Queen as a group died when Freddie died.

Intervista a Ken Wiles

Hi. I live in a small town, called Yarm, which is 6 miles south of Middlesbrough in northern England.I was born in 1960.

-Ok How long have you been following Queen?

Since 1973. I was 13 years of age!

–When have you seen them live for the first time? And where exactly?

It was in May 1982 … Leeds. (Elland Road Football Stadium)

–Please describe us how you managed to get to the show, and what were your feelings that day and your excitement as Freddie entered the stage. Tell us something about that wonderful day.

I applied by post. There was no internet in those days. I received my tickets a few days later.
I went with my then wife and my twin sister and her husband. Both ladies were pregnant with our respective first children.
It was a very hot day, so we slowly made our way to a good vantage point to get a good view. There were two bands on before Queen. Teardrop Explodes and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. The latter was better than the former. They were a punk rock band and a few things were thrown at them during their perfomance by irate Queen fans who didn’t take to punk music. Joan Jett was excellent though!
Then Queen entered the stage ….

I was in total awe! My heroes right in front of my eyes! Freddie was stunning! It was all so surreal. The hairs on the back of my head stood up!!

I remember John Deacon was out of sight for a while. We were stretching our necks because the stage was quite high. Freddie kept coming to the front of the stage which is when we got the best view of him. Roger was very visible as he was on a higher stage. Brian just played and didn’t move very much. But my eyes were firmly on my hero … Freddie. Then the iconic lights come on. The sound was deafening but fabulous. We were swaying and singing to the songs but we were very tightly packed in the audience. We were worried for our wives …. but we were fine. It was a little worrying though as we came out afterwards because there was one little exit door and the girls were hustled and shoved about. But in the end it was fine.

–What word would you use to describe that day?

Just one? ahaha Intense. Stunning. Surreal. Overjoyed.The drive home with so many memories … and the fact that I had seen them in real life. Couldn’t get the feeling and thought out of my head. I was on cloud 9!

–Do you consider Queen still alive as a group today? Or do you think they are no longer a band after that November 1991?

Sadly no. In my honest opinion, Queen as a group died when Freddie died. John left soon after and for me, since then, it’s been Brian and Roger keeping the name alive, not as a band, but just in name. Don’t get me wrong, I admire them both for keeping the name Queen in the limelight, but it’s not Queen as we die hard fans know it. Queen were and always will be associated with John, Freddie Brian and Roger.