This is mere conjecture, but it seems to me that the more open Freddie Mercury became about his homosexuality, the more the Queen touring imagery went into panicky hetro cartoon overdrive. See if you can spot the subtle differences between the pre-moustache 1977 stage pass and the post-moustache 1979 onwards tours.

Check out the original cover of Astounding Stories from October 1953. The artist, Frank Kelly Freas, redrew the image in 1977 for the Queen News Of The World album, and whilst it is a great shame he died in 2005, I hope he was spared the sight of what a colossal balls up Parlophone made of the album cover for the CD re-release, whereby what had been a beautiful gatefold image of the full figure of the robot ended up chopped in two with the lower half rotated 90%.

When muppets attack

The muppets specialise in simultaneously satirising and celebrating their targets, and although I feel they slightly over egg the pudding with the manamahs etc, they hit numerous high points here. "I see a little silhuetto of a clam", heh.

The legendary drummer of Cornwall and...

I want to go back to 1971 and go to this weeks gigs at the Driftwood Spars in Cornwall. Especially Hairy Magpie and Monty on the wurlitzer. I detect a slight dismissiveness about Tuesdays "It's folk, with Ian" but you can see who the big draw is. Do you think that every time over the next forty three years that an announcer has gone "Now welcome...Queen!" Roger Taylor has muttered under his breath, "That's Roger Taylor AND Queen...".

Queen night on 27th February so let's go right back to the beginning. Believe it or not this is a pre first Queen album Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor moonlighting on producer Robin Cable's attempt to recreate Phil Spector's wall of sound with a cover of a Beach Boys track. Recorded in 1972 and released in April 1972 it wasn't a hit anywhere and was pretty much a rumour until appearing again on solo Freddie best of CDs. I think it's fairly clear from the nom de plume how seriously this was being taken.
 

Who is the most banned Beatle? Lennon, you would think, with his naked album covers and occasional sweary songs, but for most blanket bans across media groups the winner is, surprisingly, wacky baccy thumbs aloft cheery chappie Paul McCartney. In 1972 his Wings single "Give Ireland Back to The Irish" was completely banned from airplay by all UK media, as well as on Radio Luxemborg. Rush written and released as a response to the Bloody Sunday Shootings, this is as political as pop music can get. With no inference either way on the views expressed in the lyric to be taken from these statements, the track itself is a bit of a sonic soft seventies mush. Lyrically and musically it is pretty thin stuff, and unlikely to have got a crowd going. The title probably conveyed all McCartney intended by itself. Number one in Eire and Spain, number 21 in the USA and number 16 in the UK, so "banned" but not prohibited, although generally overlooked in most retrospectives. NB - despite the title of the you tube link, this single did not appear on any McCartney LP until bonus tracks were added to CD re-issues in the late nineties.

 

 

Wednesday 13th February for banned and censored songs night at the music club. Banned by whom, by what method, and for what purpose?

 

These are the lyrics to Song in Contravention by Momus, an artist who himself has been on the receiving end of censure since the outset (and not without good reason in the opinion of many). The brilliant album from which it is taken, Hippopotamomus, is still banned in it's original form for two entirely separate reasons, both of which will be explained on 13th at the Music Club banned songs night,... since I own both the original and revised versions. "This love outside the law, is strongest of them all - pass it on".

Song giving descriptions of an unnamed act of love
The court will call this song Exhibit A
Song including details of the persons taking part
And the actual words these persons say

Song in contravention of sections of the law
Members of the jury take your time
Remember even listening if only this far in
Already makes you guilty of a crime

This love in contravention
They see fit to ban
That woman feels for woman, man for man
This love outside the law is the strongest love of all
Pass it on (pass it on)
To sing this song is a crime of love
Sing this song (sing this song)

Song giving descriptions of an unnamed act of love
Outlawed by the government this year
A song giving descriptions of forbidden forms of love
Is passing at this moment through your ear

Song in contravention of sections of the law
That deal with making public private thoughts
With lyrics so explicit and descriptions so perverse
They constitute the crime that it reports

This love in contravention
They see fit to ban
That woman feels for woman, man for man
This love outside the law is the strongest love of all
Pass it on (pass it on)
To sing this song is a crime of love
Sing this song (sing this song)

In the perfumed garden the apprentice sits alone
Like a Persian miniature in stone
The jury and the witnesses are kneeling at the throne
Waiting for the judgement to come down

Song giving descriptions of an unnamed act of love
An act of love is taking place
Sung with your consent, the song has reached its very end
The prosecution rests its case

(The prosecution rests its case)