Queen is certainly one of the biggest and most famous rock bands of all time. Even if there are people who don’t know about the Queen must probably have heard their songs like We Will Rock You and Bohemian Rhapsody. Queen was formed back in 1970 in London and they have sold 300 million records globally.
The band was founded by the legend Freddie Mercury himself along with the band’s guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist John Deacon. And although Freddie is mostly known as the frontman or the vocalist of the Queen, he took a pause or break from the band and led his solo music career.
It is truly unfortunate that Freddie is no more with us but his legacy still lives. He died on November 24, 1991, in London and was 45 years old at the time of his death. However, he is still with us today through his music and his bandmates still carry his legacy.
Freddie has expressed his love for one particular song from his band Queen so which song is it? we will discuss this further in this article. Moreover, while we are on it we will also take a good look at Freddie’s death, how he died, and his last days.
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Freddie Mercury’s favorite Queen song
Many believe that Bohemian Rhapsody is the greatest song by Queen. After all, this was the song that made Queen famous. However, Freddie believed that Bohemian Rhapsody is not the greatest song by the band but he said that Somebody to Love was better. Did Freddie himself say that? he must have because Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury, a book by Lesley-Ann Jones written that Freddie called Somebody to Love Queen’s gospel.
Many also believe that Somebody to Love is Mercury’s favorite song but is it really? As per my research, Freddie never mentioned Somebody to Love as his favorite song from the band but he said that it’s a better song.
However, there are also various reports that show it was indeed his favorite song but he just did not want to admit it why? because it was Freddie who wrote and composed the song so he did not want to sound or look excessively proud of himself. Above in the video, you can watch Freddie performing this song and we can see that he has put everything into it. Furthermore, in a closer look, you can even see Freddie’s eye tearing up.
So the question arises, is somebody to love really Freddie Mercury’s favorite song from his band? well, that’s a million-dollar question and nobody has a true answer to it but just a theory. However, as mentioned many believe that this is Freddie’s favorite song but there are also those who believe that Freddie just thinks that somebody to love is better.
And the truth is since Freddie never talked about his favorite songs from his band in any interview, we don’t really know or have any idea about his favorite song from the band.
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Last days of Freddie Mercury
Thinking about Freddie’s death still breaks fans’ hearts, after all, he was and is still loved by millions of people. As mentioned above Freddie died on November 24, 1991. Remembering Freddie’s last days, Brain May’s wife Anita Dobson said, “I remember he said ‘When I can’t sing anymore darling, then I will die. I will drop dead.”
Furthermore, talking about the last time the public saw Freddie before his death was in the music video of their song These Are The Days Of Our Lives. He died of bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS but he only announced he had AIDS a day before his death.
Talking about this, the drummer of the band Roger Taylor said in a documentary video, “It was announced before he died but he did not want to be the object of pity or scrutiny and within 24 hours it was gone. It was probably perfect timing. Bloody good move I thought.”
Brian May, the guitarist of the band also said, “We felt quite comfortable about that. When we were in the studio and the studio doors were closed we had fun. For Queen as a family, it was fantastic. We were never closer. But then Freddie was suffering.” Because Freddie had AIDS they did not perform live shows or concerts after 1986 but they were still recording their songs in the studio. Their final album is Innuendo which was released in 1991.
Freddie was with his love, his partner Jim Hutton. Before Freddie’s demise, they went on a holiday in Switzerland however, after that Freddie started to grow weak and two weeks before his death he stopped taking all the medicines except painkillers. On November 21, Jim realized Freddie’s time is near and he said,
“I knew that the end was very near. That night I took special care of him. He dozed and I lay next to him on top of the bed. He only had to elbow me gently and I’d be awake if he wanted anything. When dawn broke, I was already wide awake, quietly watching television. Freddie was still asleep, cuddled inside my arm and holding on to my hand. Every so often he’d softly squeeze it. ‘Do you love me?’ he’d asked when he woke. More than ever he wanted to hear how much he was treasured. ‘Yes, I love you,’ I whispered and kissed him on the forehead”
On the day Freddie died, he woke up at six in the morning, and Jim helped Freddie to the restroom. After that Jim terribly weak Freddie to his bed and while Jim was helping Freddie, he heard a crack. He said, “It sounded like one of Freddie’s bones breaking, cracking like the branch of a tree. He screamed out in pain and went into a convulsion.”
After that, the doctors came and stayed there till noon. Talking about the moment Freddie died Jim said, “As I was changing Freddie into a clean T-shirt and pair of boxer shorts, I felt him try to raise his left leg to help a little. It was the last thing he did. I looked down at him, knowing he was dead. He looked radiant. One minute he was a boy with a gaunt, sad little face, and the next he was a picture of ecstasy. Freddie’s whole face went back to everything it had been before. He looked finally and totally at peace. Seeing him like that made me happy in my sadness. I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. I knew that he was no longer in pain.”
