INDISTINCT GERMAN Rudi: How does it feel, it's
the end of a day like that, do you like your job? After an evening like that? Fred: I love my job but I hate talking to people like you. Rudi: Thanks
Fred: No, anyway I love it right now because I said earlier on, you're the
last person I'm talking to so you'll probably get the best interview darling, dont worry.
Rudi: No I I mean the whole thing like this afternoon when you have to talk to so
many journalists. Fred: Well its part is part of my job so I have to do
it we don't do it that often so I mean it's like this is the first kind of
press conference we've had for a long while you know three four five years
maybe, so I don't mind it if I to do this everyday
forget it. Rudi: Do you sometimes have the feeling that I mean obviously people are asking
the same questions all the time (Fred :They always do) that's it so this music is your statement
Fred: No no I think it's more than music you know your personality so you
talk about more than music I mean if all you talked about was music depending on
if you're a music paper then you talk about music but there's more to us than
just writing songs I mean we do other things and we have characters and
depends what you talk about, so I don't mind, and and of course people
ask the same questions because some some of the questions are current and they
want to know about the same things, so ask me about my solo album then huh? Rudi: Ha yeah
what about your solo album? Fred: Oh it's great! Rudi: Of course it is Does it sound any different? Fred: Yes..hopefully sounds. It's not finished yet see, so I don't
know how it's going to come out but erm At the moment I've worked on it for about
two months two or three months and I was supposed to finish it before the Queen
tour but I needed a bit more time and it's sounding good, I've got.. it's nice to
actually play with different people because I've always played with Queen
all the time and er, so I had a you know? there's a drummer from the session
drummer from Munich and guitarist from Munich who basically all German players
and erm it's made my songs sound different you know?
Rudi: Do people outside it sometimes feels funny that or special that there are so
many solo projects whereas the band is still going as well on the side how
would you analyze the the influence of the solo stuff for the band when you
come back together again is that an advantage that you're four strong
writers who also do stuff on your own or? Fred: Yes I think I think in a funny way I
thought because I think this is one of the few groups that all four members
write and I thought that we'd be doing solo albums much before this but I think
in a funny way when we do a queen album they are like four solo projects within
themselves anyway because I mean I have my bunch of songs Brian has his Roger
and John and so it's like four little solo projects working side-by-side and
then we put them all together so I think that is the reason that we didn't
actually go in and do solo projects earlier on I mean if we were right if
you were writing all the same kind of songs then we will get fed up and said
all I want to do my solo album first but we all write different songs so it
keeps us interested so for what about 13 years or whatever you know and that was
interesting enough for us to carry on as far as I was concerned all Queen albums
will little solo projects anyway I was writing my kind of songs that I wanted
but now I think the time has come where I want a whole album of my own and
Rogers done two already so I think most people thought that I would be the first
one to have a solo album and then the band you know Queen would break up and
all that but here you are after 13 years four old four old ladies are still rocking
away! Rudi: What about the actual work in the studio when you four come together and
everybody wants to bring his side of songs Fred: That happens all the time
Rudi: Sounds like having also Fred: It's like a cock fight isn't it? Rudi: Yeah Fred: Yeah well we
were.... Four cocks fighting...ooooh it's getting nice this Fred: But you know the funny
thing is this this sort of happened almost when we've met, the four of us and
it's it's just you won't believe it I mean people think that okay now they're
fighting, we fought literally the first day because we used to know each other
from University and all that and we used to fight about musical ideas and this and that,
not because we all very strong characters you know we all have egos and
all that so we always kept fighting but I think the fighting seems to keep us
together because I think sometimes I think bands break up when there's one
very strong person and the others and the others get left out and I think oh
god this asshole is just too strong and we want to join other bands, but the four
of us are real Actually I cant say these "four-letter" words....we're
very strong individually so we just keep going at each other and I think the
reason we've stayed together for so long is just none of us want to leave because
I mean if you leave it's like being a coward and like going out, so and erm we still
keep going and erm, as long as the music is still there and as long the people are still buying
the music then then it's okay when they stop buying our records and I'll say
goodbye and do something else become a strip artist or something
Rudi: Yeah to
what music you would strip what music would you use? Fred: All the songs I've written! Like
come on? Rudi: And a tour like that if you think if the tour life ahead
of you is that a pleasant imagination or do you hate tour life basically? Fred: What
touring? Rudi:Touring and all this? Fred: It depends I mean this tour I'm looking
forward to it because we haven't done it for two years there was a time where we
were doing tours so extensively because I mean we would go into a studio make an
album and then tour the world and then we go back and that was the routine I
mean I didn't have any time to actually break away and we virtually did that for
about eight or nine years and that's why the last couple of years we wanted to
break away from that format, because I was getting very bored and so were the
others and just to get away and do different things and think about certain
things and so this tour I'm looking forward to because we haven't toured and
we can do different things it's going to be a bit it's going to be fresh yeah
and otherwise there were tours I hated because I mean we used to do American
tours that lasted for three or four months and towards the end it was
just terrible I just never wanted to go on a stage again because after a while
the songs sounded very you know if you're doing it for three months you
have to say it will do the same routine yeah you just you need time away so you
can get freshness into it and I think that that probably happens to everybody
Rudi: What's the fresh element that's now in the new Fred: Its me my costume No it's just erm it's near me and the one thing element that I like on these tours is that we are
actually going to go all the way back and do songs from all the old albums as
well because that....so that I think anybody coming to see Queen this
time is going to get a little piece of all the albums so I mean there are times
where somebody comes to our show and says "oh they didn't do anything from this album"
or whatever of course we can't do all the songs from 13 albums it would be
there for 2 days but I think what we're doing is going to take even if it's one
song from one album or two from each we're not going to leave any album out
so I think that that to me is fun because we've been practicing some of
the early stuff, We were practicing keep yourself alive and liars from the
first album and it made me think you know at about 13 years ago we were doing
this and at that time I had long hair and black fingernails and makeup and
everything kind of thing that Boy George is doing right now, and to think that I've
sort of still be singing those songs it sort of makes me sound old doesnt it? Oh well
I don't look too bad for 37 I tell you Rudi: Do you have the feeling that lot of people
are imitating because you mentioned Boy George do you have the feeling that you
see them come and go where while your careers is going on you know so many new
Fred: I don't I don't think Boy George is gonna come and go I think Boy George is
going to be here for a long while. There always have I mean there's as always
people that come up like that and for me you can always tell somebody
who's going to stay in some and Boy George is going to stay. What do
you think? Rudi: Yes I think that's always the question is what will he wear in ten
years? Fred: Ooff that doesn't matter I mean you know that's the least of his problems I should think you know? Rudi: What does it mean to you
I mean I talked to Keith Richards recently and he said the most important
thing in his career was when he realized that being on stage and being admired by
young kids is not the answer to life. Did you have a similar experience months
when you first of all thought that's it and then you're from a certain stage
you're thinking of something else? Fred: Nah the most important thing to me is to
be happy to be honest to have fun and depending on how whatever I do I mean of
course music is important to me and because that's my life and as long as I
mean I can I'll carry on as long as I write music and people want to buy it
that's important to me but I mean that's not the be-all and the end-all I mean I
just they're very sort of to me happiness
happiness is is the most important thing and if I'm happy then it shows in my
work and so basically I just want to be happy and make a lot of money in and buy
a lot of things. Especially in Vienna Rudi: yeah..Antiques..just a moment
(ENDS FIRST PART)
