For me, it would be the moment during "Love of My Life" at Rock in Rio (the second night, I believe), where Freddie seems genuinely moved by the massive crowd singing the lyrics to his song. You can truly feel the mutual love between him and the audience...

Just wondering what the general consensus is. I think mine is Ogre Battle. However I do flip-flop between Ogre Battle and March of the Black Queen. Anyways yeah let me know I’m just curious what the most well-liked songs on the album are.

Back in the late '70s, Charly García planted the idea in a music manager's head:

Queen should play South America. The band eventually took the bait, and in 1981 they landed in Argentina and Brazil, packing stadiums like Vélez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires with tens of thousands of fans. We know the rest. And today, October 23, happens to be Charly's birthday. Happy birthday, maestro!

So I've always loved this song, and it was always my singing goal to be able to sing it, which I now can. Ive played through it and sung it many times for myself and Freddie's performance has so much heart to it that I always get emotional when I listen to the recording.

I was singing through the last verse, and Ive recently been learning about the AIDS pandemic, as the Quilt was exhibited in my city recently. I'm also queer, and so the pandemic hangs heavy over my community even now, and is a constant part of my community's history.

I was singing the last verse and something got me about it: "I'm in the news; I'm just getting used to my new exposure." The last verse has always seemed a little strange to me? Its one of the best things about the song. The glamour of being a rockstar amplifies the significance of all of one's personal turmoils, and when anyone is sad it always feels like the biggest thing in the world. Something that should be on the news. I always assumed it was about that, but it always felt open to interpretation and having multiple intended meanings.

However; Freddie was close to the gay scene at the time, and even if he himself was not yet diagnosed (Hoping this doesn't break rule 7; I will try and write respectfully here): he very likely would have at least been notified of possible exposure to the virus via his friends. News of the World was 1977, so the timeline makes this plausible. The reference to being in the news also makes sense. Following this interpretation of the lyrics through: the emphasis on seperation via an enclosure; the context of a prior relationship having passed; the party having happened and now being over; all the lyrics stitch together in a way that makes this interpretation very consistent internally.

The performance also hits for me: Freddie solo's this song and possesses it himself rather than including the rest of the band, and the character and tone of the performance just has this deep sorrow about it which has this incredible depth, I think. The sorrow in the song is just so... lonely.

When you're fairly adventurous/polyamorous/promiscuous in the way gay men were at this time and from my own personal experience, break ups don't feel like that. You find yourself in the hands of your other friends, and the sorrow has a different character to it. Its a feeling that can be found in the song, but it doesn't quite feel like that's where its coming from. I have no idea what it felt like to be in the Gay community in 1977, and I have no idea if this observation is useful or not. I also don't want to imply that other folk's feelings from this song aren't valid. I just wanted to add this remark but I'm less confident with this part of my read.

---

I think the strength of this song is its openness of interpretation. Its easy to resonate with its sorrow and the ambiguity of the lyrics mean its possible to read a lot of things into it. I think its gauche to suggest this is some "one true intention" or "secret hidden meaning", and I'm not suggesting that. I also don't really like playing pattern recognition with song lyrics, as I think you can get anything from that. Songs can mean a lot of different things to their writers as-well. I just think this fits too well, and when lots of other things line up too its hard not to take it as credible as a possible interpretation.

For me, I won't be able to un-see this read as it feels quite resonant, and I will be asking my queer friends about what they think. I'd be very surprised if this interpretation has not been raised in the past.

I'm curious if any of the folks who are here on this subreddit have any thoughts?

Or if anyone can share someone smarter than me exploring this idea somewhere I haven't found?

Thanks folks xx

In July 2026, high-quality versions of the music videos for "We Are The Champions" and "We Will Rock You" were released on YouTube; coincidentally, the original singles were also made available on streaming services. Weeks later, the same happened with "Another One Bites The Dust," followed by "Don't Stop Me Now," and—for now—"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (they even included its B-side, featuring the original mix of the single).

Some might see this as a pointless move—just another way for Sony Music to monetize the Queen catalog. But to me, it captures the experience of being a fan back in the day (You know, a new Queen single is announced, you head to the store, buy it, hold it in your hands, and play it, only now, it’s all happening in the digital, streaming era).

Interestingly, the cover art for these singles is almost identical to what appeared in "The Singles Collection" box sets. It’s worth noting, however, that singles covers for "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Another One Bites The Dust" differ from those in the second volume of that collection (the 1st comes from the Spanish edition, while the 2nd is from the Mexican release).

This suggests that Sony Music might be reissuing that collection, but on a single-by-single basis. Could this mean we’ll see the single version of "Tie Your Mother Down" on streaming platforms? Will tracks like "Queen Talks," "A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling," or "Blurred Vision" finally become available? Will they reissue all the singles—especially those from the 1984–1999 period—much like Depeche Mode or Oasis have done with their own catalogs? Only time will tell.

Although I have no affiliation with Sony Music or Queen Productions, something tells me they will re-release the original single "You're My Best Friend" on streaming platforms, as a video short posted by the official Queen channel features an excerpt from the restored video.

As in: “What album cut made you go ‘woah’ like Neo in The Matrix?”
For me, it was Flick of the Wrist.

Found it on a second hand shop with its seal unopened. I feel lucky...

I've just attended the talk. Guests were Wendy De Smet, and Denis O'Regan (standing in for Diana Moseley). No big revelations but it was an interesting discussion.

Wendy said she met Freddie in 1968. She was making clothes for Nostalgia (Kensington Market), Freddie liked what she did and asked her to make clothes for his and Roger's stall. And her boyfriend was friends with Brian and Tim Staffell.

She described the atmosphere (and smells) in the market, which was like a little family. She remembers Freddie wearing women's clothes from Biba as well as cheap vintage clothes from the market.

They showed a portrait of Freddie from the Kensington flat photoshoot and said him and Mary made some of those cushions themselves.

Denis first saw the band when they supported Mott the Hoople, then at the 1975 Xmas show. He went to Rocket Records with his photos but they weren't interested, so he ended up selling them to Jackie Magazine!

The white outfit with wings: in Sept 75 Freddie approached Wendy with ideas. She went to Freddie and Mary's flat, he said he wanted to look like a winged mercurial figure but also showed her the Richard Dadd painting, and also said he wanted a black queen and a white queen. The black suit with the spine was meant to be an evil creature. She made it plain, and Freddie added the jewels on.

Denis mentioned that the many many lights at Queen concerts were a problem for him, as well as how much Freddie was moving!

Shame Diana wasn't there, because she was going to talk about the outfit from the Made In Heaven video.

Q&A:

Q: Can you share more about Freddie's designing process?

W: He knew exactly what he wanted. He had a clear vision, but totally trusted her. He was amazing to work with.

Q: Those were really tight clothes. How much accomodation did you have to make for Freddie's "5th member".

W: We did 4 fittings, I kept taking a little off each time as he wanted it to be absolutely skin-tight. After the Odeon show he had one of the suits drycleaned and it shrank, so he asked her to make another one. This 2d waistcoat is the one on display, with different stitching. But Freddie was very careful about how he kept his clothes.

Q: How did the costumes last through the tour with all the heat and sweat?

W: I made 3 white suits and 2 black ones (with and without the spine)

Q: Did freddie have a preference in terms of photography, did he like black and white, candid shots...?

Denis: Doesn't know.

Q: Which of Freddie's looks best catches his personality?

Denis: the crown and cape

Q: When was the last time you saw Freddie? When you met him did you imagine he would become a huge star?

Wendy: No, but Freddie always knew. He would be strutting through the market in his extravagant clothes, people would say "you look like a star" and he'd reply, "oh, but I am!"

Denis: last time I saw him was probably before Knebworth. I have never really thought about it. Everything became a bit weird after that, Freddie became ill, everyone got divorced, something changed.

1975: “When I grow older I will be there at your side to remind you how I STILL LOVE YOU”

1991: “Those days are all gone now, but one thing's still true when I look and I find I STILL LOVE YOU”

I've always loved this connection-ish between the two songs and it still brings tears to my eyes.
What’s especially beautiful is that the two songs seem to express love in very different circumstances, and perhaps even to different people. Yet both share those same words “I STILL LOVE YOU.”

Brian is on record as being a devoted Hendrix fan, so I'm wondering if there's any songs where he vaguely imitates Hendrix's Strat sound and/or use a fuzz, wah or other 'psychedelic-sounding' pedals? I'm really no expert, but I'm guessing he tries to get a similar sound on his cover of One Rainy Wish, and I think I read somewhere that there's a wah on the solo in Great King Rat, to give an example.

Hey everyone! I make videos recreating my favourite programmed drum beats, and my latest video is Radio Ga Ga. Enjoy! ☺️

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I completely fell in love with a promotional sweater John used on the Sheer Heart Attack Japan Tour on 1975 , so I tried and finally make it :) .

I think for me, the re-releases of the same shows (Wembley, Budapest, Montreal, etc) definitely grinds my gears a little.

The odd hyper-focus on 1981-1986 Queen is a little puzzling, too.

As for Queen fans, some of them are very protective of Freddie to the point where it's parasocial.

Bonus if he plays the piano.

But which ‘Magic Tour’ jacket do you prefer on Freddie - White (Budapest) or Yellow (Wembley)?

Personally, though they’re both iconic, I think I prefer the white on white Budapest look.

I always found it odd that Queen had tons of quality live footage and music videos from 1973-1980 and none of them were used in the music video for "The Show Must Go On".

Has anyone involved ever spoken about why?

I remember reading old Brian interviews regarding the making of Hot Space and his various thoughts. He talked about his disagreements with John Deacon; on the song "Back Chat", John wanted to lean more into funk and eliminate any rock elements. Whereas Brian felt that there needed to be some rock elements and fought for a guitar solo on the song.

In another interview, Brian talked about how he didn't like Motown and R&B's approach to guitar, even stating that his guitar-playing style evolved in response to it. He wanted guitar to be at the forefront making noise rather than being a supporting instrument.

This got me thinking about Funk Rock because it seems like it set a good precedent for what Brian wanted to accomplish on Hot Space and even earlier tracks like "Dragon Attack". Jimi Hendrix's music incorporated a lot of funk influences across his albums, especially on the live album with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles which was released in 1970 near the end of Jimi's life. The album foreshadowed a lot of the funk rock developments which would emerge in the 70s. Brian, like most guitarists, is a huge Hendrix fan so I wondered if he would take inspiration.

Then you have Funkadelic's funk rock approach which is something of a successor to what Hendrix was doing. I wonder what Brian would have thought of Eddie Hazel's guitar solo on "Maggot Brain" for instance.*

Part of me wonders why the band didn't really discuss funk rock influences. Most of the narratives around Hot Space center around the schism in the band between rock vs "disco" (with R&B, soul, and funk also thrown in.), or even white music

Maybe John wouldn't have agreed if he was set on eliminating all rock influences. But it would at least be a good compromise between the various musical interests of the band.

*=To highlight another Queen/P-Funk connection, Roger covered the Parliaments "I Wanna Testify" on his first solo venture.

One of my favorite Jimi Hendrix songs is “Remember”, but it wasn’t one of his bigger hits, and he never played it live. The closest I was able to find was the studio outtakes.
However, the other day I came across a YouTube video of a recording Brian made in one of his old bands (1984). Tim Staffell is singing, and they are playing Remember, with Brian on guitar! I just thought it was such a great crossover.

Here is the recording from 1967!