by Meghan Breitberg
While he was the quietest member of Queen, John Deacon was an absolute powerhouse of a bassist and songwriter, writing some of Queen’s biggest hits such as “Another One Bites the Dust” and “You’re My Best Friend.” So, who is John Deacon and how is he one of the best rock bassists of all time?
Deacon became the fourth and final member of Queen in 1971. He was the 8th bassist that the band auditioned, and he fit their sound perfectly. At the time of his audition, Deacon was an electronics engineering student at Chelsea College of London. He created the “Deacy Amp,” which he electronically modified to create different sounds and effects for his bass. Members of the band often described John as a very quiet and reserved individual, yet a powerhouse when it came to his bass playing abilities.
While John Deacon didn’t write songs for Queen’s first two albums, Queen and Queen II, he wrote his first song on the album Sheer Heart Attack, “Misfire,” which band members and fans hypothesized as an innuendo. A Night At The Opera featured Deacon’s first hit song, “You’re My Best Friend,” a song dedicated to his wife Veronica. While John didn’t have another hit song until 1980, he continued to write for the band on their albums, writing songs such as “You And I” featured on A Day At The Races, “Who Needs You” on News Of The World, and “In Only Seven Days” on Jazz.
In 1980, the music scene was starting to change, and Deacon had something up his sleeve. Being inspired by the sounds of Motown, funk, and disco, Deacon wrote one of the most iconic basslines ever recorded for his song “Another One Bites The Dust,” which was featured on The Game, and went to #1 on the Billboard charts. By 1982, the band was on top of the world, constantly going on tour, and topping the charts. The band put out the album Hot Space which was controversial for many reasons. The album heavily featured songs from both Freddie Mercury and Deacon, with more themes of funk and disco, rather than the band’s original rock sound. This album also featured “Under Pressure,” which features another of the most recognizable basslines of all time, played by none other than John Deacon.
In 1984, Deacon wrote “I Want To Break Free” for The Works. The song and music video, which featured all four members of the band in drag, was positively received in the UK, however in the US, it became Queen’s second song which was banned on MTV because it portrayed the members in full drag (the first MTV music video that was banned was the video for “Body Language”). In turn, the band vowed not to return to the US for any sort of tour. By 1986, the band’s success was slowing down and Queen put out the album A Kind of Magic, with Deacon writing songs such as the ballad “One Year of Love,” which was featured in the Highlander movie.
In 1989, the band had learned Freddie Mercury had been diagnosed with AIDS, and put out two more albums before his death, with the band taking equal credit on all the songs put on the albums. Since Mercury’s death, Deacon has chosen a quiet life out of the public eye. He no longer tours with the remaining members of Queen and is rarely photographed in public. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he wrote some of the most iconic basslines in rock history, and he remains a silent powerhouse to this day.
