Queen - BBC2 Documentary & Re-releases

[Stephen Morgan]

Not like you to unveil old news. This was announced almost a month ago.

I'll be looking forward to new remasters though, hope there's some bonus, unreleased stuff too.

[Rob McCow]

It's about time! We've only got a couple of Queen albums, so I won't feel too badly ripped off if we start picking up the remastered versions.

[Si Hunt]

Blah. They won't sound any better really, will they?

And there seem to be next to no rarities in the vaults. The Queen stone has been bled dry.

Si.

[Perry Vale]

Not like you to unveil old news. This was announced almost a month ago.

Not on this thread!

Pity the EMI, at least they still have Kate Bush....

[Si Hunt]

Yeah, it can't be too long before she knocks out a new album...

Si.

[Stephen Morgan]

Pity the EMI, at least they still have Kate Bush....

Yes, they do indeed.

It's been five years since Ariel, so, yes Si, she's about due to knock another one out.

[Dino]

Like you I rolled eyes over yet another reissue campaign... but why didn't anyone tell me about their Deep Cuts compilation?

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProduct...s.do?sku=66991 (Might be cheaper on other sites etc...)

1. Ogre Battle
2. Stone Cold Crazy
3. My Fairy King
4. I'm In Love With My Car
5. Keep Yourself Alive
6. Long Away
7. Millionaire Waltz, The
8. '39
9. Tenement Funster
10. Flick Of The Wrist
11. Lily Of The Valley
12. Good Company
13. March Of The Black Queen, The
14. In The Lap Of The Gods.

That's not a bad get together. Although it's a shame they couldn't stretch it to 15 and include "Drowse"?

[Si Hunt]

There a few good songs there but in all honesty, and I say this as a Queen fan, it's all the album tracks not quite good enough to be singles. Isn't it?

Si.

[Dino]

There a few good songs there but in all honesty, and I say this as a Queen fan, it's all the album tracks not quite good enough to be singles. Isn't it?

Si.

Pretty much! And they left off "Son And Daughter" and "The Loser In The End".
I'm interested to see what Vol.2 offers? I think you could only really make two CDs from this. Well actually, you could make 4, but there's only so much a Queen fan can stand for...

[Rob McCow]

I think it's a fairly good idea to tempt people to buy the earlier albums. Or give them a taste of the Queen tracks that they've never heard before.

But it's still 'Not Quite The Best Of Queen'.

I'm pretty sure I'll pick up these re-issues sooner or later. Perhaps I should pop into HMV?

[Dino]

If they had it mid-priced I'd be buying it no question.
But a full price CD for "Queen's Also-Rans"?

[Rob McCow]

There was a superb documentary about the band on BBC2 over the weekend - a two-parter! We've watched part one, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Highlights included Freddie complaining that he was too big a star to tie up his own shoes! It was great to hear Brian talking about reconciling with his dad about Brian's choice of career after they played the Madison Square Gardens too.

Part two is probably going to be a bit more melancholy though...

I've been snapping up the re-releases, which for no good reason have dropped to £6 instore at HMV - they're still at least £10 online!

[Perry Vale]

I'm not really much of a fan of Queen, but ended up watching the second part last night. Found it very interesting.

[SiHart]

Part 2 was excellent too, coming to a very moving section covering Freddie's death. Very well handled I thought. The fooage of him filming the last video was incredibly sad to watch, but a pro, giving one last great performance for the fans.

[Dino]

I loved the documentaries and Christmas Eve gig.
I also found this online and had to share it's awesomeness. I am aware it's going to take up a lot of the page, but it's worth it!

[SiHart]

Good article on Bo Rap today on the BBC Magazine: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13761091

Apparently it was the most requested song on Desert Island Discs when they asked the public to vote.

[Rob McCow]

http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/artis...Absolute+Radio

Absolute Radio are doing a Queen documentary too, but this seems to be based around individual songs. I'm expecting 'March of The Black Queen' and 'Machine World' to be discussed in depth!!!

Next Monday and Tuesday (22, 23 Aug)

[MacNimon]

It's hard to believe it, but today would have been Freddie's 65th birthday.

I'm sure there will be one hell of a party going on up there tonight!

[Dino]

What do you do when you've made money of Queen 20 years after Freddie Mercury died?
MAKE MORE MONEY!!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011...l-tribute-band

Roger Taylor has announced plans for an official Queen tribute band. The group's drummer is recruiting "great-looking guys" for Queen Extravaganza, a touring retrospective that will combine archive footage, celebrity cameos, and faithful renditions of the band's best-known songs.

"Let's face it," Taylor told Rolling Stone magazine, "we're getting a little long in the tooth, but there are an awful lot of tribute bands, some of them good, some of them not good." Inspired by a poster he saw in Norfolk, Taylor hopes to start a "never ending" Queen tribute tour, keeping the band's music alive with performances by young lookalikes. "I'm quite convinced that there are tens of thousands of kids, of really talented people, in their bedrooms around the world playing drums, guitar, and singing," he said. "And I want to find some of those people."

Until recently, Queen didn't need an official tribute act – they were still touring themselves. But although Taylor and guitarist Brian May played together as recently as last week, the days of load-ins and soundchecks are probably behind them. "We can still do it, but I don't really think I want to travel around the world doing it any more," Taylor said. Their team-up with Paul Rodgers, who stood in for Freddie Mercury, was always conceived as "a temporary thing". "I think that phase is finished now," Taylor said, though they may reunite for "something special" such as the London Olympics.

For now, auditioning for Queen Extravaganza is your best bet for getting close to Taylor or May. Prospective Bohemian Rhapsodists can upload their auditions to queenextravaganza.com. While the surviving members of Queen will not be part of the regular touring show, Taylor wants to "leave places [for cameos]" if they are "starting a run somewhere exciting". Otherwise the gigs will be a mixture of early black-and-white film, iconic concert moments, and the hired gang of impersonators. "We want young people because we're no longer young," Taylor said. "It's a long time down the road."

Roger... Roger... Roger... you've made your mark. You've made a stack. You don't need to do this! But if you go ahead, I hope you realise that Tribute bands (Should) charge less for tickets than actual functioning bands.
It sounds like a great night out. But other tribute acts are available.

[Dirk Gently]

I actually think it's a great idea, if for nothing else than possibly giving some up & coming musicians/singers a platform on which they may prove themselves & go on to make it in their own right.

[Dino]

Well at least this is a good idea!

Queen have announced plans for a new album of old demos featuring their late singer Freddie Mercury.

Guitarist Brian May has confirmed that he is going through the band's old material with drummer Roger Taylor to compile a selection of unreleased tracks for a forthcoming LP.

The axeman also said the pair are working on the follow-up to the long-running West End musical 'We Will Rock You', which they wrote with comedian Ben Elton.

May told The Daily Star: As well as seeing what we can unearth, we want to do a new musical to follow 'We Will Rock You'. The songs are there, it's just a question of finding time to get the right production.

The last album the band released with Mercury was their 1991 LP 'Innuendo'. He died later that year. May recently admitted that he contemplated taking his own life shortly after the singer's death. The guitarist, who also lost his father around the same time that Mercury died, said he felt like he "didn't want to live" in the months following the deaths.

Lady Gaga was recently in talks to tour with the surviving members of the band as their singer following the departure of Paul Rodgers in 2009.

http://www.nme.com/news/queen/60045

[Stephen Morgan]

That all sounds good, I've always wondered if there were demos or unfinished tracks they could release.

This sounds good too from Queen online.

Queen - Days Of Our Lives DVD/BLU-RAY - Release Date: November 28th 2011

In 1971, four college students got together to form a rock band. Since then, that certain band called Queen have released 26 albums and sold over 300 million records worldwide. The popularity of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is stronger than ever 40 years on.

But it was no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. Queen had their share of kicks in the face, but they came through and this is how they did it, set against a backdrop of brilliant music and stunning live performances from every corner of the globe.

The Critically Acclaimed Documentary on the World’s Greatest Rock Band is now to be available on DVD and Blu Ray!

We will be releasing this amazing documentary with extra unseen content on standard DVD and blu ray! The story is amazing and a must have…In this film, for the first time, it is the band that tells their story. Featuring brand new interviews and unseen archive footage (including their recently unearthed, first ever TV performance), it is a compelling story told with intelligence, with, plenty of humour and painful honesty.

DVD

Standard: NTSC

Region Code: Playable in all Regions

Duration: 164 minutes

Content

Main Feature:

Queen : Days of Our Lives (Part One)

Queen : Days of Our Lives (Part Two)

Bonus Features:

Additional Videos: new promo videos containing unseen rushes, performances and outtakes.

-Seven Seas of Rhye

-Killer Queen

-Somebody to Love

-We Are The Champions

-Crazy Little Thing Called Love

-Under Pressure

-Radio Ga Ga

Additional Sequences: featuring unseen interviews and archive footage, exclusive sequences that dig deeper into the history of Queen, and tell the stories that weren’t covered in the documentary.

-From Magic To The Miracle

-Going Slightly Mad: Making of Innuendo

-Made In Heaven

BLU-RAY

Standard: NTSC

Region Code: Playable in all Regions

Duration: 221 minutes

Content

Main Feature:

Queen : Days of Our Lives (Part One)

Queen : Days of Our Lives (Part Two)

Bonus Features:

Additional Videos: new promo videos containing unseen rushes, performances and outtakes.

-Seven Seas of Rhye

-Killer Queen

-Somebody to Love

-We Are The Champions

-Crazy Little Thing Called Love

-Under Pressure

-Radio Ga Ga

Additional Sequences: featuring unseen interviews and archive footage, exclusive sequences that dig deeper into the history of Queen, and tell the stories that weren’t covered in the documentary.

-Queen: The Beginning

-Queen On Tour 1974-5

-Bohemian Rhapsody

-Working Together

-Leaving John Reid 1978

-Don’t Stop Me Now

-Flash Gordon

-Making Videos

-Scrabble Wars

-From Magic To The Miracle 1986-89

-Going Slightly Mad: Making Innuendo 1990-91

-Made In Heaven – 1995

Bonus Interviews: additional stories, taken from the interviews shot for this documentary with Brian May, Roger Taylor and Jim Beach.

-Return To Imperial College

-Brian’s Health Scare 1974

-Manager Jim Beach Meets The Band 1975

-B-Sides

-Freddie’s Outfits

-Another One Btes The Dust

-Song Writing Balance Changes 1980’s

-Freddie Legless!

-Highlander

-The Show Must Go On


Subtitles to be included are:

English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Italian. There will also be a release in Japan only with Japanese.

[MacNimon]

That sounds like a good set. The 2-part documentary was excellent, wasn't it? It's the extras which whet the appetite, though.

It would be great to hear unreleased stuff, though. I've every faith in the ability of May and Taylor (and ideally, but unlikely, Deacon) to make what is probably substandard quality material sound great. And I don't mean substandard as a bad thing in this case, as it's likely to be all that's left, but I mean in in the way that if it was great it would have been released a long time ago. Personally I'd rather hear second-rate unreleased stuff then never get to hear it at all.

What I'd also like to hear is more Freddie solo stuff 'Queenified' like I Was Born To Love You and Made In Heaven. Living On My Own, anyone? Even a rocked-up version of Barcelona with May and Taylor doing Monserrat's lines. It would certainly be noticably different in style

[Si Hunt]

For the Queen fan in your life:

Defining Queen’s regal rule over the music record books of the past 40 years is the Queen Orb USB Gift Box: a luxurious black velvet lined gift box inside which is found a majestic golden orb emblazoned with a Queen logo and gothic designs. The top crest, modelled on the famous Queen logo, removes to reveal a USB drive containing all of Queen’s 15 remastered studio albums in audiophile quality, and a photo gallery. Inside the orb lies a gold-plated Queen crest pendant necklace resting in a red velvet collector’s bag. Audio content is provided in 48kHz 24bit WAV (better than CD quality!) and MP3 (320kbps) formats, fully compatible with PC and Mac.

This box set comes in the form of a typical touring flight case, packed as full as your standard roadie’s tour survival kit, with replica concert tickets and VIP passes, official touring shirt -in this case the “Magic characters” Hawaiian shirt, crew passes and stickers, regulation scarf for waving during the show, an inflatable Freddie cartoon character (based on the giant inflatable used in the stage show), and in case you might be an apprentice roadie learning the way, even a tour map, this one a 1986 tour map replica from the original hand-drawn by Brian May’s father, Harold May.

And lest we forget why these Wembley shows are considered among Queens finest moments, the main attraction lays in 2 DVDs - the full shows each night July 11 and 12 with plenty of previously unseen bonus footage including secretly filmed footage of the band’s tour rehearsals, plus two CDs of live recordings of the Saturday night show.

You know it's bad when the prices don't show until you click "order".

Si.

[Rob McCow]

Tat!

I'd rather have the CDs!