Latest news with #ANightattheOpera
New York Post
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
How Freddie Mercury bonded with his ex-fiancée's new partner
Freddie Mercury wrote 'Love of My Life' — the ballad from Queen's classic 1975 album 'A Night at the Opera' — about Mary Austin, his girlfriend he met in 1969. And even after he came out as bisexual to his then-fiancée in the '70s, ending their romantic relationship, the two retained their special, loving bond. In fact, Mercury remained extremely close to Austin even after she found another partner in bassist Jo Burt. Advertisement 5 Freddie Mercury remained very close to former fiancée Mary Austin after he came out to her as bisexual in 1976. Getty Images 5 'It was an amazing thing to be asked to record with him,' said Jo Burt of working with Freddie Mercury on 'Mr. Bad Guy.' therealjoburt/X 'This was the great love of his life, in a sense,' Burt exclusively told The Post. 'I think he was quite lucky because I was the kind of guy who appreciated the love they had between them.' Advertisement Burt met Austin in 1981, five years after she had split up with Mercury. 'I'd been introduced to Mary, and she and I became partners for the next six years or so,' said Burt. Knowing Austin's history with Mercury, Burt was 'a bit nervous' about meeting the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' singer. 'Obviously, the initial introduction to him was pretty nerve-racking,' he said about meeting a 'cautious' Mercury. 'He was going to have to agree to somebody else taking over that part of his life.' But Mercury was won over by Burt, grateful that Austin had found a new love in her life. Advertisement 5 Freddie Mercury's former fiancée Mary Austin was with the Queen singer until the end when he died from AIDS in 1991. Getty Images 'He often said to me how pleased he was that she was happy and her life was expanding more than I think probably she expected,' said Burt. 'I never ever got between that friendship that they had. I understood it completely, and I think he appreciated that fact as well.' Indeed, Burt himself became 'very close' with Mercury as a result of their mutual love for Austin, who was with the Queen frontman until the very end when he died from AIDS in 1991 and inherited most of his fortune. 'I got to know Freddie really well, ' said Burt. 'I lived in the flat that he bought for [Austin], and I became very much part of his family. Advertisement 5 'I never ever got between that friendship that they had,' said Jo Burt of Freddie Mercury's relationship with Mary Austin. Alan Davidson / Shutterstock 'The rest of the guys in Queen, they each had their own sort of family situations, which they pretty much retired to when they weren't working,' he continued. 'And Freddie had his own, although not with a wife and kids. It really was quite a family affair.' Burt and Mercury also bonded over their music connection. 'Funny enough, I was being managed by John Reid, who also managed Freddie sometime before,' he said. 'And the fact that he was in the same business that I was … we understood each other.' Indeed, when Mercury set out to make his debut solo album 'Mr. Bad Guy' — which was released 40 years ago on April 29, 1985 — he recruited Burt to play fretless bass on 'Man Made Paradise.' 5 Jo Burt played fretless bass on Freddie Mercury's 1985 debut solo album, 'Mr. Bad Guy.' Hollywood Records 'It was an amazing thing to be asked to record with him,' said Burt. 'I played almost exclusively fretless bass by this time, and Freddie was quite intrigued by that. He used to joke that I've been ripped off because I didn't have any frets. 'But it was a fantastic situation to sit in the studio [across from Mercury], as opposed to across the dining room table. I'd love to say that I was second only to [Queen's] John Deacon as a bass player.'
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Legendary Queen star Roy Thomas Baker dies aged 78 as tributes pour in for Bohemian Rhapsody hitmaker
Queen's producer Roy Thomas Baker has died aged 78. The studio wizard was best known for his lengthy working relationship with the British rock legends, having produced five of their albums, including 1975's A Night at the Opera, which featured the timeless classic Bohemian Rhapsody. Roy died on April 12 at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. News of his passing was confirmed by his publicist in a statement, but no cause of death has been given. The music star worked with several big artists and bands including David Bowie, Guns N' Roses, Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, The Rolling Stones, Free, Journey, Yes and the Smashing Pumpkins. He also helped produce four albums for The Cars in the 1970s and 80s as well as Mötley Crüe's debut studio album Too Fast for Love. However, he was best known for helping to create Queen's classic tune Bohemian Rhapsody. The hit track earned two Grammy nominations and in 2004 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Roy always knew Bohemian Rhapsody would be a hit, despite being skeptical that it was too long at nearly six minutes. However, he didn't realise just how big the hit would become. In a 2005 interview with The New York Times, he said: 'I thought it was going to be a hit. We didn't know it was going to be quite that big. I didn't realise it was still going to be talked about 30 years later.' Tributes from fans have since poured in for the influential producer on X ( formerly Twitter). One wrote: 'Thank you for making my music world richer Mr. Roy Thomas Baker. Rest in peace.'; 'Another rock and roll legend, producer Roy Thomas Baker, passes. Baker made massive contributions to so many of rock's best bands, especially Queen, and The Cars, and his genius will be missed. Rest in peace.'; 'Roy Thomas Baker, the producer who helmed seminal works by Queen and The Cars, has died at 78. While many will point to his work on "Bohemian Rhapsody", I personally liked how The Cars s/t debut LP ends with 'Moving in Stereo' fading into 'All Mixed Up'.'; 'R.I.P. Roy Thomas Baker, producer of many of my favourite albums including those by Be Bop Deluxe, Free, The Cars, Hawkwind and this, the 3rd best record of all time.'; 'Sad to hear that Roy Thomas Baker has passed. Responsible for the sound of some of my favourite albums growing up, especially Queen. #RIP Roy.' Queen drummer Roger Taylor, 75, previously hailed Roy's influence on the band's music. He said: 'I think he brought a certain amount of discipline and a lot of cynicism (laughs), and a passion for fattening desserts. But no, he was very disciplined and very strict in the beginning. 'But he would always get it right. The take had to be right. We would do a lot of takes sometimes before it was right. Because things were very different then, you know, you had to get it all right, all at once.' Roy was just 14 years old when he began his career at Decca Records in the late 1960s. He then became an in-house engineer at Central London studio, Trident, where he first met Queen. Roy worked on the band's self-titled debut album in 1973 and went on to produce the band's next four studio albums. In a 1995 interview with Sound On Sound, the iconic producer revealed that Bohemian Rhapsody was meant to have just a 'couple of Galileos' but things changed once they were inside the studio. He also helped produce four albums for The Cars in the 1970s and 80s as well as Mötley Crüe's debut studio album Too Fast for Love (L-R Ric Ocasek, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes, Benjamin Orr, and David Robinson in 1978) Tributes from fans have since poured in for the influential producer on X ( formerly Twitter) He said: 'It (Bohemian Rhapsody) was the first time that an opera section had been incorporated into a pop record, let alone a Number One, 'It was obviously very unusual and we originally planned to have just a couple of Galileos. But things often have a habit of evolving differently once you're inside the studio, and it did get longer and bigger.' In the wake of Queen's success, he moved to New York to work for Columbia Records. It was there he produced artists such as Journey, Ian Hunter and Ronnie Wood, before being offered a senior Artist and Repertoire role at Elektra Records. In an interview with MixOnline in 1999, Roy stressed the importance of creating music that sounds unique. He told the publication: 'My whole thing is, the more different you can sound from anything else around but still be commercially successful is great! Over the years, I've always hearkened back to that philosophy. 'Back when I did Bohemian Rhapsody, who would've ever thought of having a single with an opera section in the middle?
Extra.ie
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Tributes pour in as music industry icon dies at 78
Roy Thomas Baker, producer of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', has died aged 78. He died at his home in Arizona on April 12, though his family have only just announced the news. No cause of death was given. Born in London, 1946, Baker began working in recording studios at 14. He worked as an apprentice engineer at Decca Studios, which witnessed then-budding star David Bowie, the beginnings of Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, The Who and other greats of the era. He would later work at Trident Studios, where he would collaborate with Queen on their 1973 debut. Baker went on to co-produce the rock icons' albums Queen II , Sheer Heart Attack and A Night at the Opera , which featured 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. ''Bohemian Rhapsody' was totally insane, but we enjoyed every minute of it,' Baker said in a 1999 interview. 'It was basically a joke, but a successful joke.' 'The middle part started off being just a couple of seconds, but Freddie kept coming in with more 'Galileos' and we kept on adding to the opera section, and it just got bigger and bigger,' he added. Queen would produce A Day at the Races and News of the World themselves, bringing Baker back to work on their 1978 record Jazz . Outside of his work with Queen, Baker would produce albums for artists like Journey, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Darkness, Foreigner and many more. He would also produce The Cars' first four records; The Cars , Candy-O , Panorama and Shake It Up . 'Roy taught me a lot about handling band personalities,' The Cars' Ric Ocasek said in 2016. 'He was an electronics whiz, a sound guy with a classical background for mic-ing the room's sound.' 'He got harmony,' he continued. 'And he took things in stride – a very upbeat, elegant man. Spontaneous too.'
Perth Now
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody producer Roy Thomas Baker dead at 78
Queen's producer Roy Thomas Baker has died aged 78. The studio wizard was best known for his lengthy working relationship with the British rock legends, having produced five of their albums, including 1975's 'A Night at the Opera', which featured the timeless classic 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. He died in Lake Havasu City, Arizona on April 12, per his publicist. No cause of death was given. Queen's drummer Roger Taylor previously recalled how "strict" Baker was in the studio, noting how much of a perfectionist he was. He said: "I think he brought a certain amount of discipline and a lot of cynicism [laughs], and a passion for fattening desserts. But no, he was very disciplined and very strict in the beginning. But he would always get it right. The take had to be right. We would do a lot of takes sometimes before it was right. Because things were very different then, you know, you had to get it all right, all at once.' Baker always knew 'Bohemian Rhapsody' would be a hit, despite some skepticism that it was too long at nearly six minutes. He told the New York Times: "I thought it was going to be a hit. We didn't know it was going to be quite that big. I didn't realise it was still going to be talked about 30 years later." 'Bohemian Rhapsody' proved critics wrong and remained at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks, and later re-entered the chart following the death of late great frontman Freddie Mercury in 1991. Baker notably produced The Cars' albums, Mötley Crüe's debut studio album 'Too Fast for Love', and worked with David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Guns N' Roses, and Ozzy Osbourne. He is survived by his wife, Tere Livrano Baker, and brother, Alan Baker.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NSU's Opera Theater Ensemble to perform variety of opera and musical theater scenes
NATCHITOCHES, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – 'A Night at the Opera' will be presented by the Northwestern State University Opera Theater Ensemble. According to a press release, the ensemble will perform 'The Old Maid and the Thief' by Gian Carlo Menotti and various student-directed opera and musical theatre scenes by composers including Mozart, Heggie, Sondheim, and Verdi. Enjoy the magical sounds of the Centenary Flute Ensemble's free concert ''The Old Man and the Thief'' is a one-act opera jam-packed with gossipy teatime, manipulation, and a series of misunderstandings,' the release stated. 'The story unfolds as a mysterious man, Bob, appears at the back door of Ms. Todd's home, interrupting her weekly teatime with her 'frenemy,' Ms. Pinkerton. Laeticia, Ms. Todd's maid, convinces her to offer the handsome, young stranger room and board for the night. 'Both women, obsessed with the presence of a man in their home, engage in some 'precarious' behavior in hopes that he will stay a while longer, only to find out that there is an escaped convict running loose in their neighborhood. Could Bob be that criminal? If so, how will Ms. Todd and Laeticia deal with him?' Cast members include: Brooke Jones of St. Rose as Ms. Todd Dorcia Gillam of Marksville and Lhareen Lazo of Las Piñas City, Philippines, sharing the role of Laeticia Tyla Stewart of Benton and Clairie Parent of Shreveport sharing the role of Ms. Pinkerton Joshua Noyola of Irving, Texas, and Nathan Gay of Shreveport sharing the role of Bob. The opera will be directed by Dr. Robert Cardwell and held on Friday, April 4, and Saturday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit their website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
