If you’ve been following Queen since the death of Freddie Mercury then you know that original bassist, John Deacon is nowhere to be seen. Even during the promotion for the band’s biopic Bohemian Rhapsody all we saw was guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor promoting the film alongside the actors.
Following the death of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s in 1991, John Deacon essentially retired and stepped out of the spotlight.
“He’s just living a private life.” – Phil Symes
Queens publicist Phil Symes would tell the Daily Mail, “He’s just living a private life.” The Daily Mail would report that his net worth was an estimated 135 million pounds.
Brian May would reflect on Deacon’s decision saying, “It’s his choice. He doesn’t contact us. John was quite delicate all along.” Those close to Deacon believe his plan from the beginning was to fade away.
When Deacon auditioned for Queen he was chosen because of his calm behaviour. Drummer Roger Taylor recalled, “We were so over the top. We thought that because he was quiet he would fit in with us without too much upheaval,” with Brian May saying “He’s very solid, no-nonsense. He’s always got his feet firmly on the ground.”
“Another One Bites the Dust”
Deacon would be credited with writing some of Queen’s biggest hit songs including “Another One Bites the Dust”, “Under Pressure” and “You’re My Best Friend”.
Not only was Deacon considered reclusive to his bandmates in management but to his own neighbours. Deacon would purchase a pretty modest house with his first royalty check and raised six children with his wife in that property. Some who know Deacon have claimed that he has dealt with depression which only worsened following Freddie Mercury’s death.
Deacon would marry Veronica Tetzlaff who was a Polish Catholic teacher in January of 1975 when she was pregnant with their first child. This happened just as the band’s fortune seemed to spiral out of control five years later in the 1980s.
“Living in a fantasy world of vodka and barmaids.” – Brain May
Guitarist Brian May revealed in an interview that the band lost control while recording in Munich, Germany in the early 80s, saying the band was, “living in a fantasy world of vodka and barmaids”. May would go on to say, “We all lost our minds. We’re all in the perilous place where our emotions were out of control.
It manifested itself into too much drinking, a certain amount of drugs, which I didn’t share, but certainly an awful lot of vodka went through my body. We all fell to bits and we overreacted with each other at times. We all left the band at some point, and the studio is a hard place for a band anyways, but in our case, all four of us were writers who had worldwide hits. The lifestyle we led magnified that conflict.”
Guitarist Brian May would say that it was during this time that John Deacon disappeared, “Going to Bali, Indonesia and seeing God or whatever.” May would also add, “He could be very outgoing and very funny but I think some of the stuff that happened in Munich gave him a lot of damage and I think losing Freddie was very hard to him as well and he found that incredibly hard to process to the point where actually playing with us made it more difficult and Freddie’s death only made things worse.”
“The Show Must Go On”
Some would credit Freddie’s death with pushing Deacon into a deep depression. Since Mercury’s death in 1992, Deacon has only performed three times live – once at the 1992 Freddie Mercury tribute show and in 1993, he played a benefit show with Roger Taylor. His final appearance came in 1997 when the three surviving members of Queen performed “The Show Must Go On” with Elton John in Paris.
Deacon would also contribute to the Queen songs, “No One But You”, “Only the Good Die Young”, a new song for Queen Rocks compilation but that was basically it. He never showed up to the band’s induction into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
In 2002, there was a short scandal when Deacon was visiting a club and formed a friendship with an exotic dancer, with whom he was photographed with. Roger Taylor would say at the time, “We’re not in touch but John’s a sociopath really. He’s given his blessing to whatever Brian and I might do with the band and we’ve done rather a lot.”
In October of 2018, the Daily Mail published a short story about Deacon including a photo of him stating his lifestyle in South London is so reclusive and quiet and his attitude to fame is so hostile that the band apparently don’t expect him to respond when they contact him.
His wife sometimes tells callers to their home that he doesn’t live here or that she doesn’t know where he is. Neighbors say they’re aware that he lives next door but they barely see him from one year to the next. The only exception was the local pub where he used to go three times a week for a glass of white wine with his wife but it had now become a supermarket.
“You are wasting your time if you’re trying to find John.” – John Deacon’s Neighbour
One neighbor told the Daily Mail, “You are wasting your time if you’re trying to find John. He does live there but he doesn’t talk, not to anybody.”
The bartender who used to serve Deacon was apparently told by his wife who he was and was told not to bring up the band Queen, with the bartender remembering, “I haven’t seen him in a long time. He is fine, just private. The last time I saw him it was a few months ago in the summer.”
Deacon would give a rare interview to a fansite a few years ago and revealed his hobbies at the time included drinking tea and having children. In more recent years, it was reported that he can be frequently found on the golf course.
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I feel so sorry for John. I know that Freddie and John were friends. I hope that he is happy in what ever life he chooses to live