It is said that Freddie wasn’t a huge fan of fantasy or sci-fi, but in 1980, he did a particularly odd show of support for the genre.
This was the year when Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was about to be released, and during a concert one night, Mercury decided to show his excitement for the groundbreaking sci-fi classic by singing “We Will Rock You” while sitting on the shoulders of a roadie that was dressed as Darth Vader! How we wish someone would’ve filmed this.
Mercury’s Love for Cats (Part 2)
As we mentioned before, Mercury was a big lover of cats. He lived with nearly 10 cats, which he loved dearly, and even dedicated an album to, “Mr. Bad Guy”. So, maybe this next bit of information won’t be so surprising by now, but still, we found it worth mentioning.
According to some of his closest friends, every time Freddie went on tour, he would call his house once a day and ask whoever was watching the cats, to put them on the phone one by one so they could hear his voice. Such a legend!
A Man Like No Other
By 1990, Queen had started to work on a new album, Innuendo. But by this time, Freddie had been battling AIDS for some time and was in the last stages of the illness, barely being able to even walk. When May wrote “The Show Must Go On”, he wasn’t sure Freddie would be able to sing at all, but as we already know, we’re not talking about a regular human being here. Mercury recorded the powerful vocals in a single, breathtaking take.
Freddie was so ill by then, that the video for the song was basically a montage of old footage from the band’s live performances, and he only appears briefly, shooting down a shot of vodka and saying, “I’ll fucking do it, darling”. And he certainly did.
The Sex Pistols Owe Their Fame To Mercury
You’ve probably heard of the legendary British punk band, The Sex Pistols. What you probably don’t know, is that if it weren’t for Freddie, you wouldn’t have. As it turns out, Queen was booked to appear on a famous British TV show in 1976 to promote their new album, A Day At The Races.
However, Freddie had scheduled a dentist appointment that he couldn’t miss (sounds logical since it was his first dental visit in 15 years! Since they canceled at the last minute, the show’s crew found a replacement band – The Sex Pistols. This appearance sky-rocketed them to fame.
Freddie Mercury vs. Sid Vicious
Ironically though, a few months after this happened, in 1977, Mercury and Vicious had a less-than-friendly encounter. Queen was recording their album, News of the World, at Wessex Studios in London, when Sid Vicious suddenly came in and mockingly asked Freddie “Have you succeeded in bringing ballet to the masses yet?”, and drunkenly tried to pick a fight.
What’s funny, though, is that Freddie was never in the least bit bothered by this. In fact, he would say that “he wasn’t going to get into it” with ‘Simon Ferocious’, as Mercury nicknamed Sid (his middle name was Simon). Mercury liked to tease Sid, answering “What are you gonna do about it?” every time he was told to not use that nickname anymore since Vicious hated it. The Sex Pistols hated Queen’s entire image and unparalleled fame.