I think that the two performers match in several ways...

They are spontaneous
Not choreographed
Site Jimi Hendrix as an inspiration
Both very charismatic on stage
Masculine / Feminine persona
Very passionate about being on stage

Any thoughts?

LondonGuy said:

I would say that Queen is definately an influence on Prince. You can here is in songs like "3 chains o' gold" and "Strays of the World". However, performancewise, Freddie is missing the James Brown vibe that is so vital to Prince's mixed bag of tricks. Who knows if Prince's androgynous thing is more inspired by Bowie, Jagger, or Mercury. Still, Freddie Mercury and Prince both are the among the all time cream of the crop when onstage live.

skywalker said:

Agree with skywalker.... both are certainly the cream of the crop... i guess prince was at least partly inspired by freddie....especially when they are both talking to the audience.....

LondonGuy said:

I'd say .....ZERO.

MARC BOLAN !!!!!


[Edited 5/8/06 12:20pm]

prettymansson said:

Never thought of it before. I'd say somewhat, at least. We're all inspired, consiously or not, by what came before us.

LondonGuy said:

Thats weird you bring this up - I was watching Queen at Wembly live on VH1 classic on Sat nite - and I found Freddie Mercury just as mesmerizing to watch live as Prince

LondonGuy said:

I became a fan of both at the same time (1995) so I have noticed a lot in common

They both pose while they are dancing on stage. They both interact with the crowd.They both have the crowd sing along. They both wear odd costumes on stage. Observe Freddie from the Liar video (1973) and Prince in the 'I would die 4U' video. It is kind of the same style.


I think I am going to the Brian May web page now.

Freddie influenced P visually and musically. He was a great pianist and the whole over the top glam element in Queen's sound can be traced in some of P's work. Queen's guitarist Brian May also is in P's sound here and there. I wouldn't say Freddie as much as Jagger and Bowie, but to a degree, definately.

prettymansson said:

Man, shit. Uh, Get It On, Bang A Gong and uh, Cream is damn near the same song.

blackguitaristz said:

aint it tho ??

blackguitaristz said:

True! But people always scoff when I point this out.

FruitToAttractBears said:

I discovered this when I was singing along one day and mixed up "dirty sweet" with "filthy cute."

I applaud this question for its originality.

My guess would be 'not much' as an influence on stage persona. Prince got more from Little Richard and James Brown as far as that goes.

But clearly, Queen were an influence on Prince's more overblown stuff like "Strays of the World" and "3 Chains of Gold". Not really a good influence, though, imo.

u2prnce said:

I don't get that. Just because songs are in the smae vien does NOT mean they are influenced. I don't see it.

I only point out the comparison because I was watching the milton keynes and wembley concerts on dvd after a very long time and as soon as i saw freddie on stage he reminded me of prince....

also a lot of queen's work crossed over into various genres, sometimes in the same song.

Freddie also played great piano and had the same passion in his voice as prince does.

Both also had a very feminine way of dressing.... notice freddie's clothes in the 70's compared to prince's in the 80's
[Edited 5/8/06 15:45pm]

they have similaritiies regardingthe below referenced tributes and Freedie is a long time favorite but sorry guys he can't hold a candle to Prince.

skywalker said:

Sigh, being a big fan of both I can't say bad about either one...