John Deacon

John Deacon (born John Richard Deacon) on August 19th 1951 is an English bass guitarist born in Leicester, England.

## Early Life

Deacon’s first guitar was a red plastic Tommy Steele special which he had gotten at the age of seven.

John’s father, Arthur, however, led him in a different direction, encouraging John to tinker with electronics.

John's interest in music was also growing, particularly triggered when he bought The Beatles first two albums. Becoming a huge fan of the band, John took the decision to learn how to play the guitar. Diligently saving the money from his early morning paper round, John was able to buy a ‘proper’ guitar. He then threw himself into practicing, and was soon jamming in a friend's garage. By the age of fourteen John was well practiced enough to form his first band, The Opposition.

## Becoming Queen's Bassist

In October of 1970, John went to see a performance by a new band called Queen. He recalls, *"They were all dressed in black, and the lights were very dim too, so all I could see were four shadowy figures. They didn't make a lasting impression on me at the time.”*

But several months later, in early 1971, John again encountered Queen, when he was introduced to Brian May and Roger Taylor. For their part, they had not been impressed by the bass players they’d encountered and had just lost their seventh. They asked John if he was interested in auditioning and days later John found himself at a lecture hall at Imperial College where the band was rehearsing, on March 1st 1971, John Richard Deacon became the final member to join Queen, only being 19, being the 1st youngest band member, followed by Roger Taylor.

## Songwriting

It wasn’t until the band’s third album, *Sheer Heart Attack*, that John’s first composition for Queen appeared, with the rather catchy *Misfire*. More of a Pop/Motown kind of guy - strangely at odds with Brian and Roger’s rock roots and Freddie’s grand musical landscapes - John’s writing skills flourished in the recording sessions which followed. He would go on to compose some of Queen’s biggest and most popular hits including *You’re My Best Friend, I Want To Break Free’* and *Another One Bites the Dust*, propelling Queen’s career to new heights in the US, topping the charts for three weeks and being voted the Favourite Single in the Pop/Rock category at the American Music Awards in 1981. The Another One Bites the Dust single was such a hit right across the board that it even found an audience on the black audience radio stations, reaching No. 2 in the national R & B charts. Along with *We Are The Champions* and *We Will Rock You*, the song has passed into legend by becoming Queen’s third major sports anthem.

Other songs penned by John includes: Misfire(Sheer Heart Attack); You're My Best Friend(A Night At The Opera), You and I(A Day At The Races); Spread Your Wings, Who Needs You(News Of The World); IfCool You Can't Beat Them, In Only Seven Days(Jazz); Need Your Loving Tonight, Another One Bites The Dust(The Game); Back Chat, Under Pressure\*, Cool Cat\*(Hot Space); I Want To Break Free(The Works); One Year Of Love, Friends Will Be Friends\*, Pain Is So Close To Pleasure\*(A Kind Of Magic); The Miracle, My Baby Does Me\*(The Miracle); My Life Has Been Saved(Made In Heaven).

\*- Collaboration works

## Retiring

John took a brief foray into solo work when in 1986 he formed The Immortals, and released one single, *No Turning Back*, and contributing to the original soundtrack of the film Biggles, based on the Royal Flying Corps pilot character in the series of novels written by Captain W.E. Johns.

Today John lives a life retired from Queen but still takes an interest in the continuance of the legacy of the band, and remains in contact with former bandmates, Roger Taylor and Brian May.

John’s last appearance on stage with Queen was at the Paris National Théâtre de Chailioton 17 January 1997 at the Gala premiere of Maurice Béjart’s AIDS-inspired Ballet for Life, dedicated to Freddie Mercury and dancer, Jorge Donn, performing *The Show Must Go On* with Elton John joining the band on vocals.

John joined his former bandmates for one final time in October 1997 for the recording of the Brian May song, *No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)*, released by Queen as a personal tribute to the late Freddie Mercury.

## Fun Facts

John once was eating roasted peanuts and threw them at Brian's hair.

His favorite food is cheese on toast and his favourite drink is milk.

The nickname the Royal Family (Queen fans) gave him is Disco Deacy/Deaky, due to his amazing dancing skills.

He is the quietest member, but did interviews frequently.

He made his daughter cry when he came out in drag for the "I Want To Break Free" music video.

His character he portrayed in the *I Want to Break Free* music video was Ena Sharples.

JohnDeacy/Deaky/DeaksGrandma DeacyJohn behind the scenes of the "I Want to Break Free" music video