John Deacon: Queen’s bass player and least famous member never gets the credit he deserves. Time to put the records straight.
John Deacon’s Songs
First, John Deacon’s enviable songwriting back catalogue spanning over 20 years.
- Misfire (Sheer Heart Attack 1974)
- You’re My Best Friend (A Night at the Opera 1975)
- You and I (A Day at the Races 1976)
- Spread Your Wings (News of the World 1977)
- Who Needs You (News of the World 1977)
- If You Can’t Beat Them (Jazz 1978)
- In Only Seven Days (Jazz 1978)
- Another One Bites the Dust (The Game 1980)
- Need Your Loving Tonight (The Game 1980)
- Back Chat (Hot Space 1982)
- Cool Cat (Hot Space 1982)
- I Want to Break Free (The Works 1984)
- Pain Is So Close to Pleasure (A Kind of Magic 1986)
- Friends Will Be Friends (A Kind of Magic 1986)
- One Year of love (A Kind of Magic 1986)
- Rain Must Fall (The Miracle 1989)
- My Life Has Been Saved (Made in Heaven 1995)
In the illustrious songwriting company of Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor, you’d be forgiven for thinking John Deacon was merely ‘Queen’s Bass player’, but when you look at his work, it’s very much quality over quantity.
Most songwriters would kill for a CV like Johns.
The list above not only contains my favourite Queen Song, In Only Seven Days (Jazz) but also my stand-out tracks from a particular album, from Cool Cat (Hot Space) through to One Year of Love (A Kind of Magic), right up to their final Album with My Life has been saved.
What John Deacon did was provide an upbeat, heartfelt alternative to the expected, sometimes predictable Queen bombast. He gave the listener a breather and added yet another layer to an already very satisfying musical cake.
John Deacon’s Hits
You’re My Best Friend and I Want to Break Free were huge hits for Queen. Another of John’s, Another One Bites the Dust went a stage further in breaking Queen into the US market for the first time (famously on the advice of Michael Jackson). The rest is history. Would Queen have made it as big without him?
The Deacy Amp
A huge part of Queen’s signature sound is, of course, Brian May’s orchestral guitar work on his home-made Red Special Guitar. But those glorious tones weren’t the result of Brian’s Vox AC30 amplifiers, no, that’s thanks to a battery-powered transistor amp John built for Brian, which would become known as the Deacy.
Vox now produces its own version of the amp.
Here’s one of the best examples of the Deacy in action:
John Deacon’s Memorable Basslines
There aren’t many basslines out there that are instantly recognisable globally, but John Deacon created two: Another one bites the dust and Under Pressure. Say no more.
Sadly, some of his best work never made it into the mainstream. Check out Liar for example back from the early days.
John Deacon is the glue that kept Queen together
Queen: Some huge personalities in there isn’t there? The flamboyant and outrageous frontman (on stage at least), with unbelievable God-given talent: Freddie Mercury. The professor-like guitar legend and innovator: Brian May, to the screeching drumming animal with the model girlfriends, Roger Taylor.
Queen, in fact, was happy to remain a three-piece until they found just the right solid, calming influence. They didn’t want to upset the already fizzing chemistry they knew one day would change the world, so they hired John Deacon.
It’s been said that John was often a mediator, a calming influence, and a close friend of Freddie. I’m not going to speculate anymore on these pages, as I wasn’t there, but you get the impression having John Deacon in the band helped with the overall band atmosphere and synergy.
Without John, maybe the famous arguments would have cut Queen’s legacy short?
John Deacon is underrated as a player
It’s not all about catchy hooks, John’s playing has much more depth to it than that. I particularly love the way he compliments the piano to a lot of Queen intros with his own high-register melodic work. Bohemian Rhapsody is the classic example, but here’s something a little more interesting.
John’s knack for ear-catching melodies has also been a big influence on my own songwriting with the outro to Sail Away Sweet Sister being a stand-out, restrained performance.
Queen’s genre-hopping style, from the origins of heavy metal (John was a co-writer on Stone Cold Crazy) to opera via funk, disco, and even the odd film score (with Flash Gordon and Highlander), would be more than a match for most players, but to Johns credit he made it look ridiculously easy.
John Deacon left Queen at the right time
A controversial and sensitive one I know, but with all due respect to Roger and Brian, Queen, for many, ceased to be when Freddie passed. Adam Lambert or even the great Paul Rodgers couldn’t replace him, no-one could, so I really respect that John effectively bowed out of the business soon after the tribute concert, at the top of his game and career.
As far as we are concerned, this is it. There is no point carrying on. It is impossible to replace Freddie. (Bassist Magazine – April 1996)
Conclusion
John Deacon is an underrated player and songwriter who contributed greatly to the Queen sound (not just with bass, but also the Deacy guitar amp), as well as their hits, breaking the notoriously difficult US market with Another One Bites the Dust.
He was the perfect foil to the chemistry of the three founding members and left the music business when he was still on top.
Thanks for the music and the inspiration, John, and happy retirement!
What are you’re thoughts on John’s playing and music? Drop me a comment below.