John Deacon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Deacon
Deacon in a 1977 publicity photo for News Of The World
Born	John Richard Deacon (1951-08-19) 19 August 1951 (age 73) Leicester, England
Education	Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering
Alma mater	Chelsea College
Occupation	Musician songwriter
Years active	1965–1997
Spouse(s)	Veronica Tetzlaff ​ (m. 1975)​
Children	6
Musical career
Genres	Rock
Instruments	Bass guitar

John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English musician who used to play bass guitar for the famous rock band Queen. He wrote many popular songs for the group. These include big hits like "You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bites the Dust", and "I Want to Break Free". He also helped write other songs such as "Under Pressure". John was also involved in managing the band's money.

John grew up in Oadby, England. He started playing bass guitar in a local band called The Opposition. Later, he moved to London to study electronics at Chelsea College. In 1971, he joined Queen. He was chosen because of his great musical skills and his knowledge of electronics. He even built a special amplifier called the Deacy Amp. Guitarist Brian May used this amp to create unique sounds in Queen's songs.

From Queen's third album, Sheer Heart Attack, John wrote at least one song for each album. Many of these became hit songs. Besides bass guitar, John also played some guitar, keyboards, and piano on Queen's studio recordings.

After Freddie Mercury, Queen's lead singer, passed away in 1991, John performed only a few times with the remaining band members. He officially retired from music in 1997 after recording the song "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)". He has not performed in any of the projects that the other two members, Brian May and Roger Taylor, have done since then.

John was recognized for his amazing work. He was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Queen in 2001. In 2003, he was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

John's Early Life

John Richard Deacon was born on 19 August 1951, in Leicester, England. His father worked for an insurance company. In 1960, his family moved to Oadby, a town near Leicester. Friends and bandmates often called John "Deacs" or "Deacy". He went to Linden Junior School and Gartree High School.

John became interested in electronics at a young age. He loved reading magazines about it. He even built small devices. For example, he changed a reel-to-reel tape recorder to record music directly from the radio. He also studied at Beauchamp Grammar School. There, he earned excellent grades in his exams. He especially enjoyed soul music.

In 1965, when he was 14, John started a school band called The Opposition. The band changed its members and names many times. John left the band in 1969 to study electronics in London.

Joining Queen and Success

John joined his first band, The Opposition, in 1965. He was 14 years old. The band played cover songs. John first played rhythm guitar. He bought his guitar with money he borrowed from the band's founder. The next year, he switched to bass guitar. This happened after the band's first bassist was asked to leave. John also kept newspaper clippings and advertisements about The Opposition.

After four years, John played his last show with the band in August 1969. He left to study at Chelsea College in London. He earned a top degree in Electronic Engineering in 1971.

Even though he left his bass at home, John decided he wanted to join a band again. In 1970, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor formed Queen. John saw them perform but wasn't very impressed at first. Later that year, he briefly formed his own band called Deacon.

In early 1971, a friend introduced John to Roger Taylor and Brian May. They told him their band had just lost its bassist. A few days later, John auditioned for Queen. He became the last member to join the band. John was the youngest member of Queen. He was chosen for his musical talent, his calm personality, and his skills with electronics.

John played his first show with Queen in June 1971. On Queen's first album (1973), he was called "Deacon John". This was to make his name sound more interesting. But John asked to be called by his real name. So, from the album Queen II (1974) onwards, he was always credited as John Deacon.

Deacon performing with Queen in Dublin in 1979

John's first song credit for Queen was on their third album, Sheer Heart Attack (1974). He wrote "Misfire", a song with a Caribbean feel. He played almost all the guitar parts on it. He also helped write "Stone Cold Crazy" with the rest of the band. His second song, "You're My Best Friend", was for his fiancée Veronica. It was on the album A Night at the Opera (1975). This song became a huge international hit. After that, John usually wrote one or two songs for every Queen album.

He wrote the hit song "Another One Bites the Dust" (1980). It was a dance song inspired by his love for soul music. This song was played on many radio stations in the US. It quickly became one of Queen's best-selling singles. John worked closely with Freddie Mercury in the early 1980s. He helped move the band's music towards a lighter, disco sound.

John's work with Freddie led to the album Hot Space in 1982. He played rhythm guitar on the song "Staying Power". He also insisted on playing guitar on his own song "Back Chat". He didn't let Brian May play any guitar solos on it. This was because the style didn't fit what John wanted. This led to some disagreements within the band. "Back Chat" and the album were not as successful. So, the band went back to their rock roots in later albums.

By the mid-1980s, John also started playing with other bands. He played on a song called "Picking Up Sounds". He also played with a group called The Immortals. They released a song for the movie Biggles: Adventures in Time. John also played bass on Freddie Mercury's song "How Can I Go On". He worked with other famous musicians like Elton John.

John felt that his songwriting was as important as his musical skills in Queen. He once said that if he had only been a bass player, he wouldn't have been as happy.

Life After Queen

John was very sad after Freddie Mercury died in November 1991. This made him play music much less often. He said that there was no point in continuing without Freddie. After Freddie's death, John performed live with Queen only three more times. These were at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, a charity concert in 1993, and a ballet opening in Paris in 1997. He performed "The Show Must Go On" with Elton John singing. After this, he decided to retire from music.

He only briefly returned in October 1997. He joined his former bandmates to record the last Queen song, "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)". This song was on the Queen Rocks album.

John has stayed away from public life since retiring. He chose not to attend Queen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. He also did not join Queen's collaborations with singers like Paul Rodgers or Adam Lambert. Brian May has said that John is still involved in the business side of Queen. But he prefers to stay out of the spotlight. May also confirmed that John approved of the movie about the band, Bohemian Rhapsody.

In 2013, a new type of damselfly from Brazil was named Heteragrion johndeaconi after John. This was to honor his musical and songwriting skills. It was one of four damselflies named after Queen's band members. This celebrated the 40th anniversary of Queen's first album.

In 2014, Brian May and Roger Taylor said that they don't have much contact with John anymore. They only talk about money matters. Roger Taylor said John is "completely retired from any kind of social contact." But May added that John "still keeps an eye on the finances."

John's Musical Style and Gear

Deacon on stage in Connecticut, US, in 1977

In 1973, Rolling Stone magazine wrote that the combination of Roger Taylor and John Deacon was "explosive." John played guitar in addition to bass. He often played rhythm guitar parts on many albums. He also played in some acoustic performances. Some of the guitar work on Hot Space was done by John. He sometimes played synthesizers on his own songs. He often wrote music on the piano. He played a Wurlitzer electric piano on "You're My Best Friend". You can also see him playing the grand piano in the music video for "Spread Your Wings". However, Freddie Mercury played the piano on the actual recording. Unlike the other three members of Queen, John did not sing on the band's records. But he did sometimes sing backing vocals during live shows.

John's first bass guitar was an Eko. Later, he switched to a Rickenbacker 4001. For most of Queen's career, he used a Fender Precision Bass. This bass had some changes over time. Towards the end of the band's career, he used a custom bass designed by Roger Giffin. He also sometimes used an Ernie Ball MusicMan Stingray live.

Since he was a trained electronics engineer, John could build equipment for the band. His most famous invention is the "Deacy Amp". He built it in 1972 from electronic parts he found in a skip. Both John and Brian May used this amplifier throughout Queen's recording career. Many of the "guitar orchestras" you hear on Queen albums were made using this special amplifier.

John usually played the bass with his fingers. He only used a plectrum (pick) on a few songs. He was influenced by artists like Chic, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. His favorite bass players were Chris Squire from Yes and The Who's John Entwistle. John's playing style often included cool bass runs. A review in 1975 said that John Deacon was "one of his rock generation's most able" musicians.

Personal Life

John Deacon has often been described as the quiet member of the band. The other band members felt he was the right bassist for them. He barely spoke during rehearsals and avoided arguments. He lives in Putney in south-west London with his wife, Veronica Tetzlaff. They married on 18 January 1975. They have six children. One reason Queen left their first management company was that it refused to lend John money for a house deposit.

Songs John Deacon Wrote

Queen songs John wrote that were released as singles:

• "You're My Best Friend" from A Night at the Opera
• "Spread Your Wings" from News of the World
• "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Need Your Loving Tonight" from The Game
• "Under Pressure" from Hot Space (co-written with Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and David Bowie)
• "Back Chat" from Hot Space
• "I Want to Break Free" from The Works
• "One Vision" (co-written with Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor)
• "One Year of Love" from A Kind of Magic
• "Friends Will Be Friends", "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" (both co-written with Freddie Mercury)
• "The Show Must Go On" from Innuendo (written by Queen, but mostly by Brian May)

Selected Queen album tracks:

• "Misfire" from Sheer Heart Attack
• "You and I" from A Day at the Races
• "Who Needs You" from News of the World
• "If You Can't Beat Them" and "In Only Seven Days" from Jazz
• "Cool Cat" from Hot Space (co-written with Freddie Mercury)
• "Rain Must Fall" and "My Baby Does Me" (both co-written with Freddie Mercury and credited to Queen) from The Miracle.
• "My Life Has Been Saved" (credited to Queen) from Made in Heaven.

Selected solo efforts:

• Jive Junior and Man Friday: "Picking Up Sounds" (7" single, 1983)
• The Immortals: "No Turning Back" (single from Biggles: Adventures in Time soundtrack) (1986)

See also

In Spanish: John Deacon para niños