19 August 2022, 09:00 He was the no-nonsense bass player who preferred to stay in the background. But John Deacon also wrote some of Queen's most memorable
songs. John Deacon is very much the mystery man of the Queen story. The last to join the group in 1971, he also retired from music several years after the death of Freddie Mercury and hasn't been involved in Brian May and Roger Taylor's ongoing Queen tours with the singer Adam Lambert. Born on 19 August 1951 in Leicester, Deacon joined Queen aged just 20. The youngest of the group, he fitted into the established Queen set up very
well, calling himself "Deacon John" on the sleeve-notes of their first album to make himself sound more interesting. By the time of the band's third album Sheer Heart Attack, he was contributing songs too. Here are some of the highlights from the John Deacon/Queen songbook.
Who wrote most of Queen's songs?Freddie Mercury wrote, when it comes to studio albums and bonus tracks, 70 songs for Queen. This made him the main songwriter for Queen, however, the band's guitarist Brian May was also a close second. Freddie's first songs for Queen were from their debut album, Queen, for which he wrote five songs.
Who wrote most of the lyrics for Queen?Queen are one of the few classic-rock bands in which all four members individually contributed to the songwriting process. As the legendary group's guitarist, Brian May was responsible for penning more of them than anyone else in the band besides singer Freddie Mercury.
Who wrote each of the Queen songs?Songs
Was Freddie Mercury friends with John Deacon?John Deacon was especially close to Freddie Mercury who was a stabilising force for John, helping the quiet bass guitarist cope with the pressure of being in Queen. Ironically, it was John's quiet nature that endeared him to his bandmates in the first place.
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