21 January

Julie Anthony (and Freddie Mercury) understood anthems. Look at this, at a footy crowd, she has the whole (singing-reluctant) audience on their feet inside a minute-and-a-half. Anthems are supposed to energise you, fill you with passion and power. The singer has to deliver them with a total sense of presence and command, they demand your attention, drag you to your feet without realising. Very little popular music has the humility to create that sense of power and magnificence. Mercury had it, he knew people want magnificence and power, not just little introspective musings about existence. In religious terms, they want glory. The glorious.