Brian May insists John Deacon is still 'very much part of Queen'
26 years after he left the band
Guitar legend Brian May has insisted that John Deacon is still ‘very much part of Queen’ 26 years after he quit the band.
Bassist John Deacon exited the music industry and public life for good in 1997 shortly after recording the Queen single ‘No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)’.
Deacon was a pivotal member of Queen from 1971 and contributed to all 15 of their studio albums from 1973’s ‘Queen’ through to 1995’s ‘Made in Heaven’, however he hasn’t been involved in the two collaborative versions of the band, Queen + Paul Rodgers and Queen + Adam Lambert.
Brian May recently took part in a ‘reader interview’ with The Guardian where he answered a series of cutting questions put to him by fans.
One fan asked the double question – whether he had any “inkling” that Deacon would quit Queen for good, and why did he think Deacon walked away.
“All I can say is that, historically, John was quite sensitive to stress,” Sir Brian replied. “We all found it hard, losing Freddie (Mercury), but I think John particularly struggled.
“We did do a couple of things together, in 1996: the recording of ‘No One But You’ – the song I wrote about Freddie when we were putting up the statue to commemorate him in Montreux (Switzerland) – and one show in Paris.
“It was to open the ballet season with an amazing new work by Maurice Béjart, about Mozart and Queen. We played with John on bass, and Elton John sang with us.
“At that moment, John just looked at us and said, ‘I can’t do this any more’. We knew that he at least needed a break, but as it turned out he never came back.”
Explaining how John Deacon is still involved in Queen, Brian continued: “I don’t think that I can go into much more detail – we have to respect the fact that John needs his privacy now – but he’s still part of the machinery of the band.
“If we have any major decision, business wise, it’s always run past John. It doesn’t mean he talks to us – generally he doesn’t – but he will communicate in some way. He’s still very much part of Queen.”
The childhood homes of famous rock stars, including Freddie Mercury:
Joe Elliott’s childhood home
Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott was born and raised at 61 Crookes Road in Sheffield. Ahead of Def Leppard's homecoming gigs at The Leadmill and Bramall Lane in May 2023, Joe visited the property. He wrote: "The house I was born in, grew up in, met Sav & Tony Kenning for the very time in that upstairs room you can see above me …. Sigh …. Memories!!"
Ozzy Osbourne’s childhood home
One of six children, Ozzy Osbourne spent his formative years in this small two-bedroom terraced house on Lodge Road in Aston. Ozzy told Huffington Post in 2014: "I've been back to that house a few times over the years and I can't believe there were eight of us living in a two-and-a-half-bedroom house. It is tiny! I have wardrobes bigger in my house."
John Lennon’s childhood home
Now a lovingly restored Grade II listed building preserved by the National Trust, John Lennon lived at 251 Menlove Avenue in Liverpool with his Aunt Mimi from 1945 to 1963. It featured on the cover to Oasis single 'Live Forever' in 1994 and in 2000 it was adorned with an English Heritage blue plaque.
Paul McCartney’s childhood home
Sir Paul McCartney's childhood home at 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, south Liverpool. It became a listed building in 2012 and is owned by the National Trust. The Trust markets the house as "the birthplace of the Beatles" as it was where McCartney and Lennon penned the earliest Beatles songs.
Ringo Starr’s childhood home
Ringo Starr (aka Richard Starkey) spent his very early childhood years at a terraced house on Madryn Street in Liverpool but moved to at two-up, two-down house 10 Admiral Grove in Dingle when he was 3 with mum Elsie when his parents separated. He lived there for the next 20 years. Pictured is 10 Admiral Grove in 1964.
David Bowie’s childhood home
40 Stansfield Road in Brixton where a young David Jones - aka David Bowie – lived until he was six years old. The house became a shrine for Bowie when the music legend died in January 2016.
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
Kurt Cobain's childhood home in Aberdeen, Washington. Nirvana fan Lee Bacon bought the house in 2018 for $225,000 (around £170,000) and told Rolling Stone: "My goal is to preserve and restore it for my generation and for my kids."
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
Kurt Cobain's Led Zeppelin graffiti is still on the walls in his attic bedroom.
Little Richard’s childhood home
The late rock and roll pioneer was brought up alongside his eleven siblings in this detached home in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood of Macon, Georgia in the 1930s and 40s. Now named The Little Richard Resource Center, the home is now open to the public and hosts a number of community events.
Bruce Springsteen’s childhood home
Bruce Springsteen grew up in this home at 39 1/2 Institute Street in Freehold, New Jersey from the years 1955 to 1962. It was while living at this house aged 7 in 1956 that Springsteen witnessed Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show and decided he wanted to be a musician himself.
Johnny Cash’s childhood home
Meticulously restored in 2014 thanks to funds from Arkansas State University, Johnny Cash's boyhood home is in the tiny town of Dyess, Arkansas.
Jim Morrison’s childhood home
Jim Morrison's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he lived in his teens while his dad worked at the nearby Kirtland Air Force Base.
Bono’s childhood home
Paul 'Bono' Hewson's parents bought this house on Cedarwood Road, Dublin seven weeks after his birth in 1960 and he spent his entire childhood here. The U2 song 'Cedarwood Road' on their 2014 album 'Songs of Innocence' is a nostalgic musical celebration of Bono's boyhood abode.
Freddie Mercury’s childhood home
Aged 17, Freddie Mercury and his family fled the Zanzibar revolution to live at 22 Gladstone Avenue in Feltham, West London. Pictured is Queen's Brian May and Freddie's younger sister Kashmira Cooke at the unveiling of a Blue Plaque at the house in September 2016.
Lars Ulrich’s childhood home
Lars Ulrich lived in this uniquely designed property in Hellerup, Denmark with his family until he moved to America aged 17.
Mick Jagger’s childhood home
Sir Mick Jagger was brought up in this semi-detached house in Dartford, Kent. His future bandmate Keith Richards lived just around the corner.
Keith Richards’ childhood home
Keith Richards spent the first six years of his life living in this two-bedroom flat above a florists in Dartford, Kent.
Axl Rose’s childhood home
Axl Rose lived at this humble Lafayette, Indiana house from 1962 to 1982 before moving to Los Angeles in his early twenties.
Marc Bolan’s childhood home
The young Mark Field (Marc Bolan) lived at this terraced property on Stoke Newington Common, London from his birth in 1947 to aged 15 in 1962. In 2005, the London Borough of Hackney honoured Bolan with a plaque outside the property.
Elvis Presley’s childhood home
The humble two-bedroom house in Tupelo, Mississippi where The King himself Elvis Presley was born on 8th January 1935. It was built by his father Vernon after he successfully secured a $180 loan.
Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home
John Francis Bongiovi Jr.'s childhood home in Sayreville, New Jersey. Astonishingly, MTV bought the home in 1989 and gave it away in a competition. Jon Bon Jovi was reported to be "angry" at the publicity stunt and the competition winner soon sold the property.
Noel and Liam Gallagher's childhood home
Soon after Liam's birth, the Gallaghers moved to Ashby Avenue and then to Cranwell Drive in Burnage (pictured). With a violent and alcoholic father, Noel and his brothers had an unhappy childhood before mum Peggy left Thomas in 1982 with her three children.
Now read:
20 facts you probably didn't know about Freddie Mercury
Queen: The band who gave us 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and many more hits
Queen: A celebration of the legendary band in pictures