Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1043753
B O H E M I A N R H A P S O D Y | P E R S P E C T I V E 6 3 I Want It All Of course, with a subject as well documented as Queen, there are tremendous resources available online and in print, but the production also had secret weapons. Queen drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May were regular visitors to the Art Department. Roger could tell us exactly what cymbals he used at every recording session and occasionally offered to bring in the actual kit he played at a specific gig. And not only did Brian give us all the esoteric details that went into the construction of his famous guitar, the "Red Special," but we also discovered that he is the ultimate collector of Queen memorabilia. He invited us to his home and into his personal archive where we found virtually every poster, ticket stub, publicity layout, stage costume, photograph, backstage pass and recording ever made for the band. Always the consummate gentleman, on multiple occasions, I would walk into my office and find Brian May wandering around the Art Department taking in the details of the set models or graphics. This was no ordinary rock star; this man also has a PhD in astrophysics. I was going to need to pay even closer attention to the details than I had thought. The production also had the guidance of Peter Freestone, who had been Freddie's friend and assistant throughout the later years of his life. He made all of his personal photos available and gave tremendous insight into everything from the colors of a wall to the details of how Freddie came to acquire a particular light fixture. He remained a consultant through D E F A. ROCKFIELD RECORDING STUDIO. SCALE MODEL BUILT FROM DRAWINGS BY ART DIRECTOR HANNAH MOSELEY. B. ROCKFIELD RECORDING STUDIO. IN PROGRESS, BUILT IN A 200-YEAR-OLD BARN LOCATION. C. ROCKFIELD RECORDING STUDIO. SET PHOTO. D. ART DEPARTMENT TIMELINE. E. SUPERVISING ART DIRECTOR DAVID HINDLE PRESENTING BRIAN MAY WITH A COPY OF THE "RED SPECIAL." F. LIVE AID SCALE MODEL SHOWING BACKSTAGE AREAS.