“I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike, I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like.” I used to sing this as a young’n with scraped up knees and brown pigtails, as I rode my bike around my neighborhood. Not realizing who sung it at first, I then learned it was a band called Queen.
Queen is rock and roll royalty, not just because of their name but because of Freddie Mercury’s voice and the music stylings of Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.
Queen developed an almost operatic sound filled with handfuls of camp and an undertone of seriousness embedded in their lyrics.
One of Queen’s songs is very close to my heart. “Fat Bottomed Girls” is Freddie Mercury’s ode to big busty beautiful women and how they make the world go round.
“Oh, won’t you take me home tonight, Oh, down beside your red firelight, Oh, and you give it all you got fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin world go round, you make the rockin world go round.”
Queen’s ode to large women is one hell of a song about big bodied women and has drum and bass to match the women which the song is about. With the music, you can almost see the lusty and lovely women walking around and rocking out.
As I mentioned in a previous Artist of the Week, Queen had a duet with David Bowie. The song was called “Under Pressure” and was an instant classic with its building of music leading into an explosive crescendo in the middle of the song. The song makes you feel how Freddie felt with the weight of the world falling upon him.
Queen is also known for the penultimate rock opera, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a song which somehow everyone can sing along with as long as it is playing. The song brings images of driving around with your friends singing along and mumbling at times because no one is really sure of the words in some parts. But this is a true rock opera that paints a picture and tells the story of Freddie Mercury’s battle with AIDS.
Queen’s reign as rock royalty came to an end in 1991 when Mercury finally lost his battle with AIDS and passed away in his London home. Now the remaining members of Queen still tour from time to time, but have never tried to replace Freddie Mercury with extravagant personality and over the top stage presence. I don’t think anyone would ever try. Remember Freddie Mercury this December, which is AIDS awareness month, by getting yourself tested, and hanging with some Fat Bottomed Girls.
