If there’s one thing late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is still known for, it’s his creativity that shaped his band’s musical direction. His highly theatrical style that shined through his stage performances influenced the artistic approach of the band which wasn’t compromised for the sake of their fans.
While it’s natural to focus on satisfying their fans’ expectations as there have been many bands to do so, Queen members have always been unapologetic about the music they have been making to this date, without worrying about selling albums or making money.
In fact, Freddie Mercury thought making music according to the public’s expectation would be being manipulated by them which wasn’t something he would want for Queen’s music. Let’s take a closer look at his words surrounding this issue and how Mercury stuck with his gut in terms of his music.
Freddie Mercury Talked About Fans’ Expectations
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight back in 1982, Freddie Mercury reflected on his legendary stage performances as well as Queen’s process of making music in terms of their fans’ expectations. According to the frontman, it’s very easy to get bored by the public and their expectations.
Mercury also said that it would be very overwhelming to meet the expectations of the public when they only want a band for a certain thing they like. If you ask the singer, their fans must be aware of the fact that an artist is also entitled to make the music they want.
In those cases when bands only release the music their fans desire, they are then manipulated which is the last thing Freddie Mercury would do. The singer also stated that it’s dangerous to focus on their own creativity instead of considering their fans’ expectations, but it made him work harder in the end as the other way around would be too easy for him.
About making and performing music, Mercury said:
“You can get really blasé with the public you know. Sometimes you built up your public and they only want you for a certain thing. That’s the wrong way to go about it as far as I’m concerned. They should be aware of what you want to do. You can fall into a trap where you build up a sound or whatever, and in the end, that’s all they want. You’re then manipulated by the public. That’s the last thing I want to do, it’s a knife-edge that I’d like to tread on which is good.
The danger element is exactly what we need. In a way of telling them that this is what we’re doing right now even though we do all the other stuff that they like. It’s great for me because it makes me work harder and keep on my toes. Otherwise, it would be just too easy. That’s the way I want to perform. It’s taking grasping on a song and delivering it the way I feel.”
You can watch the entire interview below.
