Queen Quiz — Happiness?

Feb 262 min read

Cover Artwork for Roger Taylor's studio album “Happiness?”

Following the death of Freddie Mercury at the end of 1991, Roger Taylor took time to contemplate his musical career journey, whilst writing the odd song here and there. Taylor managed to write enough material to constitute the basis of his third solo album, “Happiness?”, which was recorded at his home studio.

Whilst composing the album, as Mercury was deep in mind, the majority of the songs were Mercury inspired. Two that come immediately to mind are:

“Dear Mr. Murdoch” – written about Rupert Murdoch, the media tycoon and owner of tabloid newspapers “The Sun” and “News Of The World”; their journalists hounded Mercury during his dying days.

“Old Friends” – an ode to remembering Mercury as his very best friend remembered him.

The featured songs were far more introspective and lyrical than anything Taylor had written on his previous solo albums. There was the occasional moment of rock 'n' roll, but for the most part, the songs were quieter and more keyboard-dominated. His vocals were a little smoother too; he sang in the upper part of his range, as that's where he felt the most comfortable.

The song that made the biggest impression, was “Nazis 1994”, written after a horrified Taylor read reports of the uprise of Neo-Nazism in the early 1990s. The lyrics proved too controversial and was banned by UK commercial and BBC radio stations. Additionally, it was banned from being advertised with many record stores refusing to stock the single. Ironically, the publicity aided in the album's success and also led to Taylor agreeing to a brief but rewarding solo tour, the first he ever embarked upon.