creative expression and evolve the way we experience entertainment. Soundtracked by a remixed 3D spatialized version of the quartet’s iconic hit “Bohemian Rhapsody” that reacts sonically to the user’s movements, the app gives users the opportunity to travel through an interactive visual narrative developed by VR pioneers Enosis VR along with a team of world-class animators and designers.

Through the new medium of VR, contemporary animation techniques, and aesthetics that draw inspiration from the iconography and symbolism of Queen’s music and artwork, The Bohemian Rhapsody Experience offers a journey through frontman Freddie Mercury’s subconscious mind and recreates the sensation of being onstage with the band, with visual and audio elements that respond to the user’s movements. The band worked closely with the creative team, offering them a bevy of archival content to help bring Queen's world to life, yielding a unique, new way to enjoy “Bohemian Rhapsody” while reintroducing the song to a new generation. The song’s highly distinctive and dramatic structure informed the app’s narrative world and the environments and tone portrayed within, creating an experience that feels like stepping inside the music.

“This fabulous Google clip is a new ground-breaker – perhaps the first great work of art in stereoscopic VR animation. It's compatible with all VR smartphone-based systems, including my own London Stereoscopic Company OWL VR kit. A new kind of 3-D experience!” said Queen’s Dr. Brian May.

“We hope this virtual reality experiment will give fans a new way to experience this iconic track while also representing the boundless possibilities for artists and creators to collaborate with Google Play,” said Gareth Hornberger, Brand Manager on Google Play.

The Bohemian Rhapsody Experience is available as a standalone Google Cardboard app on Android today and will be coming to iOS devices very soon. It also includes a 360 viewing mode for users to utilize the content even if they do not own a VR viewer.

More information @ https://bo-rhap-vr.withgoogle.com

For more information on Brian's London Stereoscopic Company OWL VR kit go to www.londonstereo.com/vr-kit.html

www.queenonline.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

It is no secret that Freddie was very close to his mom.

Jer Bulsara sadly passed away on the 13th of November, this year. Such a coincidence that we Queen fans will be remembering her wonderfully talented son, on his 25th death anniversary this year, just 11 days after his mother passed on!

Here is a touching tribute (laced with love and hilarity) that Brian May wrote on his website:

*All credits and copyright go to BrianMay.com :peace: 

FREDDIE'S MUM

Well, now the news is out there, I thought I should share a few words. Freddie’s Mum, Jer Bulsara, passed away a few days ago [13/11/16], very quietly and peacefully in her sleep. She was 94. It’s the wish of the family that the funeral and subsequent arrangements remain private.

Jer was a warm and devoted Mum to Freddie, and, like Freddie, always had a strong twinkle in the eye. Although she was also devoted to her husband Bomi, and lived in the Zoroastrian faith as a good Parsee, she had an independent spirit and a strong sense of humour. Of course I knew her for over 50 years, and when I first used to go around to Freddie’s parents’ house in Feltham, only a few yards from where I lived, in our student days, Jer was a busy Mum, full of life and optimism. And even then, fiercely proud of her children, Freddie and Kashmira. It’s probably true to say that Freddie’s father, strongly committed to the Parsee faith, didn’t find it easy that Freddie took the path he did, as a Rock musician, and a fairly irreverent one, at that. Nevertheless the support was always there. But Jer was always a keen follower of our progress as a band, and always came to see us when we played nearby, always with huge enthusiasm. Freddie was very close to his Mum, and, I think, took a mischievous pleasure in trying to shock her.

Roger and I remember one night before a show in London (Wembley Arena, I think) when Freddie announced .. “Mother’s in the audience tonight. Better throw in a few extra ‘f—ks !” There was never any sign that she was shocked. After Freddie’s passing, Jer stayed close to us - To Roger, Jim and myself. We always consulted her in our work that continued after we lost Freddie - the Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, the Made in Heaven album, which encapsulated Freddie’s last gifts of vocals and was a two-year labour of love for us, the single No-one But You, our tribute to Freddie, which I wrote at the inauguration of the Freddie statue in Montreux, an occasion we shared with Jer. We talked to her about the remastering of tracks, the appearance we made at the Bejart Ballet with Elton singing, which was also John’s last live appearance with us, and later the work with did with Paul Rodgers, and latterly with Adam Lambert. She was with us all the way. She loved the fact that Freddie’s spirit lived on so strongly in the work we were doing, and that Freddie was always a physical part of our live shows.

In private moments with us, away from the glare of the spotlights, in latter years Jer was always ready with a cup of tea when we visited, and we were always able to speak about ‘My Freddie' without shyness, feeling that he was not far away.

This is a very hard time for Kash, of course, and we all hope she will be able to move through this quietly and find her peace.

Much love and respects.

RIP JER.

Bri XXX

Jer Bulsara at Freddie's 65th birthday

 

Source: http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssbnov16a.html#07

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

My sympathies to the Bulsara family.  94 years old!  She had a great run.  I hope someone took the time to interview her about her own life and experiences.  Just think of all the major world events Mrs. Bulsara witnessed:   World War II, the Partition of India, the independence movements in East Africa where the family lived before moving to the UK.  The changing role of women both in the UK and within her own Parsi community. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...