| BradMay 14.07.2014 09:40 |
When you looked at the Magic Tour and after that all the way to lets say... Innuendo, did you already had a feeling there was something wrong? I remember that i was listening to Innuendo the first time after hearing songs like One Vision and I Want To Break Free, and the first thing that struck my mind was "Damn, his voice sounds thin! " After that i watched vids from The Miracle and i was already familliar with Wembley and Live Aid, and i thought that he had lost alot of weight but i wasn't really thinking anything else behind it (Since losing weight also changes your vocal tone/strenght a bit) It wasn't until 2006 i learned that he had HIV/Aids from '87 onwards, and that explained alot to me, the change in vocal power from '89 onwards, the drastic change in performance (From a very animated Freddie at Wembley/Budapest, to an almost static Freddie when he performed at La Nit in '88) And of course the drastic change in looks, compare Scandal to The Miracle, and compare Breakthru with Headlong ... Anyways, i was born in 1990 so i'm not really into speculating since i knew because of internet, but... The people that were born in lets say, 1970 or whatever, did you already knew in... 1986/87/88 that there was something wrong with Freddie and that he was on borrowed time? |
| Chief Mouse 14.07.2014 09:50 |
Well, the drastic change in performance is surely because he adjusted to the music. What was he supposed to do while singing opera stuff? In '88 he still looked rather healthy I think, take a look at The Great Pretender performance from somewhere in Germany - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x68nOHYX6LU |
| musicland munich 14.07.2014 10:57 |
^that performance was in spring87' |
| andyb1968 14.07.2014 11:06 |
I think I didn't want to face the truth, but when I saw Freddie's thin & gaunt appearance I knew his life was coming to an end, I just selfishly hoped he had recorded loads of material to keep the Queen legacy going. Its sad to reflect that had he lasted a few more years the cocktail of drugs would have been available to prolong his life. |
| jondickens1 14.07.2014 11:26 |
I think he hid his illness very well physically up until the point of late 1989 for The Miracle video. There was a photo shoot of the band in the fan club magazine for that track. The close up of Freddie in that photo just looked odd to me. I just thought it was age up until that point (he was 43 at that point) But the comments he made on Radio 1 (Queen for an hour) about touring made me think something might be wrong well before The Miracle song video.Then there was his appearance at The British in Feb 1990. I was 18 and still living at home and my Mother remarked 'Gosh, that's a very slim looking Freddie..............oh dear, he doesn't look very well'. Then, for me, that's when I knew something was wrong. Although you don't want to believe iit when these things happen. |
| Chief Mouse 14.07.2014 11:38 |
musicland munich wrote: ^that performance was in spring87' I stand corrected. Still, in those Barcelona performances he looks fine. |
| Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira 14.07.2014 11:38 |
That was before the spread of the internet and I had no access to the British media then, so I really could not see that coming. I think I was too naive at the time, because I could not even understand that he was in what was then called a risk group. It was a terribly sad loss. Still hurts. Cheers, Ogre- |
| Stelios 14.07.2014 11:48 |
Chief Mouse wrote: Well, the drastic change in performance is surely because he adjusted to the music. What was he supposed to do while singing opera stuff? In '88 he still looked rather healthy I think, take a look at The Great Pretender performance from somewhere in Germany - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x68nOHYX6LUAgree about the abjustment to opera music. For the second however i have my doubts. He seems buffed up from the coctail drugs or something. He is energetic but in a way, "this is my 4 minutes i ll give my all". That kind of energy wouldn't help him pull of a tour, or anything. He just focused and boom. However its a long way from healthy fitness Freddie we knew. |
| AlexRocks 14.07.2014 11:52 |
It was extremely shocking and disturbing for many people. THOUGH the haters in particular would say SEE that's what happens when you live that lifestyle and are GAY! So it was traumatizing in a number of different ways... |
| Day dop 14.07.2014 13:43 |
No, I don't think I was surprised. Upset, disappointed, but not surprised. The combination of him becoming more of a recluse and his increasingly gaunt appearance over those last few years suggested something might've been wrong. This is how I remember his appearance going downhill... all said from the perspective I recall of the teen I was back then. (I was born in Sept 74, so in October 1987 when Barcelona came out I would've been 13, and 14 when The Miracle album came out and 16 when Innuendo came out).... I don't remember too much about The Great Pretender video, though I wouldn't say he looks unhealthy in it, just a bit chubbier. But I remember watching Barcelona (the La Nit performance included) and thinking that he didn't look as great as he used to - aside from him putting on weight (and the removal of his mustache seemed strange after being used to him with it) he somehow looked as if he'd lost his spark. The weight increase wasn't totally unexpected as I'd previously seen his most recent interviews on the Magic Years docs. I also remember my dad at the time looking at the 12 inch cover of Barcelona and saying "That's a terrible photo. He's put it on too. That's middle age spread!" The next thing I recall was the I Want It All video. I thought he looked pretty rough in that video, and again, that cheeky Freddie spark had gone. I recall feeling a bit disappointed (sounds terrible to say that, but that's how it was at the time). However, when the Breakthru video was shown on Top of the Pops I thought he looked better again, he'd lost weight and seemed to be in a good mood. I loved that video at the time. The Miracle and Scandal weren't great though. He just looked worse. I recall seeing him with the rest of the guys, picking up the award for Best band of the 80s and being surprised at his appearance. As for the Innuendo videos .. It was hard to tell with the I'm Going Slightly Mad video - as he was fairly disguised... but I remember thinking how thin and fragile he looked in Headlong. That one was a bit of a shocker for me too. At some point (a bit later I think) I recall walking into a newsagents and seeing a copy of The Sun - the one with the headline "The tragic face of Freddie Mercury" with a photo of him looking gaunt. Then there was the disappointment of him not being in the Innuendo video, though it was still a great video all the same. Same with The Show Must Go on, being a montage of old footage. Some of the lyrics on those last two albums were also a hint that the end was coming - Was It All Worth It and The Show Must Go On. Though, with the former, it seemed more like Queens days might've been coming to an end, due to age, rather than Freddie dying. Then of course, came the announcement that he had AIDS. I recall being out with my mates and and buying the newspaper with that on the front. Then the day he died - the day after the press announcement - I recall being woken up by my dad, telling me that Freddie had died. The radio was on in the house all day that day playing Queens songs. Then just after (was it the same day or the next day?) the video for These Are the Days of Our Lives was shown on TV at the end of a documentary. That was saddening. But no, I wasn't surprised by his death (or if I was surprised, it was only a little bit). Surprised by his appearance going downhill yes, that gave warning I guess, but not so much by his death, oddly enough. |
| dastard 14.07.2014 14:01 |
When i saw the video for Headlong i thought that he was ill, i was around 15 or 16 then, and it started to show on the other video's at well, only a year or so later i wrote a letter to the fanclub, i must have sent it on thursday the 21st of November 1991, so they probably got the letter after his death....... I heard the news on the 25th of November... |
| PrimeJiveUSA 14.07.2014 14:11 |
Most American fans(including myself) were starved for a lot of Queen-related ANYTHING during the late '80's/early '90's and it was hard to see new videos(I saw I Want It All and he looked fine)... the Innuendo was obscured with animation and old footage. In fact, my first impression of the Innuendo album was that Freddie sounded *better* than he had in ages with much of the clarity and range restored to his voice. In retrospect I *do* notice the thinness in his voice. In short, the announcement followed the next day by his death was a total shock and a devastating punch to the stomach. The announcement made me feel like he still had years left...but then the next day... :( |
| Band Forever 14.07.2014 14:12 |
I wasn't surprised after the revelations were published in the U.K. Newspaper 'The Sun' where his personal assistant Prenter outed Freddie offically to the world with intimate photos of Freddie + partners. Also his crass quips about his wild and gay lifestyle away from Queen sleeping with everybody at a time where Aids was feared like the plague and was a huge stigma. At this time also Aids racked Hollywood matinee hero, Rock Hudson was vilified for kissing Linda Evans on the lips and the hysteria around this may have also added to Freddie's hermit like status. I know Freddie smoked like a chimney during the Industrial Revolution, but his voice was weak and rough during the Magic Tour, compared to the Hot Space Tour of 82 where he and the Band where absolutely brilliant live and the best Band I have heard live as subsequent releases testify to that fact. There was also the report Freddie was advised by his GP to skip Live Aid due to throat problems during 85, who knows the Aids Virus may have started to take control of his immune system, but this is only speculation on my part. I must admit growing up Freddie was a real hero of mine for his musical talent and when he died in 1991 it felt like the end of an era in music and i felt at that time I will never see the likes of Freddie's musical talent again he was that unique. Most of all I was gutted for the band losing Freddie in his prime. Sorry Adam you might be good but not as good as Freddie. |
| Day dop 14.07.2014 14:21 |
"Sorry Adam you might be good but not as good as Freddie." That kinda goes without saying... |
| andyb1968 14.07.2014 14:52 |
After all these years it still hurts, these guys played the soundtrack of my life, not just my youth, and I'm so glad they are back out there, makes us all feel young again, and for that alone we should all be grateful to Adam Lambert. |
| Costa86 14.07.2014 15:57 |
I was born in '86, so I don't remember Freddie when he was alive (although I do have faint memories of hearing his name in the early 90s). However I've been through Google's Usenet archives (the message boards of the late 80s, through to the 1990s), and sure enough people on the internet in 1990/91 (mostly connecting from US and European universities or IT companies, such as IBM) were discussing Freddie having AIDS - but I think this was more because of the press stories than because of how he looked. I think most people were in denial, and believed he was fine when they saw his gaunt appearance. I had posted something on one of the several early 90s Usenet posts about Queen on this forum (http://www.queenconcerts.com/queenzone/1345154.html). It's really interesting seeing what the few thousand people who were online in the late 80s and early 90s discussed - it's like going back in time. Google owns (through Google Groups) the whole archive of Usenet posts, which used to be the Deja Usenet archive - if you play around a bit, it will let you search post by date range. In the Usenet post I talk about in the above link, one guy on 21st November 1991 wrote: "But if Freddie Mercury does die soon, I'd like to see if Queen has albums pressed in 20 years". |
| dave76 14.07.2014 16:00 |
I friend of mine told me at the time that Freddie had AIDS and i didn't believe him. And less than 24 hours later when the news came that he had passed i was in denial that whole day. |
| Ozz 14.07.2014 16:19 |
I remember hearing the rumour from friends in early June (there were speculations in the media that made it to southamerica), and I refused to believe it. So, yeah it took me by surprise. |
| Stelios 14.07.2014 17:42 |
Funny and hurtful how some of use the " i was denial" concept. Denial syndrome hits when someone is very close to you and the case is too overwhelming to handle. "In your cases" i think it was pure doubt about the bullshit occasionally spread by the press, or ''legitimate doubt" about how serious his condition was. (we ve seen public figures taking down the road and still survive or even thrive years after) But again, in a way, saying "i was in denial" shows genial love for the man. ...but you already knew all that, didn't you. |
| Ouzy 14.07.2014 17:48 |
There was no internet like there is now, just The Sun/News of The World/Daily Star/The Mirror etc...I had seen the newspaper reports and saw Freddies appearance change in 1988 and as I knew someone close to the band and I asked him, is Freddie okay. He told me that it was nothing serious and I believed him at that time, I had no reason not to. However. as the years progressed into 1989/90 it was obvious that something was seriously wrong. As I am now a year older than Freddie was when he died, i think damn he died far far too young......but his memory will live on in his music :) |
| winterspelt 14.07.2014 23:30 |
I became fan of Queen a little bit late, I think I became Queen fan the day Freddie died. I never knew about his personal life or whatever (I knew a few songs, but I wasnt interested in them at the time) I remember I read a very disgusting note about Freddie's death, which was really small, in a local newspaper (I think it was El Norte) with the headline "Freddie Mercury muerde el polvo" (translated as "Freddie Mercury bites the dust") and just included that he died "because of aids" just a fucking 20 words article or something like that. For some reason I felt really angry with that note and started to read about AIDS and Queen, I couldnt believe how tragical his death was and how disgusting the press was (and sometimes still is) with Freddie. |
| Costa86 15.07.2014 05:01 |
Stelios wrote: Funny and hurtful how some of use the " i was denial" concept. Denial syndrome hits when someone is very close to you and the case is too overwhelming to handle. "In your cases" i think it was pure doubt about the bullshit occasionally spread by the press, or ''legitimate doubt" about how serious his condition was. (we ve seen public figures taking down the road and still survive or even thrive years after) But again, in a way, saying "i was in denial" shows genial love for the man. ...but you already knew all that, didn't you.I agree. I think there was a little bit of denial though - I mean, here was a guy who lead a homosexual promiscuous lifestyle, at a time when most promiscuous gay men were getting HIV. All the signs were there. Many chose to doubt the tabloid rumours, and this was a form of denial. |
| Costa86 15.07.2014 08:59 |
What I find to be an absolute crock of shit is the belief, perpetuated by people such as Brian May, that had Freddie "lived just a few more years" he might still be with us today. It's absolute rubbish. He would have had to live till at least 1996 to benefit from HAART, meaning 5 more years. That would be beyond impossible, and akin to saying "had he not contracted HIV, he'd still be with us today". |
| Stelios 15.07.2014 09:19 |
Costa86 wrote: What I find to be an absolute crock of shit is the belief, perpetuated by people such as Brian May, that had Freddie "lived just a few more years" he might still be with us today. It's absolute rubbish. He would have had to live till at least 1996 to benefit from HAART, meaning 5 more years. That would be beyond impossible, and akin to saying "had he not contracted HIV, he'd still be with us today".Agree. However due to wealth and status he could have entered those test groups and have benefited from the life-saving cocktail drugs sooner ( how sooner i cant tell) from the general population. |
| Zamidoo 15.07.2014 14:17 |
By the time he announced it, I was not surprised to hear that he had AIDS. I remember thinking for a few years before the announcement that he might have cancer, or some other illness. But AIDS was the most likely. It was obvious from 1989 onwards that something was seriously wrong with his health, and the fact that he didn't announce anything pointed to it. I was a little surprised that he announced it at all, although I like the theory that it was a final, 'up yours' to the British press, so the people who had been surrounding his house wouldn't get a scoop when he died. |
| PrimeJiveUSA 15.07.2014 19:13 |
Zamidoo...what made you think that Freddie had "cancer, or some other illness" before the announcement? Was it the Miracle videos or something earlier? |
| mr mason 16.07.2014 07:59 |
Paul Young(Sad Cafe)RIP, told me in 1990 that 'Freddie' had 'AIDS',he told me he was the talk of the entertainment industry,i nearly punched him,i just thought he was being nasty,i remember telling him to 'Fuck off',! |
| brENsKi 16.07.2014 09:30 |
PrimeJiveUSA wrote: Zamidoo...what made you think that Freddie had "cancer, or some other illness" before the announcement? Was it the Miracle videos or something earlier?no i remember thinking much the same thing...i'd been working away from home loads from 89-92 so wasn't much up on any actual band "news" - but remember seeing that Brit Awards (feb 1990?) appearance and thought - "looks like that smoking has caught up with him - he looks like someone with lung cancer. next thing i knew was driving to work on that monday morning 25th Nov 1991, and hearing all the queen tracks on the radio on my drive to london at 6:30am....pulled over when the news came on and couldn't believe what i was hearing. I really didn't know he was "that" ill. |
| Zamidoo 16.07.2014 13:34 |
PrimeJiveUSA wrote: Zamidoo...what made you think that Freddie had "cancer, or some other illness" before the announcement? Was it the Miracle videos or something earlier?In every photo or appearance (including The Brit Music Awards) from late 1989 onwards he looked, frankly, as though he was dying. That's what I thought when I saw him at the Brit Music awards - that he was seriously, seriously ill. I remember thinking that he looked strange in a few of the Miracle videos prior to that, and that it was odd for a band that had always toured so much to be producing so much material and not going on tour with it, but it didn't register how ill he was until later. That was still about two years before the announcement. |
| Heavenite 21.07.2014 21:07 |
I went into the local CD shop to buy Innuendo, and the guy behind the counter told me to enjoy the album as Freddie had AIDS. I was shocked! Couldn't really believe it. Anyway I listened to that album that year in the grim hope that things were different, but stuff like The Show Must Go On and the soul searching in Innuendo tended to suggest differently. And then I got home one night and my flatmate just came out and said "Freddie Mercury is dead!" I felt sick! Couldn't listen to their music any more, for a day or too anyway. And I seem to remember a similar thing happened with Queen's Greatest Hits Volume 2. Sales slowed, before they came back stronger than ever. |
| madprofessorus 24.07.2014 16:41 |
When I discovered Queen it was back on 1989,beyond the music I didnt knew anything for the past,and when I heard that Freddie died of AIDS,felt surprised(didnt heard the announcement,since local news only announced his death).If I was at simiral age with Freddie back in 1989 and knew the past of the band,and all the stories I have read,I wouldn't be surprised,Freddie's sexual behaviour in the beginning of the 80s went beyond control,and with the rise of AIDS,with cruel mathematics it would surely cost him his life.... |
| AlexRocks 24.07.2014 22:56 |
I swear to God I remember seeing news of it on MTV I think the day he died...I had to go to school though if I remember correctly. I was fourteen years old I'm not sure I understood what A.I.D.S. even was at that point which honestly I think was more of a sign of the times. BUT with THAT said whilest only being vaguely familiar of Queen with "We Will Rock You" it was REALLY sad and scary. If I recall there was some clip of something of them recording "One Vision" and it was just so personal and VERY creepy in terms of whatever the hell this A.I.D.S. thing was... |
| Stelios 25.07.2014 16:53 |
To me it was odd .I discovered The Show Must Go On together with the singer AND his death. It played with my head since i was listening the most vibrant, powerfull thing ever and it was performed from a man who just died, sung while he was dying. I was 12 and i never heard of a situation where a dying man was so "above" his terminal condition. Like super-human stuff. In a way Freddie was born and died at the same time for me, those 4:15 minutes of TSMGO. So he became instantly an Iconic figure and (strangely) AIDS something like a "high profile" disease that only famous people hat it ( Freddie, Rock Hudson, Rudolf Nurejef etc) |
| Marcos Napier 03.08.2014 02:40 |
I noticed something was wrong when I first saw some stuff about the release of Miracle in the local newspapers, there was a band photo (probably fresh) and he looked quite "different" from not too long ago, mostly Rock in Rio when he was quite healthy and even had a small belly. Then the videos and the voice changes, his face had this plastic appearance, all the weight loss... it was quite obvious. No more speculations or gossip or actually any news then since Miracle's release until the day it happened. We didn't have access to the official statement to the press, just the death announcement the day after, but I wasn't really surprised. I only listened to Innnuendo after he died, I guess I was so disappointed/uncomfortable with Miracle and all that was going to happen anyway (not a matter of if but when) that I didn't want to listen to Innuendo like I did with most of the albums since ADATR, as soon as possible... |
| ipeniemela 06.08.2014 15:18 |
I didn't really become a Queen fan until after Freddie's death, when their music and videos were all over the place. That's when I "discovered" the band. I did of course know of their existence and remember having seen them play Live Aid when I was seven years old in 1985 and being quite impressed with Freddie's powerful performance, although I didn't know his name yet at that point. I was just a kid then and still developing my musical taste. I became a movie enthusiast in the late eighties, taping my favourite films on vhs from local television broadcasts and the Queen music from Highlander stuck in my mind a long time. I was very definitely surprised when the news of Freddie's death were on the front page of the two biggest morning papers in my home country of Finland. You see, we didn't exactly have access to the latest rumours in the british press, since this was a time before the internet.I guess I just decided to have a listen at the band's music and was hooked from the start. Better late than never I guess, but while I was discovering the band and all their wonderful music, I also became saddened that they'd lost their singer in his prime and quite frankly didn't believe they'd ever tour again. |