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For the motorcyclist, see John Deacon (motorcyclist). John Deacon (1962 – August 9 2001) was a Motorcycle enduro racer
For the medieval chroniclers named "John, deacon of. . . ", see John the Deacon. Johannes Diaconus ( John the Deacon) may be John deacon of Rome (d
John Deacon
Deacon onstage in 1979.
Deacon onstage in 1979.
Background information
Birth name John Richard Deacon
Born 19 August 1951 (1951-08-19) (age 56)
Oadby, Leicester, England
Genre(s) Hard rock, Heavy metal, Glam rock, Pop rock, Progressive rock
Occupation(s) Musician, Songwriter
Instrument(s) Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Years active 1971 – 1997
Associated acts Queen
Notable instrument(s)
Fender Precision Bass
Music Man Stingray

John Richard Deacon (born August 19, 1951, in Leicester) is a retired English musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Oadby is a town within the borough of Oadby and Wigston, in Leicestershire, England. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock Glam rock (also known as glitter rock) is a sub-genre of Rock music that developed in the UK in the post- Hippie early 1970s which was "performed by Pop rock is a hybrid of Pop music and Rock music that uses catchy pop style with light lyrics over top of guitar-based songs Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a Musical keyboard. A backing vocalist or backing singer (or especially in the US Queen were an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist The Fender Precision Bass (sometimes shortened to the " P Bass " is an electric bass guitar, and was the first widely-available model of the instrument Music Man is an American Guitar, and Bass guitar manufacturer Music Man StingRay is an electric bass guitar by Music Man, introduced in 1976 Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African Queen were an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Of the four members of the band, Deacon was the youngest and last to join. Deacon wrote some of Queen's biggest hits, such as "You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bites the Dust" and "I Want to Break Free". " You're My Best Friend " is a song penned by John Deacon and performed by British rock band Queen. " Another One Bites the Dust " is a 1980 Funk-rock song from the English rock band Queen. " I Want to Break Free " ( is a Song performed by Queen, which was written exclusively by bassist John Deacon. He also played rhythm and acoustic guitars on several albums as well as occasional keyboards. Rhythm guitar is the use of a Guitar to provide Rhythmic chordal Accompaniment for a singer or other instruments in a Musical ensemble A steel-string acoustic guitar, is a modern form of Guitar descended from the Classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter louder sound

Deacon retired from the music business in the late 1990s, and has chosen not to participate in the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour. The Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration began in late 2004 when Queen were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame He was also absent from Queen's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001.

Contents

Biography

Deacon grew up in Leicester where his father Arthur worked for the Norwich Union insurance company. Norwich Union is an Insurance company in the UK. It is the biggest life-insurer in the UK and has a strong position in motor insurance He was known to friends as 'Deaks' and attended Langmoor Junior School, Gartree High School and Beauchamp Grammar School in the city and achieved 8 GCE O level and 3 A level passes, all at grade A. The O-level (Ordinary Level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education (GCE The A-level, short for Advanced Level, is a General Certificate of Education qualification in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, It was in Leicester that he formed his first band, The Opposition, in 1965 at the age of fourteen. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. He played a rhythm guitar bought with money loaned by one of the other band members. Rhythm guitar is the use of a Guitar to provide Rhythmic chordal Accompaniment for a singer or other instruments in a Musical ensemble He became the bassist after the original bassist was fired for not being of the same quality as the rest of the band. As well as a dedicated musician Deacon also was the band's archivist, taking clippings from newspapers of even the advertisements featuring The Opposition. After being in the band for four years, Deacon played his final concert with the band (now called The Art) in August 1969. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He left as he had been accepted to study at Chelsea College.

Although he left his bass and amplifier at home in Oadby, Leicester after less than a year in London where he went on to achieve a First Class Honours Degree in electronics at King's College London, he decided he wanted to join a band. Oadby is a town within the borough of Oadby and Wigston, in Leicestershire, England. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional King's College London is a British Higher education institution and co-founding constituent college of the federal University of London. By this time Queen had already been formed by Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, and Deacon even saw them in October of 1970. Brian Harold May, CBE Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991 was a Zanzibar -born British Musician, best known as the lead Roger Taylor (born Roger Meddows-Taylor on July 26, 1949 in Dersingham, Norfolk later moved to Kings Lynn is an English Musician Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In early 1971 he was introduced to Taylor and May by a friend at a disco who told him that they were in a band that had just lost its bassist. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. A couple of days later he auditioned in a lecture room at Imperial College London and became the last member of Queen to join the band. Imperial College London (officially The Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine as given in its Royal Charter It is one of only three universities to have reached Since the band's last bassist drew attention away from Mercury, Deacon was selected for his musical talent, his quiet demeanour and his electrical skills. A persistent legend claims Deacon was the seventh bassist auditioned.

On Queen's first album he was credited as "Deacon John". Queen is the self-titled debut album from the English rock band Queen, released in 1973. Not long after its release, he requested that he be referred to by his proper name.

His first writing credit did not come until Queen's third album, Sheer Heart Attack. For the Queen song of the same name see News of the World (album. The first song Deacon wrote on his own was the song "Misfire" from the same album, a Caribbean-themed song that garnered little attention. He would achieve much greater success with his second song, "You're My Best Friend", which went on to be an international hit. " You're My Best Friend " is a song penned by John Deacon and performed by British rock band Queen.

He was the 'quiet' member of the band, and the others said that he was in charge of most of the finances. His last public appearance with the band was at an AIDS Charity event in 1997, and his last direct involvement with Queen, was with the recording of "No-One But You". " No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young " is the only new song recorded by the remaining three members of the British rock band Queen following the death

He has made it clear that he endorses the 'Queen' projects put forward by Brian May and Roger Taylor, and was partially involved in the early stages of the preparation for the We Will Rock You musical. Brian Harold May, CBE Roger Taylor (born Roger Meddows-Taylor on July 26, 1949 in Dersingham, Norfolk later moved to Kings Lynn is an English Musician We Will Rock You (abbreviated as WWRY) is a Jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of But currently, Deacon has retired from the music scene, and even declined to participate in the recent Queen + Paul Rodgers tour. The Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration began in late 2004 when Queen were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame According to The Sun, he was not impressed with Robbie Williams's version of "We Are the Champions", recorded for A Knight's Tale, about the colaboration he said "It is one of the greatest songs ever written but I think they've ruined it. The Sun is a Tabloid daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the highest circulation of any daily English-language Robert Peter Maximilian Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer See also Af banen (Danish film also known as We Are the Champions See also We Are the Champions (TV series " We Are the Champions A Knight's Tale is a 2001 action / adventure / romantic comedy directed produced and written by Brian Helgeland. I don't want to be nasty but let's just say Robbie Williams is no Freddie Mercury. Freddie can never be replaced - and certainly not by him", and he was also less than pleased with the re-make of "We Will Rock You" done by Britney Spears, Pink and Beyoncé with Brian May and Roger Taylor for a UK Pepsi television commercial in 2004. " We Will Rock You " is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen. Britney Jean Spears (born December 2 1981 is an American recording artist and entertainer Alecia Beth Moore (born September 8 1979 known professionally as P!nk is a two-time Grammy -winning American Singer-songwriter who gained prominence Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4 1981 commonly known as Beyoncé (biːˈɑn Pepsi-Cola is a carbonated beverage that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo.

He lives in Putney in South West London with his wife Veronica Tetzlaff. Putney is a district of south-west London in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Married since January 18, 1975 [1], the two have six children: Robert (born 1975), Michael (born 1978), Laura (born 1979), Joshua (born 1983), Luke (born 1992) and Cameron (born 1993). Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

John Deacon occasionally visits the Queen fan club to keep up to date with the world of Queen but remains an elusive character. He enjoys playing golf, and music-wise "likes a bit of everything". According to The Sunday Times Rich List he was worth £65 million in 2008. The Sunday Times is a Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. [1]

As a trained electronic engineer, he often used to jimmy up equipment for the band. His most famous creation is the "Deacy Amp", used by Deacon and Brian May, for instance for the guitar part on the ending of Bohemian Rhapsody. The Deacy Amp is an Amplifier created by and named after Queen Bassist John Deacon and used by Guitarist Brian May.

As a performer

“ Let's just say that the product of drummer Roger Meddows Taylor and bassist Deacon John[2] is explosive, a colossal sonic volcano whose eruption maketh the earth tremble. — Gordon Fletcher - Rolling Stone 149[3] ”

Deacon played guitar in addition to bass, taking over rhythm parts in many albums, as well as several acoustic performances. Some of the guitar work on Hot Space (the clean fender single-coil sound) is the work of Deacon. Hot Space is an Album by English Rock band Queen, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music) Even if he never mastered his keyboard abilities, he would occasionally play synthesizers on his own compositions and often composed at the piano, playing an electric one on his top ten hit "You're My Best Friend". He can also be seen playing the grand piano in the video to "Spread Your Wings", although he didn't play it on the studio version. Spread Your Wings is a song by Queen, from their 1977 album News of the World.

Highlights

Mostly, Deacon's compositions varied from pop rock to funk. Though he did not write many songs (usually only one or two an album, the same number as drummer Roger Taylor would submit into an album), he has been responsible for three of Queen's largest hits: "You're My Best Friend" (from A Night at the Opera), "Another One Bites the Dust" (from The Game) and "I Want to Break Free" (from The Works). A Night at the Opera is a 1975 album by English rock band Queen. The Works is a 1984 rock album by English band Queen. The band's eleventh studio album it marked a partial return to their rock To this day "You're My Best Friend" and "Another One Bites the Dust" are two of the most played songs on radio.

As a bass player his most notable works include "Another One Bites the Dust", "Father to Son" "Dragon Attack", "Brighton Rock", "The March of the Black Queen", "You're My Best Friend", "The Millionaire Waltz", "We Are the Champions", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "Under Pressure. See also Af banen (Danish film also known as We Are the Champions See also We Are the Champions (TV series " We Are the Champions " Crazy Little Thing Called Love " is a song performed by the English rock band Queen, written by singer Freddie Mercury. This article refers to the Queen & David Bowie song For other uses of the name see Under Pressure (disambiguation " Under " As a guitar player, he did some rhythm-playing in songs like "Staying Power" (both live and in the studio) and "Back Chat", as well as lead parts in "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Misfire" and Spanish acoustic fills in "Who Needs You". He also played double bass, notably on Brian May's 1975 song "'39". The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. ' 39 is a song by English guitarist Brian May and first recorded by his band Queen for their album A Night at the Opera in May had asked him to play upright bass as a joke but a couple of days later he found Deacon in the studio with the instrument, and he had already learned to play it. [4]

Deacon's contributions in keyboards were mostly just background chords; his most notable work is in his composition "You're My Best Friend", which was the first song he wrote on the electric piano. Deacon also played triangle in live versions of "Killer Queen" (it hung off his microphone) and some piano. The triangle is an Idiophone type of Musical instrument in the percussion family " Killer Queen " is a 1974 song by the British rock band Queen.

Style

Deacon's style was one that was rarely seen in rock bands during the 1970s. Rather than just serving a background role and playing root notes, he used the bass guitar as a lead instrument as well as a rhythm instrument. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Some of his lines on the bass are very intricate and difficult to play, such as "The Millionaire Waltz," "I'm Going Slightly Mad," and "You're My Best Friend", granting his technique an affinity with Motown's lead style bass lines. "Motown" redirects here For the city see Detroit Michigan. Some of Queen's songs, such as "Dragon Attack", "Another One Bites the Dust" and "A Kind of Magic", feature the bass as the main instrument. " Another One Bites the Dust " is a 1980 Funk-rock song from the English rock band Queen. "A Kind of Magic" is a Rock song written by Roger Taylor for the film Highlander, for which Queen wrote the music When performing with Queen, Deacon delivered a highly technical style, with numerous runs, walking bass lines and tight quick note changes. Deacon mainly used his fingers, though sometimes he did use a pick. One of his trademarks is the licking of his fingers when playing and the sticking of two picks under the Pick guard. He generally didn't play with a floating thumb and occasionally played with his thumb itself.

Another trademark of Deacon's playing are his bass runs. In a 1975 review of Sheer Heart Attack, the reviewer wrote: "Only at the end would a new initiate to Queen recognize John Deacon's unmistakable trademark: the bass runs under the fade are a fast and facile as any to be heard. For the Queen song of the same name see News of the World (album. The least well known musician in Queen is one of his rock generation's most able. "[5]

Singer

Deacon is the only member of Queen never to sing any lead vocals on any of their tracks. He even admitted it in interviews that he was incapable of competing with the three strong vocalists in the group. However, Deacon sang (backing vocals) into Freddie Mercury's microphone during the middle bridge of "Liar" (the "all day long" lines) when it was performed live as a testament to the film clip in which he does the same thing. While some people believe Deacon was actually singing, he was joined by Roger Taylor, Brian May and Freddie Mercury during that section, therefore it isn't known if it was merely a visual trick or if Deacon actually did some uncredited backing vocals. Regardless, he also sang backing vocals to less operatic sections on several songs, including "Tie Your Mother Down," "Radio Ga Ga" and (parts of) "Somebody To Love (In which he sang mid pitch vocals on a low tone microphone). " In many of their music videos ("Bohemian Rhapsody," "You're My Best Friend, Friends Will Be Friends" etc. A Kind of Magic is a 1986 album by English rock band Queen. It was the band's twelfth Studio album, and is based on the soundtrack ), he appears to be singing backing vocals, but this was merely a visual trick.

Gear

John Deacon's first bass was an Eko; he later got a Rickenbacker 4001, which is what he used for his audition for Queen, the very first concerts and the recording sessions at De Lane Lea in 1971. Eko is an Italian manufacturer of electric guitars acoustic guitars and similar instruments catering to professional level and manufacturing largely for export For the American WWI fighter pilot see Eddie Rickenbacker. For the airport see Rickenbacker International Airport. When the band began recording at Trident, he had problems with it and acquired a Fender Precision 1967 model with the silver 1966 transition logo and sunburst finish, which became his main instrument for the last concerts in 1972 and all the 1973-1975 tours. The Fender Precision Bass (sometimes shortened to the " P Bass " is an electric bass guitar, and was the first widely-available model of the instrument A Sunburst is a design or figure commonly used in architectural ornaments and design patterns It consists of parts radiating out from a central disk in the manner As a back-up he had another one of the same model, but with the black 1969 transition logo. Before the beginning of the 'Night At The Opera' sessions he stripped the paint off both, left them with a natural finish, and switched them; from then on the black logo one would be his main guitar for most tours and recordings.

In early 1977, Deacon got two new basses: a Fender Precision Fretless, which he used for "'39" (emulating the double bass he used in the original recording) and "My Melancholy Blues" on stage and a Music Man Stingray which he used as main for the "Day At The Races" tour and some videos. Music Man is an American Guitar, and Bass guitar manufacturer From the 'News of the World' tour up until 'The Works' tour in 1985, the Musicman would remain for just specific numbers ("Sheer Heart Attack", "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Back Chat"), and used sometimes in the studio as well. The fretless type kept being used for "'39" and "My Melancholy Blues" live until the end of the decade.

During late 1977, at the beginnings of "News of the World" tour in the States, he tried another Fender P-Bass, a 1954 Masterbuilt model, but eventually gave it up and returned to the black logo '67 model. The old Fender kept being used occasionally as back-up, in the recordings of "Coming Soon" (1979) and in the video of "Back Chat" (1982).

In 1980, Kramer made him a custom bass, which he used as back-up for some tours and in videos (e. g. "Play the Game", "Las Palabras De Amor"). Play The Game may refer to Play the Game (film Play the Game (song by Queen Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love is a song by English Rock band Queen. Next year, Fender gave him a special prototype model which Deacon used for recording "Under Pressure" for the "Hot Space" album and performing it during the 1981-1985 period.

A new Fender P-Bass came to his hands: a red Elite 1, which he used for mimed performances, some videos and recordings (e. g. "One Vision"). " One Vision " is a song written and recorded by the band Queen, first released as a single in 1985 and then included on their 1986 album In 1986, John Deacon got a Warwick Buzzard, used for some videos and mimed performances, but not on recordings. Before the Magic Tour, he refurbished and spray-painted his Precision bass black and continued using it as main instrument for several gigs (e. Black is the Color of objects that do not emit or Reflect Light in any part of the Visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of g. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"). The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was an open-air concert held on Easter Monday, April 20 1992 at " No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young " is the only new song recorded by the remaining three members of the British rock band Queen following the death

For other instruments, John Deacon mostly used Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars, his main was a custom Tele which he used on stage. The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of Electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares In the recordings of "Misfire" he demonstrated he too could play guitar harmonies. For acoustic he mostly used Martin D-18 and Ovation. The Ovation Guitar Company, a holding of Kaman Music Corporation, is a Guitar manufacturing company based in Bloomfield Connecticut, USA. The piano he played in "Another One Bites the Dust" was a Bösendorfer and in "You're My Best Friend" a Wurlitzer (though Brian May has stated that it was a Fender Rhodes). Bösendorfer (L Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is an Austrian Piano manufacturer now a Wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha. The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, is an American company formerly a producer of stringed instruments woodwind brass instruments A Rhodes piano is an electromechanical Musical instrument, a brand of Electric piano. For synths, he used Oberheim OB-X, Roland Jupiter 8 and Yamaha DX7. The Oberheim OB-X is an analog polyphonic Synthesizer. It was the first Oberheim synthesizer that was created with internal prewired modules The Jupiter-8, Roland 's flagship Analog synthesizer of the early 1980s is an eight-voice polyphonic synth and is considered one The Yamaha DX7 was a Synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986, based on FM synthesis developed by

Leaving Queen

The death of Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury affected Deacon deeply, and after playing live with Queen twice more (at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness on 20th April 1992 and in Paris on 17th January 1997 -performing only The Show Must Go On with Elton John on lead vocals-), he made the decision to retire from music, re-appearing only briefly by joining his ex-band mates in October 1997 for the recording of the final Queen song "No-One But You", included in the "Queen Rocks" album released a month later. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was an open-air concert held on Easter Monday, April 20 1992 at Sir Elton Hercules John CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947 is an English pop / rock Singer, Composer He has chosen not to be present at Queen's induction into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001, or tour in the collaboration Queen + Paul Rodgers. The Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration began in late 2004 when Queen were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame

Discography

Main article: Queen discography

Queen songs John Deacon wrote that were released as singles:

Selected Queen album tracks:

Selected solo efforts:

Collaborations

Quotes about Deacon


References

  1. ^ http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/rich_list_search/?l=17&list_name=Rich+List+2008&advsearch=1&t=1&x=33&y=3&i=Music
  2. ^ John Deacon was credited as Deacon John on Queen. Danny Miranda is an American Bassist, (BrooklynUSA 21 March 1964 Queen is the self-titled debut album from the English rock band Queen, released in 1973.
  3. ^ Rolling Stone - Issue 149 - 12-06-1973
  4. ^ Brian May. Queen Legends.
  5. ^ 1975-03-XX - Circus

External links


Persondata
NAME Deacon, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Musician
DATE OF BIRTH August 19, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January
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