The film “Bohemian Rhapsody” thundered in November 2018, forcing long-time Queen fans to sing along to famous hits in the cinema hall and cry at the final credits.
The film was attended not only by fans, but also by those who had just heard about good reviews, not knowing a single song of the group, except, probably, “We Are The Champions”.
Not surprisingly, the movie was such a resounding success. After all, the whole life of Mercury and the history of the creation of the group are 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 was invented and painted by Freddy himself, forcing fans to puzzle for a long time over the meaning of the symbolism depicted. But if you know the Queen team, then solving the coat of arms is not a big deal.
Freddie was well versed in astrology, and therefore portrayed the members of the group as describing their heavenly bodies.
John and Roger were born under the lion zodiac sign, and therefore two representatives of the feline family are painted on the emblem, personifying the drummer and guitarist of the group.
Brian May is Cancer, but is painted on the emblem like a crab, at the head of the red letter "Q".
Freddy himself was born under the sign of Virgo, so on the emblem we find two girls. It is believed that in the number of girls the meaning of the dual nature of Freddy is laid.
Phoenix is the beginning of a new life, the personification that the lives of Freddy, Brown, John and Roger will cease to be the same since they unite in a group.
9. Love of Japan
Freddie's favorite country was Japan, and the musician was a fan of Japanese art. Most likely, Mercury's love for this country arose during a concert tour. After all, after the Japanese tour, the vocalist often traveled to this country just to relax or go to local shops.
8. Leg injury during performance
Freddy was completely and completely immersed in his work and laid out on the stage at 100%. Once the singer severely 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 because of severe pain. After the performance, the vocalist was taken to the hospital, where he was imposed a fixation bandage, and the injury bothered Mercury until the very end of the tour.
7. History of writing "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
The idea of the song was born in the head of Freddy in Munich when the musician was taking a bath. John, Roger, and Freddy did just half an hour when they recorded their solo parts.
Brian might not have gotten into the studio version of the song at all, since 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 a composition with a musical instrument.
6. Favorite performers of Freddy
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 group.
Aretha Franklin was Mercury’s favorite vocalist, he said that the singer has 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 Moncerat Caballe. And Mercury called Queen his favorite group.
5. Cats
Freddie loved animals very much, but he especially loved cats. In his house, bookshelves were decorated with silver frames with photographs of pets, and Mercury even had a shirt in his wardrobe, on which pets were embroidered.
Freddie devoted songs to cats, bought them the best pet products from all over the world and loved talking to animals on the phone when he was in the next concert tour. Cats, of course, did not know how to hold handsets, for this the servant in the house of Mercury was responsible, holding the speaker of the handset in the face of cats.
The vocalist ranked the animals as members of his family, and therefore was very sad when the cats died. His favorite Tiffany had cancer for a long time, and Mercury interrupted his tour in Munich to attend the funeral of his beloved cat.
4. Rumors of 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 riveted to Freddy, and therefore no one recognized the famous princess in the musician’s companion. All evening, the girl ordered drinks and had fun with Mercury, and thus kept 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 the television screens felt the incredible magnetism and strength of the group.
The choice of songs by Mercury simply explained: 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 Queen performed their favorite hits, allowing fans to dance and sing along to Mercury’s beautiful voice.
2. Love
Freddie called the love of his life a girl named Mary, whom Brian May introduced the musician to. Freddie and Mary met for six years, Mercury even made a proposal to the girl, however, the wedding never took place. In everyday life, after such a scenario, many couples would have broken any contacts, 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 a secret the burial place of the singer's ashes.
1. On stage and in life - two different people
In an interview, Freddie said that he was an extrovert on stage: he gives energy to people, receives their energy in return, shockingly moves 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, and see modesty and calm.
It's hard to believe when looking at concert performances, but Freddie in his daily life did not like the attention and emphasis on his person, especially in an unfamiliar society.