Northumberland Rocks
Striker
Having read a lot in queen I think you are pretty much spot on.It was interesting for a more engaged fan but it wouldn’t have been as interesting for the movie going public. It isn’t all “bollocks” as there has been a strong perception for a long time that this actually was the case and as we all know, perception is reality! The band were tired and wanted to try their own things, Roger was already on his second solo album at this point for instance, the Works Tour; although headline grabbing in terms of their audience sizes in South America, saw some of Queen’s poorest live performances (the Wembley Arena gigs are very poor). So the general perception was that Queen were “washed up” stands up; this is obviously difficult to portray in a movie with time constraints, so they have done what they needed to do. I agree Sun City was a big factor in them not being invited to play a part in the Band Aid single (though the band have disputed this), but Bob Geldof wanted them for Live Aid from day 1 - this by his own admission, it’s talked about in the Magic Years documentaries and how they, particularly Freddie had to be tracked down individually to get them to play, again Freddie was the last to commit. It wasn’t Mary that saved Freddie from oblivion in Munich, it was Barbara Valentin, she saw what the pressure of the big solo deal and Paul Prenter’s insidious manipulation were doing to him, and helped him realise this. But again, it’s easier told in the context of a one true love storyline. The money involved in Freddie’s solo deal was also a major factor, more so than the album itself.
The May, Taylor thing is crap honestly. They loved him and clearly still do. See how vehemently they defended him in the days and weeks following his death - even when a lot of the allegations made were based on truth. Freddie was no angel and neither were the others, but I truly don’t believe there is an agenda in this movie to make the rest of the band look good at Freddie’s expense.