Yeah, Freddie was pissed at their then manager Norman Sheffield. The band was skint, yet he was riding around in posh cars! Although his name wasn't directly mentioned in the song, it was confirmed that he was the subject of the song when he sued them and their label for deformation (it was settled out of court).
Lfc Rules Its comical though. The scumbag outed himself by suing them. So defamation wouldn't be an issue since they never called "the shark" out by name. The rat just wanted more of their money.
"Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" is a song by the British rock band Queen, and is the opening track on their fourth album A Night at the Opera. The song was written by Freddie Mercury about the band's fall-out with their original manager and Trident Studios owner Norman Sheffield. Though the song makes no direct reference to him, Sheffield was appalled when he heard a playback of the song at Trident at the time of the album's release, and sued both the band and the record label for defamation. This resulted in an out-of-court settlement, thus revealing to the public his connection with the song. Roger Taylor also noted that despite the success of Killer Queen and Sheer Heart Attack, the album preceding A Night at the Opera, the band was broke before the album was made. Sheffield denied that he or his companies had mistreated the band in his capacity as manager, and cited the original 1972 management contracts between himself and Queen in his autobiography published in 2013, Life on Two Legs: Set The Record Straight, in his defense. The song was recorded and mixed at Sarm East Studios in late 1975. The song composition was all Freddie. Including the guitar riffs. As with "Bohemian Rhapsody", most of the guitar parts on the song were initially played on piano by Mercury, to demonstrate to Brian May how they needed to be played on his guitar. Mercury later recalled that he had tried to make the lyrics as "coarse as possible", and that the other band members were initially shocked at the harsh lyrics. However, the band agreed that the song should be performed as Mercury intended, and it was recorded as such. Author Michael Chabon remarked that "A Night at the Opera is where I progressed from 45s to albums. It was gate-fold, with the lyrics printed on the inside, and you could just sit there poring over them and trying to figure who Freddie might be talking about on songs like 'Death on Two Legs'." "Death on Two Legs" was regularly performed live by Queen up to and including The Game Tour. Only one live version of the song has been officially released, on the 1979 album Live Killers. The piano introduction, however, was played during the Hot Space and The Works tours. During live performances Mercury would usually dedicate the song to "a real motherfucker of a gentleman." This line was censored (using bleeps) on their Live Killers album in 1979. On the Protomen's cover album, A Night of Queen, lead singer Raul Panther dedicates the song to "a real asshole that Freddie Mercury used to know." The song to precede Death on Two Legs is, Flick of the Wrist. Flick of the Wrist is the lead up to Death on Two Legs. Queen - Flick of the Wrist (Live 1974) th-cam.com/video/XrIZQ3CLLbU/w-d-xo.html Happy New Year!!!!!!
Live versions of Death on Two Legs. 12. Death On Two Legs (Queen In Earls Court: 6/6/1977) th-cam.com/video/JOPfLZra-mg/w-d-xo.html QUEEN - Death On Two Legs live London 1979 th-cam.com/video/UXzW-pZ5sUQ/w-d-xo.html Death On Two Legs (Queen In Houston: 11/12/1977) th-cam.com/video/InDXnBYJEqQ/w-d-xo.html Best Live Death On Two Legs Oakland 1980 th-cam.com/video/V4V251JP988/w-d-xo.html Queen-Death on two legs (the making of) th-cam.com/video/JIfU1yCP028/w-d-xo.html Freddie was an excellent pianist.
M Reed R I’m so glad you told us it was queen , a british rock band , as the title doesn’t give any thing away ,and that it was written by Freddie... t
Great reaction, loved what you said at the end of the song 😃 Yeah, Freddie wrote this about their former manager who screwed the band over (whoever requested this might have gone into further detail). But I can add that Brian thought it was even too vicious and was a little embarrassed to play it, haha, he's too nice. They did play this live, and usually Freddie would start it by saying something like, "This song is about a motherf*cker".
You do not have to go deep into Queen albums to stumble across a gem. Their albums are overflowing with them. No exaggeration.... I look forward to watching you dig deeper. Several have taken it upon themselves to go song to song album after album. Filler is a rarity when it comes to Queen albums and as you mentioned about MJ. Many of Queens best are hidden behind their more popular hits. I might go so far as to say 4 of my top 5 Queen songs were never released as singles and are relatively unknown. Keep them coming. Cheers and Happy New Year!
@@birddoug8297 Happily. Having been a Queen fan since 1976 my top 5 favorites have changed repeatedly over the years. My top 5 today could be drastically different 1 month from now. So I will try to pick 5 songs that have always been near the top of the list and among my most listened to Queen songs at the moment. The Millionaire Waltz The Prophets Song Dead on Time March of the Black Queen Great King Rat All songs I would prefer to hear over any of their hits. Not that I don't love the hits. But the deep cuts probably hold 20 of my top 25 spots. As for the hits it is BoRap (the song that made me a Queen fan), Rock you/Champions (these songs were connected when released), Innuendo and Somebody to Love that would hold top 25 spots.
So true...I also tend to prefer the lesser known songs and my top 5 list changes all the time as well.🤣 1) You take my breath away 2) My fairy king 3) My melancholy blues 4) The millionaire waltz 5) Winter's Tale
Dark_Helmut The millionaire waltz Don't stop me now Let me entertain you Doing alright We are the Champions Man I can't list all of them they're all too good but those 5 are the first which come to mind
This album is FIRE, beginning to end! (Night At The Opera) Death on two legs is the first song on this masterpiece album, dedicated to their old middleman of a manager that was keeping them broke. Freddy didn’t sound pissed at all right?! Prophet Song and Love of my life are totally different but you should hear these (yes with headphones) great songs as well! Keep Rockin!
Well to be fair. Freddie waa speaking on behalf of the band as a whole. He was discussing their contract with Trident in the mid seventies. Queen was making hits, not getting paid. And they addressed that issue in this song. Thoroughly.
Yeah dont mess with freddie/queen...love the song..upbeat...nice reaction...i can also imajin them saying those before recording...watched early concerts and he sang this song..great!..more queen songs...tnx..
I know what you mean about misheard lyrics. I have been a Rolling Stones fan for years, and on their song Paint it Black, I always thought the lyric was "No more will my green seagull turn a deeper blue". When I watched the lyric video it's "No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue." I used to think what the hell has Mick been smoking. lol.
I'm sure you've figured out by now that freddie did everything "extra". Lol! And the comparison you made about freddie is not the first time I've heard that.
Devon, if you looked everything up, it wouldn't be a true reaction. As Lfc Rules, mentioned before me, this song was aimed at manager Norman Sheffield, when the band, after 3 successful albums and tours, were still broke. Freddie was really pissed off. Brian and Roger tried to tame down the words but Freddie wouldn't have it. In the movie, they used a fictitious manager to fire (Ray Foster, played by Mike Meyers), probably so they wouldn't get sued again. Keep spreading the love, Devon.
The song ends suddenly, if you played the album its from (A Night at the Opera, the same album as Bohemian Rhapsody and You're My Best Friend), the song ends, and the new one starts seamlessly, which is called Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon.
Lazing... is a lil masterpiece of its own. It’s the first time I hear Queen be less than serious but the background vocals are all too serious and all too Queen! What a studio MASTERPIECE, Night At The Opera is!
#davincireacts Have you seen Bill Burr "Old Man Face"? First bit I ever saw by Burr. I saw it on TV years ago and it's on TH-cam now. I didn't know who he was until he later blew up on TH-cam. Great bit!
You are right about the other members thought he should tone it down a little about their ex-manager Norman Sheffield. Before Sheffield died in 2014 he did release a book of memoirs called Life On Two Legs: Set The Record Straight where he defended himself. I haven't read it so I don't know what he said in it. But the band certainly felt they were getting royally screwed at the time and were making a lot of money for him while they were broke.
@@bbbfst Paul McCartney wrote the forward to the book. The Beatles had recorded the White Album and "Hey Jude" at Sheffield's Trident Studios. It says that in the book Sheffield denied mistreating the band and produced copies of Queen's original 1972 contracts. Brian May did the decent thing, I guess, and wrote a short tribute to him after he died in 2014. It was brief: "Sad to report the passing of Queen's first manager, Norman Sheffield. We had our differences of course, but, in the Grand Scheme of Things, all the water had long since flowed under the bridge. Our sincere condolences to his family." RIP Norman Brian One thing is for sure, Queen (especially Freddie) felt they had been wronged by the man.
They were making a pittance producing hits and doing world tours while Sheffield drove a Rolls. John Deacon asked for an advance to buy a home for his wife and baby and was turned down. The result was this song. This has happened to other bands like Badfinger, a really good band, and two of them committed suicide. It also happened to the Animals, another great band. Rip offs by managers is rampant in the music industry.
#askdavinci Did you know that this song is actually about one of their producers that kept taking something like 80% of their money, and Queen were over it, so this is basically their dis tract to the producers. Wow
#DaVinciReacts Please react to the 'Best of the Inbetweeners'. A British comedy, which is hilariously accurate for teenagers. The showed air in 2008 and had 3 seasons and 2 movies. Please react to this :-)
you Queen reactors all react to THE SAME, YES, THE same Queen songs, you're all copying each other, whatever goes trending. I challenge you to get out and BE THE FIRST TO REACT TO DANCER, from the album Hot Space. See all those other fools copy you and make a reaction to the song.
![[#2024MAMA] ROSÉ (로제), Bruno Mars - APT. | Mnet 241122 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dgGqD28J6aQ/mqdefault.jpg)
People always talk about rappers and their beef BUT THIS is the original diss track 💯
Saucy Jaxx TOTALLY
The No Vaseline of Hard Rock
Yeah, Freddie was pissed at their then manager Norman Sheffield. The band was skint, yet he was riding around in posh cars! Although his name wasn't directly mentioned in the song, it was confirmed that he was the subject of the song when he sued them and their label for deformation (it was settled out of court).
Lfc Rules Its comical though. The scumbag outed himself by suing them. So defamation wouldn't be an issue since they never called "the shark" out by name.
The rat just wanted more of their money.
After having 3 hit albums including a UK no.2 single and album, they were living in a bedsit earning £100 a week while he rocks up in a Rolls Royce.
"Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" is a song by the British rock band Queen, and is the opening track on their fourth album A Night at the Opera.
The song was written by Freddie Mercury about the band's fall-out with their original manager and Trident Studios owner Norman Sheffield.
Though the song makes no direct reference to him, Sheffield was appalled when he heard a playback of the song at Trident at the time of the album's release, and sued both the band and the record label for defamation.
This resulted in an out-of-court settlement, thus revealing to the public his connection with the song.
Roger Taylor also noted that despite the success of Killer Queen and Sheer Heart Attack, the album preceding A Night at the Opera, the band was broke before the album was made.
Sheffield denied that he or his companies had mistreated the band in his capacity as manager, and cited the original 1972 management contracts between himself and Queen in his autobiography published in 2013, Life on Two Legs: Set The Record Straight, in his defense.
The song was recorded and mixed at Sarm East Studios in late 1975.
The song composition was all Freddie.
Including the guitar riffs.
As with "Bohemian Rhapsody", most of the guitar parts on the song were initially played on piano by Mercury, to demonstrate to Brian May how they needed to be played on his guitar.
Mercury later recalled that he had tried to make the lyrics as "coarse as possible", and that the other band members were initially shocked at the harsh lyrics.
However, the band agreed that the song should be performed as Mercury intended, and it was recorded as such.
Author Michael Chabon remarked that "A Night at the Opera is where I progressed from 45s to albums.
It was gate-fold, with the lyrics printed on the inside, and you could just sit there poring over them and trying to figure who Freddie might be talking about on songs like 'Death on Two Legs'."
"Death on Two Legs" was regularly performed live by Queen up to and including The Game Tour.
Only one live version of the song has been officially released, on the 1979 album Live Killers.
The piano introduction, however, was played during the Hot Space and The Works tours.
During live performances Mercury would usually dedicate the song to "a real motherfucker of a gentleman."
This line was censored (using bleeps) on their Live Killers album in 1979.
On the Protomen's cover album, A Night of Queen, lead singer Raul Panther dedicates the song to "a real asshole that Freddie Mercury used to know."
The song to precede Death on Two Legs is, Flick of the Wrist.
Flick of the Wrist is the lead up to Death on Two Legs.
Queen - Flick of the Wrist (Live 1974)
th-cam.com/video/XrIZQ3CLLbU/w-d-xo.html
Happy New Year!!!!!!
Live versions of Death on Two Legs.
12. Death On Two Legs (Queen In Earls Court: 6/6/1977)
th-cam.com/video/JOPfLZra-mg/w-d-xo.html
QUEEN - Death On Two Legs live London 1979
th-cam.com/video/UXzW-pZ5sUQ/w-d-xo.html
Death On Two Legs (Queen In Houston: 11/12/1977)
th-cam.com/video/InDXnBYJEqQ/w-d-xo.html
Best Live Death On Two Legs Oakland 1980
th-cam.com/video/V4V251JP988/w-d-xo.html
Queen-Death on two legs (the making of)
th-cam.com/video/JIfU1yCP028/w-d-xo.html
Freddie was an excellent pianist.
M Reed R I’m so glad you told us it was queen , a british rock band , as the title doesn’t give any thing away ,and that it was written by Freddie... t
Wow. I couldnt have explained it better myself. This was a very good explanation of what was happening around the song.
You NEED to react to Somebody to Love Live at Montreal, I know you have reacted to the studio version but this is just amazing. Thanks.
Great reaction, loved what you said at the end of the song 😃 Yeah, Freddie wrote this about their former manager who screwed the band over (whoever requested this might have gone into further detail). But I can add that Brian thought it was even too vicious and was a little embarrassed to play it, haha, he's too nice. They did play this live, and usually Freddie would start it by saying something like, "This song is about a motherf*cker".
You do not have to go deep into Queen albums to stumble across a gem. Their albums are overflowing with them. No exaggeration.... I look forward to watching you dig deeper. Several have taken it upon themselves to go song to song album after album. Filler is a rarity when it comes to Queen albums and as you mentioned about MJ. Many of Queens best are hidden behind their more popular hits. I might go so far as to say 4 of my top 5 Queen songs were never released as singles and are relatively unknown. Keep them coming. Cheers and Happy New Year!
Would you mind sharing your top five?
@@birddoug8297 Happily. Having been a Queen fan since 1976 my top 5 favorites have changed repeatedly over the years. My top 5 today could be drastically different 1 month from now. So I will try to pick 5 songs that have always been near the top of the list and among my most listened to Queen songs at the moment.
The Millionaire Waltz
The Prophets Song
Dead on Time
March of the Black Queen
Great King Rat
All songs I would prefer to hear over any of their hits. Not that I don't love the hits. But the deep cuts probably hold 20 of my top 25 spots. As for the hits it is BoRap (the song that made me a Queen fan), Rock you/Champions (these songs were connected when released), Innuendo and Somebody to Love that would hold top 25 spots.
So true...I also tend to prefer the lesser known songs and my top 5 list changes all the time as well.🤣
1) You take my breath away
2) My fairy king
3) My melancholy blues
4) The millionaire waltz
5) Winter's Tale
Dark_Helmut
The millionaire waltz
Don't stop me now
Let me entertain you
Doing alright
We are the Champions
Man I can't list all of them they're all too good but those 5 are the first which come to mind
Dark_Helmut
Its Late
Get Down, Make Love
White Man
Now I'm Here
Dragon Attack
You should really check out "Liar". But makes sure it's Live At The Rainbow 1974. John Deacon is a beast on his bass solo.
This album is FIRE, beginning to end! (Night At The Opera) Death on two legs is the first song on this masterpiece album, dedicated to their old middleman of a manager that was keeping them broke. Freddy didn’t sound pissed at all right?! Prophet Song and Love of my life are totally different but you should hear these (yes with headphones) great songs as well! Keep Rockin!
Basic rule for life - do not piss off Freddie Mercury, it will not end well.
This is my favourite Queen song, doesn't get enough attention. Thanks!
One of my favorites! Have you researched the background story behind this scathing song?
Probably one of the first diss songs.
Lord Farqua? OMG I'll never get that visual out of my head. 🤣🤣
Perfect song to listen to when you are mad as Hell at somebody.
One of my favourite songs to play when I'm pissed off lol 😂
Lol I love this song
He wrote this about his ex-manager
Yes, they played it in their American tour. In the Houston show I believe.
Probably my favorite song on this album, well maybe The Prophet Song. Brian May is tearing up the guitar on this one.
Brighton Rock, a precursor to Bohemian Rhapsody.
Lord Farquat … damn that is so right. The more I think about it the more that look is indeed Lord Farquat. LOL!
I laughed out loud when he said that. Totally not offended and I'm a huge Queen fan.
Farquad
Well to be fair. Freddie waa speaking on behalf of the band as a whole. He was discussing their contract with Trident in the mid seventies. Queen was making hits, not getting paid. And they addressed that issue in this song. Thoroughly.
yup, freddies hair back then DID look like lord farquad youre not wrong xD
6:06 I don't see anything needing embarrassment. 😊
Yeah dont mess with freddie/queen...love the song..upbeat...nice reaction...i can also imajin them saying those before recording...watched early concerts and he sang this song..great!..more queen songs...tnx..
I know what you mean about misheard lyrics. I have been a Rolling Stones fan for years, and on their song Paint it Black, I always thought the lyric was "No more will my green seagull turn a deeper blue". When I watched the lyric video it's "No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue." I used to think what the hell has Mick been smoking. lol.
Happy New Year. An excellent way to end the year (for you) and to begin a year (for me).
Thanks, and Happy New Year to you too.
Wow 🥰 loved it 😍 thanks liked subscribed 😁❤️ Freddie Mercury ❤️
I'm sure you've figured out by now that freddie did everything "extra". Lol! And the comparison you made about freddie is not the first time I've heard that.
Happy New Year! Check out Queen/White Man from the album A Day At The Races (1976) if you haven't heard it yet. The album version is best.
Devon, if you looked everything up, it wouldn't be a true reaction. As Lfc Rules, mentioned before me, this song was aimed at manager Norman Sheffield, when the band, after 3 successful albums and tours, were still broke. Freddie was really pissed off. Brian and Roger tried to tame down the words but Freddie wouldn't have it. In the movie, they used a fictitious manager to fire (Ray Foster, played by Mike Meyers), probably so they wouldn't get sued again. Keep spreading the love, Devon.
They were working their asses off and They didnt have any money at all, and were in debt. thats why they wrote this song!
The song ends suddenly, if you played the album its from (A Night at the Opera, the same album as Bohemian Rhapsody and You're My Best Friend), the song ends, and the new one starts seamlessly, which is called Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon.
Lazing... is a lil masterpiece of its own. It’s the first time I hear Queen be less than serious but the background vocals are all too serious and all too Queen! What a studio MASTERPIECE, Night At The Opera is!
@@kentnottingham9635 Certainly is!
It would be included in Live "medley". So the song was truncated in live performances.
You're doing it right, Black Onion, sounds sweet, looks good.
You should watch queen sing it live
I am Death On Two Legs and I approve this video.
Damn...that's brutal hate with amazing harmony and guitar.
#davincireacts Have you seen Bill Burr "Old Man Face"? First bit I ever saw by Burr. I saw it on TV years ago and it's on TH-cam now. I didn't know who he was until he later blew up on TH-cam. Great bit!
This is my fav song by queen 🥰❤️
Yes you're right Brian is the king on this one, although as far as I know, Freddie wrote the guitar parts, too.
Dude, Brian is shining on this one. That Red Special's tremelo bar getting beat to death.
No, but he did live at Earl’s Court 1977
️🏆 Great reaction ️🎧!!!
You should never piss Freddie off
Check out Dragon Attack, Montreal, live.
You are right about the other members thought he should tone it down a little about their ex-manager Norman Sheffield. Before Sheffield died in 2014 he did release a book of memoirs called Life On Two Legs: Set The Record Straight where he defended himself. I haven't read it so I don't know what he said in it. But the band certainly felt they were getting royally screwed at the time and were making a lot of money for him while they were broke.
I'm always amused that he waited until long after Freddie was dead to "defend" himself.
@@bbbfst Paul McCartney wrote the forward to the book. The Beatles had recorded the White Album and "Hey Jude" at Sheffield's Trident Studios. It says that in the book Sheffield denied mistreating the band and produced copies of Queen's original 1972 contracts. Brian May did the decent thing, I guess, and wrote a short tribute to him after he died in 2014. It was brief:
"Sad to report the passing of Queen's first manager, Norman Sheffield.
We had our differences of course, but, in the Grand Scheme of Things,
all the water had long since flowed under the bridge.
Our sincere condolences to his family."
RIP Norman
Brian
One thing is for sure, Queen (especially Freddie) felt they had been wronged by the man.
They were making a pittance producing hits and doing world tours while Sheffield drove a Rolls. John Deacon asked for an advance to buy a home for his wife and baby and was turned down. The result was this song. This has happened to other bands like Badfinger, a really good band, and two of them committed suicide. It also happened to the Animals, another great band. Rip offs by managers is rampant in the music industry.
You have fantastic insight lad.
My singing monsters - Continent
pls react to no one but you by queen (official video)
If you want to hear a great live version of DOTL, get their Queen Killers album from 1979.
Brian May said he felt bad singing of it, however, Queen’s albums had made a bunch of money and the band was on a basic wage
#askdavinci Did you know that this song is actually about one of their producers that kept taking something like 80% of their money, and Queen were over it, so this is basically their dis tract to the producers. Wow
React to Queen - Breakthru. The video is fun as hell and the song rocks!
Live version(s) reacted to by those at th-cam.com/video/EeQSs8ae3WY/w-d-xo.html
Oh you do music too? Nice
you should react to some of the members solo works!
Never call Freddie lord far quad
I had Donald Trump in my mind the whole time.. I wonder why.
Dude you should defo check out Joe Lycett’s comedy he’s brilliant (I recommend either of his Apollo performances:))
#DaVinciReacts
Please react to the 'Best of the Inbetweeners'. A British comedy, which is hilariously accurate for teenagers. The showed air in 2008 and had 3 seasons and 2 movies. Please react to this :-)
Hey bro can you react to only the good die young it's by queen
I seen a performance from.79 but not 80s
I wish that this song was accidentally played at a Trump rally..lol
you Queen reactors all react to THE SAME, YES, THE same Queen songs, you're all copying each other, whatever goes trending. I challenge you to get out and BE THE FIRST TO REACT TO DANCER, from the album Hot Space. See all those other fools copy you and make a reaction to the song.