Rock On: 35 Amazing Facts About the World’s Greatest Bands – Part 2

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."

2. 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.

3. 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!"

4. Queen guitarist Brian May is an astrophysicist and member of the NASA team that interprets data from Pluto.

5. 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.

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.

7. '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.'

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

Freddie Mercury of Queen intended to record multiple duets with Michael Jackson, but after recording one song he dropped out of any further collaborations because he felt uncomfortable working with Jackson's pet llama in the studio.

12. Freddy Mercury was so ill with AIDS when he recorded "The Show Must Go On" that Brian May didn't think he could do it. Mercury slammed some vodka, said "I'll fu*king do it, darling" and killed it in one take.

13. Queen guitarist Brian May built his primary guitar, the "Red Special" when he was 16. It contains parts from a motorbike, bicycle, knitting needle, and the wood is from a 18th-century fireplace mantel.

14. Freddie Mercury is celebrated in Iran, a country where homosexuality is illegal, and that Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" was the 1st rock song officially approved post-revolution since he calls for God in Arabic ("Bismillah! We will not let you go") to help regain his soul from Shaitan.

15. In 2008, Prince covered Radiohead's "Creep" at Coachella. Someone uploaded a mobile video of it to Youtube. Prince quickly made Youtube remove it. After finding out about the blocking, Radiohead's lead singer Thom Yorke said "Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our song."

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen returned to the US top 10 charts after 16 years due to its appearance in the "Wayne's World" movie.

17. When asked to headline a show with The Pixies opening, Radiohead refused to headline, saying "That's like the Beatles opening for us".

18. Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees was used in a study to train medical staff to perform CPR. The song has close to 104 beats per minute, and 100-120 chest compressions per minute are recommended by the British Heart Foundation.

19. Joe Strummer, from The Clash, wept when he learned "Rock the Casbah" was written on a bomb dropped during Operation Desert Storm.

20. Rick Allen, the drummer for Def Leppard, lost his arm after a car accident in 1984. He thought he could never play in the band again and became very depressed until a fellow drummer helped him design an electronic drum kit that could be played with one arm. He returned to the band in 1986.

Anthony Kiedis once missed a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert because he was off scoring drugs, so Keith Morris filled in on vocals and just yelled and made up lyrics because he didn't know any of the songs.

22. In 1986, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were budgeted $5000 by EMI Music to make a demo tape and set aside $2000 to spend on heroin and cocaine.

23. Donnie from The Wild Thornberrys animated show was voiced by Flea, the bassist from Red Hot Chili Peppers.

24. Bono was campaigning to have first-world taxpayers forgive all third world debt whilst hiding U2's earnings from Irish tax collectors in the Netherlands.

25. Bono wears glasses all the time because he has glaucoma.