John Deacon playing bass (Image: Getty) READ MORE While in the band, John was much quieter than the others but was still heavily involved in songwriting, and even considered working with Freddie to slightly change the band’s direction in the 1980s. According to Georg Purvis’ Queen: Complete Works, there were tensions during the recording of 1982 album Hot Space, with John not wanting his soul-influenced music style to be hampered by Brian’s guitar solos. John became an important songwriter in his later years with Queen, with him saying on BBC Radio in 1989: “If I'd just been a bass player all my life with the band, I wouldn't be as satisfied as I am because I only consider that as part of what I do.