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The movie “Bohemian Rhapsody” rocked in November 2018, forcing longtime Queen fans to sing along to famous hits in the cinema hall and cry at the end credits.
The film was attended not only by fans, but also by those who simply heard about good reviews, not knowing any of the band’s songs, except, perhaps, “We Are The Champions”.
No wonder the movie was such a resounding success. After all, the whole life of Mercury and the history of the creation of the group is like a specially written good script for a Hollywood masterpiece.
We will tell you in detail about 10 interesting facts about the life of Freddie Mercury, the vocalist of the legendary band Queen.
10 Group logo
The logo for the group Freddie came up with and drew himself, forcing fans to puzzle over the meaning of the symbolism depicted for a long time. But if you know the Queen team, then it is not difficult to unravel the meaning of the coat of arms.
Freddie was well versed in astrology, and therefore portrayed the band members as describing them as heavenly bodies.
John and Roger were born under the lion sign of the zodiac, and therefore two representatives of the cat family are drawn on the emblem, personifying the drummer and guitarist of the group.
Brian May is a Cancer, but is depicted as a crab on the emblem, with a red “Q” at the head.
Freddie himself was born under the sign of Virgo, so we find two girls on the emblem. It is believed that the number of girls contains the meaning of Freddie’s dual nature.
Phoenix is the beginning of a new life, the personification of the fact that the lives of Freddie, Brian, John and Roger will no longer be the same since they unite in a group.
9. Love for Japan
Freddie’s favorite country was Japan, and the musician was also a fan of Japanese art. Most likely, Mercury’s love for this country arose during a concert tour. Indeed, after the Japanese tour, the vocalist often traveled to this country just to relax or go shopping locally.
8. Leg injury during performance
Freddie was completely and completely immersed in his work and laid out on stage 100%. Once the singer badly injured his leg during a performance, the musician had to be taken to the hospital, but he categorically refused to leave the audience ahead of time.
He played the concert to the end, but did not perform the usual dances on stage due to severe pain. After the performance, the vocalist was taken to the hospital, where he was put on a fixing bandage, and the injury bothered Mercury until the very end of the tour.
7. Story written «Crazy Little Thing Called Love»
The idea for the song was born in Freddie’s head in Munich when the musician was taking a bath. John, Roger and Freddie took only half an hour to record their solo parts.
Brian might not have made it into the studio version of the song at all, as he arrived at the recording site when the other members had already finished their parts. But May managed to record backing vocals and play a guitar solo.
By the way, only for this song Freddie played the guitar, even at concert performances Mercury performed the composition with a musical instrument.
6. Freddie’s Favorite Artists
“Tears For Fears” played music in a style that Mercury really liked. The musician said this during one of the interviews, also noting “Culture Club” as another good band. Aretha Franklin was Mercury’s favorite vocalist, he said that the singer had the best timbre on the planet, and he would
Mercury wanted to have a piece of her talent. Freddie was very fond of the opera performance of Montserrat Caballe. And Mercury called “Queen” his favorite band.
5. Cats
Freddie was very fond of animals, but he was especially fond of cats. In his home, bookshelves were adorned with silver pet frames, and Mercury even had a pet-embroidered shirt in his closet.
Freddie devoted songs to cats, bought them the best pet supplies from all over the world and liked to talk to animals on the phone when he was on the next concert tour. Cats, of course, did not know how to hold handsets, the servants in Mercury’s house were responsible for this, holding the speaker of the handset to the cat’s muzzles.
The vocalist considered animals to be members of his family, and therefore grieved greatly when the cats died. His favorite Tiffany had cancer for a long time, and Mercury interrupted the tour in Munich to come to the funeral of his beloved cat.
4. Rumors about Lady Diana
Freddie was good friends with Princess Diana, once he even went to have fun with the royal in a local gay bar. Mercury dressed Diana in a military tunic, hiding the girl’s face behind a cap and dark glasses.
All the attention of the club’s visitors was focused on Freddie, and therefore no one recognized the famous princess in the musician’s companion. All evening the girl ordered drinks and had fun with Mercury, keeping her identity a secret.
3. Live Aid festival
The Queen concert on the Live Aid stage lasted only 17 minutes, but this did not prevent the performance from entering the history of the music industry. On that day, millions of people, even through their TV screens, felt the incredible magnetism and strength of the group.
Mercury explained the choice of songs simply: the concert was held in order to attract attention, and what can attract attention more than a recognizable melody that will not allow the viewer to switch the channel? So they performed “Queen” the hits loved by the people, allowing the fans to dance and sing along to Mercury’s beautiful voice.
2. Love
Freddie called the love of his life a girl named Mary, with whom the musician was introduced by Brian May. Freddie and Mary met for six years, Mercury even proposed to the girl, however, the wedding never took place. In everyday life, after such a scenario, many couples would break off any contact, but this is Freddie Mercury.
He was friends with Mary literally until the very end of his life. It was she who first learned about the diagnosis of the vocalist, and it is she who still keeps the burial place of the singer’s ashes a secret.
1. On stage and in life – two different people
In an interview, Freddie said that he is an extrovert on stage: he gives energy to people, receives their energy in return, moves outrageously and completely gives himself to the show.
But life is a completely different story. Behind the scenes, Freddie was a rather modest and shy man, which is why Mercury sometimes worried that he would disappoint unfamiliar people who would want to see the storm and energy, as on stage, but they would see modesty and calmness.
It’s hard to believe, looking at concert performances, but in everyday life Freddie did not like attention and accents on his person, especially in an unfamiliar society.