Me and Jacky at the Zac Vincent concert, October 2005

On 2 December 2004 between 7 and 9 pm, BBC Radio Kent broadcast the ‘Evening Show South’ doing a Queen ‘special’.

Interview with Jacky Smith of the International Fan Club – 

Edited Transcript

SD - Sue Dougan, JS - Jacky Smith

SD:   Let’s talk now to Jacky Smith, who’s been running the official International Queen fan club for 23 years now. She got the job in 1982 after replying to an ad in the paper. And, Jacky , for a fan of Queen that must have been like the dream job come true!

 JS: Oh absolutely, what better job could there be?

 SD: So 23 years you’ve been helping run this…can you give us a bit of a fans’ perspective of the band? How do they relate to their fan base?

 JS: They’ve always related very well to their fan base, they’ve always actually realised that it’s the fans who’ve put them where they are – and therefore they’ve always been very involved in the fan club, they’ve always done autographs, they’ve always been there for their fans... the fan club is like a major ‘Queen family’.

 SD: And no rivalry amongst fans, is there?

 JS: There’s always a little. Some of the people who’ve been fans from the early days -  we’ve still got fan club members that were there when Mott the Hoople toured and Queen were supporting them, so they kinda sometimes look back and think well - the people who joined the fan club after Freddie died - are you a real fan? To me they’re all real fans. Anyone who loves the band and their music is a real fan.

 SD: Just a tiny bit of suspicion – I would imagine not all Queen fans are necessarily  ‘young dudes’, are they?

JS: No.. it got to a point when they were all thirty somethings But just recently we’re getting fan club members - they’re young kids, they’re 9, 10, teenagers and upwards. They’re getting into the real music again, which is wonderful…

SD: Why do you think that they are getting into the real music as you put it. What gives them this sudden knowledge and sudden thirst for bands like Queen?

JS: It’s the music that’s lasted this long. It’s the music, I think, that will continue. There are bands that come and there are bands that go. There are two-minute wonders, there are one-hit wonders. They won’t last long, people get into them and then they disappear -  and it’s like, where do we go now? They latch on to a band like Queen that they know have been around for so long and the music has stood up to the test of time.

SD: Absolutely, we know that ‘We Will Rock you’ it being a musical version of Queen’s repertoire is reaping in people from all over the place, all sorts of ages who just love it for the music. And boy bands have been covering Queen’s material recently, so there’s a whole new audience..

JS: A lot of the hard-core Queen fans as we know them have gone like ‘How dare they?’ But then you think, this is great - it’s been bringing Queen to new people.

SD: Any particular strange incidences of odd fan behaviour? Anybody who’s gone the extra mile to meet their idol?

JS: There is a story that’s slightly before my time. Apparently a lady desperately wanted to meet Freddie and posted herself to him in a parcel..

SD: We don’t recommend that on the Evening Show South!...How has the band changed in your perspective since Freddie Mercury’s death?

 JS: It’s grown, I think - their music is still fantastic. I think Brian and Roger are still writing and hopefully will come up with new music in the not too distant future. They’re still growing and evolving and they’re keeping up with the trends which is, I think, what keeps them around.

 SD: The band themselves, I suppose they keep in touch quite reliably with the work you do for the International Queen Fan Club?

 JS: Very much so. If we need anything, if we need letters, if we need autographs, they’re just there for us.

 SD: And what kind of work are the rest of the band members doing at the moment?

 JS: At the moment Brian and Roger are very much involved with ‘We Will Rock You’ which is opening all over the world…John Deacon.. retired quietly.. and lives with his ever extending family. He’s more than happy to keep out of the limelight.

 SD: Rockers like their slippers too!... I don’t know if this to you - as someone who’s a huge fan and who helps run the international Queen fan club - I don’t know if you consider this as a cold dagger in your heart, but we’re trying to come up with the Evening Show’s very own version of Bohemian Rhapsody, kind of like a compound mixture of our listeners and contributors tonight, so we’re going to hand you to Steve in a minute and we want a line from you, okay…

 JS: Okay, Do you know which one yet?

 SD: I don't know, he’s going to produce it, you see…..Jacky, Thank you very much for joining us.

 JS: You’re welcome.

Link to the website of the official Queen fan club by clicking on the banner below:

Queen Fan Club Convention, Prestatyn, 23-25 Sept 2005

L to R: My daughter Georgia, me, and Petra

(PS  Petra's not drinking that beer - it belongs to Barry, our photographer - thanks, Barry!)

L to R: Sarah, me and Jamie

Jeff Scott Soto singing on Sunday night

01 Oct 05 

Queen Fan Club Convention - Report

 Early on Friday afternoon, 23 September, Georgia and I set off by train from Euston for first convention I’d ever attended. We’d arranged to meet Petra at Prestatyn Station, and we met on the way from the station to the bus stop. It was then that I learned that there were, apparently, no buses from the station to Prestatyn Sands, so we set off to walk – and then it started to rain – but a bus did arrive, and pulled up to pick us up! Once arriving on site, ewe went into the pub to check in – but it was very smoky walking through there!

 Although Petra had been highly efficient in bringing some food with her, we decided that eating in the café would be easiest on this first night. The service was really slow, but we finally got to sit down to a passable meal with the Karaoke well underway next door.

 We had a Classic chalet – we had hoped to get an Elite, but there were no more available at the time we booked. We decided that Georgia would share the twin bedroom with Petra while I slept on the sofa-convertible – I knew I would be likely to be in late that night! In fact, that happened every night!

 After Jacky gave her welcoming greetings, presenting a video of Brian’s message, the tribute band ‘Flash Harry’ took the stage. Apart from the tried and trusted favourites, the set list included ‘You Take My Breath Away’ and a medley which included ‘Killer Queen’ and ‘Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon’. What especially impressed me was the amount of time they went on without any break at all – what energy! I didn’t have my camera with me on that occasion, so I don’t have any pics of them, I’m afraid!

After that, there was the Queen disco – it was then that I managed to meet Sarah. Petra missed the entire evening’s events – understandably – because she was tired from her early start, flying over from Zurich only that morning! I returned to the chalet in the small hours, long after she and Georgia had gone to bed. 

 The next day I found there was plenty to watch on the Queen TV, notably ‘The Cross Live in Geneva’, which limited the session that Georgia and I had in the swimming pool, even though I sacrificed the first few minutes of the video by staying in the pool so that we could at least enjoy a reasonable swim! Georgia had enjoyed looking at the Arts & Crafts Exhibition earlier, because, although she’s not into the subject matter, she appreciated the quality of the work. She also showed me the Christmas cards that some French fans had designed – I bought a couple, because I realised I could use them for a certain project on this site!

 In the afternoon, I really enjoyed the Convention premier of the ‘Return of the Champions’ DVD – the sound was awesome! This was introduced by Simon Lupton (see details below) who also showed us an amusing, though brief commercial for the Greatest Hits DVD II which featured some rare acting from Roger and Brian! This was quite funny! Later, there was Greg Brooks presenting some surviving studio tracks – I’ve written a little more about this on the page entitled The Works, near the end.

 Saturday evening heralded the performance of ‘Dios Salve a La Reina’, a tribute band from Argentina – as on the previous evening I was fairly near the front. The set really took off with ‘Spread Your Wings’ (pardon the pun), which had also been performed by Flash Harry, and remains a great live number. Particularly impressive was their version of the Prophet’s Song, which undoubtedly proves an adventurous challenge for any tribute band.

Georgia, who, by the way, is not a Queen fan, told me later that she had come to the conclusion that people, including me, were being brainwashed by constant exposure to Queen visuals on QTV, and decided that she was the only sane person in the room when everyone did the customary overhead clapping to the Argentinian band’s ‘Radio Ga Ga’. She wasn’t too impressed when I congratulated her for spotting one of the messages of the song!

 Again, Petra decided to take an early night, as, needless to say, had Georgia, but I stayed until the small hours. I continued to rock to ‘Dios Salve la Reina’, especially to ‘Hammer to Fall’, and there was a group of John Deacon fans who threw one of the curly wigs reminiscent of Deaky’s 80s hairstyle at the band’s bassist who threw it back, and I managed to catch it!

 I finally made it to a party hosted by Sarah, who had originally directed me to the wrong venue! Still, this mistake gave me a chance to talk to some other of her pals from the QOL forum, namely Fairy and Vivid. They also turned up again later, and Pam was also in attendance once I had reached the right place, as was Sarah’s boyfriend Dan, and Jamie too.

 There was more video footage on offer on QTV the next morning, as well as a showing of the Dominion musical on DVD, which, outrageously, was nearly curtailed just before Tony Vincent’s rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody – leading me to display a vociferous protest which involved banging the table. It was effective, however, as we got to see the end. We popped over to the beach for a few minutes that morning – it was pretty windy, providing plenty of energy potential for the wind turbines placed in the sea before us.

 It was again hard to establish when we could fit in a swim, but we did manage it early in the afternoon, even though Georgia decided to stay for a while on her own while I returned to attend the afternoon sessions, starting with Jim Hutton and Ken Testi (by this time Petra had departed, as she needed to leave the convention early).

 Listening to Jim Hutton it was easy to see why Freddie had chosen this quietly-spoken man who must have been as far from the madding crowd as he desired. Ken Testi, who very much helped Queen in the early days, was very interesting –he said that he tried to put himself in the head of those who rejected Queen in the early days, but couldn’t. That I could well understand, and not just because I have the benefit of hindsight! Listening to a couple of early tracks Greg Brooks the day before, I instantly knew what I had heard as a teenager. Ken also said that he was stunned by the variety of the Queen catalogue of material over the years.

 Simon Lupton provided us with a preview of the ‘A Night of the Opera’ DVD – first of all, ‘Death on Two Legs’ was played – logical to start at the beginning – and I was overwhelmed by the sound quality. We also had the chance to witness ‘Seaside Rendezvous’ and ‘The Prophet’s Song’. I managed to ask him a question – whether there was any more footage on the background to the making of ANATO such as that found in the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody documentary’ made by the BBC. He said there was nothing further on the visuals, though there was the commentary, and that Roger and Brian may be doing more for a forthcoming classic albums series.

 I didn’t stay for Dennis O’Regan, but was able to return to the chalet to get ready for the Jeff Scott Soto gig in the evening; he performed a great acoustic set, including a medley mostly of rarities; Dear Friends, You and I, Dreamer's Ball, Sail Away Sweet Sister, Love of my Life, Teo Torriatte, Life is Real, Too Much Love Will Kill You. There was some improvisation towards the end, and I think that Jeff is an absolute natural, and I wonder if he was born singing Queen songs?! Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to ask him because, as I later found out, he was in a different place after the show from the one I thought he had indicated.

 Georgia was happy to remain in the chalet while I continued to stay until the end of the programme, blasting out the dance floor, especially when there was a Roger song! The ‘people train’ for ‘Breakthru’, which had been great fun the previous night, was now totally exhausting! Once I got started on the dance floor, I didn’t notice much else, which was another reason for missing JSS’s after-show gathering.

 Next morning it was time for the off – I’d had a great time, despite the sleep deprivation, and Georgia, despite not participating in the activities, had enjoyed the break!

Synopses from the material we were given:

 Dios Salve a la Reina:

 Hailing from Argentina, DSR won a major tribute band competition in their home country. The hosts of the competition were so impressed they invited the band over, all expenses paid, to play at Liverpool’s Cavern Club last year and then the huge Matthew Street festival. They went down so well they were invited back again this year, and we snapped them up for the convention too. They have just returned from wowing the audience at the annual Freddie Mercury Memorial Day in Montreux, Switzerland.

 Flash Harry

 Fans who have seen Flash Harry have walked away amazed by the stunning performances that the band put into each show.

One of the finest Queen tribute bands and one of the only tribute bands to have played the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London to great acclaim. The band have put together a special show just for the convention, so prepare to be ROCKED!

 Greg Brooks

 Once again we welcome Greg back to the convention. Greg has been a huge Queen fan for many, many years and is the author of the book ‘Queen – Live’. He was lucky enough to turn his life long interest into a job when he became Queen’s official archivist. At past events Greg has played some material exclusively for the fans at the convention. You never know what he’ll find next!

 Simon Lupton

 We are pleased to welcome Simon to the convention, where he’ll be showing a convention exclusive of the live DVD ‘Return of the Champions’ and playing some special bits and pieces from the recordings of ‘A Night at the Opera’.

For those unfamiliar with Simon’s work, as well as working on numerous television shows, such as the smash hit BBC comedy ‘Fun at the Funeral Parlour’, Simon produced the ‘Queen – Live at Wembley’ DVD and supervised the painstaking restoration and enhancement of the ‘Queen – Greatest Video Hits 1’ DVD.

 Jeff Scott Soto

 For those of you who have seen Jeff and his band before then there isn’t much we can say about their amazing stage show that you don’t already know. For those you haven’t, be prepared to be blown away by this talented and dynamic vocalist. And this year as a special treat Jeff and his band are going to do a special ‘Queen Convention – Unplugged’ as they rock us with a great acoustic set.

 Jim Hutton

 Jim and Freddie were together for many years and has many, many great times together. Jim’s book ‘Mercury & Me’ was a personal, funny and touching account of his life with Freddie.

From life at Garden Lodge to touring the world, Jim’s stories are a unique insight into both the professional and private life of Freddie Mercury.

05 Nov 05

I re-joined the fan club in 2004 by going to the office. Coincidentally, in 1978, the year after mum's passing, we had moved from our north-east London home to live in Barnes. So it was a 'trip down memory lane' for more than one reason, but a happy one at that point!

When the fan club hit problems recently, I had some correspondence with Jacky about it. Then, shortly after Easter, I decided to call in on the office again to discuss it, but didn't contact her beforehand. I found a notice on the door saying the FC was closed to visitors - the place looked like a building site - and I tried to ring the FC number on my mobile but there was no response. So I'd found out about the premises problem before it was officially announced and this was clear to Jacky when I e-mailed her about it afterwards. Before I left Barnes that afternoon, I sat on a bench further down the road from the Old Bakehouse and the place suddenly took on a different aspect for me - it was filled again with the memories of yesteryear, and that terrible loss that I almost felt was kind of happening all over again...