On the Spot… Steve Gregory

Best known for his legendary solo on George Michael's Careless Whisper, during an illustrious career spanning over 50 years saxophonist Steve Gregory recorded and played with a who's who of top acts… including Queen. In an exclusive interview with Dave Fordham that originally appeared in the winter 2023 Official International Queen Fan Club magazine, Steve detailed the path from playing with Gonzalez, one of John Deacon’s favourite 1970s bands, to contributing saxophone to One Year of Love. This article is reproduced with permission and the full version is available in the fan club’s members-only archive. For exclusive interviews in the Winter 2024 magazine with Queen collaborators Mack, John Harris and Bob Catley, join the fan club now at www.queenworld.com.

What do you remember about your early meetings with John?

I was a member of Gonzalez in the early 1970s and our guitarist Robert Ahwai went to college with John. So before he was famous, John was introduced to me when he came to watch us at The Pheasantry in King’s Road in London. Gonzalez was a mixture of soul and Latin and John must have really liked what we were doing because he came down a lot. I remember him later telling us when he’d just joined up with this band… and it was called Queen!

Although I lost touch with John, many years later my wife and I went to visit a school and he was there with his wife and kids. That’s how we came into contact again and our wives hit it off and became close. 

Did you have an appreciation of Queen’s music prior to the One Year of Love session? 

I came from the jazz and R&B scene in the 1960s and the saxophone was more the language of that kind of music. The members of Queen were obviously very talented musicians and although I thought they were very original, I can’t honestly say I was really into that sort of music. I respected their originality and Freddie's creativity and charisma, but I was more of a soul man and into the likes of Otis Redding. John was a really solid bass player and he liked a lot of the same music as me. 

As one of the very few musicians to ever guest on a Queen track, how did playing saxophone on One Year of Love in 1986 come about? 

I really don’t know the story of how I got the call for One Year of Love, but it was nice to be asked to play. Of course I knew John a bit and would see him from time to time and by 1985 Careless Whisper had become a worldwide number one; everybody had heard it so John and Freddie couldn’t have avoided it! 
One Year of Love is sort of a soulful ballad and not necessarily a typical Queen tune, so John must have pitched the idea of me playing to Freddie who then grabbed it with both hands.

Do you know why John took the isolated decision for saxophone on this occasion rather than a guitar solo from Brian May (who didn’t appear on the track)? 

I can only imagine! Brian and Roger weren’t there during my session so I have no idea if it caused any sort of disagreement.

What can you tell us about the recording process?

It was in the Town House Studios in Shepherd's Bush with just John and Freddie. 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!

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.

Was your solo impromptu or did John and Freddie have a good idea of how they wanted it to sound?

Freddie knew what he wanted. 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.

So you interacted quite closely with Freddie during the short session?

Yes - I thought Freddie was fantastic and great fun. He quipped to me: “You played saxophone on Careless Whisper – it’s the best bit of the record!”. It was typical Freddie humour. He then clicked his fingers on one side and this guy appeared and put a cigarette in his mouth. Then he said to me: “Watch this” and he clicked his fingers on the other side and another guy came up and lit the cigarette! He didn’t take himself seriously and was laughing and making fun of himself. It’s brilliant to be able to do that and he was really lovely. A great guy and very funny.

How would you describe the chemistry between John and Freddie?

I believe Freddie used to encourage and support John’s songs. Bands like that often split up over the publishing and writing credits, but Queen were quite balanced including John having some songs… and huge hits too like I Want to Break Free and Another One Bites the Dust.

Seemingly a perfect showcase for John’s emotive lyrics alongside a soulful delivery from Freddie, what did you make of One Year of Love when it was released on the A Kind of Magic album and in the Highlander movie?

I thought it sounded very good. I really liked it. 

Despite featuring prominently in the movie, the track was only released as a single in France and Spain at that time. With many fans considering it a hidden gem, do you believe One Year of Love could have made a significant impact if it had received a wider release and been performed live on the Magic Tour?

I thought to myself that this must be a hit single because it’s such a lovely song. But of course, it wasn’t and I didn’t even know until you told me that it had been released as a single in France and Spain. But you can’t keep a good song down so maybe it will still be a hit one day!

And yes, it would’ve very much leant itself to a live performance.

Have you heard the track lately and how do you think it stands up 37 years later?

Is it really 37 years?! No, I haven’t heard it lately. It’s never played on the radio so it’s a long time since I heard it.

Much later in 1994, John played on your solo album Bushfire. What can you tell us about working with him on that project?

I am grateful to John for inviting me to play on his track and for him coming to play on my album too; it was very nice of him to give me a hand.

I was really pleased with John’s bass on Bushfire but just wish I’d spent more time mixing the album because it didn’t come out quite as I would’ve liked. 

In addition to working again with John, did you have any contact with Freddie, Brian or Roger in the years following One Year of Love?

The One Year of Love session was my only contact with Freddie. I later met Brian and Roger at Freddie’s tribute concert at Wembley as a backstage guest of the Deacons.

But I have not seen or spoken to John in about 30 years. I was divorced in 1997 and our wives were close and are still in touch. John has chosen to keep out of the media and I respect that. I was involved with some big hits and played on some big records but I didn’t become famous as such… and I am very pleased about that as I like the quiet life!

Other connections include playing with Spike Edney as a duo in Stringfellows in the 80s and later performing with the SAS Band when Tony Hadley was singing. My girlfriend got us tickets to see Spike play with Roger at the Wintershall Charity Rock Concert several years ago and that’s the last time I saw Spike.  

I also saw the Bohemian Rhapsody movie and thought it was great. I really enjoyed it and thought they made a good job of it. 

And finally, what you can tell us about your current activities?

Today I am still playing occasional gigs and sessions and am blessed to be working part-time with a beautiful team teaching woodwind instruments in a local school. I really look forward to seeing the kids and it keeps my brain active! I’m very grateful to my parents that they got me music lessons when I was small and I feel very lucky to be able to pass it onto other kids now.  Some of the parents want to meet me when they find out I played with Freddie Mercury; it’s a bit of an after-dinner conversation!

And my granddaughter tells me everyone is singing Careless Whisper again because of a new Netflix documentary… but that no one believes her grandpa is playing!

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This interview is © Dave Fordham and the Official International Queen Fan Club and is not to be reproduced without permission. Join the fan club at www.queenworld.com.

Many thanks to Steve for his time. Steve’s solo album Bushfire, an acid/jazz/fusion set featuring John Deacon, is available on iTunes. One Year of Love single images courtesy of John Brace.