Talk:I Want to Break Free

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[edit] from comments

Hi. I'm from Brazil. This goes to the author of the article.

Regarding the paragraph about the reception to Freddie in drag when Queen played this song at Rock in Rio, I'd really like to know where does that info come from. It sounds like pure urban legend to me. First, I was at the concert and heard not a single boo at that moment. Granted, among 150.000 people or so, there may have been a few, but the article leads us to believe Freddie was widely booed, and that did NOT happen.

Second, the whole idea of the song being adopted by Brazilians as a resistance anthem is completely alien to me. Although I was only 15 at that time, the political climate of the country was a matter of discussion at school (it was the very end of the military dictatorship; Tancredo Neves, the first non-military president in over 20 years - elected by the Congress in what was meant to be a "transition" measure - was elected during Rock in Rio, more exactly on January 15th, 1985, four days after the event described in this article).

And, with all this, I never once heard of I Want to Break Free being considered as anything more than a great pop song around here. Even the idea sounds absurd, since, in those days, not that many people were fluent in English in Brazil to be able to make the connection. Besides, being our own pop music so widely accepted around here (Brazil is one of the few big Western countries where local music sells a lot more records than Anglo-American pop music), it's much more likely that people would choose a Brazilian song, with lyrics in Portuguese, for that purpose.

In fact, they did quite a few times: "Pra Não Dizer Que Não Falei de Flores", a 70's song by Geraldo Vandré, was written and adopted as such, to the point you should watch your back to start humming it in public (those were the dangerous times, not the mid-80's), because it WOULD be viewed as a political statement. On the other hand, around the time of Rock in Rio, the music of Milton Nascimento, and particularly the song "Coração de Estudante", was widely adopted as a "Tancredo Neves/end of dictatorship/new dawn theme", to the point it would play endlessly on TV when they showed images of his funeral (mr. Neves never got to take charge in Presidency; he died in April 21st that very year, and his elected Vice-president José Sarney ended up being our first civil president in 21 years).

But I Want to Break Free? That's totally unheard of for me. Besides, the video was widely known around here. I've seen it on broadcast TV (there wasn't cable TV in Brazil in those days) lots of times before Rock in Rio. Of course, Brazilians don't know Coronation Street. But the video reference was very obvious, and picked up immediately. If someone booed Freddie, I believe it to be much more in the lines of a homophobic, oh-you-faggot thing than of anything like what's described in the article.

Sorry about the lenghty post, it was only meant to pass info, so it doesn't sound like I'm merely ranting. If this info comes from a reliable source, then I would really like to know something more about it. It's completely new to me - and, to be honest, it doesn't sound truthful.

Cheers

Jimbo B 16:33, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

How on Earth is this song pop? It should be re=-defined as alternative rock. 82.45.73.75 17:35, 6 April 2007 (UTC)