26John Deacon
Queen guitarist Brian May jokingly asked the band bassist, John Deacon, to learn the double bass for the recording of his folk song '39. Just a couple days later, he found Deacon in the studio with the instrument, having already learned to play it.
27. After the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was announced in 1992, all 72,000 tickets sold out in 3 hours, even though no performers were announced besides the remaining members of Queen.
28. Queen (the band) is the only group that has had all of its members compose multiple #1 hits, so in addition to the band being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, all four members have been individually inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
29. 'Queen’s Brian May uses a sixpence British coin instead of a guitar pick and occasionally uses its serrated edge against the strings for certain sounds.'
30. In May 1991, Freddie Mercury started recording vocals for "Mother Love", but upon reaching the last verse, he told his band that he had to "have a rest" and that he would return to finish it. He didn't end up making it to the studio, eventually succumbing to AIDS. Brian May sang the final verse.
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15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
31Queen concert
During a Queen concert in the 70s, a heckler shouted "you f*cking poof" [gay slur] to Freddie Mercury during the middle of their set. Freddie responded by ordering the crew to turn the spotlight on the man, asking him to "Say it again, darling". The heckler cowered in shame.
32. Queen guitarist Brian May is an astrophysicist and member of the NASA team that interprets data from Pluto.
33. Mike Myers was horrified when clips from Wayne's World were mixed with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody video, "they've just whizzed on a Picasso". The band responded simply saying, "Thank you for using our song." This shocked Myers, "Thank you for even letting me touch the hem of your garments!"
34. When Queen wanted to release "Bohemian Rhapsody", various executives told them that a song with a length of 5 minutes and 55 seconds was too long and would never be a hit. They even played it to other musicians who claimed that the song had "no hope" of being played on the radio.
35. Ten days before Freddie Mercury died, Jim Beach, Queen's manager, met with him to discuss what could be done with his legacy. Freddie quipped, "You can do whatever you like with my image, my music, remix it, re-release it, whatever... just never make me boring."
