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Many of you have inquired as to when my story of life
with Queen will be published. This is the current situation:
My literary agent has shown the manuscript to major international
publishers and the response is good, but because it is not a tabloid
style sleazy reveal-all book, some aren't interested, and also because
it is not purely about Queen themselves. Unfortunately most publishers
seem to want the easy solution and formula. |
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What my book is, is a unique account of all those many years as
a young man I spent on the road, in the studio and at home with
one of the world's biggest bands. I make observations and comments
about all the fantastic places we visited and played and what it
was like - really like, to live that at times, crazy life. I openly
talk about the highs and lows of my close relationship with Freddie
and the different, more social bond I had with John, along with
doing a professional and often difficult job.
Some of it is maybe not what you are expecting to hear but it is
an honest account, which is very entertaining, compelling and above
all humorous. Naturally it has lots of 'inside' information, and
I may criticise Queen and their decisions at times but it never
diminishes what a phenomenal talent they were and what they achieved.
Integrity remains intact.
My agent and I have absolute confidence in the book and will be
patient and wait for the right publisher. We won't bow to the easy
option and 'sell - out'.
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I will keep you updated and I don’t think you will be disappointed.
The book will hopefully be later supplemented by a
picture book, which will contain hundreds of unique images and information
such as the ones shown here on my site.
I'm sure many of you have heard the story that Freddie
wrote Crazy Little Thing Called Love
in the bath. There have been various 'versions' of this tale by
people who claim to know the story or to have been there at the
time....like many other Queen stories/myths, most of which are untrue
or exaggerated for effect by people who would have liked to have
been there.
Here is the real Crazy story - I was there! This is just
one small extract from my book, please read on and enjoy........
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During the summer of
1979 Queen were finishing a ‘Year Out’ to avoid the wicked
tax man of the Labour government by doing some recording of new ideas
in Munich. During the sessions I briefly went back to London to clear
through customs the balance of the gear that had arrived back by sea
from Japan. Having done my professional duties and picked up the various
items and paperwork from our office to personally courier back over
to the studio I was keen to return - then I received a phone call.
“Ratty?” the chirpy office voice sounded a bit too friendly.
“Yes......”
“There’s something else for you to take back to Munich”
“What a surprise - what is it? - is it heavy? and will I have
to get it through customs?”
“It’s Freddie” |
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Fred, who was also in London for
a few days had nobody to accompany him back to Munich. Would I mind?
Fred never travelled alone, there was always somebody with him and
always somebody in the next hotel room. Somebody to talk to. Well,
a first class seat on British Airways was not too shabby, so I agreed.
A problem then arose that due to an industrial strike at Heathrow,
flights were severely delayed. There was an anxious air to this as
Fred had used his allotted ‘days’ in the UK and needed to
leave our shores rather imminently. I hung around Heathrow’s
Terminal One until I got some positive news from BA; Fred was phoned
and sped down the M4 from Kensington to join me. It was a sunny summer’s
day in both London and Munich and several glasses of in flight bubbly
were well received. |
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At Munich airport we were met by
Peter, a local German, who was currently driving Fred in a hired Mercedes
and we cruised with a smile on our faces into the east of the city
and our Hilton home. Fred was re -installed in his grand suite and
wanted to take a bath before going to the studio. I called Musicland
Studios and gave the rest of Queen the announcement that ‘his
self’ was back and would shortly be arriving. Fred was humming
and tapping in the bath and shouting out the names of chords : “D
- yes and C and G - Ratty quick - come here!”
“Uhh - you want me to come into your bathroom Fred........? I’m
not sure about this”
“No, no! - get me a guitar! now!”
He emerged from the bathroom wrapped in towels, still dripping, and
scurried into the living room of the suite where I gave him the battered
acoustic that had been put there for these creative emergencies. Despite
the guitar being out of tune, Fred strummed away for a short time
with his fingers - he never used a pick or plectrum, even on stage.
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Seizing the urgency of the moment
Fred insisted we made a dash to Musicland where a halt was firmly
called to whatever work was in progress. He summoned Brian, John and
Roger into the studio room and enthused about this new idea, which
they started to work on and record immediately. The song was: Crazy
Little Thing Called Love, one of Queen’s most successful world-wide
singles.
That’s how hit records are written. |
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It was a privilege to have been
there with him then and on many other occasions when he was creating,
but no matter how long I knew Fred; got to be accepted, trusted and
cared for by him, you could rarely totally relax around him. Over
a period of almost twenty years we enjoyed many great social times
together but there was always an edge to it. Simply, Fred had an aura.
It was always there, whether he was on stage in front of 130,000 people
or picking his teeth at the breakfast table and moaning about his
hangover. When he walked into a room - any room, you knew you were
now in the presence of somebody special. Somebody unique. Magical.
Despite being in the constant company of Queen, I was not immune to
being impressed, and have met and known many famous rock stars and
celebrities but I can’t say that any held the presence that Fred
radiated. And he was actually quite a private person. |
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Another Queen ‘myth’ is the yarn about when
Fred met Sid Vicious. Here’s the real one - from somebody who
was there........... |
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Wessex studios, a converted
church in Highbury, north London, is where in autumn 1976 during recording
of A Day At The Races, Queen first witnessed Punk. The Sex Pistols,
freshly signed by E.M.I, were also booked into Wessex and doing some
early sessions (Probably Anarchy In The UK?) when nobody really knew
who they were. Soon the world knew about the Sex Pistols, when E.M.I
replaced them for Queen (who couldn’t make it...?) on The Today
TV Programme and their infamous interview with Bill Grundy was to
become a seminal moment in The Pistols’ short but explosive career.
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I first spotted Johnny
Rotten, sat upstairs in the lounge area of Wessex, on the brown corduroy
seating unit that were fashionable in the seventies. He was wearing
a lime green, mohair jumper and ripped jeans; safety pins were inserted
in any available space and his hair was dyed a red ‘hamster’
colour, spiked and lacquered. Despite all this he seemed a quiet,
pleasant sort of bloke who was relaxing and watching the telly - what
was all the fuss about?
He didn’t even mind when I asked to change the channel. There
was no F*!^ off or surly snarl - just an indifferent shrug. As roadies
we were scruffy - the Pistols were statement scruffy, a form of polito-scruff.
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The following year Queen were back at Wessex
recording News Of The World, and so were The Sex Pistols, compiling
their ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ long playing record. The
Pistols now had a new bass player (?) to replace Glenn Matlock,
and one afternoon when Queen were working in the control room, that
new bass guitarist, Sid Vicious, stumbled in through the door, very
worse for wear, and addressed Fred: “Have you succeeded in
bringing ballet to the masses yet?” (a reference to a quote
Fred had made in the music press when he started wearing leotards
on stage)
Fred casually stood up, walked over to him and quipped: “Aren’t
you Stanley Ferocious or something?” took him by the collar
and threw him out.
So much for mean edge of punk.
Mr Mercury did not care for this new, limited chord, musical movement
- and even less for it’s wardrobe......
During this period We Will Rock You was recorded
at Wessex, and the “boom boom cha’s” at the start
of the song were achieved using all the available pairs of feet
present at the time to stomp on some wooden platforms, the attached
hands clapping the off beat in the cavernous room. The result was
soaked in echo, multi tracked and given some studio magic by the
late Mike Stone (great bloke) to give an introduction that has become
an anthem throughout the rock and sporting world.
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© Peter Hince, 2007
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