John Richard Deacon was born on 19 August 1951 and is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen.
37 Facts About John Deacon
2.
John Deacon joined Queen in 1971 on the strength of his musical and electronic skills, particularly the home-made Deacy Amp which guitarist Brian May used to create guitar orchestras throughout Queen's career.
3.
John Deacon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Queen in 2001 and into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003.
4.
John Richard Deacon was born on 19 August, 1951, at St Francis Private Hospital, London Road, Leicester to Arthur Henry and Lilian Molly Deacon.
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John Deacon's father worked at the Norwich Union insurance company and in 1960 the family moved to the neighbouring town of Oadby.
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John Deacon was known to friends and his bandmates as "Deacs" or "Deacy" and attended Linden Junior School in Leicester, Gartree High School.
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John Deacon took an interest in electronics at an early age, reading magazines on the subject and building small devices, including the modification of a reel-to-reel tape deck to record music directly from the radio.
8.
In 1965, at the age of fourteen, John Deacon formed a school band, the Opposition.
9.
The band would go through many line-up and name changes, with John Deacon eventually leaving the band altogether in 1969 to pursue studies in electronics at Chelsea College in London.
10.
John Deacon joined his first band, The Opposition, in 1965 at the age of 14.
11.
The band played covers of chart hits; John Deacon played rhythm guitar using an instrument he bought with money borrowed from the group's founder, Richard Young.
12.
John Deacon switched to bass the following year after the original bassist was fired for not improving his playing as much as the other members.
13.
John Deacon left as he had been accepted to study at Chelsea College in London, where he obtained a First Class Honours degree in Electronics in 1971.
14.
In 1970, Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor formed Queen; John Deacon saw them in October that year but was not immediately impressed.
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Later in the year, he briefly formed a band called John Deacon that made one live appearance at Chelsea College.
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In early 1971, John Deacon was introduced to Taylor and May by a friend at a disco who told him that they were in a band that had just lost its bassist.
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John Deacon was selected for his musical talent, his quiet demeanour and his electrical skills.
18.
John Deacon asked to be credited under his real name, which was done on all albums from Queen II onwards.
19.
John Deacon's first writing credit came on Queen's third album, Sheer Heart Attack.
20.
John Deacon wrote "Misfire", a Caribbean-themed song on which he played almost all guitar parts, and co-wrote "Stone Cold Crazy" with the rest of the band.
21.
Subsequently, John Deacon tended to write one or two songs for every Queen album, until The Miracle and Innuendo, which credited the band as a whole.
22.
John Deacon wrote the hit "Another One Bites The Dust" as a dance song based on his early love of soul.
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John Deacon would collaborate with Mercury throughout the early 1980s, helping push the band's musical direction towards a lighter disco sound.
24.
John Deacon considered his songwriting to be of equal importance to his musical skills in Queen.
25.
John Deacon was so upset by Mercury's death in November 1991 that it resulted in a significant reduction in his musical activity.
26.
John Deacon reappeared only briefly by joining his former bandmates in October 1997 for the recording of the final Queen song "No-One but You ", included on the Queen Rocks album released a month later.
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John Deacon has stayed out of the public eye since retiring.
28.
John Deacon chose not to be present at Queen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
29.
John Deacon did not join the collaboration with singer Paul Rodgers, where he was replaced on bass by Danny Miranda.
30.
In 2022, May told Rock FM Spain that despite many enquiries, John Deacon has repeatedly declined to rejoin Queen.
31.
John Deacon can be seen playing the grand piano in the music video to "Spread Your Wings", although on the actual recording the piano was played by Mercury.
32.
Unlike the other three members of Queen, John Deacon did not sing on the group's records, though he did occasionally sing backing vocals during live performances.
33.
John Deacon's first bass, used in The Opposition, was an Eko, later switching to a Rickenbacker 4001.
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John Deacon used an Ernie Ball MusicMan Stingray live on occasion.
35.
John Deacon usually played the bass with his fingers, only using a plectrum on some songs.
36.
John Deacon counted his influences as Chic, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder.
37.
John Deacon has often been described as the quiet member of the band.