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re: Why did Queen decline in popularity in the US during the 80s?
Posted on 11/22/14 at 10:55 pm to RollTide1987
Posted on 11/22/14 at 10:55 pm to RollTide1987
Posted on 11/22/14 at 11:32 pm to Hetfield
quote:
And Freddie had some other things going on that he had to deal with unfortunately
He wasn't diagnosed with HIV until 1987. The band was going through some issues during the 80s and there were multiple break up rumors circulating through the British tabloids. I believe there were a couple of pushing and shoving matches going on while they were recording Hot Space. Brian May also came very close to committing suicide in either 1987 or 1988 while going through a particularly nasty divorce with his wife.
Posted on 11/23/14 at 2:58 pm to RollTide1987
Queen were open-minded when it came to changing with the times, even if they occasionally did it with a bit of snark (like in the lyrics of the song "Sheer Heart Attack"). News of the World is a really raw album; there aren't tons of layers on that album like there had been with the previous few. It was the most stripped down they had ever been on record. I think this album deceived them; "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" were a collective smash hit in America, and I think the band and their management misinterpreted just what Americans were into when it came to these two tracks. That is, these two songs basically made sports way more fun, so good for you, lads.
Queen then doubled down on the raw sound yet added synthesizers to a couple tracks on The Game, and while none of the synth-inclusive tracks hit in America, "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" were two more big American hits for the band.
Now here's where they suffered one instance of bad luck and then made one really bad decision with their music.
Flash Gordon was a competent soundtrack given the nature of the project, and especially given that Brian May is actually an astrophysicist. Certainly this man can commandeer a project that answers the question: What does music sound like in space? The material the boys provided was perfect, but the movie was awesomely bad, and it flopped in America. Not good for Queen. They needed to make a good move.
They didn't.
Hot Space saw Queen doubling down even more on the synth sound and the disco beats, and they really underestimated--or rather, were completely unaware of--Americans' newfound hatred for that type of sound. Queen were a 1970's band who were making disco sounds in 1982, so they got lumped in, for some people, with the Bee Gees at the worst possible time.
Queen took a short break and then recorded The Works. It's a really good 1980's rock album with a lyrical and thematic focus on the then technological and political future, of course with a few good pop love songs sprinkled in there, and for all the reasons mentioned in the above paragraphs, it flopped in America while becoming a smash hit everywhere else imaginable. By the time they hit the road for their tour for their next album, A Kind of Magic, it behooved the band to simply capitalize on their international popularity and not worry too much about the America that they'd lost. The Miracle and Innuendo are perhaps their most "English" albums; their popularity everywhere outside America had long been cemented. And then Freddie died.
Queen then doubled down on the raw sound yet added synthesizers to a couple tracks on The Game, and while none of the synth-inclusive tracks hit in America, "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" were two more big American hits for the band.
Now here's where they suffered one instance of bad luck and then made one really bad decision with their music.
Flash Gordon was a competent soundtrack given the nature of the project, and especially given that Brian May is actually an astrophysicist. Certainly this man can commandeer a project that answers the question: What does music sound like in space? The material the boys provided was perfect, but the movie was awesomely bad, and it flopped in America. Not good for Queen. They needed to make a good move.
They didn't.
Hot Space saw Queen doubling down even more on the synth sound and the disco beats, and they really underestimated--or rather, were completely unaware of--Americans' newfound hatred for that type of sound. Queen were a 1970's band who were making disco sounds in 1982, so they got lumped in, for some people, with the Bee Gees at the worst possible time.
Queen took a short break and then recorded The Works. It's a really good 1980's rock album with a lyrical and thematic focus on the then technological and political future, of course with a few good pop love songs sprinkled in there, and for all the reasons mentioned in the above paragraphs, it flopped in America while becoming a smash hit everywhere else imaginable. By the time they hit the road for their tour for their next album, A Kind of Magic, it behooved the band to simply capitalize on their international popularity and not worry too much about the America that they'd lost. The Miracle and Innuendo are perhaps their most "English" albums; their popularity everywhere outside America had long been cemented. And then Freddie died.
Posted on 11/23/14 at 7:16 pm to Cdawg
"i want to break free" didn't exactly help, true. but at that point, since "radio ga ga" didn't light up the charts in the US (not like they'd hoped, anyway), i think that video was intended to be a big flip of the bird to the US audience anyway....it's almost like they figured if they were gonna go down, they might as well go down in flames, lol...
Posted on 11/23/14 at 7:22 pm to ballscaster
while i like parts of 'the works' (especially the bonus track "i go crazy"....kicks all kind of arse), IMO it's the first queen album that sounds derivative of themselves. it sounds like some label execs urged them to re-create 'the game', and it shows on many tracks. from that point afterward, for better or worse, you can tell the band just did whatever the hell they wanted to, results be damned....
Posted on 11/23/14 at 11:10 pm to RollTide1987
I just got their new release Live at the Rainbow '74 and it's awesome.
Posted on 11/24/14 at 7:03 am to Lsupimp
quote:As a queen fan that lost interest, I don't agree with much of that.
Sail Away Sweet Sister" and "Save Me" were great tracks. But "Crazy Little Thing" and "Bites the dust" were just non-descript pop songs and they unnerved me as a Queen fan. And Flash Gordon really made them lose street cred. That's how I see it, they basically lost their street cred and a big part of their audience.
Posted on 11/25/14 at 9:18 am to vandelay industries
quote:
"radio ga ga" didn't light up the charts in the US
I think this is the song that did it for me along with Flash Gordon. I agree Ga Ga looks great in concert but otherwise a dud.
Posted on 11/25/14 at 9:32 am to Chitter Chatter
Liked Flash. Hated gaga
Posted on 11/25/14 at 9:13 pm to RollTide1987
I just lost interest after Jazz. As a teenager at the time of release, I loved the inside cover of that album though.
The Live Aid performance in '85 kicked arse......even Radio Gaga with the swaying crowd. Let's just say Freddie was one hell of a singer and a flamboyant front man.
The Live Aid performance in '85 kicked arse......even Radio Gaga with the swaying crowd. Let's just say Freddie was one hell of a singer and a flamboyant front man.
Posted on 11/26/14 at 8:15 pm to vandelay industries
quote:Never thought of it that way, but don't dismiss the possibility of Queen themselves being those very "execs." They were great capitalists.
while i like parts of 'the works' (especially the bonus track "i go crazy"....kicks all kind of arse), IMO it's the first queen album that sounds derivative of themselves. it sounds like some label execs urged them to re-create 'the game', and it shows on many tracks. from that point afterward, for better or worse, you can tell the band just did whatever the hell they wanted to, results be damned....
Posted on 11/27/14 at 1:44 am to RollTide1987
Queen was heavily criticized for playing Sun City in 1984. Some speculate that that had some effect on their popularity.
Posted on 11/27/14 at 2:18 am to TouchedTheAxeIn82
You got to say I,I,I
Ain't gonna play
quote:
Sun City
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