QueenZone discussion #1570384

What would Freddie look like today ?

Biggest Band On The Planet
11.10.2019 23:58		 I was just wondering what Freddie would look like today if he was still alive.
Do you think he would of kept the classic 80s Freddie mustache look if he was still around today ?
miraclesteinway
12.10.2019 03:33		 I often wonder if Freddie would have let himself look older, or if he'd try to retain some of his look from the 80s/early 90s (before he looked too ill I mean). For instance, look at Ringo Starr who has just turned 79. He doesn't look exactly like he did 30 years ago but he retains his signature look, and keeps dyeing his hair. He's also in pretty good shape. Would Freddie have kept his hair black (if he didn't go bald - his father didn't as far as I know), or would he have allowed it to grow in grey? I think the moustache would have gone - it came off during the filming of The Great Pretender and it never came back. I think he may have reverted to the designer stubble look that actually suited him really well even if there are some sad reasons for him adopting it.
I'm not sure he'd have had any major surgeries, I think he might have had the odd nip and tuck, keep the eyes from looking too baggy, or whatever, maybe have the crows feet smoothed out a little and even kept his skin looking more tanned than he normally did in the 80s.
I could have this all wrong though. Perhaps he'd have just let age take its course. He'd be 73 now, can you believe it? He'd probably be strutting around the stage still, a la Mick Jagger, giving it his all, although he may have changed some of the keys of the songs by now. Whether he'd want to perform mainly the big hits, or whether he'd be performing more from Queen's 2019 album, I've no idea. There is no Queen 2019 album by the way, I just threw that in for effect.
There's a part of me that likes to think somehow Freddie would be more experimental with his music in his old age. Queen were very experimental in the early days, before they became the big hit machine, and I like to think that some of this would return, maybe even to the point of having something like a concept show. There's another part of me that thinks the more likely thing would be a standard rock show, or something a bit more a kin to musical theatre if he felt he couldn't strut around in the same way. Mind you, I've seen people in their 70s powerlifting in the gym so it's possible he could be incredibly healthy if he had lived.
As far as Queen's music is concerned, I think it's fairly safe to say that had Freddie lived, Made In Heaven (which wouldn't have been Made in Heaven) would have tracks that ultimately ended up on "Happiness?" and "Back to the Light" on it, and "Another World" and "Electric Fire". I think Queen might have found their 90s evolution quite hard in the UK, but they'd always be big in South America, Japan, and parts of Europe. I like to think that as the US became more accepting, Freddie would have gone back to tour there. If Freddie had been able to tour Innuendo I think it would have gone down very well in the USA (no, he obviously wasn't well enough to tour Innuendo I'm not even trying to suggest that), and it may have reignited their fan base there. Queen would have probably got a Disney movie soundtrack like the Lion King, and that would have helped them along a lot.
I imagine the first ten years of this century, that'd be the time when people would start to say "why doesn't he just give up" as people are want to do with older stars, and then in the 2010s through now, Freddie would prove that he could still write good songs, sing live, and perform in a way that shut the naysayers up. It probably wouldn't be the same kind of show as The Magic Tour, but since Roger and Brian have shown they can still get out there and play (yes I know this forum hates them), then there's no reason why Freddie couldn't do it, and John would still be in the band.
matt z
12.10.2019 03:55		 Nice thinking. But I'll just answer the original post question
He'd look like Yoda.
P.s. always thought Freddie would've done some animated film soundtracks
Jimmy Dean
12.10.2019 03:57		 He would look old. He got rid of the mustache in 87. So no.
He’d probably have taken the same route as John Deacon. And he probably would have been ok with Adam Lambert taking his place. And if interviewed he’d probably make an off color comment about Brian and Roger being old turds prancing on stage while he still collects his 1M pound per month retirement checks at home, all the while still wishing them well.
No way would he still be performing. Not a chance.
matt z
12.10.2019 06:57		 ^^ sounds plausible
I think he might sport a light toupee to cover likely eventual slight balding in his Friar Tuck region.
Wouldn't have overindulged in boredom and gone a Brando though
Probably would've saddled up and hung with Montserrat more and been a semi retired song writer
Maybe just an eccentric
runner_70
12.10.2019 08:40		 He would sit back and watch QAL and say "WHat are Maylor doing"???
Nathan H
12.10.2019 08:58
runner_70 wrote: He would sit back and watch QAL and say "WHat are Maylor doing"???
Entertaining hundreds of thousands of people around the world.
mooghead
12.10.2019 10:48		 A skeleton?
Biggest Band On The Planet
12.10.2019 11:53		 If Freddie didn't have aids he may never have gotten rid of the mustache.
stevelondon20
12.10.2019 12:43
Biggest Band On The Planet wrote: If Freddie didn't have aids he may never have gotten rid of the mustache.
How do you work that out? Jesus.
Biggest Band On The Planet
12.10.2019 13:00
Biggest Band On The Planet
12.10.2019 13:02		 Because Freddie would have looked very weird by the 1990s if still had the mustache.
By getting rid of the mustache it wasn't as obvious to the public that his appearance was changing so much.
stevelondon20
12.10.2019 16:10
Biggest Band On The Planet wrote: Because Freddie would have looked very weird by the 1990s if still had the mustache. By getting rid of the mustache it wasn't as obvious to the public that his appearance was changing so much.
Maybe he just fancied s change?
people on streets
12.10.2019 16:51
Biggest Band On The Planet wrote: If Freddie didn't have aids he may never have gotten rid of the mustache.
The mustache was a look for gay people in the 80s.
We're not in the 80s anymore.
Of course this is speculating, but I think Freddie woud've adapted to the current fashion. He always did that.
flash00.
12.10.2019 18:46		 I think he'd be clean shaven, if his voice held out possibly mini tours if they were still making albums, however internal arguments i.e BM+FM which would be more realistic late 90s onward so band split and Freddie making solo albums more duets and songwriting and producing for other artists, remember he never wanted to be running around as an old man on stage like Mick Jagger.
matt z
12.10.2019 19:17		 ^and that was calling Mick Jagged old in the eighties.
Dang.
Must've done SOMETHING right. My bets that drugs and alcohol killed viruses in Keith and Mick's benefited much from ample young Columbian vaginal fluids (*to put it mildly)
Charlie and Ronnie are on the same doctors prescription of punanny ..EVEN WHEN AND IF THEY DON'T CRAVE IT ANYMORE (*they're old AF)
MyHumanZoo
13.10.2019 02:19		 He would be bald (losing most of his hair so he’d start shaving the whole thing) with a goatee and a soul patch, doing duets with Rod Stewart, covering old Bing Crosby hits! ; )
And91
13.10.2019 16:25
And91
13.10.2019 16:32		 Maybe he would look like this today:
link
And in his 60's something like this:
link
Invisible Woman
13.10.2019 16:56		 He probably would look like a 73 year old man. But I think he would be look well for his age. He always looked younger.
Dr Magus
14.10.2019 12:21		 He'd look a bit like that bloke out of Sparks.
dysan
14.10.2019 18:34		 Fronnie Maelcury?
matt z
14.10.2019 19:26
Dr Magus wrote: He'd look a bit like that bloke out of Sparks.
ron mael?
(Wrong Male? Wrong Mail?)
matt z
14.10.2019 19:27		 The guy looks like a certain ousted Queen film director, maybe crossed with Michael Palin