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Memories of Norman Sheffield

Book cover

Excerpt from the book "Life On Two Legs: Set The Record Straight" by Norman J. Sheffield - founder of
Trident Studios and manager of Queen in 1972-75, to which Freddie Mercury dedicated the famous song
"Death on Two Legs".

One day in 1971, I was sitting in my office when I received a call from my studio from my brother Barry. "Norman,
come down and listen to something," he said. John Anthony of the arts department [1] discovered the band Smile.

Norman & Barry Sheffields, founders of Trident

Studios

In the beginning, a guitarist named Brian May was a student of astrophysics at Imperial College, bassist and vocalist
Tim Staffel studied art, and drummer Roger Taylor studied biology. Later they reformed the team. Staffell was
replaced by this little Indian looking guy with a powerful operatic voice and they had a new bassist too.
John asked them for a demo. It was raw, but definitely had something to it. I opened Trident Studios in 1968 in
Soho. His state-of-the-art equipment and the surrounding aura attracted the greatest talents of the era, from The
Beatles and Elton John to David Bowie and Marc Bolan.

Queen circa 1975

The four guests who came to my office a few weeks later were an intriguing mix of characters. Roger Taylor was a
really good-looking kid, graceful long-haired blonde. Brian May was tall, with a mane of curls, a bit introverted, but
very intelligent. Bassist John Deacon was also quiet. I could say for sure that the fourth team member would be
difficult to work with.

Freddie Bulsara in the mid-1960s.

His real name was Farokh Bulsara. He was born in Zanzibar and educated in India. The family emigrated to England
when he was a teenager. He studied graphics at Ealing Art College. He was also a talented singer and pianist. When
he joined the band, he gave himself a more rock 'n' roll name: Freddie Mercury. He was charming, seemed to be a
little shy and at times aloof, and spoke in a quite polished and mannered way. When he was relaxed he had a very
sharp sense of humor and sounded like an organ grinder.
 One of the first photos of Queen

They decided to drop the name Smile. I almost choked on my coffee when I heard a new one: Queen. Back then, the
world was not as enlightened as it is today. We were afraid that the new name would discourage listeners, especially
considering the band's image. Freddie reportedly had a girlfriend, but we were pretty sure he was gay. I have agreed
to offer Queenies [2], as we called them, a loose contract. There were times when the studio was left "dark"
(unused), usually from two in the morning. We told them, "We'll give you that studio downtime and see what you
can do."

They turned out to be as good - and demanding - as we predicted. Things had to go 100% as planned, otherwise they
would not be happy. They spent their days and nights working on harmonies. Quarrels were initiated over the
smallest details. They started screaming, screaming and throwing objects around. Sometimes the outburst would end
after a few minutes, but other times they might not talk to each other for a day or two. However, they always solved
the problem. Quarrels were never personal, they were always about work.

Freddie kept saying that Queen would undoubtedly be successful. "There was never a doubt, baby, never," he said
with an imperious wave of his hand.

Photo session at Freddie's apartment

The title of their first album is simply "Queen". Another suggestion was "Dearie Me", Freddie's [3] catchphrase,
which was quite funny, but the band itself was hard to sell. They spent centuries arguing over the cover. The front
one showed Mercury on stage, with two headlights in the background. The back cover is a collage of the band's own
photos. Freddie was driving everyone crazy when he bit if he looked "gorgeous enough" on them.

They toured with Mott the Hoople at the end of the year, but Queen started getting more encore and bigger ovation
than the main star. They were due to go to a concert in Australia when Brian had a high fever. His arm shrank to the
size of a football, doctors diagnosed gangrene. At one point, he was in danger of losing his arm. Luckily the crisis
subsided and he was allowed to go. However, the concert turned out to be a failure. The local DJ was clearly against
them as he announced them as "stuck-up Pommies [4]". When they entered the stage, the audience was also
negative.

"Sheer Heart Attack" Tour

The boys felt a distinct sense of relief as they flew back to London. For some strange reason, the British press was
tipped off that Her Majesty the Queen was flying to Heathrow. So when they saw four exhausted musicians show up
at customs, they weren't too thrilled.

During his first US tour, Brian's health deteriorated. Our worst fears came true when doctors diagnosed
hepatitis. The remainder of the tour has been canceled. It was a disaster, professional and personal. When they
returned to London in August, [Brian - ed. mike ] had ulcers operated on.
 One of the first concerts

However, on October 11, 1974, EMI released "Killer Queen" from their third album - "Sheer Heart Attack". Within
weeks, the song gave the guys what they wanted most - a single first. When Queen set out on the road again, this
time as the star of the night, it was clear they were on the road to great success. However, the more love Freddie
gained on stage, the harder it became to work with him outside of it.

Freddie before the Rainbow Theater concert

The tour ended with a performance at the famous Rainbow Theater in London. The day before the concert, Freddie
was even more pedantic than usual. "Oh, stop being so snappy, Freddie," said Brian. Freddie was outraged. He
threw his head back, waved his arms, and ran out of the building. During the soundcheck, Brian turned on the
microphone, "Freddiepoos, where are you?" He exclaimed. Freddie appeared immediately with a gloomy expression
on his face, indignantly jumped on the stage, gave Brian hateful looks and went to work. They always did.

In 1975, they flew to Japan, where it turned out that there were 3,000 fans chanting their name waiting for them.  It
was like Beatlemania. Freddie finally got the recognition he wanted all his life. He felt like a god. Unfortunately, he
soon began acting like a god as well.
 Mid 70's

The more successful they were, the more they became turbulent about money. It got the most hot when John got
married. In the run-up to the wedding, he announced that he wanted me to invest £ 10,000 (now around £ 90,000) to
buy a house. I didn't react the best. Then Freddie requested a wing piano. When I refused, he hit my desk with his
fist. "I need a wing piano!" - He said.

I wasn't stingy. We knew we would have a lot of money from Queen's success. I explained that some of them had
already been poured in, but we hadn't had most of them yet. “We are stars. We sell millions of records. " Freddie
said. "And I still live in the same apartment as three years ago."

Deaky during Queen's first visit to Japan

We have invested a huge amount of money in the team. We improved their equipment and increased their salaries
right from the start, and continued to put money into them for four years. The fact that the team owed the Trident £
200k (£ 1.75m current) did not reach Freddie.

I remember the conversation. "The money will be in December." - I said - "Wait." Then Freddie turned on his heel
and raised his voice in the phrase he had made famous many years later: “No, I'm not going to wait any longer.  I
want it all and I want it now ”(“ I want it all and I want it now ”).
By the end of 1975, I heard that they were making a lot of negative comments about the Trident. Later I heard the
song "Death On Two Legs" from the album "A Night At The Opera". The opening two lines summarized what was
to come. "You suck my blood like a leech / You break the law and abuse" then, "Are you thinking of suicide?" and
then "I think you should." It was a kind of libel to Freddie directed at me.

Soon, "Bohemian Rhapsody" climbed to the top of the British charts and stayed there for nine weeks.  The
bittersweet moment came when news leaked that Queen and I had broken up. We should talk more. I should pay
more attention to their feelings. By the time I realized that things were going very badly, it was too late.

Queen in 1976

In March 1977, the company and band agreed to sell all future rights, rights to old albums and management debt.

Freddie's dreams finally came true and he became a wealthy man. When he died, no one was sadder than
me. Perhaps he was a monster in manners, but he was also a genius. I saw him once, after we parted ways, in 1986,
when I took my family to their Knebworth concert. He was friendly, as if past events had been forgiven.
 Knebworth concert

It turned out to be their last show, so I was at Queen's first and last shows.

Years later, after his death, I went to the Freddie Mercury Memorial Concert [5] in Wembley, where I saw the other
three being photographed. John Deacon pointed at me and said, "If it weren't for this man, we wouldn't be standing
here." Brian and Roger looked at me and nodded. This gesture chased away the ghosts of the past.