| LapOfTheGods1986 20.09.2011 04:30 |
Hey guys...I'm new here, but I've been a lurker for quite some time. I do hope I don't offend anyone by asking this, my apologies if I do :) I've always had this question in my head about the These Are the Days of Our Lives video...I was a toddler around the time Freddie died and the video was released, and only got to see it much later. Exactly when was the video released...was it before or after Freddie's death? I THINK I remember watching (on Youtube) an August 1991 documentary on Queen titled Days of Our Lives, hosted by Axl Rose, which had the TATDOOL video being shown at the end, so I always assumed it was out a few months before he died, but I may be wrong. That being said...for those who had watched the video firsthand, I'd like to know how it affected those who were watching. I remember when I first watched it, many many years later when Youtube became popular and I became a Queen fan, feeling a HUGE lump in my throat watching the 'I Still Love You' bit, and for some time afterwards it was hard for me to get that image of Freddie out of my head. I'm guessing that at the time the poignancy must have been even more for those of you who had seen it back when it first came out. |
| dysan 20.09.2011 06:15 |
I remember thinking it was a terrible vid for a terrible song (my Queen fandom stock were at an all time low in '91). He'd snuffed it by then and they showed the animated cut on Top Of The Pops. Freddie looked like that in those days so I didn't find it too shocking (since the Scandal video things hadn't looked right). It was maybe 5 years later that I looked at the normal version and was overtaken with the full power of the combination of the music and imagery. The behind the scenes footage (untinted) in the documentry earlier this year absolutely broke my heart and although it has taken time, I now rate it as probably the single most moving moment in rock history. A staggering, and it must be said largely accidental, piece of work. |
| Ivo-1976 20.09.2011 09:21 |
I saw the video the first time in a BBC documentary one day after Freddie passed away. It was one of the saddest things i have ever seen. It is still hard to watch, if you ask me. Great song though. |
| master marathon runner 20.09.2011 14:36 |
Yes, it was extremely sad and one could'nt help feeling a little voyeuristic watching it, but then Freddie being Freddie he just had to say farewell. . Master marathon runner |
| rhyeking 20.09.2011 15:01 |
I first saw the Classic Queen cut on, well, the Classic Queen VHS. I thought it was moving and a great video to have been his last. It was very fitting. Then I saw the Black & White version on the Greatest Hits III VHS and thought, "Oh, no animation? Neat." It was still moving and powerful. I saw the full, original animated version online years later and was like, "Wow, that's an improvement from the Classic Queen version!" This original cut remains my favourite, with the B&W a close second. I now find the CQ cut choppy, but still not bad. |
| paulosham 20.09.2011 15:33 |
Ivo-1976 wrote: I saw the video the first time in a BBC documentary one day after Freddie passed away. It was one of the saddest things i have ever seen. It is still hard to watch, if you ask me. Great song though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- What he said. |
| Jazz 78 20.09.2011 18:58 |
I remember when the Axl Rose/Queen documentary came out in '91, and yes you're correct, it was in August of that year. I thought how odd Freddie looked.I just remember how gaunt and frail he looked. I liked the song but just couldn't get around his appearance. I still have the original broadcast of that show with all the commercials from that time. |
| matt z 20.09.2011 19:56 |
towards the middle of high school, pre high speed internet days (well, it wasn't as easily accessible) i got my knowledge of the band in small increments, cd's books etc... purchased when i got some extra $$... (well earned, and well appreciated) ...when i looked at the back of a Queen VHS (CLASSIC QUEEN in the USA...sort of like QUEEN GH2) i wondered who the fourth guy was. and i was very confused. I was also confused by the compilation Queen Rocks, which featured "I can't live without you" in 1998... until then i had only known a few albums and one of the FIRST rock albums i ever heard (that formed my rock and roll history)... that being LIVE KILLERS. ...so, until a few years later while searching for vids, i bought the "CHAMPIONS" documentary by DoRo and it made sense. That said... i wound up buying the rest of the albums out of sequence and have a great appreciation for them all... (**cough::: except THE WORKS).... in 01' It was pretty brutal listening to MIH. Sad stuff indeed. That said, i loved the music video, and it seemed positive despite the frail nature of the man. The cat vest showed a sense of humor, life and vitality that must have endured the man. So my reaction was sentimental awe. It was sad as well. keep in mind i was born in the early 80s |
| Dusta 20.09.2011 21:35 |
I lost touch with Queen sometime in the mid to late eighties, other than my joyful response to their Live Aid appearance. I just didn't listen to much music in those years. I had mentioned to a friend of mine that I was a huge Queen fan back in the seventies, and she randomly sent me a link to the Days Of Our Lives video. I was sucked right back in to my love for Queen, and was strangely grief stricken over Freddie's demise, as well as touched at his enthusiam in the video, despite his obvious illness. And I could hear the illness in his voice...yet it was that same old melodic, clear voice which I remember from sitting in front of my little record player in my barn as a kid. Love the song, love the video. |
| john bodega 20.09.2011 22:03 |
The one with the animation in it is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. To be honest I try and pretend it doesn't exist. Now, the proper filmclip - I think the first time I remember seeing that was in 2003, as a part of the "Is This The Real Life?" documentary. Spooky stuff. A lot of people would chicken out of making a video while they were in that state, and I'm not surprised that Freddie wasn't one of them. |
| Togg 21.09.2011 11:10 |
I have no idea of the date but it must have been very shortly after he died, it was fairly late in the evening and advertised as Freddie's last ever video apperance. I think probably BBC, anyway it took my breath away, I was still realling from the news of his death and this was almost as shocking really... The colour version shown on the recent BBC doc still had the power to shock me years later |
| shamar 21.09.2011 11:35 |
It was released in some documentary (it was called "Queen Phenomenon" I suppose ) just a few days after Fred's death. This part was at the end of the movie named "unreleased video". I bet that everyone who watch this then was shocked. |
| shanoon 21.09.2011 12:07 |
i saw the video first time while i watched the tribute concert from tv, when it was broadcast here in finland... not sure was if it live broadcast but anyway it was in 1992 didn't quite understand how ill he was the video cos i was so young at the time.. i was 10 years old.. |
| mikezep61 21.09.2011 13:43 |
I saw "The Days of Our Lives" doc hosted by Axl Rose in August 1991. I had been a fan of Queen since late 1974 and had seen them in concert six times over the years. I was still a pretty avid fan by 1991 and was concerned about all the rumors of Freddie's ill health. It was especially concerning after the release of Innuendo in February 1991 and how Freddie was nowhere to be found as Brian and Roger did the publicity rounds and media hype for the new release. So I'm watching the documentary in August and I see Freddie for the first time in a long time. It was like getting punched in the gut. The first thing I said to myself was "holy shit, the rumors are legit --- he really does have AIDS." Extremely, extremely depressing to say the least. I knew it was only a matter of time... and not much of it. |
| drmurph 21.09.2011 19:21 |
I was more shocked by the headlong video when it was clear that Freddie was struggling physically, I think him trying to ape some of the energetic moves he did on stage in the mid eighties only made him look weak. He was dead by the time I saw these are the days and by then I was ready for it though it was still a shock and I was naturally upset. The "I still love you" at the end was lump in the throat time. |
| ParisNair 21.09.2011 21:33 |
The most incredible thing is Freddie made sure he said final good bye to his audience on record, in person. Not sure how many icons/idols/superstars get to do that. To me, the video of TATDOOL is full of sadness - the way freddie looks, the B & W. And like someone stated already, the BBC colour footage from earlier this year brought the shock and amazement all over again. |
| ANAGRAMER 22.09.2011 05:38 |
Good question!! At the risk of sounding like a grandfather, the media was different in those days: no youtube, no queenzone or Brianmay.com The only access to the band was what was printed in the fan club magazine, the odd snippet on TV or radio or the ranting Murdoch press Having been a fan since 1977, I didn't hear Freddie's off-stage speaking voice until an Radio1 interview in 1985!! Freddie's sexuality was a subject not for discussion and he effectively hid that in plain sight for his entire career. As a long-term fan, I know this might be hard to believe, but some of us didn't know that Freddie was gay and most of us didn't care The first real insight into the band to my mind was The Magic Years boxed set in 1986. It's probably hard to believe, but the shutters really did come down on the band after that; very little promotion for The Miracle and Freddie's virtual absence from the Innuendo promotion (with the exception of the heavily disguised appearances on video) The first real indication that something was wrong came from the ever unreliable Murdoch press (Andy Coulson would you believe); grainy pictures of Freddie visiting his doctor and another clutching some home-made sconed after visiting his family At that time, the band were in virtual recluse - in Switzerland and elsewhere, only popping up occasionally on various TV slots. I distinctly remember a Radio1 interview with Brian, promoting Innuendo (single) where Simon Bates asked the direct question 'how is Freddie by the way?' - ONLY THEN did any real concern spring to mind when Brian reluctantly replied; 'he's kicking like a mule' :-/ And his vocals on Innuendo were so strong that it was hard to believe anything was really wrong despite Freddie's appearance on video (particularly Headlong) - to my mind he just didn't look 'right' and his weight-loss was apparent. Some of us thought that it was simply a case of getting older... Imagine a family member getting ill - you don't really notice the increments of change When the announcement was made in November 1991, it was a complete shock (to an avid fan) - I think most of us had no idea that it was as serious as it became The Days of our Lives video (without animation) was broadcast on the BBC the day after he died. Up until then, I personally was grieving for a lost hero, but at the moment the video appeared, Freddie's appearance was so shocking that his struggle and fate hit home like a sledge-hammer. A tearful moment I will never forget If only we had known, I'm sure fans would have supported Freddie, prayed for him and let him know how much we loved him |
| maxpower 22.09.2011 05:56 |
I can't really add to the above except the only appearance was the 1990 BPI awards & even then most people thought "he just doesn't look right" & nothing further was seen from Freddie officially again apart from the videos. If that happened now it would be all over the world in seconds & it would be extremely difficult to be in such high denial what with media exposure in this day & age |
| k-m 22.09.2011 07:45 |
Well, I was just a nine year old kid at the time and I do not remember when I saw The Days of Our Lives video first, but I do remember clips for Innuendo and Slightly Mad and thought they were scary. Being a kid, I thought Innuendo resembled some sort of a short horror movie and Slightly Mad was not less scary either, for the simple fact that the thin man in the wig looked like he was a living dead:( Sorry, describing it from a child's point of view. There was something very unsettling in the music too, it wasn't just the videos. |
| ggo1 22.09.2011 11:29 |
The day after Freddie died the BBC did a half hour special, introduced by a very tearful Elton John, the video was shown at the end and was both heartbreaking but cathartic. Apart from a brief appearance at the Brit awards earlier that year, (or was it the year before) I dont think anyone had really seen Freddie for a while. He looked so ill, but he said his goodbyes and I cried my eyes out. I think I'd held on to my tears till then, but can't swear to it. That whole weekend is permanently etched in my memory. On the Saturday my heavily pregnant wife (with our first child) and I made a last minute decision to go and see Wimbledon play Liverpool after they mentioned tickets were still available on the Saint and Greavsie show. (We lived near Windsor at the time). on the way back from a very dull 0-0, we were on the A34 listening to the news when they said that Freddie Mercury had announced he had AIDs. Big shock and the only topic of conversation that night. On the Monay morning I was woken by Simon Mayo telling me Freddie Mercury had died, put on Breakfast television to find he'd died on the sunday and announced it on Sunday evening. The Elton John hosted doc was on that night, straight after the news. Graham in Ottawa |
| DragonOnMyBack 26.09.2011 05:14 |
As somebody mentioned above it was the Headlong video somewhat earlier that shocked me more. By the time it came to the Days Of Our Lives Video it was more sad and upsetting to see him in that state than shocking. |
| plumrach 26.09.2011 07:06 |
I dont remember the 1st time i saw it but obviously looking back, poor freddie looks awful so frail back in 91 i was 15 and although i liked Queen i also like a load of other stuff but nothing stood out for me and it wasnt until a few years later that i really started to get into Queen music properly and became the obsessive i am now |
| Queen4ever13 27.09.2011 14:03 |
You are so right when you said a lot of us didn't know that Freddie was gay nor did we care. Freddie knew the stigmatism associated with the AIDS virus being perceived as an almost leprosy kind of hysteria so I can understand his not going public with it, we've come far both in understanding and medical breakthroughs but is it so sad it was like that then and too late for him. |
| shanoon 28.09.2011 07:47 |
great post ANAGRAMER. |
| Dane 30.09.2011 06:22 |
Watching the video now makes me feel Freddies saying: 'Thanks for everything, and don't worry. It's allright! I'm ready for the big party upstaris (or donwstairs)' The bravery of being filmed like this knowing how private he was still intrigues me to this day. So i'm just generally impressed everytime I see it. |
| LapOfTheGods1986 30.09.2011 07:58 |
What moved me the most, when the colour footage came out, was that little part where Freddie is watching the footage of his performance in TATDOOL, seeing the way he leaves the frame, looks at it with the gaze of a dispassionate observer, and then says, maybe I was a little too active there and I should slow down that movement a little. It was tough enough for us to watch him that way and think of how horrid it must of been for him...how he would have felt watching that footage himself and knowing the world would see it soon is something I'm incapable of even imagining. Even if Freddie had decided NOT to work any more and live out the rest of his days waiting for death, he would have still had our respect and nothing about it would have made him any less brave than he already was. But Freddie was Freddie, and to be able to look at what had happened to his body and still be normal...I guess that's just such a Freddie thing to do. I've noticed though, that in the actual video, they stop precisely at 'I Still Love You' and then move the camera to Roger and Brian, and in half the documentaries, they show that small sweeping 'goodbye' hand gesture that he does after that. I guess the hand gesture was removed so that the image of Freddie gazing at his audience would be stamped in the viewer's mind, as a last impression... :( The other thing was the way Deacy, Roger and Brian looked in the footage as well...both Deacy and Roger occasionally look up at Freddie and smile, which I think was their way of saying 'we're in this together' to him, or maybe just at the irony of the fact that this will be their last video together. And even though Brian's footage was shot separately, it gels so well with the rest of the video, and you can tell how haggard and depressed he is. |
| jhfishslightlymad 12.10.2013 20:20 |
I first saw the video in 1998/99, when I was 14 and watched an all too short VH1 episode on Queen, and that's when I started listening to them. For about another 5 years after that, I couldn't watch it; it was so heartbreaking. By 2003/2004, I was able to and, in 2005, I saw Queen/PR play and was among many who broke down in some major tears when Roger sang it (as everyone knows, it's actually his song). Then, just about six months ago, I watched some behind the scenes footage of it on YouTube, and I was shocked; not by Freddie's appearance, but by his fortitude. He was worried that he "made too many movements" in the video. Here's a guy who is so f@&)ing frail and sick that he can hardly stand, and he's worried about making too many movements. He cared about his friends and his fans. He never blamed anybody for his illness (and I really believe he was infected in NYC around 1981, which is in itself sickeningly unfair, because he never had a chance at prevention) fought it for four years at a time when there was no treatment for it whatsoever (and most people died in nine months) and made great music. I not only think its a beautiful song; that whole album is a masterpiece. It's Queen's return to rock n roll, and also their best album (in my opinion) along with a night at the opera. So I don't pity Freddie when I see that video like I used to. I'm amazed by his strength and his gratitude for those great things that he does have. |
| Stelios 17.10.2013 11:56 |
I cant remember my first reaction but i remember i had seen it in rockumentary by MTV around 1992/3 with Axl Rose as the host. The hole documentary was a real schock for me. A rollercoster of emotions having just discovered Queen and Mercury a year before. A very strong expirience like a collage of comeplty different elements i found my shelf intrigued to combine. It was like anything else i have experienced before or after. The TATDOOL video with the thin and obliously ill Mercury just took the situation much further 'cos i remeber thinking that this man was about that ill when he aslo recorded The show must go on. It just blew my mind. The years after i find my shelf looking to that music video with sadness combined with pride. Joy combind with melancholia. And i really feel so close to him there than in any other video. He just makes a true connection looking you in the eyes striped from his power but with the same zest. Its almost as you san see his soul. Very heavy but poingnant stuff. |
| M-train 17.10.2013 13:45 |
My first reaction was a longing for my youth. I don't think there are many songs that make me think of those days like that song. The first time I heard it was about three years ago when I was in my late 40's, and it made me think of how I am growing old. |
| iwantitnow 21.10.2013 21:37 |
Hi - i live in USA and I remember the documentary Days Of Our Lives that Axl Rose did the commentary, in the late summer/fall of 1991, at the end they showed a clip of These Of The Days Of Our Lives video. For me that was pretty much the clincher that Freddie was seriously ill, there were a lot of signs and Innuendos (pun intended), but I think all of us fans were in denial, but after seeing that video I knew it was a matter of time until he was no more... HTH dan |
| Bluesqueen 28.10.2013 08:59 |
Funny, that song was the only Queen song i ever included in my solo act repertoire, and is one of my favorites. The words became even more poignant to me after my sister died. We always rode the roller coaster together, even after we were too big and fat to fit comfortably anymore :-). We came from Asbury Park, which used to be famous for it's boardwalk and rides. I have mixed feelings lately about the color footage that was put in the documentary. It almost feels like snuff...that may stem from my recent anger at Brian and Roger for axing SBC from the movie project, I'm starting to see them as vultures with Freddie's legacy now. And i wish the hand movement mentioned above was included in the official video instead of Brian's face being the last image i have to see. He used it a lot, but that last time it almost seems as if he's grabbing me by the heart and taking me with him. |
| Missreclusive 28.10.2013 21:20 |
As many have said, he was very brave and also very proud. I read over and over that he rarely if ever denied his fans an autograph or picture if asked, he realized it was the fans worldwide who made Queen number one. This video is obviously a very sweet goodbye to his fans. I don't think he intended it to be sad but rather to show his fans how much he loved his craft and them, right until the end, his passion for both. As Bluesqueen stated...Freddie was very adept at grabbing his audience by the heart, every single one no matter how large the audience and taking us along with. |
| bucsateflon 03.12.2018 17:16 |
This documentary was the catalyst for the movie plot. I think there was a deliberate intention to hype up the Live Aid event in the bands career path just to set up the canvas for the upcoming, then movie. I see many sheep commenting on YT about the movie and telling enthusiastically how Live Aid made wonders for this band who was almost on the brink of dissolution for many reasons, (mind you one reason in the documentary "Sun City" being left out of the movie and thus gone from the attention of the general public) yet thru that 20min performance, which by itself was so hard and difficult to come to fruition, everybody in the world rediscovered them and made the carry on with new strength - "the best live musical performance", granted this is another hyped up story made up by others which only emphasizes, the earlier story. And I come to think this story which doesn't really add up in full, if you follow the trail of true events, dates and facts, originates only from this damn documentary. And it settled in all our minds fans or just bystanders that this is the truth and these are most important events, just because it is narrated by Brian and Roger. However there is a hard stench of "screenplay" drama in this official documentary... |
| bootlegger 03.12.2018 21:28 |
came home on a monday afternoon, the newspaper said that Freddie was gone....couldnt believe it..even when it was hot news on the journals. Midnight around 2400....a Dutch programm broadcasted as a tribute the video. That was the moment i realized it was true... didnt' sleep that night and the night after that and the night after that...and i cried, cried...cried.... id have 6 tiks for the memorial gig....didnt go..to emotional.... couldn't even listen to Queen music for many years...never heard Made in Heaven record either..still in i'ts cellophane..... |
| EllaMc 12.12.2018 18:37 |
Freddie died the day after my brother died -- of the same complications from the same disease. I was handling myself OK until I saw that doco. I was keeping it together to get my parents through, etc. But somehow seeing the Axl Rose doco and the video of Freddie saying goodbye broke me completely. I'd shed tears, but that BBC show was gut-wrenching and it just broke me down completely. I stayed in bed for a day or two afterward and took time off of work that week. I'm in my late 50s now. It's like being sucked right back in time seeing that video. My throat instantly tightens and I essentially lose it. I've not watched it in probably at least a decade. I can never separate these things. I know I was/am mourning my brother - who also adored Queen and went with me to some shows through the years. But it was the distance of seeing it all happening on screen that caught me unguarded enough. I dunno - I still can't get over how I'd stayed so buttoned up until seeing that doco. It still just kills me. I'd been quite lucky to have seen almost all of the '86 tour. Freddie was in wobbly voice at times but it was a fantastic tour. They'd been putting out music. I'd heard rumors and seen horrible tabloid stories, but they were always saying everyone was dying, so I didn't much think it was real. I only briefly questioned whether some rumor might be true when they didn't tour The Miracle, but I couldn't make the Freddie Mercury I'd seen fit into the "sick" category. So I dismissed it, then years later I remembered dismissing it and I was pissed at myself for not somehow knowing all of this beforehand. Freddie was so vital, and honestly so brave to be recording and putting himself out there. In the early 90s, people dying of AIDS usually said they'd died of something else. So it was very brave of him to tell the truth and get some worldwide recognition for a disease that had been ignored and shunned for so long. I was hoping some of the BH movie money would go to the MPT. I don't know if it is or not, but I doubt it. Anyway, this is a sad remembrance. I hardly remember the actual documentary. I've got a VHS copy somewhere, so maybe I'll watch it again and have another breakdown all these years later... |
| MisterCosmicc 13.12.2018 00:18 |
I’m interested in learning about the record company’s reactions to Queen’s last two music videos with Freddie. |
| Iron Butterfly 13.12.2018 07:42 |
MisterCosmicc wrote: I’m interested in learning about the record company’s reactions to Queen’s last two music videos with Freddie.I don't think we will ever find out. |
| dudeofqueen 13.12.2018 16:34 |
MisterCosmicc, re: >I’m interested in learning about the record company’s reactions to Queen’s last two music videos with Freddie. I'm sure the sounds of the cash registers ringing and the press coverage Freddie's death received will give you a good idea of what they thought about them........ As for the TATDOOL video, it's an incredibly wonderful, brave, personal statement from Freddie (Brian's bits being filmed separately and then cut in from what I recall), but B&W film never suited Queen because of their ability to project such incredible colour through their performances. It does them no favours here other than to cover Freddie's make-up. Was it filmed in colour and then processed in to B&W? Was that what Freddie WANTED (B&W) given that he'd made such an effort with the elaborate waistcoat or was it something that DoRo did after the event to make him look less dishevelled (which, funnily enough, it fails to do)? |
| MiracleTour1989 13.12.2018 17:28 |
In one of the recent books - either Somebody to Love or the latest Leslie-Ann Jones book - the president of Hollywood Records arranges to have a meeting with Freddie. He'd heard the rumors and wanted to at least meet the man for himself. I think they had a quiet lunch together, in what, 1990? They knew what was happening but still believed in the band and played a key role in their early 90s revival. That's when I became a fan. So thanks for that. |
| bucsateflon 13.12.2018 20:18 |
DrowsingOnASundayAfernoon wrote: They knew what was happening but still believed in the band and played a key role in their early 90s revival.this is some ignorant shit here, MJ style |
| EllaMc 14.12.2018 02:46 |
Well, as far as I've ever heard or read, Freddie wanted those albums out (the two early 90s albums. He'd recorded them and asked specifically for them to be released. It's discussed in lots of places, but I've not heard anyone say anything other than he recorded those bits for the band to release after his death. He wanted to work until the end, and he pretty much did. So I'm glad the record company helped promote those records and the video. The covers have no band photos, but they are the full foursome. It seems right for the company to back them fully. Fans were in shock and people wanted the albums.; Innuendo is a pretty stellar album. It stands up to others. Even Made in Heaven, while probably as bad as anything they'd ever done, was still Freddie singing (gloriously at moments) and he'd apparently asked them to do what they could with the material. Obviously, Made in Heaven would be a much better album if Freddie had been around, but this is what they could do with the pre-recorded vocals he did. Innuendo was the last one he had real input arrangement-wise etc, but no matter what, to me at least - it seems right for those final albums and the video to be fully backed and promoted if for no other reason than Freddie made these things for release, as far as I know. Freddie was a performer, and he knew he was dying and wouldn't see the release of all of it, but as far as I've ever heard, he worked on those albums and the video and wanted them out. Whole different story for all the things that keep turning up these days, though. I'm torn about things that they held back for a reason coming out now. This happens with so many artists after they pass, and it's just a creepy feeling. I want to stay complete, but buying it feels very dirty. I didn't feel at all dirty about the final two Queen albums or buying the videos. I believe the final video was meant to come out in B&W to try and camouflage some of his health issues. Don't have a source handy for that though. Anyone know if I've got that wrong? |
| dysan 14.12.2018 08:42 |
The B&W thing also explains the IGSM clip. I'm sure we would've seen it by now, but I wonder if any more video was shot with the same principle to use after his death? |
| Ivo-1976 14.12.2018 10:23 |
They sort of caved in in those last years. A few interviews, no performances, and questions were asked and the press were all over Freddie. Brian and Roger did a bit of publicity work and avoided awkward questions. But Freddie kept working as long as he could and I believe he did it to keep having a goal in life, and he did it for the band and his fans. After recording Innuendo, Freddie did some more recording work (but not much) and recorded the Headlong (december 1990) and IGSM (februari 1991) videos. TATDOOL was recorded last (may 91) and i do believe that it was meant to be released after his death, as his farewell to his fans. It was a very, very brave decision to record that video. No more recordings were made after may '91. Greatest Hits 2 was released in oktober 1991 and the CD-book had a picture of Freddie from the TATDOOL set in it. When I saw that picture, about a month before he died, I knew the rumours were true and it would soon be over. |
| Invisible Woman 14.12.2018 12:02 |
When I saw video " I'm Going Slightly Mad" I knew that something is very bad going on and I'm wasn't surprised when I saw "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" for the first time. |
| spiralstatic 14.12.2018 19:07 |
ANAGRAMER's post was 7 years ago now, but how fascinating. It is difficult now to imagine you could love a band for 8 years and have never once heard the members speak outside of a concert situation. Nor is it possible to imagine how so many other things differed then - from attitudes to exposure. There isn't the same possibility of the mystique of fame in this day and age... or the mystery of any thing I guess in quite the way there once was. I'm sure many of us know what it is to live with someone who is dying though and that awful combination of feelings when the person is someone you deeply love, where you cannot believe the truth of it even when the moment comes, even though you may watch and be with that person in such extreme pain, and so different in terms of who they once were and what they once could do, at the same time, there will surely for everyone have been moments when you wished for an end for the person - to their own suffering if it was never going to get any better than this for them, and to your own. I think it is only human to not want to see death and to hope, hope, hope for the best and that everything is or will be ok. Well, I first heard Freddie and Queen on the track "Made in Heaven" as a child & thought "Whose voice is THAT!?!" So obviously when I discovered who Freddie was, he was already gone. Death was I suppose very much involved in how I discovered Freddie. Does anyone else find the advance editor doesn't work for them on here? Well in any case, I am going to try to do a quote, but it is likely wrong how I am going to try to do it, thus my apologies as I don't think you can edit posts here either? [quote]And his vocals on Innuendo were so strong that it was hard to believe anything was really wrong despite Freddie's appearance on video (particularly Headlong) - to my mind he just didn't look 'right' and his weight-loss was apparent. Some of us thought that it was simply a case of getting older... Imagine a family member getting ill - you don't really notice the increments of change When the announcement was made in November 1991, it was a complete shock (to an avid fan) - I think most of us had no idea that it was as serious as it became If only we had known, I'm sure fans would have supported Freddie, prayed for him and let him know how much we loved him [/quote] This part especially broke my heart. You're probably not still on here, ANAGRAMER but in case you are, thank you for sharing this with us all. I notice, watching videos of Freddie nowadays how often Freddie speaks of being old or older, even when he was still in his 30's. I don't know why I typed that. I don't know what I think about it, but I do notice it. |
| Chopin1995 14.12.2018 20:01 |
Regarding B&W videos from 1991, Peter Freestone confirmed Freddie agreed for doing it on condition it will be black and white. And he said Freddie would be very angry if he knew it will be released in full colour someday. It can be heard somewhere here: link But I'm wondering if Freddie would be so angry why they were shooting all that backstage footage? |
| SpiritofAce 04.01.2019 14:24 |
That's strange.. thanks for your contribution, Chopin by the way :) Peter says at around 1:09:45 that TATDOOL was made in July? That isn't correct. |
| paulprenter 04.01.2019 14:33 |
It almost caused a disco revival! |
| Dim 04.01.2019 16:30 |
The first time I saw the Walt Disney studio animation video, which is beautiful, then I saw IGSM and by Freddie's death I saw the Queen Of the TDOOL video. I was sad and the video was like a goodbye. |
| Holly2003 07.01.2019 18:43 |
Never mind first reaction, it still brings a tear to my eye any time I watch it. |
| mika251 23.01.2019 23:14 |
In 1991 I was five years old, ten years later I became a huge Queen fan, but never seen any live perfomance (no youtube of course :)). So I have only listended to my records, mostly from the radio and all I knew was, that Freddie died very young. So it was for me quite acceptable, how he looked in his last video. Of course it was horrible, but still no problem for me personaly, he was ill so what du you want? Many years later, I have seen the performance in Wembley '86, and "experienced" all his energy, and seeing him in full strenght, that broke my heart. Because at this point I realized for the first time, how very very bad it was at the end, this huge change. And everytime I hear "Love of my life" live and him speaking to the crowd "I still love you, better don't forget it" I have to think about his last words in TATDOOL, because they are exactly the same. I mean, oh dear, how can we forget? |
| FunLovinCriminal 27.01.2019 18:56 |
@Iron Butterfly: In late 2006, I had a casual conversation with a lady who had been a PM (Product Manager) at EMI over dinner, just off Kensington High Street where EMI's UK HQ was located at that time (the same building is now housing Warner Music's HQ). Even though she hadn't been PM for Queen, she had filled the position of PM at EMI from the early 80's onwards. I did ask her what she and her colleagues knew about Freddie's health since the late 80's. She said that even though it was never confirmed to them that Freddie was dying from AIDS until everybody got to know it, there were lots of hints and rumors circulating within the company. She also hinted that EMI's managing director at that time might have had some factual evidence, but that everybody else at the company was simply guessing. That Freddie was sick, without knowing what exactly it was, had been common knowledge at the time, she stated. When she and her colleagues finally got to watch the video for TATDOOL, they instantaneously knew early on what the world got to know a few weeks later. Her closing words on that subject were: „It was all so sad“. |