Queen guitarist Brian May recently revealed in History Hits that they asked the former bassist, John Deacon, several times to rejoin the band. However, they did not receive a positive response to these requests, as May noted.
John Deacon made considerable contributions to Queen as the bassist and songwriter. He composed a few hit songs such as ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ and ‘You’re My Best Friend’ after joining the band in 1971. Besides bass, he also played some guitar and keyboard parts for the albums.
Throughout his career with Queen, Deacon preferred to stay far away from the public eye compared to other members. As a self-enclosed person, dealing with the pressures of the band’s massive fame was challenging. In these difficult times, Freddie Mercury was the person who made the bassist feel comfortable. After Mercury’s passing, Deacon did not see a point in continuing with the band as anyone else could not have replaced Mercury.
Following the singer’s death, the bassist took the stage with the remaining band members for a few performances. He also became a part of one last Queen song six years after the lead vocalist’s passing. Later on, Deacon announced his retirement from the entire music industry, and now he lives a life away from fame with his family.
Recently, the guitarist Brian May has shared that they still love Deacon. However, they have no contact with each other as the bassist preferred it to be like that. As May stated, they respected Deacon’s decision to stay private, and they could understand it would be hard for him to go back to stages after a long time. May also noted that they asked him to rejoin the band, but Deacon responded, saying he was no longer part of the music industry.
Brian May explained in his words:
“Of course, we love John and will always will, but we don’t have any significant contact with him now. That’s the way he wants it, he wanted to cut that tie and be a private person, and we have to respect that. I don’t think it would be easy for John to slip back into the arena we inhabit. In fact, a couple of times, we have asked him, but he always says, ‘That’s not what I do now.’
And we have to respect that John doesn’t want to do it. I think it would be difficult for him anyway because things have changed a lot, and Roger and I have adapted a certain amount. We’re still very old school, but we’re aware of different ways of behaving these days and different ways in which our art is channeled.”
You can watch the video below.
