This is the actual property Jim Hutton built in Carlow Ireland while he was still with Freddie, which was recently on sale.
I remember sitting in front of that television when I was there for a few days visiting him ... Nice to see these pictures again ... link
TRS-Romania, hi :-) thanks for sharing those pics...
Can I ask you, as someone who knew Jim, did he get much comfort from the fans? Did he ever find any peace with what happened?
I'm asking for my younger self, I read his book back in the day but none of my friends were into Queen and I had nothing to do with the fan club.
I was about to write the same. I really felt so bad for the lad when I read the book, honestly.
SmokyQuartz wrote:
TRS-Romania, hi :-) thanks for sharing those pics...
Can I ask you, as someone who knew Jim, did he get much comfort from the fans? Did he ever find any peace with what happened?
I'm asking for my younger self, I read his book back in the day but none of my friends were into Queen and I had nothing to do with the fan club.
I have known Jim for many years until he passed away in 2010. I think I read his book somewhere around the year 2000-2001 and managed to contact him some time later (I think through the publisher back then).
We had a good friendship mostly over the phone and email, and I met him twice in Ireland. Once in Carlow (at his place) and also ones in Dublin when I was on business in 2004. Of course I contacted him in the first place because I was a Queen fan ... During our phone conversations we would discuss most of the time our daily lives, and I think Jim appreciated it that I did not bombard him with questions or things about Freddie constantly.
Of course we discussed Freddie, his life with Freddie, Freddie's childhood, his illness over the years, his relationship with Phoebe, Joe, Mary etc etc., some matters in detail, some generally spoken about. Yes we also discussed the New York Daughters, and Jim - being an Irish bloke who was very down to earth - felt at ease with these guys for whatever brief period they were in London back then.
We also discussed Jim's health situation, and how he was doing so much better until the point when the HIV was undetectable. Of course Jim kept on chain smoking which didn't do him much good unfortunately. When we went out in town in Carlow we all had too many drinks (we went out with a bunch of friends of him as well - male & female) and we had a really good time. Mind you, I am not gay, and neither did Jim ever show any interest in me other than a solid friendship. When we discussed Queen or Freddie, he would always share his stories with me - when asked or on his own initiative-. I actually preferred talking about Freddie, if Jim would start the subject ....as being a Queen fan it would be too obvious for me to pester him constantly with Freddie questions. I think this allowed us to be friends in a way that al though Freddie was the reason I got in touch with him, we never made Freddie the constant subject of our talks.
During the years, Jim - on his own initiative and without me asking - gave me some nice Freddie memorabilia, including the "famous" Garden Lodge video tapes. As these tapes were already partially used in several documentaries by that time, and he had no issue with the fact that these were placed on Youtube. Some disagree that these tapes were published, and some have appreciated it. I personally consider these video tapes very innocent while giving some insight into Freddie's everyday life ,on which Jim elaborated on many occasions (including matters that were not even mentioned in his book).
That is really neat that you knew Jim and became such good friends. Thank you for sharing. I feel guilty watching those Garden Lodge videos, but they do give good insight about what Freddie was like at home and with his friends. Jim seemed so humble and kind. It is too bad he passed so young. His book was also a great insight into their relationship. If you do not mind me asking, what else did he say about Freddie's everyday life? And what did Jim say about Freddie's childhood? I always find it fascinating to find new information out about Freddie, since he was so private.