Throughout his career with the iconic band Queen, John Deacon made himself a crucial part of the group as he wrote songs like “Another One Bites the Dust” and “You’re My Best Friend.” He also involved himself in the financial side of the group. But after the passing of Freddie Mercury, the musician appeared to take a step back, only performing a few times with Queen. He eventually decided to retire in the late 1990s. But although not performing alongside Queen, Brian May recently revealed the singer still stays involved behind the scenes.
Videos by American Songwriter
When it comes to the decision-making for Queen, May explained to Mojo magazine how Deacon continued to have a say. “John still has a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ say. We get messages that he’s happy with what we’re doing, but he doesn’t want the stress of being involved creatively, and we respect that.” He added, “The four of us worked as a team for so long that Roger and I have a pretty good idea what our fellow Queen members would be saying. This thing is longer than anybody’s marriage.”
Brian May Recalls The Moment John Deacon Walked Away
Over the years, May opened up about the pain that remains after Mercury passed away. Just last year, the guitarist said, “All I can say is that, historically, John was quite sensitive to stress. We all found it hard, losing Freddie, but I think John particularly struggled. We did do a couple of things together, in 1996: the recording of ‘No One But You’ — the song I wrote about Freddie when we were putting up the statue to commemorate him in Montreux [Switzerland] — and one show in Paris.”
It was around that time when Deacon decided to step away as May said, “John just looked at us and said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ We knew that he at least needed a break, but as it turned out he never came back. I don’t think that I can go into much more detail — we have to respect the fact that John needs his privacy now — but he’s still part of the machinery of the band. If we have any major decision, business-wise, it’s always run past John.”
As for the band, Queen continued their Rhapsody Tour, which kicked off in 2019 and ran until February 2024 with one last concert in Tokyo.
(Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.