40 Years Ago: Queen Releases a Single Without Brian May on It

Is a Queen song still a Queen song without Brian May?

It certainly can be, as was the case with 1986's "One Year of Love," a song written by bassist John Deacon and sung, of course, by Freddie Mercury. It appeared in the film Highlander and on the band's 12th studio album, A Kind of Magic.

But you'll notice there's no guitar on the track, meaning May isn't present on the song at all. Instead there's Deacon playing Yamaha DX-7 synth, a string orchestra conducted by Lynton Naiff and a saxophone part played by Steve Gregory, the same man who played that famous bit in George Michael's "Careless Whisper."

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Gregory recorded his part at the Town House, a studio in the Shepherd's Bush neighborhood of London.

"John was his usual humble and quiet self and it was definitely Freddie’s show. There was also an engineer there but Freddie was in charge, there was no question of that!" Gregory later recalled. "It was just me playing and presumably the song was nearly finished by the time I got involved. The session was short and sweet and took an hour at the most. First takes are often the best as the ideas are fresh, so it didn’t take very long at all."

And although Deacon may have written the song, Mercury was still very much the lead in terms of the recording process.

"Freddie knew what he wanted," Gregory explained. "He told me what note to start on and then we did it bit by bit; I was free towards the end but he guided me on what he wanted on the track. It was Freddie’s thing and his direction. John didn’t say much and sat at the back, but there was a good vibe in the studio and I could see they were pleased with what I played. It went very well and everybody was happy."

Listen to Queen's 'One Year of Love'

John Deacon's Songwriting

"One Year of Love" was released as a single on June, 4, 1986, adding to the small but mighty collection of Queen songs written entirely by Deacon.

"I tend to be the quiet one of the group," he said in a 1977 interview with Jim Ladd. "There's always one. And it's often the bass player as well."

That quietness never fooled Mercury.

"His songs are good and are getting better every time. I'm getting a bit worried, actually," Mercury said in a 1976 radio interview. "He's sort of quiet; lots of people think that. Don't underestimate him; he's got a fiery streak underneath all that."