I just found this, and thought I would share, most of you probably have already heard it though.
"Part of the American leg of that tour involved the bands use of a very special plane . The plane that was originally booked was found not to be airworthy, and so a substitute was rented at very short notice from a very special place.
The Lisa Marie was furnished by the Elvis Presley Organisation and we used this delightful personalised jet for several weeks. It was the closest Freddie ever got to meeting Elvis. It would have been his dream come true. At a later date, Lisa Marie actually gave Freddie a scarf which had once belonged to her father."
This of course from the PF book on Freddie Mercury.
How much did Elvis influence Freddie? I tried to do a net search on this, as in what were Freddie thoughts on Elvis, but all I kept getting were threads on Elvis vs Freddie.
M-train wrote:
How much did Elvis influence Freddie? I tried to do a net search on this, as in what were Freddie thoughts on Elvis, but all I kept getting were threads on Elvis vs Freddie.
"...Crazy little things called love..."
^ I would say this much ;)
"Jer Bulsara told The Times in 2006 (she was eighty-three) that after watching Elvis Presley on TV during a vacation he vowed, "'I'm going to be like him one day" "
M-train wrote:
"Part of the American leg of that tour involved the bands use of a very special plane . The plane that was originally booked was found not to be airworthy, and so a substitute was rented at very short notice from a very special place.
The Lisa Marie was furnished by the Elvis Presley Organisation and we used this delightful personalised jet for several weeks. It was the closest Freddie ever got to meeting Elvis. It would have been his dream come true. At a later date, Lisa Marie actually gave Freddie a scarf which had once belonged to her father."
This of course from the PF book on Freddie Mercury.
I think it may have been the 1977 or '78 U.S. Tour....1980 at the latest. Elvis bought the plane in November 1975.After Elvis passed away in August 1977, it was still in use and could be hired out to whoever wanted to use it. Graceland opened to the public in 1982,and around this time the plane was sent away for refurbishments etc. It returned to Memphis in,I think,1984.
/ ...and Lisa Marie told Freddie they were her favourite group, but the scarf ended up in a cupboard, apparently, Freddie not being very interested.
Damn! , I can't remember who the source of this article was, only remember reading it in the late 70's / early 80's, but it was national press.
Here is a link to the article. link
4th paragraph. It is just a short mention. Sorry, it is not copy/paste-able.
Then this is from an Elvis forum (obviously taken from Brian's website):
Brian was asked an interesting question about Queen borrowing the Lisa Marie plane on USA tour 70s/early 80s - some sources say Lisa Marie Presley herself personally gave Queen the keys and also asked about Lisa Marie giving Freddie one of Elvis's scarves .... whether Queen ever wrote a song with him in mind or saw Elvis perform... [SEE LETTERS]
Hmm .. don't know if I can answer all this !!! Lisa Marie ?
The private plane thing was just a business arrangement as far as I know. All we knew was that she had been in it before us ... We didn't really place much importance ..
As far as I know, the story about her giving Freddie a scarf is true ... I actually think he gave her a scarf too ... but I have never really met the lovely lady in a way to have much of a conversation ... so far ... shame !
Elvis is a great influence on us all. Perhaps the closest I have come to him is recording a version of "His Latest Flame" which has not yet been released ...
Wonderful performer .... always will be the KING ! Of course there is a nice reference to him every night in performances of our musical "We Will Rock You" around the world !
Cheers
Bri
Again from the same Elvis forum (this entire topic seems to be about Freddie Mercury):
According to the book Freddie Mercury by Peter Freestone - page 84 it says - quote:-
Part of the American leg of that tour involved the bands use of a very special plane . The plane that was originally booked was found not to be airworthy, and so a substitute was rented at very short notice from a very special place.
The Lisa Marie was furnished by the Elvis Presley Organisation and we used this delightful personalised jet for several weeks. It was the closest Freddie ever got to meeting Elvis. It would have been his dream come true. At a later date, Lisa Marie actually gave Freddie a scarf which had once belonged to her father. It was a treasured possession, one which certainly did not end up in Freddie's loft - - unquote...........
According to this 2005 interview link she probably gave Freddie the scarf at the Forum in 1978.
What was the first rock show you saw?
Probably Queen. I think I saw them in 1978 or 1979 at The Forum. I remember bringing Freddie Mercury a scarf of my Dad’s and I gave it to him after the show. I loved it. I loved the theatrics. I loved Freddie. I thought Queen were awesome. I’m a big fan of theatrics. Like Marilyn Manson’s live show. I’ve seen him like eight times now.
It must have been 1978 as Queen didn't tour the US in 1979.
M-train wrote:
I just found this, and thought I would share, most of you probably have already heard it though.
"Part of the American leg of that tour involved the bands use of a very special plane . The plane that was originally booked was found not to be airworthy, and so a substitute was rented at very short notice from a very special place.
The Lisa Marie was furnished by the Elvis Presley Organisation and we used this delightful personalised jet for several weeks. It was the closest Freddie ever got to meeting Elvis. It would have been his dream come true. At a later date, Lisa Marie actually gave Freddie a scarf which had once belonged to her father."
Something isn't adding up. If Freddie received the scarf in 1978, then the previous tour would've been the News Of The World tour in '77. But Freestone didn't start working for Mercury until 1979. Something's not adding up..