The late Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury witnessed a sea change in rock and pop music over the course of his career, as various acts, including his own, helped spearhead the dramatic shift. While stadium rock acts once dominated the airwaves when Queen emerged, those days were over by the following decade. As a futurist, Mercury was enchanted with these new British acts that rose to the forefront and helped establish the new era.

When Queen released their eponymous debut album in 1973, they were firmly in the heavy rock camp and a product of the times. At that time, every rock band in the country was inspired by Led Zeppelin to some degree, and Queen were no different. However, their predisposition for progressive rock was also sprinkled into their sound, suggesting there was more to them than initially met the eye.By the time the decade came to a close, Queen had become an impossible outfit to pigeonhole into a single genre. Their multifaceted sound helped them on their journey to stratospheric success while simultaneously garnering widespread appeal.

More importantly, Queen became a leading light in the music industry that new bands could look towards and realise that they didn’t need to conform but could be anything they chose. Of course, artists like The Beatles had previously shape-shifted with every album, aesthetically and sonically, but Queen evolved from one track to the next across the same LP.A key facet that Mercury looked toward in other artists was a pioneering spirit and an ability to create a sound that was unlike anything that he’d previously heard. For this reason, he was infatuated with artists such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin during their primes, but the swathes of pale imitators who followed in their wake were less to his liking.

In the 1980s, Mercury provided a positive analysis of the current state of music and listed a variety of acts that he felt had enhanced the landscape. The first act he named was Tears For Fears, highlighting his love “because they wrote music I could really relate to”.

He also said of the group, via U Discover Music, “They had a lot of rhythm and at the same time a lot of aggression.” Other acts he celebrated include Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Spandau Ballet.
From The Vault
Cutting Room Floor
Freddie Mercury – Queen – Singer – Frontman – Musician(Credits: Far Out / LastFM)
Music » From The Vault
The group Freddie Mercury called “one of the best bands around”
Joe Taysom
@josephtaysom
Wed 7 August 2024 19:30, UK
The late Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury witnessed a sea change in rock and pop music over the course of his career, as various acts, including his own, helped spearhead the dramatic shift. While stadium rock acts once dominated the airwaves when Queen emerged, those days were over by the following decade. As a futurist, Mercury was enchanted with these new British acts that rose to the forefront and helped establish the new era.

When Queen released their eponymous debut album in 1973, they were firmly in the heavy rock camp and a product of the times. At that time, every rock band in the country was inspired by Led Zeppelin to some degree, and Queen were no different. However, their predisposition for progressive rock was also sprinkled into their sound, suggesting there was more to them than initially met the eye.

By the time the decade came to a close, Queen had become an impossible outfit to pigeonhole into a single genre. Their multifaceted sound helped them on their journey to stratospheric success while simultaneously garnering widespread appeal.

More importantly, Queen became a leading light in the music industry that new bands could look towards and realise that they didn’t need to conform but could be anything they chose. Of course, artists like The Beatles had previously shape-shifted with every album, aesthetically and sonically, but Queen evolved from one track to the next across the same LP.

A key facet that Mercury looked toward in other artists was a pioneering spirit and an ability to create a sound that was unlike anything that he’d previously heard. For this reason, he was infatuated with artists such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin during their primes, but the swathes of pale imitators who followed in their wake were less to his liking.

In the 1980s, Mercury provided a positive analysis of the current state of music and listed a variety of acts that he felt had enhanced the landscape. The first act he named was Tears For Fears, highlighting his love “because they wrote music I could really relate to”.

He also said of the group, via U Discover Music, “They had a lot of rhythm and at the same time a lot of aggression.” Other acts he celebrated include Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Spandau Ballet.

The Queen vocalist also cited comedy rock duo Flo and Eddie as another favourite and said they were “simply a riot; I liked them”.

In stark contrast to the aforementioned American act, Mercury then turned to Sheffield’s electronic innovators, The Human League, whom he christened “one of the best bands around.”

When the synth-pop icons released their debut album, Reproduction, in 1979, they were operating on a different wavelength from the majority of other acts in Britain. However, by 1981, audiences’ tastes had finally caught up to their forward-thinking approach and futuristic sound, with the band’s third album, Dare, becoming an international best-seller.

While they weren’t the first band in the world to embrace the synthesiser, The Human League helped bring the instrument to ears for the first time and show that this breed of music could be chart-topping rather than a niche, underground interest. Even Queen, with Mercury at the helm, would adopt synth-pop into their arsenal, most notably on ‘I Want to Break Free’. Partly thanks to The Human League, it has become equally as vital an instrument as the electric guitar in the musical sphere.