John Deacon, the art of Queen’s taciturn bassist
John Deacon he is not the kind of rock star that we have ever heard much about. Partly through his own fault (we prefer to consider it a merit, but de gustibus), he has gone down in history as the taciturn of the Queenthe one who avoided interviews and ended up on the cover only because forced by the promotional poses imposed by the record industry. Partly for reasons that escape us: in the lists of the best bass players drawn up over the years Deacon almost never appears, overtaken left and right by the hyper-technical ones – from Jaco Pastorius to Les Claypool – and by how many – Flea, EntwistleGordon and others – were able to develop a style that became a trademark.
Yet, in the musical economy of the Queenwhether you like it or not, they were one of the greatest bands ever, Deacon played a fundamental role, which very few have ever recognized: with his eyes (but above all his ears) to the cadences of Chic, Stevie Wonder And Michael JacksonMercury’s silent colleague brought a unique groove to the universe of one of the symbolic groups of European rockwithout modifying its features or resorting to forcing.
Deacon, in essence, did what every truly great musician (not just a bass player) should do, that is, put himself at the service of the song. He fulfilled his task with a unique and unrepeatable discretion and elegance, withdrawn from the market – so to speak – after the last great homage to .Freddie Mercury: his farewell to the stage, in fact, dates back to April 20, 1992, when the stars of the whole world gathered at Wembley Stadium to pay homage to the great frontmanwho passed away only in November of the previous year. Then, Deacon decided to close the matter definitively, because as he himself said in ’96 to Bassist Magazine “there is no reason to go on, since it is impossible to replace Freddie”. To celebrate his 73rd birthday, which is celebrated today, we have chosen to put in order (ascending) what in our opinion are his eleven best bass lines ever written for the Queen.
“Ride the Wild Wind” (from “Innuendo”, 1991)
“Staying Power” (from “Hot Space”, 1981)
“Dragon Attack” (from “The Game”, 1980)
“Keep Passing the Open Windows” (from “The Works”, 1984)
“A Kind of Magic” (from “A Kind of Magic”, 1986)
“Don’t Try Suicide” (from “The Game”, 1980)
“Breakthru” (from “The Miracle”, 1989)
“The Invisible Man” (from “The Miracle”, 1989)
“I Want to Break Free” (from “The Works”, 1984)
“Under Pressure” (from “Hot Space”, 1981)
“Another One Bites the Dust” (from “The Game”, 1980)
