“Throwing It All Away” is a nice song in the studio version, but the live performance is something very special. I really like Phil’s vocal exercises at beginning, middle and end: “Deedaeeeh!” (Or how to spell it …) Also, this is one of the instances during concert when Phil interacts with the audience. I’ve always liked how Phil interacts with the audience in various ways. There’s a truly magic recording of this song from Berlin on 8th June 1987: Phil delivers some really powerful singing and the audience is a bit slow with the response at the start but all the better and enthusiastic later during the song – and for another minute after it finished. Many people rightfully praise Freddie Mercury for his stage persona, but I think Phil deserves to be mentioned too in this respect. I mean, how many artists are actually “playing” with their audience in the way Phil does?
I’ve listened to the very first concert of the Invisible Touch tour, on the 18th of September. The “Deedaeeeh!” is there, although as somewhat of an embryo. Of course it developed during the tour until he reached his vocally strong and very confident performances later on the tour.
Now, I have a question. Where does “Deedaeeeh!” come from? How did that come about? My hypothesis is that this playful vocal exercise actually stems from the recording sessions. We know how the band used to work: they jammed and Phil sang nonsense lyrics. Sometimes the actual lyrics took inspiration from the nonsense singing. When they wrote “No Son Of Mine” Phil sang something that sounded somewhat like that, which then gave the song its title and theme. So maybe it was the same when Mike wrote the lyrics to “Throwing It All Away”? And doesn’t “Deedaeeeh!” sound a little, little, little bit like “Throwing It All Away”?
I’ve never heard the band or anybody else say anything about the live version of this song, so I am curious if you any of you know anything about it.
Detroit 18th of September 1986:
Berlin 8th June 1987:
