Picture of Kate, very nice. Freddie Mercury doll, well okay. But what is that picture on the calendar behind Kate's head? A dead flower? An enraged howler monkey? The wolfman? The Massive have a right to know!

I'm a big Queen fan, though my interest in them waned in inverse proportion to their popularity. I went to the Brick Lane exhibition in February and remember where I was when Freddie died in 1991. I also watched the 1992 wembley concert especially Extreme.

I look forward to listening to the podcast on the way to work!

But it's all over between us now.

Their first two albums are rock classics. 'Sheer Heart Attack' brought them into mainstream rock and pop. 'A Night At The Opera' gave them global success. A lot of decent stuff came after that, but there were a few clunkers ('Jazz' and 'Hot Space') but 'A Kind Of Magic' and 'Innuendo' were excellent. But it is their live performances that made Queen special. I was at their free concert in Hyde Park in 1976 and saw them on their 'Night At The Opera' tour. They were superb live, with Freddie Mercury the perfect frontman. Their performance at Live Aid not only stole the show, but was a perfect example of Queen at their best in front of a large audience. I've yet to meet anyone who attended a Queen concert say they were rubbish. Those who doubt they were a class act should listen to their first two albums first. You'll almost certainly want to hear more.

But as long as Bono walks this world, I'm not sure if it's actual hatred which I feel really.

...but this is the only funeral music that should ever matter: Arvo Part - Spiegel Im Spiegel

their obsession for a certain female music journalist.

Here's a girl who would really understand why I rate Selling England by the Pound so much more highly than Nursery Cryme. Not like in my day. All they wanted to do was dance! I mean I didn't even care whether The Real Thing or Hot Chocolate were better. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Funeral Music. Or was that last week?

I hope I'm not amiss in suggesting that "She liked a puppet" should be her epitaph.

She is not alone in having had extreme musical obsessions. At the age of 14 I hid in a bush outside Pete Townshend's house and watched him drink a cup of tea.

Great stuff... and can I say I'm very disappointed in Fraser's choice for his send off. I was certain it would have been Cygnus X-1.

It's always heart-warming to hear someone enthusing unashamedly about their musical obsessions (no matter who or what it is) and Kate's story was a delight.

I really can't fathom all the blind hatred for Queen that flies around the Blog. Whichever you look at it, they made some fabulous records, they were great at what they did and none but the most curmudgeonly could fail to be uplifted by the sight (and sound) of Freddie in full voice.

I agree with DH that the Queen singles constitute the very essence of the band and all you really need are the first two greatest hits CDs, plus selected tracks from the third.

...they never entered my consciousness one way or the other. But if the feeling is that there's no need for anything bar their singles then this sort of thing definitely doesn't need to be posted here (Queen at the crossroads of prog... before deciding to go another route after all):

It really is the best article I have ever read in the magazine. NB. I don't really care about Queen one way or the other. But in terms of structure, insight and yer actual prose, this is an exceptionally well-crafted piece.

But I'm not going to say "I don't even like Queen", because I do. Because they wrote really good tunes and were tons of fun.

i will not listen to this.
I understand the premise and logic behind it.
But it's foundation is vile.
Sorry.
OOAA

I thought , despite my being indifferent (if even slightly adverse ) to Queen. The main point Kate Mossman is making is that not all teenagers listen (or listened?) to their contemporary pop but discover other sounds by themselves: in my case, listening to 60's pysch-pop in the 1980s rather than Spandau Ballet. Good stuff.

I was fortunate to benefit from Dylan's wish not to see the same old bastards down the front at his Brixton run in 2005.

Was about half way down the side of the venue in the queue and just after the doors opened, one of the side doors opened and we were ushered in and let go down the front. The people at thge front of the queue were held back in the lobby until a good amount of us were in place before they were let in. Despite their rather violent shoving, cursing and complaints to the security they weren't going to annoy his Zimmyness that night.

I eventually went back a bit as I didn't want to be THAT close to the old goat

Norma Waterson - Reply to Joe Haines

Joe Haines is a journalist who wrote a nasty article about Freddie Mercury right after his death. The song is a reaction to that article. Written by Lal Waterson. From the 1999 album The Very Thought of You by Norma Waterson.

Norma Waterson - Love Of My Life

I suppose that I am close to obsession but not quite there where Mr Webb is concerned - I was definitely at several of those Ronnie Scotts gigs but not in the front row and I don't recall his comment.

Kate's comments do beg the questuion though, why do I go again and again to see him perform when I know that the set list and even the between-song patter is going to be as near the same as dammit on every occasion? Easy. 1. He won't be around forever and I would regret missing the "last" concert forever. 2. He might, just might, play something different to the same old same old, and then I would regret missing that forever too. 3. It is still great to hear those wonderful songs.

I guess that many others will empathise with this predicament I find myself in.

'dear Santa' list in due course !

http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/queen-live-at-wembley-stadium-25t...

rock that hawaian shirt!

i've never liked Queen at all, but that article has made me look on them a little more kindly. Brilliantly done

When I was a teen I was listening to Genesis and King Crimson. All the cool kids were into The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses, who I hated on principle. In retrospect they were great, and the scene around them looks like it would have been fun, so now I wish I'd listened to them, but not to the exclusion of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and Lizard.

"How weird that ANYONE could actually have liked Queen! I mean I can understand someone following Springsteen round for years. Like a kind of weird lapdog with an undefined sexual preference, being denied interviews. But Queen! With all their musicianship! With their idea of genuine melody and musical knowledge! They were clearly so rubbish - what on earth could have caused this?

Pretty ridiculous if you ask me. I think the fact that Ms Mossman liked Queen in the face of fashion, as a first step towards musical appreciation, is a fairly good musical character reference. Shows that she is likely to have some basic clue. Sorry bout that.

Loved them from Queen 11, which came out when I was about 17 all the way through to "News Of The World" went off them a bit after that except for the odd moment.
Never really understood the bile that this band attracts.

I've been posting here for a little while now, and I'm surprised what strong feelings Queen generate. Perhaps we should post where we stand in our profile so it can save some time.

So in the spirit of full disclosure:

Queen: really like their 70s stuff, not so keen on their 80s stuff.

And to complete the picture:

Beatles Album: Revolver
ABBA: Dark-haired one
Biscuit: Mint Viscount
Prog Rock: I like Rush, does that count?
Folk Rock: I like Nick Drake, does that count?

two main subjects of the podcast, when my Uncle died one of the songs at his funeral was You're My Best Friend.
That song means a lot, the rest file under: Play when drunk.

Perspective.
Queen are pretty much the antithesis of everything i enjoy in life and music.
Many others here have elaborated on the reasons they dislike them and i share many of their opinions.
We can discuss the merits of the use of words like "vile", "evil" or "despicable" till the cows need milked.
I'm not going to granstand myself to death over it.
It is , after all, an opinion.
I almost wish i'd never got involved.
Almost.

and agree it was a heart-warming piece, beautifully written. The weak links were May and Taylor, however.

Their responses seemed reserved and jaded and didn't come close to matching Kate's wonderfully enthusiastic tales of teenage obsession. May's Rory Gallagher story was the closest either of them came to letting their guard down throughout.

On the other hand, there’s no reason why we should expect them to play the game at this stage, especially after the years of abuse they received at the hands of the music press.

.. but truly terrific piece. Deserved the longer format. Well done all.