iran likes queens

chewy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3593532.stm


Queen album brings rock to Iran


Bootleg albums made Queen one of Iran's most popular bands
Rock band Queen, fronted by gay icon Freddie Mercury, has become the first rock act to receive an official seal of approval in Iran.
Western music is strictly censored in the Islamic republic, where homosexuality is considered a crime.

But an album of Queen's greatest hits was released in Iran on Monday.

Mercury, who died in 1991, was proud of his Iranian ancestry, and illegal bootleg albums and singles made Queen one of the most popular bands in Iran.


i thought he was indian?

Tusky

mental...just mental.

Lainey

sure ya just have to love queen.............

Flukey

They were great. That greatest hits album they had out last year is very good. It sits among my CD collection now.

pork99

There was a documantary about dissidents in Iran where they showed a prisoner having his eyes put out for "looking at something immoral". Given their attitude towards gays in that country wouldn't buying that album be a bit risky?

I mean Freddy Mercury = gay = something immoral = bye bye eyeballs

Lainey

pork99 wrote:

There was a documantary about dissidents in Iran where they showed a prisoner having his eyes put out for "looking at something immoral". Given their attitude towards gays in that country wouldn't buying that album be a bit risky?

I mean Freddy Mercury = gay = something immoral = bye bye eyeballs

prob be the ears...... shocking..

Flukey

Well apparently they are buying them and have been given the approval. That is what the article says.

sceptre

chewy wrote:

i thought he was indian?

A Parsi apparently (one of those old Persian tribes & followers of Zoroaster/Zarathustra). Born in Zanzibar, educated in India though. It's only the Zoroastrians who went to India way way back that are generally called Parsis though AFAIK so you're right as well. Explains the "traditional Zoroastrian funeral" I remember being mentioned after he died. Given that the "traditional zoroastrian funeral" presumably happened in the UK, I'd imagine they went for the more recent traditional funeral (a cremation) rather than the more traditional traditional funeral - putting the body naked on top of a Tower of Silence for the vultures to devour.

Incidentally the Iranians have also allowed sales of Julio Iglesias (for the young out there, that's the dad of Emilio or Enrique or whever he's called), the Gipsy Kings (buy one album and you've effectively got them all) and Elton John (hopefully the ban remains on "Candle In The Wind 96 (Bye Bye Diana, We Hardly Knew Ya)")

OfflerCrocGod

sceptre wrote:

putting the body naked on top of a Tower of Silence for the vultures to devour.

God I hate those - the bloody vultures take ages to rip the carcass to bit and the place stinks of rotting flesh for ages afterwards

sceptre wrote:

(hopefully the ban remains on "Candle In The Wind 96 (Bye Bye Diana, We Hardly Knew Ya)")

Yep it does: it's used to torture and break the wills of prisoners in Iran.

sceptre

OfflerCrocGod wrote:

Yep it does: it's used to torture and break the wills of prisoners in Iran.

Heh, I'm sure Crocodile Rock would be useful for that as well.