One day last week I woke up to notice that my mobile phone was carrying a new fitting - its appearance altered by a metal slab on its back, looking like a primeval relic of the industrial age anachronistically attached to my bit of essential 2020s technical kit. Then I recalled how it had got there. The previous day I’d been fiddling with something called an ‘Owl Virtual Reality Kit’, which would enable me to place the back of my Samsung on to a magnetic holding plate so that I could view stereo images relayed from the device as they appear in 3D through the Owl’s lenses. I’d purchased this gadget at Proud Galleries near Charing Cross, London, where I’d been taking a look at Sir Brian May’s collection of stereo images of his band, exhibited at the ‘Queen Will Rock You in 3D’ exhibition – and mused on the fact that I would now only have to get my phone out to remind me that I’d become something of a 3D devotee: as with his other occupations and pastimes, the enthusiasm of my favourite band’s guitarist for stereoscopy is infectious.
So, what of
the exhibition itself? Well, as you enter on the ground floor, you can truly
immerse yourself in seventies and eighties Queen – the Freddie era, going right
back to their fledgling days. Yes, everyone starts somewhere, but by the time you
see them at Kempton racecourse in 1976 – as organised by their then manager
John Reid for the launch of their fifth album, ‘A Day at the Races’ - you note
that they’d all mastered the art of backing the same winning horse. Whether you’re
interested in seeing the band at work or at play, or, as in this case, a bit of
both, there are plenty of pictures to view: on display is Brian’s visual log of
the band’s development. From 1975 there’s Freddie ‘off guard’ under a hairdryer;
Freddie performing in Boston in a Zandra Rhodes costume, ‘swirling around on
stage like a great bird’ in its ‘plated wings'; and Freddie smiling, with drummer Roger
and bassist John, from the back seat of a limo in New York...as the crooning
Sinatra would sing, ‘If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere’. So the
remaining collection on the ground floor bears witness to those other tours and
travels through the seventies – Europe, Japan, Hawaii, South America – as well
as carefree days relaxing at Ridge Farm studios during the making of ‘A Night
of the Opera’, the 1975 album that had made it all possible. By 1977, Freddie’s
looking ‘chuffed’ to have won a Britannia award for its seminal single – his
six-minute-long creation ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. There’s also plenty to see of the
‘Radio Ga Ga’ and ‘It’s a Hard Life’ video shoots of 1983 and 1984 respectively.
But there’s one picture reminding you of that time of pre-fame: Freddie and
John at Trident studios during the making of the band’s eponymous debut album
in 1972.
As the exhibition coincides with a short season – finishing a month before the
exhibition does - of the musical ‘We Will Rock You’ at the nearby Coliseum Theatre, there
are a few pictures of that show that you can view before heading for the
staircase to the basement; on the way down, I spent some seconds taking in the continuity
of the exhibits, before being greeted at the bottom by a plastic prototype of
the 1977 ‘New of the World’ album’s robot, Frank, fulfilling its promotional
function of cradling the LP for display purposes…and then there’s Brian’s smiling
mum Ruth showing off the programme made for the premiere of the ‘Flash Gordon’
movie in December 1980 (for which Queen had provided the soundtrack),
evidencing the original black and red artwork which was rapidly ditched in
favour of the well-known bright yellow.
The
basement focuses on Queen after Freddie: there’s one photo of Brian playing ‘God
Save the Queen’ on the roof of Buckingham Palace in 2002; another providing
brief glimpse of the subsequent concert collaboration with Paul Rodgers from 2005;
and numerous shots of the extant one, now over ten years old, with Adam Lambert,
many of which capture the versatility of the current Queen lead singer’s stage
presence, as he’s seen striking a variety of poses. These, of course, weren’t
taken by Brian himself – in addition, notably, there are plenty of superb snaps
of him, and Roger too, in action. One photo shows Brian in the context of his
solo collaboration with singer Kerry Ellis, taken for their 2017 album ‘Golden
Days’, and another from the same year presents a line-up of the cast who played
the four members of Queen in the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ movie. Even this floor, though,
is not without its flashbacks: we’re also treated to three shots of Brian as a
boy, when his lifelong passion for stereo photography was first ignited.
The
exhibition continues until 23rd September, with part of the proceeds from entry
tickets supporting the animal welfare charity ‘Save Me’, established by Brian
together with Anne Brummer. And remember – stereoscopic equipment, mostly in the form
of LITE Owls, is provided for your viewing pleasure! There’s also a shop selling
a range of stereo-themed books (including 'Queen in 3D' itself) and equipment: who knows – you might come away with
one of those Owl VR kits, and like, me, finish up with a metal slab on the back
of your phone as an ever-present memento of your visit!
© Alison Sesi, 2023.
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