People, here I am posting the first part of the translation of the article I told you about. Right? My English teacher corrected it, but she has some problems at the time, so it is impossible to keep on correcting now. Lol. Here it is (When it is over the second part will be posted):
THANKS TO QUEEN, NOW EVERYONE KNOWS THAT WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS (pagina01, pagina02)
A lot of people won’t ever know. Some means of communication (stupefied by the lights of the spectacular) will prefer the superficial, will diffuse empty shells. They will say, for instance, that 21st February 1981 was “the great Queen’s night”, that “a spectacle” was set, that “it was an explosion of the most modern technology”. It is probable that something of this is part of the truth. But what no one will say, what they won’t want to admit is that Queen’s tour is the definitive and irreversible triumph of rock and its public in Argentina. And this is known by the 200.000 that made this tour possible, and the hundreds of thousands who will live its circumstances. In each one of those hearts, with the beat that is so similar to the rock’s essence, grew the certainty and the conviction that because of Queen now everyone will know – although they do not admit so – that “We are the champions”
This rock music, and this romantic public that loves it, who was ignored, bastardized and mistreated by the big means for years and years, that were relegated from diffusion, that stood the nicknames of “music-noise” and “deaf”, can’t help noticing with a smile the press’ madness: television trying to “acquire the spectacle”, daily and weekly newspapers “dead” with Queen’s art, radios vociferating Queen and rock and roll all over the air. Isn’t it very touching seeing all the “big ones” amazed with rock?
But everything’s right. Let’s set the path, let the ones who have just arrived feel the hug of happiness, of love, of vanguard of this music. Let’s be proud, and let’s enjoy a bit the vanity of having been right: Let’s forgive them.
D.R.
ARRIVAL (pagina03)
Surely not even the promoters of Queen’s presentation in Argentina had an exact dimension of what the group’s visit would provoke in the country. From the very moment of their arrival the band provoked a popular commotion like it had never been seen with another artist. The first symptom of that situation was stated the day of Queen’s arrival to Ezeiza international airport. There had congregated many hundreds of admirers of the band, and more than thirty journalists from radio, television, newspapers and magazines from all over the country.
From an early time the enthusiastic groupies waited nervously their favourite group’s arrival, carrying posters, placards, little flags, magazines, or just a Queen’s photo. Tension was growing up while time was passing by, accentuating itself with the news – that the band would arrive with almost an hour of delay.
Half an hour before the arrival of the flight that brought Queen from Rio de Janeiro, journalists were introduced to a VIP lounge where they could make their first contact with the band. Outside the lounge, the public struggled to enter, leaving room for some scenes of nervousness to take place although they were not a big deal. With their faces fatigued due to tiredness, John Deacon, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and Brian May entered in that order. After posing for photographers they agreed on doing some declarations about the journey and the expectations for the concerts. Three girls, who cleverly succeeded evading the vigilance, and who had finally the organizer’s consent, couldn’t repress the emotion that the moment aroused , and one of them had a nervous breakdown and ended up crying. Same scenes were echoed at the airport hall, where those who had seen the musicians talked over the ecstatic faces of the others. The quartet dived in a car’s caravan, that was waiting for them at the side of the trail, and set off heading downtown.
(pagina05)
Queen spent almost an hour and a half during Saturday afternoon doing some sound checking. The group arrived at the stadium at 14,45 and they immediately began working with their assistants and the sound technicians.
The check began with a series of percussive passages in charge of Taylor, and went on with May playing upon. This way, successively they went on checking each one of the instruments and microphones, to play then “Save Me”, “Death on Two Legs”, “Play the Game” and “Love of my Life”.
After each song, the band gave instructions to their assistants about the details to adjust. Taylor worried particularly about his voices equipment, and May about his acoustic guitar.
During the sound check it was regulated, also, the volume of the tape that reproduces the operatic voices from “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Once that Deacon, May, Taylor and Mercury were in agreement with every technical aspects (including scenic effects, which were also checked) they headed to their dressing rooms for the first time, and then back to the hotel.
PREPARATORIES (pagina06)
Exactly a week before Queen coming to scene, the set of the gigantic scenery that lodged them during their three appearances in Buenos Aires began. On Monday a hundred people began working in the Velez Sarsfield stadium, amongst English, American and Argentinean technicians and assistants. Slowly, like a huge Babel tower they began erecting the structures that would shore up the gigantic scenery. Using three mobile derricks they set every one of the sceneries up to assemble the scenery’s roof. By the middle of the week the impression was that it was going to get to the first concert’s day very tightly; partly because of the delay on the arrival of some equipment, and also because of the burning heat that was registered in those days.
On Friday it was the band’s arrival day, and the huge scenery was almost completely set up. Early in the evening, the group arrived to the stadium to a television interview. Immediately, they headed to the playing field to personally verify the conditions of the works, but they had to protect themselves when the storm began. Shaking some of the raindrops out, May told us “I hope it’s not like in England, because when it begins raining…”. With great urgency, all of the attendants covered the equipment with big pieces of plastic and avoided touching the equipment that was switched on.
Saturday dawned cool, and the first lights of the morning discovered a group of technicians working, in fact, they had been working all night long. Everything had to be ready for the general mid-afternoon rehearsal. And it was, at three pm Queen came up and checked the sound and effects, especially the running of the seven hydraulic derricks that conform the main illumination system. Very tired, but satisfied, the roadies were enjoying themselves a deserved break under the sunlight. It was really surprising how the effectiveness and the accuracy of every member of the technical group of that watchmaker’s engine called Queen, worked.
CONFERENCE (pagina07)
On Friday evening a cocktail was offered in Velez to present (supposedly) Queen. But it wasn’t really like that, but it was an excuse for the media to interview them, for photographers to pull their camera triggers, and for journalists to watch everything from the distance with no possibilities of getting closer.
It also served to some minor glittering stars to show their suntanned faces, and to a great number of famished gate crashers to devour every single sandwich that passed close to them.
The first one to arrive was Mercury and after him followed Deacon, May and Taylor, each one in a different car. They immediately settled on a lounge on the second floor and after that, at 20,50 they went downstairs to the parking lot to join the “party”.
Although all four members of Queen were kind with those who came closer to them, they didn’t go into the farce game, and it was hilarious to see how they commented about the tone of the television interview in which the journalists strived to call them the “new Beatles”.
Fifteen minutes after their arrival, all four of them went back quickly to the hotel, excepting Taylor, who wanted to see the stadium before setting off.
While the Queen members went back to their cars, a big group of opulent ladies tried to show their T-shirts (With publicity, sure), and the gate crashers and the starlets devoured the last crumbs.
THE CONCERT
QUEEN TO SCENE (pagina09)
The ascension to the scenery by Queen was exactly at the established time. While outside the shouting muffled up the World Cup 78’ march that came out from the sound columns, each of the members of the group was escorted from the dressing rooms – the same ones that the football teams use – by assistants using lanterns. The first one in going up to the plank floor was Roger Taylor, dressed in a white shirt, black trousers, tennis shoes and wrist bands. Mercury wore red trousers, a white T-shirt and a black leather jacket. May went up rapidly bringing with him his inseparable guitar. Deacon was the last one to go up, wearing until the last minute before going to the stage a showy kimono.
From this moment a party began: the one of the British queen.
APOTHEOSIS (pagina10)
In the very moment in which the smoke bombs began exploding and lights began their demoniac dance, the thousands of people present at Velez stadium had the exact dimension of what they would witness: the show of one of the biggest bands in the world: the English queen, Queen.
And if it was difficult to believe what the eyes could see, all it took was to see Freddie flying around his microphone to make us all understand it was not a dream: Queen was really there. With an incredible music, that goes from hard rock to a love song without losing an ounce of strength and quality.
Brian May is a brilliant guitarist, who knows how to exploit the ways of experimentation opened by Hendrix without getting on the grandiloquent. His plays upon have will, and he is, in addition to this, chief of an incredible potency. His solo took more than one’s breath away.
John Deacon is a sober, serene bassist. He practically doesn’t move at all, but his bass is precise and potent. He knows how to work harmonies, and he is an excellent compositor. Roger Taylor is a good drummer with evident classic rock and roll and disco music influences, also he sings very well. And finally, Freddie Mercury, absolute chief of the scene, he knows how to drive the public with his presence and his captivating voice. He is the axle of the show running from one place to another without taking a breath. In addition, he played with success and fairness the piano and the acoustic guitar, each time that the music, that marvellous music, required it.
Also there’s the show, an apotheosis spectacle that serves as an appropriate visual complement, and that made the whole stadium shake with incredulity, but without putting aside the musical richness of the group. Because of this, beyond all the scene display, Queen showed in Argentina its triumph cards: four excellent musicians and a captivating product: their music. God doesn’t need to save this queen.
OSVALDO MARZULLO