Whenever Queen took the stage, Freddie Mercury inevitably drew all eyes. Unlike other frontmen of his time, who either remained stationary or danced their way through the set, Mercury had the rare ability to captivate the audience from beginning to end. He skillfully used the audience as an additional instrument, seamlessly incorporating their energy into Queen’s performances. However, when it was time to enter the studio, the dynamic changed. Despite his commanding presence on stage, Mercury admitted to feeling intimidated when John Deacon joined the band.
However, if only one decision had been made differently, Queen would not have grown to be as successful as they are. Before Mercury began working with Brian May and Roger Taylor, the musicians had formed their first group, Smile. Lead singer Tim Staffell decided to call it quits before their collaboration.
Freddie Mercury, already a fan of the group, aimed to help them grow by taking over the microphone. With a vocal range that would take most of us a good decade to master, Mercury was quick to carve out a new vision for Queen, coming up with the band’s trademark insignia and working on their first handful of songs left over from Smile like “Doing All Right.”
All they needed was a bassist, and Deacon walked in. Compared to the band’s larger-than-life persona, Deacon was the anti-Freddie Mercury whenever the group performed live. He always stayed to the side of the stage and never raised his face, except to raise an eyebrow when the band was really going off live.
When it came time to show everyone’s material, Deacon outperformed everyone’s expectations. Deacon, aside from creating his own signature amplifier defining his bass sound, embodied a pop marvel trapped inside an introvert’s body. He created the foundations for Queen classics such as ‘You’re My Best Friend‘.
Even though having one passing pop song in the band’s discography may have seemed like a fluke, the song ‘You and I‘ raised the bar for what Deacon could do by being another spellbinding love song. Most artists would be grateful to have someone like Deacon at their disposal. However, Mercury appeared almost intimidated when he heard what he could do for the first time.
Mercury didn’t think Deacon had the potential to make something as good as ‘You and I’. He said, “That’s the end of side one of ‘A Day At The Races‘. John Deacon contributed a track to this album. His songs are good and getting better all the time. I’m getting worried. Do not underestimate him. he’s got a fiery streak underneath all that”.
Deacon’s influence would only grow as Queen entered the next decade, producing some of their biggest radio hits such as ‘I Want To Break Free‘. Additionally, he contributed to Satan’s gift to bass shops everywhere, ‘Another One Bites the Dust‘. Mercury may be the centre of attention in Queen, but Deacon remains one of the band’s best-kept secrets.
