It’s hard to believe that were he still with us today, Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara), the lead singer of Queen who died nearly 25 years ago from AIDS, would be 70 years old today.
To many, Mercury was the greatest rock and roll singer of all time. Besides his four-octave vocal range, he was a gifted songwriter and composer, and an incredibly charismatic showman who was often described as a man “who could hold an audience in the palm of his hand.” Queen, as a band, was made up of four amazingly talented musicians—probably the only band to have every member individually write songs that went to number one—but the fact is, Mercury was the heart and sound of the band and once he was gone …
Anyway, in honor of Freddie’s birthday, let’s take a trip down memory lane and enjoy some of his finest moments.
[Trigger warning: These videos are from the 1970s and ‘80s, so be prepared for some unfortunate hair and fashion!]
Mercury did songs in such a large variety of genres—hard rock, pop, rockabilly, soul, movie soundtracks, opera(ish) and musical theater—that it was difficult to choose what to feature. (And while the studio versions of all these songs are great, to fully appreciate Mercury as a performer, live performances were chosen whenever possible.
Let’s start with his iconic performance at Live Aid. Held in 1985 to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia, Live Aid featured what were the biggest names in music at the time and the consensus was, Queen stole the show. In fact, it has often been voted the greatest live performance ever.
“Somebody to Love” was a personal favorite of Mercury and this performance of the song is one of his best.
If you’ve never seen “Bohemian Rhapsody” performed live, watch this, from Wembley Stadium, in what turned out to be the second-to-last concert Mercury ever did with Queen. (At about the 3:14 mark, you can see what it would be like to have 70,000 people in Garth's car.)
“Tie Your Mother Down” was always a huge hit at concerts, and here’s a mashup of it through the years:
“Save Me,” Live at the Bowl. Just a beautiful and sad song:
Mercury was a huge advocate of audience participation, and here he is doing “Love of My Life” at Rock in Rio, with a crowd that was estimated to be around 350,000.
If you’re familiar with Thrash Metal, you’ll know that it was developed in the early 1980s. Except this was in 1974 (crazy fast).
Now fast forward to 1987 for a real 180 degree turn from Thrash Metal to Mercury teaming up with operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé to sing “Barcelona” (you may remember the song from the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain).
Mercury stopped performing in concert with Queen after 1986, soon after being diagnosed as HIV positive, although he continued to record music with them (and others) until shortly before his death. Here is the last time he appeared on camera, about six months before he died, singing “These Are The Days of Our Lives.”
“Mother Love” was the last vocal recording Mercury ever did. Knowing that he would not live long enough to see the completion of the album the song would appear on, Mercury recorded one line a day, doing three takes of each line so the band would have options when the final mix was done. Before the final verse was completed, Mercury left the studio for “a rest” and never returned. (Lead guitarist Brian May sang the last verse). With all that in mind, the power in the line at the 1:49 mark is just … remarkable. And somehow chilling.
These videos are just a sliver that don’t come anywhere near to doing justice to Mercury’s incredible body of work. There was just so much to choose from. Share your own favorite video or memory … and if you’re not familiar with Freddie Mercury? Get busy!
Rest in peace, Freddie.