The Immortals

The best known of John Deacon's solo outings (and the most significant), this collaboration arose when John was approached about providing some music for the "Biggles" film soundtrack. Obviously John is not the singer (that duty goes to Robert Ahwai), but his bass playing is distinctive and the song ("No Turning Back") bears many of his hallmarks. Built around a bass hook line this is a good, but not great, song that is probably the closest John will get to going solo. Available on the "Biggles" soundtrack album, and also released as a single. The single has a wonderful sleeve, and is well worth tracking down. It features John dressed in full World War I flying gear, complete with hat, scarf and goggles, and is quite striking! The video apparently features John in the same outfit, and is probably something John would prefer to keep unreleased.

No Turning Back

Single Version
On the album, 12" and 7", and very nice too. Now on "The Ultimate Collection 3", hopefully in far better quality than the mixes on "The Ultimate Collection 1". The bass is quite inventive, and while it's hard to imagine this as a Queen song, it definitely sounds like John. If you're into collaborations etc., then this is highly recommended. Unfortunately the original vinyl is getting quite expensive now, but its still worth the effort. Beware the few bootlegs which feature this track - they tend to have absolutely abysmal sound quality.

Chocs-Away Mix
On the 7" and 12". Basically an instrumental version, this is a pleasing alternative. Possibly there are some extra keyboards too. Nicely diverting. Also included on "The Ultimate Collection" bootleg, but in appalling sound quality.

Joy-Stick Mix
On 12" only. An extended mix, with some re-worked bass and synth lines. Not particularly different to elements of the 7" and "Chocs-Away" mixes, but as the 12" and 7" go for much the same price, its worth the extra expense. Again, a very poor quality version is on "The Ultimate Collection".

One final point of interest is the Japanese language version of this track, recorded by Minako Honda on the album "Cancel". There are some unsubstantiated rumours that this version, titled "Roulette", also features John on bass. If so he is uncredited, though he is listed as co-writer. Another suggestion is that Minako is simply singing over the instrumental mix, or a "karaoke" version. Again, this seems unlikely. It may still be of interest for novelty value though - and you can't get much more obscure.