QUEEN guitarist Brian May has paid tribute to English producer Roy Thomas Baker who worked on several of the band’s albums, including 1975’s “A Night At The Opera”, featuring the QUEEN classic “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
Brian took to his Instagram to share a few photos of Roy and he included the following message: “Very sad to hear of the passing of Roy Thomas Baker. Roy played a huge part in the production of so much QUEEN music in the early days.
“Photographs of Roy seem to be quite rare, but I was able to find these 3-D pictures of a trip that my then wife Chrissy and I made to visit Roy and his wife Barbara in their cottage in Norfolk. It must have been 1973. We went strawberry picking, and, as you can see, Roy was interested in the stereoscopic process, posing in a pile of wood for stereoscopic effect! I took the tennis picture at Ridge Farm, on a day when we were visited by some Japanese journalists from *Music Life* magazine.
“Roy was a part of our production team from the very beginning up to and including the album ‘A Night At The Opera’. We then parted company for ‘A Day At The Races’, but reunited for the ‘Jazz’ album.
“Roy‘s production contribution along with Mike Stone‘s engineering for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ will never be forgotten.
“I regret slipping out of touch latterly with Roy. I suppose life moves at such a pace these days that we imagine there will be plenty of time to rekindle a friendship, and then suddenly one day it’s too late.
“Thank you, Roy for all the great work you did for us, and all the fun we had.
“Rest in Peace. Bri.”
Baker died earlier this week at the age of 78. No cause of death has been announced.
The most-streamed song from the 20th century, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was nominated for two Grammys and was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2004.
In addition to his work QUEEN, Baker served as a producer for four of THE CARS albums, MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s debut studio album “Too Fast For Love” and THE SMASHING PUMPKINS‘ “Zeitgeist” and “American Gothic” LPs. Over the course of his career, he also produced FOREIGNER, Alice Cooper, CHEAP TRICK, DEVO, Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar, THE STRANGLERS and GUNS N’ ROSES.
QUEEN drummer Roger Taylor said about Baker: “I think he brought a certain amount of discipline and a lot of cynicism and a passion for fattening desserts. He liked his food, Roy. He was very disciplined and very strict in the beginning… He would always get it right. The take had to be right.”
Baker is survived by his wife Tere Livrano Baker and brother Alan Baker.
Source: blabbermouth.net
