INTERVIEW WITH MR SCULLY

Martin's one of the top Queen experts and webmasters. His site has got enough material for an encyclopaedia and yet it's so well-structured that you can easily and quickly get where you want without problems, and he's always been kind enough to be constantly helping out others and updating his site every week. These are his replies to my questions, 12th September 2006.

- How did you get into Queen music?

It was around 1992 when I heard We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions on the radio. I was hooked. At that time I was a student (who couldn't afford buying CD's) - and also a Pet Shop Boys fan so I was hesitating if I should start buying Queen or Pet Shop Boys albums. My father replied: "Queen is a classic - nobody will know Pet Shop Boys in five years". So I made decision to become a Queen fan :-)


- How did you start collecting?

In 1997 I noticed there are many unofficial live recordings "out there". So I decided to start collecting unreleased live recordings. Also LP's, ticket stubs, newspaper cuttings etc. Anything related to Queen. Later I have decided to limit my collecting passion just to tour items.


- Do you remember your first collectible item?

I'm not quite sure. I know my first Queen CD was Greatest Hits and my first bootlegs were CD-R copies of A Night At The Court 2CD and Zoom 2CD. The first "collectible" item was probably one of the Czech Queen LP's.


- How do you find enough time to keep the website growing?

I work as a programmer - I have programmed my site to allow quick updates and I have a permanent internet access (I'm online 12+ hours every day). Still, it takes me at least half a day to make the weekly update (and I don't count doing research and collecting information).


- Was your collection already big before you used the internet? How much has it grown from then on?

No, I used to have only the regular Queen CD's and LP's. When I hit the Internet world in autumn 1997, it was a brand new world to me.


- Why no "Queen Concerts" book yet?

First of all, my knowledge of English is insufficient for writing a book. Secondly, there's already the 'Queen Live' book by Greg Brooks. I know I could make a more accurate book but it wouldn't be as successful as Greg's, there's no gap on the market anymore. Besides that, on the internet I can correct mistakes or do updates quickly while any such book becomes inaccurate and outdated within a few weeks.


- How have you managed to make your site so popular despite there are no mp3 whatsoever?

There are several reasons behind the success of my site. First of all, I'm an expert on PHP and SQL databases. With a little bit of help of a graphic designer I'm able to create a professional site. I think QueenConcerts is the best Queen site from this point of view. Secondly, I always try to fill a gap on the market - I wouldn't create a website if I didn't expect it to be successful. Also I'm a perfectionist - trying to correct every small mistake or doing an update as quickly as possible. Last but not least, I always try to promote my site - not with the help of spam but in some sophisticated way. Which includes above all SEO (search engine optimization) - writing the site code in such a way to get on top of search engine results.


- 'Autographs' has been quite a success. Any plans for another site in the foreseeable future?

No plans for a brand new site. But I can imagine a take-over of some other Queen site. There are 10-15 Queen websites in the world that are very interesting and there's a lot of work behind them. If one of their webmasters decides to call it a day, I might be willing to take care of that website. To integrate it into my "empire" :-)


- Do you think your site may inspire other bands' fans to compile concertographies?

One never knows. But I doubt that. It's a huge task and not many fans have the knowledge AND will to work on such a project.


- If such thing happens (other bands' fans compiling concertographies), what would be your advice for the amateur "concertographist"?

Try to find as many sources as possible - internet websites, books, official concertographies, fan club magazines. Then make a "compilation" of all those sources. When unsure, try to find out which source is the most reliable one. And make the site as successful as possible - the more visitors, the more corrections and contributions will be sent by them.


- Besides Queen, do you collect anything else?

No - collecting Queen is enough for my limited budget :-)


- Have you ever received bad critics about your site?

Not at all. But sometimes I feel obstacles - there are some collectors who would rather bite their tongue instead of helping me... and I have never received a helping hand from Queen either.


- I remember when you mentioned that your site had earned Queen more fans than all newspapers in the UK, yet journalists were the ones getting free passes. Why do you think it's still happening?

I feel Queen are still a very conservative band. I don't think they pay enough attention to the internet. Despite all their battles with the tabloids, Queen still expect positive reviews in the press and they will do anything for that - giving away passes, inviting celebrities to afterparties. Just remember how angry Brian gets in the soapbox whenever the press doesn't give 5 stars to the WWRY musical :-) I don't underestimate the power of press but I do think my website was (together with Thomas Zeidler's site) the main source of info about the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour. Mainly because my site is optimized for search engines for words like "Queen concerts" or "Queen on tour" etc.


- What would you like to see featured on upcoming Queen webs in 2007 and beyond?

Maybe I would like to see a website devoted to all Queen songs ever released - or unreleased (demos). Something like Jason's Trainspotter's Guide. Something like John S. Stuart's lists of his collection (see the QueenZone forum). Pieter from UltimateQueen.com is trying to do something like that but at the moment it's far from being complete, also the format could be much better.

Now that I think about it, I also miss a good photo archive. QueenZone has a huge archive of photos but it's a big mess - such an archive is absolutely useless without the option to search in it. I know I could create something much better. But it's a huge task, I would need thousands of sorted photos to start with.


- Do you think it's possible for QP and elite Queen collectors, experts and webmasters to cordially work together someday?

QP - yes but they must come with something first. Offer something in exchange. I don't want to cooperate with this huge company until they realize that (1.) we deserve some kind of reward and (2.) re-releasing of Queen records is pretty annoying for us fans :-) As for elite webmasters, experts and collectors, that will be a bit difficult. There are several groups of experts who don't communicate much with each other due to personal antipathy between them.


- You Queen experts have covered concerts, articles, discographies, demos, London places and there are even two interesting book projects where each song will be profoundly commented. What do you think is left for researchers, besides keeping up the good work in the aforementioned fields?

Researching the Queen catalogue - all Queen songs, demos and outtakes ever recorded. Greg Brooks has done this for Queen Productions but the results are secret. We still don't know what songs and demos do or do not exist.


- Which Queen tour do you consider to be the strongest?

I love the 'Queen II' and 'ANATO' albums - so my reply would probably be A Night At The Opera tour. Also Live Killers / Crazy tour. Basically any tour from the 70's.


- How would you rate Queen (1970-1986) as a live band against other mainstream rock acts?

This question would deserve to be answered by an expert on music, not by me :-) What I can say is that I'm disappointed by the lack of improvisation. The setlist was perfectly planned, even the 'impromptus' and 'improvisations' were always rehearsed. No surprises at all. Also Freddie's voice lacked its qualities in concerts - mainly because the Queen songs were so difficult. Apart from that, I'm pretty sure Queen were (and still are!) a top concert band.


- Your site is known and praised for excelling in both content and design. Which one does take you longer or is more difficult for you?

Actually there are three parts - content, structure and design. The design is the easiest part and part of it was done by somebody else anyway :-) The content is a neverending story but luckily the corrections are not so big. But the programming part was more difficult than most people can imagine. Creating the database of concerts and other events was the most complicated part of QueenConcerts and it took me a month to create it. The more effort I invested in the beginning, the easier it is now to create new sections - because the content of most sections means just different database queries. Most of the site is generated dynamically.


- What should we expect from "Queen Concerts" and "Queen Autographs" in 2007?

I have devoted this year to improving the structure of both websites. Which above all means validating the code, optimizing for search engines or programming useful "extensions" that use the databases. Hopefully next year I will get to introduce some more sections. QueenConcerts - a section about lighting rigs would be cool, also I will consider adding the posters and venues into the concert details. QueenAutographs - I may start issuing some certificates of authenticity (although I know how worthless they are). We shall see! :-)