Queen’s Brian May on the band shutting down one of Freddie Mercury’s suggestions: “It wasn’t one of his world-shattering ideas”

nme.com:

Brian May has recalled the time Queen shut down one of Freddie Mercury‘s suggestions, saying that “it wasn’t one of his world-shattering ideas”.The legendary guitarist looked back on working with the late frontman during a recent interview with MOJO.“Deep down Freddie was one of the shyest people I’ve ever met, but he was so full of bluster you’d forget,” May told the magazine. “Freddie would always be excited, and his excitement would take over… He’d be so full of excitement he could hardly speak.”The musician went on to say that “Freddie’s ideas were off the wall and cheeky and different – and we tended to encourage them”.

He continued: “Sometimes the idea he brought in was brilliant, and sometimes not brilliant.”May then reminisced about one of Mercury’s not-so-great suggestions, which had been inspired by the King Of Pop.“He came in one day and announced, ‘I’ve got this amazing idea.

You know Michael Jackson has just put out this album called ‘Bad’ [1987]? Well, listen… What do you think about us calling our next album ‘Good’?” May remembered.“We all looked at each other and said, ‘Well, maybe we should think about it, Freddie’.

It wasn’t one of his world-shattering ideas, but looking back, maybe we were wrong…”Elsewhere in the conversation, May admitted that he was always nervous to present his own ideas to his bandmates.“Every time I brought a new song to the boys I’d be as nervous as hell, thinking, ‘They’re gonna say it’s rubbish, they’re gonna hate it’,” he said. “I’d always be embarrassed and apologising.