Queen members share tales of legendary party that included man hiding under pile of meat
Queen were always known for their extravagant performances, but they were apparently nothing compared to their exploits offstage.
The band's bacchanalian parties have long been well known in music circles, spawning reports and rumors of absurd excess (such as the oft-repeated story of little people walking around with bowls of cocaine strapped to their heads for party guests' use and amusement).
The latest episode of YouTube's Queen the Greatest series delves into these festivities, particularly the infamous launch party for the band's album Jazz, which took place at New Orleans' Fairmont Hotel in 1978.
Queen: Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Freddie Mercury, and Brian May
"It was a very, very over-the-top party," Queen drummer Roger Taylor recalls in the video. "I remember I felt quite ill the next day."
Adds Roy Thomas Baker, who produced Jazz and several other albums for the band, "It was definitely fun. When I opened up the door of my suite, on the bed was a complete case of Dom Pérignon. And it was downhill from there."
The party also included "lots of acts," as Taylor puts it. "There was a man... who did lay under meats. He was covered in cold cuts and chopped liver and stuff like that. You couldn't see him, and so people would approach the trestle table, and as they reached out to scoop their meat, he would just move. And that was his act."
Check out the full video above for this and more anecdotes that didn't make it into Bohemian Rhapsody, for some reason.
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