Paul McCartney named the strongest member of Queen: “This guy knows what he’s doing”
There are many famous figures we’d love to shoot the proverbial with, and Paul McCartney is at the top of the list. Not only was he half of the greatest songwriting partnership of all time with John Lennon, but he was also the leader of Wings and has had many crazy capers to boot. Wrap all of this up with a naturally comical character, and it makes for a man fans would give an extremity to drink with.
The Beatles were aptly called the Fab Four, as each man was a prominent character in their own right, despite individual pitfalls. However, the constantly amiable and endearing McCartney has always stood out from the quartet. Of course, he has a touch of that game-changing arrogance that his bandmates had, but it’s not unfounded, and he’s never had any of the questionable outbursts that Lennon and George Harrison had.
In his time, McCartney cast his mind upon a myriad of topics, from his work with The Beatles to politics and the efforts of contemporary musicians. An absolute banker for a unique and well-informed opinion, founded by life at the top of the industry, the Liverpudlian’s accounts are the gilded sort.
One group he has discussed in glowing terms is Queen. At face value, the dramatics of the Freddie Mercury-fronted band might seem somewhat opposing to Lennon’s dedication to maintaining his alpha male status in the early Beatles’ work. Yet, looking past this, the way the band distilled real skill into their work later on, utilising complex orchestral twists – much of which was McCartney’s doing – provides a tangible bridge between art rock coalescing and acts such as Queen emerging.
Famously, Queen’s late frontman, Freddie Mercury, was a big fan of The Beatles, and the quartet had the most significant influence on the London group. Like many, the moustachioed vocalist was particularly impressed by the second half of their career, which produced everything from Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s to Let It Be. He even said in 1984 that the one man he wished he could have met was the late John Lennon, who had been murdered in 1980. Mercury stated Lennon “just had that magic” and wrote 1982’s ‘Life is Real (Song For Lennon)’ in tribute.
While Lennon’s tragic death meant he never got to meet Mercury, he once praised Queen, saying to David Sheff in his last major interview in 1980: “Listen to the Beatles records, but dig Queen or Clash or whatever is going on now”. Queen would also become friendly with the surviving Beatles, with Mercury striking up a friendship with drummer Ringo Starr, and guitarist Brian May and Paul McCartney bonding over their animal rights activism and the fact that they’re two of rock’s most ice-cool operators.
Like his late friend Lennon, McCartney also had great praise for Queen. When appearing in the 1987 documentary Queen: Magic Years, Volume One – A Visual Anthology, he named Mercury as their strongest feature, out of many obvious ones. He said: “Freddie always had a good voice. That’s always been the anchor of that group I think and Brian good guitar player as well you know they’ve had musical skill.”
Continuing: “I think you can tell when a band’s got musical skill. But I think there’s a say, the first thing you heard with Queen was Freddie’s voice. And it’s the same as it was then. It’s a very strong voice. A very distinctive voice. And you recognise that this guy knows what he’s doing.”
