Queen is a much-loved band and quite frankly, I’ve never heard anyone say they don’t like Queen. With that being said, Queen did not like one particular thing their fans did and the band’s guitarist has shed some light on what it was.
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Queen hated fans singing along
In an interview, Queen’s guitarist Brian May revealed that the band hated it when the crowd would sing along with them during concerts.
According to May, the reason behind this was that they put a lot of work into their songs and wanted their fans to appreciate and listen to their hard work:
I think we were quite irritated by it! We thought, 'People, just listen, we’re working really hard, so bloody well listen!'
However, the band did end up changing their minds about this part of concerts and it led to a certain song being written.
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The inspiration behind We Will Rock You
In the end, the band realised they wouldn’t be able to stop their fans from singing every word to each of their songs, so they decided to create a song just for them.
Brian May told Total Guitar magazine:
I thought, ‘What can you ask an audience to do if that audience is all crammed in together?’
Adding:
There’s not much they can do except stamp their feet and clap their hands, but they can also sing. And if they can chant, what would they chant? And with that, I could hear it in my head: ‘We will, we will rock you!’
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May then revealed that he was unsure whether his idea to have a song ‘led by the audience’ would work as it seemed like an ‘over-simplistic’ idea. He wasn't the only member who was unsure about the idea.
Once Freddie Mercury began to sing We Will Rock You he was more confident:
As soon as I heard Freddie [Mercury] singing it, I started to be more confident, because he sounded like a kind of rabble-rouser.
Sources used:
Daily Mail: ‘This will, this will shock you! Queen hated fans singing along at shows, guitarist and We Will Rock You writer Brian May reveals’