Freddie Mercury's final poignant screen appearance will be shown tonight in a documentary which has uncovered unseen footage from Queen's most famous videos.
The BBC Two film, Queen: Days Of Our Lives, includes footage of the flamboyant singer, painfully thin from the effects of the HIV virus which would kill him just months later, determined to complete his final video shoot.
Mercury is shown applying make-up and checking his image and performance on screen monitors before stepping carefully onto the stage and delivering a solo performance of the band's 1991 single "These Are The Days Of Our Lives". He exits the frame after whispering the final line "I still love you". His death from Aids-related pneumonia, at the age of 45, was announced in November 1991, one day after he issued a statement saying he was suffering from the disease.
The footage emerged during a five-year trawl through the Queen archives by Rhys Thomas, the comedy actor, who co-produced the documentary. Queen invented the rock-video genre with the performance film accompanying "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 1975.
The documentary shows the band sitting in a space-age car having a cigarette in between takes for the Metropolis-influenced video for "Radio Ga Ga" in 1984. The documentary also follows the row over the band's controversial video for "I Want To Break Free". Mercury's open display of transvestism in the Coronation Street-inspired video led to MTV banning the band from its US network.
Thomas said: "The footage of Freddie in his final video is shocking. He is so frail, he needs two hands to hold a champagne glass. But he knows he is being filmed and wants to show people what he was going through."
Brian May, Queen's guitarist, said of Mercury's final scenes: "At this time, Freddie's becoming weakened by this horrible disease, but he'd throw a couple of vodkas down and prop himself up on the mixing desk and go for it.
"He spent hours and hours in make-up sorting himself out so it'd be OK," May added. "He actually says a kind of goodbye in the video." link
There is already a 2 minute colour clip on youtube of freddie having his make up put on and other little bits of the making of Tatdool so unless they have found more stuff that will be interesting
plumrach wrote: There is already a 2 minute colour clip on youtube of freddie having his make up put on and other little bits of the making of Tatdool so unless they have found more stuff that will be interesting
==========================
Well this could be interessting. I believe that footage was part of a documentary aswell and shot by DORO. EMI was also connected to Hollywood Records where Innuendo was released. I don't know if they may broadcast that DoRo stuff because they are now at Universal (Island). But... it must be property of QP in a way. Any guys here who know the legal facts?
maybe it's the same footage that was already shown in the documentary VH1 Legends - Queen, from 1998 (i think)
=====================
Sounds like it, maybe they've raided DoRos archive for more stuff. If they have it's a good sign we might get more from the Two Doro Cameras at knebworth.
====================
believe that footage was part of a documentary aswell and shot by DORO. EMI was also connected to Hollywood Records where Innuendo was released. I don't know if they may broadcast that DoRo stuff because they are now at Universal (Island). But... it must be property of QP in a way. Any guys here who know the legal facts?
====================
DoRo can do what they like with the stuff they shoot, stuff that ended up in music videos, I think, is property of queen productions.
for DoRo to release anything good they need permission from queen, due to song rights and royalties.
The stuff DoRo shot is property of DoRo, that’s probably the reason for Queens long lasting relationship with them, the gold mine they have in their archive.
Basically Queen Productions have to pay Doro to use their footage. But DoRo would have to pay Queen Productions if they were to release their own documentaries.
I think Doro have a lot outtakes from "These Are The days''. 5 years ago they edit a video with Freddie in a german TV show.
Curious thing: If i'm not wrong, tomorrow will gonna make exactly 20 years the day Freddie record TATDOOL video
Actually this footage was probabley found by my friend Keith Badman who has been going thru the queen film archive for the last five years.As his name appears in the credits at the end of both programmes I know this to be true.He has worked to the Beatles Anthology dvd's as well as writing many music related books.
Rhys Thomas my be a good comedian but to win a mastermind on the subject of Queen where all the question were so easy is not that impressive.When any celebs get on a celebrity mastermind all the questions are dumbed down to a questionable level.I answered all the same questions correctly before the answers were given.
This was dicussed at the annual queen convention and the questions at the "queenheads" competition are a thousand times harded and are worthy of a proper quiz and not a farce.
As for the program the totp's vt were found by Keith,including the now i'm here from totp that was not shown on the programme.
I was very impressed by the programme,now it only remains to be seen what 70's shows will qp release and why was the hammersmith show edited from the original broasdcast.
What?
It was Rogers idea to dress up like that in the 'I want to break free' video. Whoever said it was Freddie's 'open transvestitism should watch some of Freddie's interviews before printing.
Geez, with the net and youtube they would be insulting us if they claim it is never before seen footage of Freddie's last performance! Why do they bother making doco's for TV anymore claiming they have never unseen footage, when we have the net??
I don't want to split hairs, but it really was in higher quality in this new documentary, and there was more of it than previously available. And, it was part of a great presentation (for a change).