Freddie Mercury’s heartbreaking final words revealed by his friends in a new documentary
Freddie Mercury, known for his incredible musical talent and unmatched vocal control, is still considered one of the greatest musicians in history. With an extraordinary vocal range spanning nearly five octaves and remarkable precision, he captivated audiences in ways that few others have been able to replicate.
Born as Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar on September 5, 1946, Freddie was sent to boarding school in Mumbai, India, at a young age. Though this time was difficult because he was away from his family, it was also when he first connected with music, which would go on to define his life.
Freddie lived FOR music and THROUGH music. It was who he was. Music represented a huge part of his identity.
In 1964, during the bloody revolution in Zanzibar, Freddie Mercury and his family moved to England, where he attended Ealing College of Art. Around this time, he joined a band called Wreckage. Not long after, Freddie met Roger Taylor and Brian May, members of a band named Smile. When Freddie joined, the band changed its name to Queen.
In the book *Is This The Real Life? The Untold Story of Queen*, author Mark Blake mentions that Freddie suggested the name, saying, “It’s wonderful, people will love it.”
Queen went on to become one of the best and most famous bands in the history.
Queen’s debut album was released in 1973 and quickly captured people’s attention. In 1974, the band had their first big hit with *Seven Seas of Rhye*. A year later, they released the iconic *Bohemian Rhapsody*, a song that would go on to become legendary.
Queen guitarist Brian May recalled in 2008 how Freddie Mercury created the song. “Freddie came in with loads of bits of paper from his dad’s work, like Post-it notes, and started pounding on the piano. He played it like most people play drums. The song had gaps where he explained something operatic would happen.” Freddie had imagined the harmonies in his head and said it was a piece of music he had dreamed of creating for a long time.
The song became a huge success, and fans worldwide tried to uncover the meaning behind the lyrics. But Freddie never revealed what the song was about. Instead, he encouraged people to find their own meaning.
“I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and decide for themselves what it means to them,” he said. He added that he preferred people to interpret his songs in their own way, saying it would be “awful” to explain it otherwise.
*Bohemian Rhapsody* was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004, and readers of *Rolling Stone* magazine named Freddie Mercury’s vocal performance the best in rock history. In 2018, it became the most-streamed song of the 20th century, with over 1.6 billion listens across major streaming platforms.
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Sadly, Freddie Mercury passed away in November 1991, at the age of just 45. His death shocked the world, leaving millions to mourn the loss of one of the greatest singers of all time.
Just 24 hours before his death, Freddie revealed that he had AIDS. “It was announced before he died, but he didn’t want to be the object of pity or scrutiny, and within 24 hours, he was gone. It was probably perfect timing. Bloody good move, I thought,” recalled Brian May.
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Freddie kept his illness private, sharing it only with a few close friends, including his bandmates and Elton John. They visited him often and stayed by his side during the final days of his life.
Elton John shared what Freddie’s last year of life was like in his book Love is the Cure: On Life, Loss and the End of AIDS.
“He knew death was coming, and it would be agonizing, but Freddie showed incredible courage,” Elton John wrote. “He kept up appearances, continued performing with Queen, and remained the funny, outrageous, and generous person he always was.”
“As Freddie’s health worsened in the late 1980s and early ’90s, it was heartbreaking to witness. Seeing someone who brought so much light to the world suffer from AIDS broke my heart. By the end, his body was covered in Kaposi’s sarcoma lesions. He was almost blind and too weak to stand.”
“Freddie could have spent his last days focusing on his own comfort, but that wasn’t who he was. He lived for others.”
Peter Freestone, Freddie Mercury’s PA and close friend, shared that Freddie spent his final weeks in bed. However, one day he asked to be carried downstairs.
“On November 20, Freddie wanted to see some of his artwork one last time,” Peter recalled. “Terry carried him down the stairs, but Freddie walked around the sitting room and Japanese room with our support.”
“He talked about how and when he had acquired a few of the pieces. While the house had a quiet atmosphere in those last days, Freddie remained the person we knew until the very end.”
In the BBC documentary *Freddie Mercury: The Final Act*, Freddie’s close friends opened up about his final days.
Anita Dobson, wife of Queen guitarist Brian May, shared that Freddie looked fragile near the end. His last words to her left a deep impression. “I remember he said, ‘When I can’t sing anymore, darling, then I will die. I will drop dead.’”
Peter Freestone revealed in the documentary, “Joe [Fanelli] called me around 5:30 a.m., and Freddie had slipped into a coma. We made him comfortable, but as we were changing his T-shirt, we realized his chest had stopped moving.”
More than a year after Freddie Mercury passed away, his friends organized a concert in his honor at Wembley Stadium in London. The *Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness* drew around 70,000 attendees and was streamed to over half a billion viewers worldwide.
In addition to Elton John and the members of Queen, other famous artists like David Bowie, Annie Lennox, and George Michael also paid tribute to Freddie.
Brian May recalled in the new BBC documentary *Freddie Mercury: The Final Act*, “When George Michael sang ‘Somebody to Love,’ there were moments when he had that crystal-clear edge just like Freddie. It gave all of us chills.”
“Freddie lived for his music, loved it, and was proud of himself as a musician above everything else.”
Freddie Mercury was truly one of a kind, and his legacy lives on through his music. May he rest in peace.
