Queen (January 19, 1978) No Longer Leader? – Cover Feature

Published on January 19, 1978, this major UK music magazine cover feature titled “No Longer Leader?” examined the evolving power dynamics within Queen during the News of the World era. As the band reached new heights of global success, the article explored whether Freddie Mercury was relinquishing his role as the sole frontman and leader, with Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon taking on significantly more creative and decision-making responsibility. The piece captured Queen at a pivotal transitional moment — moving from the theatrical bombast of their early years toward a more democratic and mature creative process, while still celebrating Freddie’s unmatched stage presence.

"Roger is very important to us in a different way. He's always been an out-and-out rock & roll fan with no time to stop and think about music and that's very good for us. Instinct. He's also the one who is most aware of facets in music, and that's essential in the band. If you listen to 'Sheer Heart Attack' on the new album you'll see what we mean. It sounds like a

Freddie Mercury stands tall in front of the first American audiences to hear a live rendition of "Champions."

Does Queen Deserve Rock's Royal Crown?

Freddie Mercury and Brian May Hawk Their 'News of the World' punk, or 'new wave' song, but it was written at the same time of the Sheer Heart Attack LP. He played it to us then but it wasn't quite finished and he didn't have time to complete it before we started recording. That was three years ago and now almost all these records you hear are like that period." And Roger now? "He was into punk for a long time, but he's tired of it." More about the album later.

But if you still don't believe no crown of leadership rests on the mercurial head of Freddie, it's worth repeating his comment about the composition of the group.

"If anyone left Queen, anyone of the four, that would be the end of Queen. We are four equal, interwoven parts. And the others just couldn't function the same without each quarter."

Queen have just finished a special tour of the states. Not the longest they've ever undertaken, by any means, but special nevertheless.

"It was the first tour we've ever without the band," Freddie explained. "There was so much going on on stage that I doubt there would have been room for another band anyway. We have so much material we want to play for people now that it would have been far too long a concert. It's hard enough anyway to know what to leave out: we'd like to play all the new material, but there are some things we just would not dare leave out or I think the fans would lynch us."

It was the sort of tour most rock bands dream of doing. Brian agrees: "We've managed to get some of the most sought after halls there are, even though the tour was short. Most of them are places we've played before. In some cities we had to settle for second, alternative choice auditoriums the thing was set up so fast. It was also a very compressed tour- 35 dates in six weeks. We did very large halls because we wanted to do a fuller show and our rig was about twice as big as ever we used before. "It provided a complete stage environment, with an extension stage, three trailers and an enormous lighting gimmick not just for New York and Los Angeles. That's why we booked big halls, so that we could give everybody the complete show. We first used our crown centerpiece at London's Earl's Court concert over the Jubilee. At the time, we didn't envisage being able to take the crown on tour with us, but we managed to

"Freddie and Brian May work together like arms on the same body," says one longtime associate of the band, "and a healthy body it is."