The English musician Don Deacon was the bassist of the Queen band from the very beginning until the death of Freddie Mercury. The guitarist combines financial literacy, technical ability and extraordinary talent of the performer.
As a child, John Richard Deacon transformed an old reel-to-reel tape recorder into a modern recording device on his own. Thanks to the musician, the most commercially successful Queen composition, Another One Bites the Dust, appeared later.
Searching for a vocation
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1951. The boy was born in the English town of Leicester on August 19 in the family of an insurance company employee. He ceased to be the only child five years after the birth of his sister Julia.
From childhood, the kid was attracted by electronics. The young inventor enthusiastically came up with and embodied in reality fantastic devices, read a lot of magazines. Music did not interest him too much.
After John's 9th birthday, the family moved to Odby. The boy went to the local Gartree Grammar School. He continued his education at Bitcham College. The boy liked the humanitarian direction. The study went without much effort, and the student quickly became the best in the class.
The teenager experienced a real delight after getting acquainted with the work of the famous quartet of The Beatles. Four from English Liverpool changed priorities for John. From now on, all the songs of the guys have become favorite for their fan. Deacon dreamed of learning to play in the same way as his idols. The path to the dream turned out to be difficult.
The path to the musical Olympus
In 1965, a high school student organized the Opposition group. After just a year, the name of the team was transformed into The New Opposition. He played rhythm guitar in the Deacon group. The young performer became the bass guitarist after the musician of this role left the band.
The choice turned out to be correct: John never cheated on him in his life. The final performance of the group was a concert on August 29, 1969. After it, the paths of the founder and the participants completely diverged. Some continued their work under the name The Art, while the other chose a new direction.
John was offered study at Chelsea Technical College, part of the Imperial College London. Leaving home and guitar, and amplifier, and the old life at home, the young man went to the capital. However, six months passed, and John realized that he could no longer do without music.
The first acquaintance with the newly formed Queen group took place during their studies. John was not impressed. He himself dreamed of creating a team and performing with it. The Deacon team became the realization of the intention. True, the new group existed only until the first concert. The reason for the breakup was the transition of the founder and guitarist to Queen, whose members just attended the show.
The talent of the future colleagues of Mercury, May and Taylor was immediately appreciated. The guys were very impressed by the guy's knowledge in the field of electronics, and a balanced character. The nineteen-year-old guitarist sold out as the youngest in the band. However, in the group, he quickly took root. Their debut performance was July 2, 1971 in Kensington.
Dream group
The first studio album appeared in 1973. The name for it was chosen the name of the group. The collection was dominated by heavy metal and hard rock. The lyrics for his songs were written by almost all members of the group, with the exception of John. True, the materials were already ready for recording in 1972, but not a single record company dared to take on it.
The musicians very soon started preparing a new collection. He appeared a year later. Following the example of his colleagues, Deacon tried to write songs. His first experience, Misfire, was featured on the 3rd album, Sheer Heart Attack.
The hit was the new single You’re My Best Friend from the band’s next album. John created the composition for his wife. He dedicated a song to Veronica, written in the year of their marriage. During the performance, an electric piano solo was played by the author. The video for the song was shot uncomplicated. However, it was he who turned into one of the best in Queen's glam-rock period.
The new compilation A Night at the Opera went quadruple platinum and was named one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. The composition Bohemian Rhapsody has become a cult song. It was distinguished by a duration that was unusual for those times: 2 times longer than the usual 3 minutes.
The song combined opera, pop and rock genres. The success was deafening. After the triumph, photographs of the musicians and articles about them began to be published in magazines. Deacon was noticeably different from his colleagues in that he wrote few songs. But all of his creations became favorite music lovers and very popular in the world. Spread Your Wings became examples of John's creativity.
Completion of a career
His hit Another One Bites the Dust immediately after its appearance took the first lines of the prestigious American charts, becoming the best-selling in the United States and in the world. John himself played almost all the instruments that sounded in his composition.
Both colleagues and listeners highly appreciated the skill of playing the guitar. In addition, John was responsible for all the equipment of the group. A talented technician created the Deacy Amp. The ability to handle finances has also become an indisputable talent. The Deacon was in charge of all the money for the team. He became the administrator, controller, and even the accountant of the group.
John did not refuse to participate in the recordings of other projects. He recorded the soundtrack for the film and worked with Elton John, Biggles: Adventures in Time. The musician left Queen after Mercury passed away. The final was a performance at the London charity concert in memory of the vocalist. In 1997 the guitarist took part in a memorial concert.
In October 2018, the premiere of the biographical film Bohemian Rhapsody took place. The role of Deacon was played by Joseph Mazzello.
John also took place in his personal life. In 19795, he and his chosen one Veronica Tetzlaff became husband and wife officially. For the first child, 5 more children, 4 sons and a daughter were born. The musician does not tell the press anything about his life off stage.
