Brian May Blasts Brit Awards For Adopting Gender-Neutral Categories

I love him! He is totally correct but he is about to get reamed on social media. Woke girls love Queen.

Freddy had them covered.

[quote]May believes there is an “atmosphere of fear everywhere because people are afraid to say how they really think… I think so many people are feeling ‘hang on, this isn’t quite right.’ But they don’t dare say anything. Eventually there will be some kind of explosion.”

[quote]He says the late Freddie Mercury, who died 30 years ago this week, would’ve found today’s PC culture “difficult.”

[quote]”Freddie came from Zanzibar, he wasn’t British, he wasn’t white as such — nobody cares, nobody ever, ever discussed it,” May begins. “He was a musician, he was our friend, he was our brother. We didn’t have to stop and think: ‘Ooh, now, should we work with him? Is he the right color? Is he the right sexual proclivity?’ None of that happened, and now I find it frightening that you have to be so calculating about everything.”

[quote]He argues that even Queen would not be considered woke enough by today’s standards. “We would be forced to have people of different colours and different sexes and we would have to have a trans [person]… You know life doesn’t have to be like that. We can be separate and different.”

Good for him.

Who cares what Brian May has to say.

While Queens old catalogue is still selling, the remaining members of Queen are not producing any valid new music. Even if the remaining band was still recording as 'Queen', it's definitely NOT the same band without Freddy. It's not Queen at all.

Most bands cannot remain as popular when their lead singer dies or leaves the band.

I remember that ridiculous reality show where the remaining members of INXS were looking for a new lead singer to replace the late Michael Hutchence, they picked some obnoxious smug asshole with zero charisma. He didn't even sound like Hutchence, it was not the same band and their new recording went nowhere.

These bands who lose their lead singers simply need to change their names and move on.

Does this old coot know that very few bands have a trans member in them in 2021?

Is he going senile?

He lost me at the "we'd be forced to have trans people and people of different colors" nobody is doing this. Christ. Freddy couldn't come out and he denied he had AIDS for a long time. I guess just go back to that you regency haired dork.

Never trust a hippie.

[quote]Freddie came from Zanzibar, he wasn’t British, he wasn’t white as such — nobody cares, nobody ever, ever discussed it,”

Is that a polite way of saying he was a poofter?

There aren’t any popular bands these days so who knows. Maybe there would be controversy iif there was a band that hit the zeitgeist that was all white and cis in these woke times

I meant to say Restoration Haired dork

There aren't any bands anymore r10 because bands are traditionally white, male and (Freddie aside) heterosexual and they perform rock music. Not very woke.

And yet 99.9999999% of bands don't have a trans member

He's just an old crank, looking for something to complain about

Which bands are you referring to, r13? Rock bands don't exist anymore, they're remnants of a pre-woke era.

^ Beg, beg, beg the question!

Brian, you in danger girl.

I follow Brian on Instagram and he just made a statement on there regarding this. He stated that he was misquoted and is accepting of everybody no matter what. The tabloids completely twisted what he said. So he wrote a retraction to set the record straight. I believe him.. The tabloids were out for blood.

But IMO he needs to just stick to talking about music and nothing else that way he won’t be put in this position. Anything he says is up for interpretation which he needs to be extremely careful.

Shit like this could hurt his base.

He is entirely correct and in more than one way. Mainstream music is marketing tailored to the demands of the audience and has little to do with creativity or having something to say. I love Queen's albums (even if I loathe Mike Moran who has shaped their sound for a long time. Also Queen wasn't the only band I was into when I was very young.) I think Freddie was the driving force in their creativity, lending them the ultimate desire to put something out there too. Freddie was the only exhibitionist among them. Without him, they didn't show any great desire to perform any further. I heard Brian May in Munich (Riem) shortly after Freddie's death. May is a kind and humble person who has pursued his "civil" career after Freddie died and returned to astrophysics/education. Definitely, Queen would never happen today, because the audiences don't want their bands to be courageous, outrageous and spontaneous. They want acts that are sterile and inoffensive, like Taylor Swift or K-Pop bands.

R17, I suspect Brian is as frustrated as the rest of us at the trans lunacy that's taking over our societies. Sure, the media hypes things up so he's probably right about the media distorting what he said - just like the American media completely lies about what JK Rowling actually said.

Like Brian, Rowling did say that she accepts trans people. And Brian is quite right that people feel they have to shut up about their real opinions on this issue. As a member of society and someone in the music industry, he's absolutely entitled to express his views, particularly on the abolition of the male and female categories at the Brit awards, which is what he was commenting on.

[quote]He lost me at the "we'd be forced to have trans people and people of different colors" nobody is doing this. Christ.

That was the dumbest bit of hyperbole, just another variant of the "black lesbian in a wheelchair" crap Republicans started in the 1980s. It was so dumb that I'm halfway inclined to believe him when he says he was misquoted.

Absolutely r18, Queen without Freddie is just not possible. John Deacon felt he could not carry on with the band and so it was just Roger and Brian, with occasional vocalists such as Adam Lambert. That was not Queen, though.

I do think audiences want creativity and innovation, though. Queen are still hugely popular. The problem is that young people today can't create in the same way and it's hard for something different to break through in the digital era.

R20, I'm sure he was misquoted but I'm also sure he did express his frustration at the music industry's idiotic blind adoption of gender ideology and the way in which people are too afraid to speak out on this issue.

For example, I don’t doubt that he disagrees with the Brit awards getting rid of the male and female artist categories. I can't wait to hear the complaints about this new system after 2-3 years of using it.

R20 The part about people of different colours I believe was entirely misquoted if at all stated in a negative undertone.

It doesn’t make sense when Freddie pretty much represented all colours through his music and not to mention himself.

So if I were Brian I would go on YouTube and set things right through video not just leave a statement on Instagram.

And just stick to talking about space and music.

It’s why Freddie tightened his lips up with the media. Brian should have learned from him.

R14 "Rock bands don't exist anymore" What a bunch of horseshit. Underground is filled with rock bands. They maybe don't exist on MTV and Top 40 radio stations that you are listening to.

[quote]He says the late Freddie Mercury, who died 30 years ago this week, would’ve found today’s PC culture “difficult.”

Freddie Mercury never actually came out of the closet as gay, so duh, he would not be able to cope.

Why don't rock bands make it big anymore, r24?

It's a good job Brian isn't you, r23.

R26 Because rock'n'roll isn't popular as it used to be? It's not profitable. But the best bands were always in the underground anyway. And there's a ton of them still. So saying that rock bands don't exist anymore if completely false.

R26 Not everyone wants to make it big. Be on the big labels, walk the red carpet, appear in Hollywood movies and all that junk.

Woke! Here we go again. It's like a trigger word for dumb dumbs.

It must be difficult going through life with pubic hair on top of your head

Oh Brian! What did you do now?!

he looks like a trans woman himself

I agree with his fundamental point that freedom of expression essentially doesn't exist anymore, and that racism has made such a comeback that Freddy and his bandmates wouldn't be able to form friendships today- much less perform together.

He just chose a grumpy old man way to say it. Guess what he is?

He looks like a 74-year-old man, r33. Transwomen who have that look are in their 30s.

R34 phrased it beautifully.

[quote][R26] Because rock'n'roll isn't popular as it used to be? It's not profitable. But the best bands were always in the underground anyway. And there's a ton of them still. So saying that rock bands don't exist anymore if completely false.

Exactly. Just because that sound is not currently "in" doesn't mean that bands have gone away completely. But as soon as wokeness has run its course in a decade or so and the entertainment industry shifts back toward the center, then it could make a comeback. That person who posted that must be very young, because only the young think that the world has always been and always will be the way they currently know it.

We need more trans people on music!!!

[quote]I follow Brian on Instagram and he just made a statement on there regarding this.

I found the post R17 is referring to.

I agree with R19 and R22, it was likely a deliberate misinterpretation of what he said about trans people but he did not deny disagreeing with gender neutral awards categories and he did not deny saying people are afraid to express their opinions - he's right on both accounts and a sizeable percentage of people agree with him.

Gender neutral cathegories are ridiculous. In the end is simply less awards to only appease a very small number of people (who never get happy no matter what).

I doubt most trans people really want this,

R37 "But as soon as wokeness has run its course in a decade or so and the entertainment industry shifts back toward the center, then it could make a comeback."

Yeah, none of that will ever happen. It will just go more and more extreme. People ten years ago were saying how the whole social justice warriors, PC culture, being woke etc. will be dead in ten years. Not only is it not dead, it is bigger than ever. And in another decade it will be even bigger.

So brave. So woke.

R28, can you name some of these underground rock bands? Rock, in my opinion, was always about a big audience - it's a big music, it's for stadiums and loud concerts and fans and living your life to. It's an anthem. Like Queen! t's not obscure art music. I on and off follow a young British rock band who could be considered underground and they would fucking love to get more media attention than they do, but it's extremely hard these days.

The question again, then, is why isn't rock mainstream anymore when it used to be the hugest popular music genre?

It looks like he stole Phil Spector’s wig… maybe Phil had his people sell his wig on EBay and Brian May bought it.

By the way r28, etc. if by underground rock bands you mean something akin to indie bands (as they were called in the UK), then all that has died out too. It's almost like their can't be separate scenes anymore - indie, underground, goth, punk, R&B, hip hop, mainstream rock, mainstream pop. Everything is one big monolithic sound.

If Queen were around today, Freddie Mercury would have had the same response from gay men that Sam Smith did before Sam Smith became a they/them and was suddenly elevated from an embarrassing whiny and pissy little bitch to trailblazing LGBT royalty.

There was a review of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie (I think in The Guardian) which questioned why Who Wants To Live Forever and The Show Must Go On were not featured in the film, when Mercury had clearly written them about his life with AIDS. Strangely it was Brian May wrote both songs. Roger Taylor wrote These Are The Days Of Our Lives, one of their most beautiful songs.

Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen in music, but he couldn't have done that without the songs, most of which were written by his bandmates.

I just miss Freddie terribly. Brian needs to pull back from doing so many interviews. I knew one day it would trip him up with the media vultures twisting his words. They want to discredit him in front of his fans just waiting for him to say something news worthy.

Freddie knew better though to keep his mouth shut..

I'm confused about the Queen revisionism. I loved rock growing up, and Queen were never favorites, even when I was a teenager listening to mainstream rock. Their songs were more novelty songs. Who would ever think that Another One Bites the Dust or We are the Champions is in the same category as any Stones' songs? It's more pop than rock, imo.

Maneskin is bringing back rock to young Europeans, though there's nothing very original about them. But they have the attitude.

R43 "Rock, in my opinion, was always about a big audience - it's a big music, it's for stadiums " That's bs. Name all the great stadium playing punk bands, or stadium playing garage bands, or goth bands. I could go on and on. Playing stadiums, having private planes, being huge stars on posters is what ruined rock'n'roll in the 70s. It became pompous and ridiculous. Luckily punk happened and proved just how lame those stadium bands are.

R49 is still stuck in 1976 and missed the 80s, 90s and 2000s.

Name those great underground rock bands that are happy being unknown, r49.

Queen weren't a "novelty" band r48, but they were a fun band, somewhat arty and operatic, a bit glam rock, which was big at the time. Elton John was in a similar vein. They wrote classic songs that are still known and loved all over the world decades after.

In terms of their craft - musical and performance excellence, the crafting of complex songs - they certainly weren't a novelty. Listen to Freddie's vocals! He was brilliant.

I think you're being rather selective about the Rolling Stones (probably my favourite rock band). Not everything they did was Beggar's Banquet or Exile on Main Street.

I love Brian's apology. His acceptance of 'all sexes and sexualities'. He doesn't mention gender once. I think he's a very clever man.

Good point, r52. The trans hoped they'd get all the laws they wanted slipped through quietly before anyone noticed. But now people aren't just noticing, many are seeking to understand the issues and, once they start to understand what gender ideology is, they can see that it's bullshit.

R50 The best example: Fugazi. One of the best and most important bands of all times, that refused all the major label deals they were offered (and ever major label company approached them in the early 90s), made no merchandise, no music videos, no appearance in tv shows and movies etc. And they are just one of many. But it's useless naming them to you since you never heard of them.

[quote]I'm confused about the Queen revisionism. I loved rock growing up, and Queen were never favorites, even when I was a teenager listening to mainstream rock. Their songs were more novelty songs. Who would ever think that Another One Bites the Dust or We are the Champions is in the same category as any Stones' songs? It's more pop than rock, imo.

Queen were absolutely huge and many of their songs have become stone cold classics, despite not being their biggest hits. They sold out stadiums across the world and had a huge following.

I'd argue that Queen are more influential than the Rolling Stones in terms of inspiring other artists and their legacy.

Somebody To Love, Don't Stop Me Now, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Another One Bites The Dust, I Want To Break Free, Who Wants To Love Forever, Radio Gaga etc etc.

But you're talking about niche acts, r54.Of course I've heard of Fugazi - I've been around for a while and was a fan of indie music in my teens. Fugazi actually prove my point - they were formed in the 1980s. What we're talking about is new acts, putting out new music comprised of young people today. ​There just aren't new rock bands these days, or very, very few and it's hard for them to be successful (not everyone wants to be a niche, underground band).

(Although this does beg the question, how would the ordinary person hear about these acts if they deliberately go out of their way not to be widely known?)

Now, can you name any new bands active today and formed only in recent years? Otherwise, the point that rock bands are now dead still stands.

This article refers to the artists influenced by Queen. It doesn't mention a certain lady who took her name from one of their songs.

Then there's The Killers, Mika, Green Day, blah blah blah

"Gaga" is a character from Emile Zola's novel [italic] Nana, [/italic] I always assumed that's where Lady Gaga got her name, not from "Radio Ga Ga." Weird.

No, it's from the Queen song.

I know r59, I was just saying that I had assumed it was from the Zola novel until I read otherwise this morning.

Supposedly her ex-boyfriend would call her Gaga, after the Queen song.

r40 you say "appease", I say respect. You're not losing anything when you call someone by their chosen pronoun. You big baby.

R56 There's nothing niche about Fugazi. What do you consider new? How old?

R62 you got it twisted. They're the babies for being easily triggered over the "correct" pronoun.

Is this politically correct?

Are they, r64? How would you feel if everyone called you Jessica instead of whatever your real name is? I don't understand why it's such a burden to call someone by their preferred he/she/they. You seem to be calling them babies for wanting the simplest type of respect imaginable.

R66 I don't understand why it's so hard to accept reality instead of expecting everyone else to cater to your every whim.

R55, all the songs you list are ones I'd switch off if they came on, and let's add "I want to ride my bicycle" to that list. Not denying Queen's popularity or talent, but for me they're a pop act. I was into a different kind of music. I think they're still relevant now because of the movie and Gen Z's love of identity politics and pop.

Did Bohemian Rhapsody feature the video that MTV refused to screen in America? I can't recall this scene. Was it cut out?

Queen have always been relevant r68. It's not like they suddenly became relevant again after the movie came out.

Your personal taste is your personal taste.

R55 "I'd argue that Queen are more influential than the Rolling Stones in terms of inspiring other artists and their legacy." That's bs. Stones inspired a lot more bands and musicians. Mostly rock'n'roll and modern blues ones. Queen, maybe more pop musicians.

Never realized Brian was such an idiot.

"But IMO he needs to just stick to talking about music and nothing else that way he won’t be put in this position."

Well he WAS talking about a music awards ceremony!

And agreeing with most Dataloungers, BTW. Yes, we support trans people and wish them the best, but that doesn't mean that absolutely everything the Trans activists demand should happen, like transing children or eliminating all sex-based categories of everything.

Gender neutral categories for music really doesn't seem like a big deal - the music can stand on its own. The Grammy's doesn't have separate categories for men and women. Though I could believe there's a larger motivation behind it.

R5 I'm interested as to how you categorise music and judge it to be 'valid' or not.

Nancy Spungeon wants her wig back.

[quote] People ten years ago were saying how the whole social justice warriors, PC culture, being woke etc. will be dead in ten years. Not only is it not dead, it is bigger than ever. And in another decade it will be even bigger

R41, Christopher Isherwood was complaining about victim-loving generalisations in 'A Single Man' in 1961.

R58, R59 Someone who is "gaga" is mental. They are no longer in possession of all of their mental faculties,

R5 I can think of 2 bands off the top of my head after deaths.

New Order is the only band I can think of that made such an amazing transformation from Joy Division to New Order with a new singer. And not only that, Ian Curtis wrote “Ceremony” and I don’t like his version as much as I do the New Order version.

Second would be Foo Fighters. Dave went off and made his own music and showed he actually had something different from Kurt when Kurt died.