1 00:00:04,100 --> 00:00:07,000 If you looked in the mirror and reflected on the true 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,100 Freddie Mercury, who is he? 3 00:00:10,100 --> 00:00:13,500 I'm quite a chameleon, you know. I change and I have moods. 4 00:00:13,500 --> 00:00:16,000 I'd probably say I'm a, sort of, person of extremes, 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:17,500 because I can be very soft, 6 00:00:17,500 --> 00:00:20,800 but that makes me that much more tenacious. 7 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:24,200 And when I'm on stage, I calm down. I become a very different person. 8 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,500 I gather lots of energy. 9 00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:30,300 In a way, there's no, sort of, half measures. 10 00:00:30,300 --> 00:00:32,000 I'm hot and cold. 11 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,160 So that's... You know, I gain momentum, 12 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:38,280 and then when I actually know when I want to release it, 13 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:43,280 it comes across like a tidal wave. 14 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:01,760 Freddie was born on Zanzibar, 15 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:06,720 an island off the coast of what is now Tanzania. 16 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,280 This was a British territory at that time. 17 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:12,440 His mother and father were British subjects. 18 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:13,960 When he was eight years old, 19 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:18,920 his parents decided to send him away to a British school in India. 20 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,880 Freddie suffered separation anxiety from a very early age 21 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,840 and therefore he latched on to people very quickly 22 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:31,760 and formed very intense relationships with others - 23 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:36,760 with both boys and girls. 24 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,160 He was, in a way, an outsider from the start. 25 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,400 And I think that informed the way that he always approached his life. 26 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:50,360 He really became a personality in his own right very early on. 27 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,400 When he was at boarding school in India, 28 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,040 he took the name Freddie from the start 29 00:01:55,040 --> 00:02:00,000 and he also started to perform in local bands. 30 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:04,000 REPORTER: Local boy makes good. 31 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,560 Elvis 'The Pelvis' Presley, King of Rock and Roll, 32 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:08,280 returns to Tupelo, Mississippi. 33 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,680 Advance sales of his new disc topped the million - 34 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,560 a record of the record business. 35 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,040 By the late '50s, we had Western rock and roll seeping into India, 36 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,960 so Freddie was having piano lessons from the age of about seven, 37 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:25,280 and he'd begun to adopt the '50s rock and roll 38 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:30,240 and he formed his first band at school called The Hectics. 39 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,440 And I took piano lessons when I was in boarding school. 40 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,560 Of course, I didn't think at the time that I was going to 41 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,240 make music my career, but I was always interested in music. 42 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:46,160 I think I obviously had a musical streak. 43 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,880 And when it came in terms of being in a band, 44 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:50,600 being the singer is the best thing 45 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:52,320 because you're up front all the time. 46 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,640 I didn't want to be a drummer, bashing the drums at the back. 47 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:59,120 Music was Fred's salvation during his school years. 48 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,800 He dipped in and out of friendships. 49 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:07,760 He wasn't that interested in his academic studies at all. 50 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:13,200 And when he discovered rock and roll, that did change his life. 51 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,200 We were students at Ealing, both did graphics, 52 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,360 both were pretty much on the same wavelength musically, 53 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:37,000 so we were mates, you know. 54 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,640 I went to art college, you know, and I was going to be a graphics... 55 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:42,840 I mean, I did my diploma in graphics illustrations, 56 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:47,080 so I was going to be a graphics illustrator. 57 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,560 Our prime focus when we were at Ealing was music. 58 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:52,880 Our secondary focus was graphic design, 59 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:57,160 much to the chagrin of the tutors. 60 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,400 I realised that through college I spent more time 61 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,800 rehearsing our songs and things than doing the other thing, 62 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,280 and that's what I was interested in. 63 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,840 And I just said, "Look, I'm going to try and make money out of this 64 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:10,600 "or make a life out of it." 65 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,480 I mean, he did know he was going to be a star 66 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:15,080 towards the end of the college. 67 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:17,480 You know, "Some day I'm going to be a star." 68 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:19,160 "Yeah, sure, you are, Freddie." 69 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:21,560 You know, we were kind of cynical, but Freddie wasn't. 70 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:23,560 He knew what he was going to do. 71 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,960 The moment I finished college, my interests were in music. 72 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,360 All I wanted to do was music, so I set upon the fact that, 73 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:34,320 no, I'm going to try and make it as a singer. 74 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:48,920 Freddie had become a bit of a groupie of Smile 75 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,280 and he wanted what they had. He dipped in and out of some bands 76 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:54,680 but he hadn't really found the line-up to suit him, 77 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,480 and he saw himself as fronting Smile. 78 00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:59,080 We formed Smile. 79 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,640 I was the lead singer and bass player. 80 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,880 I think Freddie always had it at the back of his mind 81 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,720 that he could do great things if he was in a band with Roger and Brian, 82 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,120 and I have a sneaky suspicion that behind the scenes 83 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:17,080 he was trying to engineer my... my removal. 84 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:20,960 Their singer decided to leave and they were auditioning singers 85 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,800 and I was right under their nose. It was so funny. 86 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,240 It never actually occurred to them to ask me. 87 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:29,880 Because I'm such a forceful character, they were in Smile, 88 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,280 and I said, "Well, I can't join you and become..." 89 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:34,680 You know, it's just, like, the way I feel is, 90 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:36,640 when somebody new takes somebody's place, 91 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:38,400 just everything has got to be new, 92 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:43,360 and so this was a completely new chemical reaction. 93 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,600 When you first came together, were you very different then? 94 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,320 Oh, yes, we were very hungry... Very diverse personalities as well? 95 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,200 Yes, but at that time, we were getting to know each other 96 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,560 and we had so much to, sort of, put across, 97 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:04,640 and we were very hungry for, erm... 98 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,000 For a hamburger! THEY LAUGH 99 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,000 Anything, right? Yes, we were just hungry. 100 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,880 We just wanted to... We just wanted to let it all out. 101 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:16,840 And so, you know, we kept... We took it from there. 102 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,560 # I was told a million times of all the troubles in my way 103 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:58,440 # Mind you grow a little wiser, a little better every day 104 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,840 # But if I crossed a million rivers and I rode a million miles 105 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:05,400 # Then I'd still be where I started, bread and butter for a smile... # 106 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:07,400 Freddie hit the ground running. 107 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,840 We can look at those early performances and really see 108 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:13,200 the flamboyance, the majesty of him, the way he commanded the stage. 109 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:17,920 He had all of that and more right from the start. 110 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:19,520 # Stay right where you are 111 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:20,880 # Keep yourself alive Yeah 112 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:22,760 # Keep yourself alive 113 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,120 # Ooh, it'll take you all your time and money 114 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:30,120 # Honey, you'll survive... # 115 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,960 This early Queen is hard rock. 116 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:38,960 It's bold. 117 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,920 Influenced by Black Sabbath and Led Zep. 118 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,280 You know, they really were quite, sort of, dark metal in those days. 119 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,960 People weren't quite sure how to take them. 120 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:57,680 But the fact was, the sound they made was extraordinary. 121 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,040 # And I ate a million dinners brought to me on silver trays... # 122 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:02,520 It was a beautifully constructed song 123 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:06,480 but unfortunately it wasn't constructed as a pop song, 124 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,120 and I think a lot of people, certainly at radio, thought, 125 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:14,080 this isn't really right for what we're doing. It's not formulaic. 126 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:41,880 We weren't the kind of band that actually said, 127 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,760 "OK, we're going to do this but if it doesn't work out, 128 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,880 "we will follow what somebody..." No, that's the wrong way to do it. 129 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:51,240 And that's what you have... I think a new band has got to have. 130 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,760 A real confidence in yourself. 131 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,440 # Do you think you're better every day? 132 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:01,400 # No, I just think I'm two steps nearer to my grave... # 133 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,080 The last thing you want is to have signed a new contract 134 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:09,000 with a record company and your image has failed or whatever, 135 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,920 and then suddenly the record company says, 136 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,600 "Why don't you try this because this is the new thing?" 137 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,960 If you do that, the record company is not going to like you because 138 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,080 they'll say, "Oh, this band will do anything." No, you've got to fight. 139 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,040 # Keep yourself alive Come on, come on 140 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:45,720 # It'll take you all your time and a money to keep me satisfied... # 141 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,920 # Fear me you loathsome, lazy creatures 142 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:52,760 # I descend upon your Earth from the skies 143 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,480 # I command your very souls, you unbelievers 144 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,120 # Bring before me what is mine 145 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,600 # The seven seas of Rhye... # 146 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:04,280 It's just epic. 147 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,160 And it is Freddie Mercury the rock singer as a young man. 148 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,920 When he goes up to those high notes, 149 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:13,080 there's a clarity and a ring and a resonance. 150 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,680 As a young rock singer, he just had this 151 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:18,080 really exciting upper register. 152 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:19,800 # You are mine, I possess you 153 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:24,760 # I belong to you forever Ever, ever... # 154 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,080 I mean, this song, for me, 155 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,200 feels like it could come out of Lord of the Rings or something. 156 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:39,160 It's got this epic storytelling side to it. 157 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,520 # Come on, let me take you 158 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:48,520 # The seven seas of Rhye... # 159 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:13,520 Getting on Top Of The Pops is one of the big signs of success. 160 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,480 You know, it was in everybody's living rooms. 161 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,600 And back then, of course, it was the only place you could see 162 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:25,560 these performances without buying a ticket and going to see the band. 163 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,280 Queen look slightly out of water, I've always thought, 164 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,200 looking back at that first appearance that they made. 165 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:35,680 They already looked like consummate rock stars. 166 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:38,240 # Fear me you loathsome, lazy creatures 167 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,160 # I descend upon your Earth... # 168 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:44,560 They presented as though they were going to be around 169 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:47,440 for a really long time, and how hideous it must have been 170 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:49,840 for them to mime on that show, because everybody did. 171 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,800 There was no live performing on Top Of The Pops. 172 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,640 When he goes up those high notes, 173 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:59,600 you can't do that without actually kind of using parts of your body, 174 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:04,560 and it's so obvious that he's miming. 175 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,840 But he's acting it, you know. He's still got the intention, 176 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,280 he's still got all of the emotional engagement. 177 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:15,240 # I'll take you to the seven seas of Rhye... # 178 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:33,120 Freddie, with Seven Seas Of Rhye, he was finding his voice 179 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:38,080 and in Killer Queen, he had found it. 180 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:43,120 # She keeps her Moet et Chandon in her pretty cabinet 181 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,880 # "Let them eat cake", she says, just like Marie Antoinette 182 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:51,880 # A built-in remedy for Khrushchev and Kennedy 183 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:56,840 # At any time an invitation you can't decline 184 00:12:58,120 --> 00:12:59,440 # Caviar and cigarettes 185 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,200 # Well versed in etiquette 186 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:04,000 # Extraordinarily nice 187 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,680 # She's a killer queen 188 00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:07,680 # Gunpowder, gelatine 189 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:10,720 # Dynamite with a laser beam 190 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,160 # Guaranteed to blow your mind... # 191 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,000 Killer Queen was everything. 192 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,400 It was dramatic, it had poise. 193 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,080 Great story, fabulous arrangement, musical arrangement. 194 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:25,240 Everything about it was just original, 195 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,960 and that's a hard thing to be, you know, in our industry, is original. 196 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:33,160 # To avoid complications, she never kept the same address 197 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:34,640 # In conversation... # 198 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:38,720 Who is the killer queen that they're singing about, you know? 199 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,760 This person, you believed that Freddie Mercury knew them 200 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,640 and had actually met them at some point in his life. 201 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:48,920 Freddie came into my office one day, at EMI, 202 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:51,920 and he put the record on and... "She's a killer queen..." 203 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:54,640 "Oh, I love it, Bubula. "It's going to be a monster hit. 204 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:56,600 "I love it. I love it. I love it." 205 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,080 "No, you're not listening" I said, "I was listening." 206 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,320 "No, you don't realise. It's about you." 207 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,480 I said, "What do yo mean, about me?" He said, "You're a killer queen." 208 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:07,240 I said, "What are you talking about, Bubula?" 209 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,960 He said, "Because I'm the queen. I'm the queen. 210 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:13,720 "And I can't have you and it's killing me." 211 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,760 That's the God's truth. 212 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:22,000 It's the new Queen single, actually, which I'm sure you'll want to hear. 213 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,200 It's out next Friday. Erm, Friday week. 214 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,440 # She's a killer queen 215 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:31,880 # Gunpowder, gelatine 216 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:33,560 # Dynamite with a laser beam... # 217 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:35,840 It needs people to hear it four to five times 218 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,240 before they say, "Hey, I must go and buy that record." 219 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:42,480 Erm, I'll have another listen to it. It's not really a breakfast record. 220 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,400 Maybe afternoon... A bit much, maybe, first thing in the morning. 221 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,880 # To absolutely drive you wild Wild 222 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,320 # She's all out to get you... # 223 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,440 A device that Queen used that wasn't new technology 224 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,800 but they certainly became champions of 225 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,960 is multi-tracking, multi-layering. 226 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:03,240 What this was was that they chose one harmony line, 227 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,960 for example, this note, 228 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:10,320 and all three singers of the band would sing it. 229 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,600 They would then record that three times or four times. 230 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:18,400 So from the same note, you have 15, 18, 20 different takes. 231 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:23,360 So what you end up with sounds like 100, 200 people singing it. 232 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:27,520 And that's really an amazing effect. It's a wall of sound. 233 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:29,600 # She's a killer queen 234 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:31,880 # Gunpowder, gelatine 235 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:33,640 # Dynamite with a laser beam 236 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,160 # Guaranteed to blow your mind. 237 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,320 # Any time... # 238 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,960 Yes, we did do all those harmonies. We didn't just hire a huge choir. 239 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:47,760 The three of us, you know, simulated those harmonies. 240 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:51,080 I mean, we can get a 160-piece choir effect 241 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:54,240 by just the three of us multi-tracking. 242 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,000 So we do the bass parts and we do the middle parts 243 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,240 and we do the sopranos, because, I mean, you know, 244 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:01,160 we like to show off our register. Why not? 245 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:02,160 # She's a killer queen 246 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:03,440 # Gunpowder, gelatine 247 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:05,720 # Dynamite with a laser beam 248 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:10,400 # Guaranteed to blow your mind Any time... # 249 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,440 Killer Queen was, like, the first thing that broke ground, erm, 250 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,080 worldwide, as it were. 251 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:19,360 I think in England and in Britain, I think Seven Seas of Rhye 252 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,040 is a track that actually... That's the track that actually broke us 253 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,320 in England, but I don't think it did anything anywhere else. 254 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:27,440 But Killer Queen paved the way. 255 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,400 That's when the so-called volcano erupted, you know. 256 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:35,360 It just suddenly, just went... It just went bang, you know? 257 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:44,040 Instantly, your ears prick up when you hear the intro, 258 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:48,000 when you hear those four-part harmonies. 259 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,240 # Is this the real life? # 260 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,520 We were all blown away. 261 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,560 # Is this just fantasy? # 262 00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,160 The sheer audacity of the thing. 263 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:01,520 # Caught in a landslide 264 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:05,440 # No escape from reality... # 265 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:10,400 Just this kind of epic monster of a song. 266 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:12,600 # Open your eyes 267 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:17,600 # Look up to the skies and see... # 268 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,360 Bohemian Rhapsody is all Freddie's musical influences, 269 00:17:24,360 --> 00:17:28,440 everything at once, all served up as a smorgasbord. 270 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,080 It's six minutes long and it takes you on a journey from 271 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:34,920 classical to opera to rock to hard rock 272 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,080 to a soulful ballad at the end. 273 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,080 Bohemian Rhapsody was basically... I was writing three songs 274 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,240 and they were meant to be different and I just... 275 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:45,200 I just couldn't finish them and I thought, 276 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,600 "Oh, damn it, I'll just put the three together." 277 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,160 # Any way the wind blows 278 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,000 # Doesn't really matter to me 279 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:57,000 # To me... # 280 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:08,440 A rhapsody, by definition, is a one movement piece of work 281 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:10,880 that goes through different episodic changes. 282 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:12,160 This is definitely a rhapsody. 283 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:15,600 We start off with the acapella section. 284 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:17,000 Just voices, no instruments. 285 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,320 Next, we have the piano and voice. 286 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,880 # Life had just begun... # 287 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:25,800 Sounds quite familiar. 288 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,320 We don't know where this song is going to go. 289 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,800 It sounds like just another one of Queen's songs. 290 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:35,240 And then, of course, it goes into Brian May's legendary rock solo. 291 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:39,120 # I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all... # 292 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,000 I mean, the guitar sound on that, 293 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,520 apart from the piano sound and the voices, 294 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:52,160 well, I would say now that's genius. 295 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:53,920 You have instruments creating sounds 296 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,240 that you didn't know they could make. 297 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,640 You have voices and this wall of sounds 298 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,600 that we know of Queen's music. 299 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,400 It's a whole song in the first three minutes. 300 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,160 It could stop after three minutes and you would pretty much have 301 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:18,160 a moving rock-based ballad. 302 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,600 This sort of confessional story 303 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,960 that he's saying, or that he's telling, 304 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:28,120 and then all of a sudden... 305 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:31,800 # I see a little silhouette of a man 306 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:35,800 # Scaramouch, Scaramouch Will you do the fandango? # 307 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,880 A new section, an operatic section. 308 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:41,680 You have characters, you have places, 309 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,280 you don't know where you are, what's happening. It's exciting. 310 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,960 And, crucially, it's very different to the beginning. 311 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,400 # Thunderbolts and lightning very, very frightening me... # 312 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:55,880 You start to hear call and response in the Galileos. 313 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,880 This is a very, very traditional opera technique, 314 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:00,640 almost like a Greek chorus. 315 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,360 # Galileo Galileo 316 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:07,600 # Galileo, Figaro Magnifico 317 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:09,720 # I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me 318 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:13,040 # He's just a poor boy from a poor family 319 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:16,840 # Spare him his life from this monstrosity... # 320 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,520 It's often described as operatic, 321 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,840 but, for me, it's almost more kind of comic opera. 322 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,600 It feels more Gilbert and Sullivan than Wagner 323 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:28,040 in the staccato playing and in the way that the chords 324 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,520 are built up almost like bells as they're falling down 325 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,040 from the "Magnifico". 326 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:35,360 # Easy come, easy go, will you let me go? 327 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:37,440 # Bismillah! No, we will not let you go 328 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,520 # Let him go Bismillah! 329 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:41,880 # We will not let you go Let him go 330 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:43,720 # Bismillah! We will not let you go 331 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:45,840 # Let me go Will not let you go 332 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:47,440 # Let me go Never, never, never 333 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:51,160 # Let me go Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh 334 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,320 # No, no, no, no, no, no, no... # 335 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:58,160 We have this section in Bohemian Rhapsody at the end of the opera 336 00:20:58,160 --> 00:20:59,960 where we really don't know where we're going. 337 00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:01,360 Here are the chords that's played. 338 00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:06,360 HE PLAYS CHORDS 339 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:11,160 Then we have a new section again. The listener does not know 340 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,480 what's happening, does not know what's going to come next, 341 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,080 and that's the excitement about Bohemian Rhapsody. 342 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,240 All of this harmonic turmoil progresses and progresses 343 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,720 and eventually we get to the huge climax, 344 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:28,480 resulting in Roger Taylor's top B-flat - massive note. 345 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,880 # Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me 346 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:34,400 # For me 347 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,640 # For me... # 348 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:50,880 # So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye... # 349 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,560 After the guitar solo section, we go to the next bit of the rhapsody. 350 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:57,960 He uses a device called a triplet, 351 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:02,080 which is when you force three notes into the space of two. 352 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,520 "Da-da-da, da-da-da." That's a triplet. 353 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,080 It's very conversational, so he's going, 354 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,320 "So you think you can stop me..." 355 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:13,520 # So you think you can love me and leave me to die 356 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:17,480 # Oh, baby 357 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:21,120 # Can't do this to me, baby 358 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:25,880 # Just got to get out, just got to get right out of here... # 359 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,680 And then it all slows down. 360 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:44,920 We get to the last section, just piano, just voice, 361 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,880 and a guitar harmonising with the voice. Very rare, this. 362 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:54,680 # Ooh, yeah 363 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,320 # Nothing really matters 364 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:05,960 # Anyone can see 365 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:10,400 # Nothing really matters... # 366 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,000 And then it comes back to the feel of the opening, 367 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:17,960 which is this beautiful, elegant, sort of confessional story. 368 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,840 It's been a huge journey in this six minutes of music. 369 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:25,080 Huge journey. 370 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:28,360 But it's been worth it. 371 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:33,360 # Any way the wind blows. # 372 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,440 JINGLE: The Network Chart! 373 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:49,040 After me having virtually put the three songs together, 374 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,440 they wanted me to sort of slice it up again. 375 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:54,280 The radios didn't really like it initially because it was too long 376 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,320 and the record company said, you know, you can't market it that way. 377 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:01,480 And I just said it either goes out in its entirety or not at all. 378 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:05,040 So it was a big risk. It was either going to be a big flop 379 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,200 because nobody would play it or something would happen. 380 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,080 What really broke that song was Eric Hall. 381 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:10,960 He was a plugger. Monster, monster, Eric Hall. 382 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,440 This schmuck here, Bubula. Eric Hall. 383 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,280 This schmuck here plucked it. Me. What can I do? 384 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:21,640 I remember playing Bohemian Rhapsody to Doreen Davies, 385 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,680 Radio 1's Head of the Playlist. 386 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,880 I played it to her. She said, "I'm worried." 387 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,760 "I know why you're worried." It was so long. 388 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,360 But by the time I then walked back to my office, 389 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:36,320 my secretary Louise said, "Eric, there's a call for you 390 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:38,760 "and it's Doreen Davies. Pick up the phone." 391 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,320 "What's the problem, my darling?" 392 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:44,120 She said, "Eric, I just played Noel Edmonds Bohemian Rhapsody, 393 00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:48,280 "and it's going to be his record of the week", 394 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,760 which meant, in those days, that he would play it every day 395 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,360 on his show, but also all those other Radio 1 shows 396 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:57,480 had to play the other presenters' record of the week. 397 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:01,680 That means the first week Bohemian Rhapsody came out, 398 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,760 I had about 12, 15 plays of it. Amazing. 399 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:08,560 That really tore the market up and down, didn't it? 400 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,320 I mean, it sort of... It got us to a very different area. 401 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:17,280 The cross section of, sort of, the public then were so different. 402 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:19,160 I mean, we were then... 403 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,560 We suddenly realised we were playing to mums and dads 404 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,920 and, I mean, the people coming to see us were totally different. 405 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,480 Freddie put it all into one song. He put all his eggs in one basket. 406 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,600 And against all the odds, it was a success. 407 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:32,680 # Thunderbolts and lightning very, very frightening me. # 408 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:41,320 # Ooh, you make me live 409 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:45,600 # Whatever this world can give to me 410 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:50,600 # It's you, you're all I see 411 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,320 # Ooh, you make me live now, honey 412 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:57,760 # Ooh, you make me live 413 00:25:57,760 --> 00:25:59,280 Our climb has been very quick. 414 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,200 The ball sort of started rolling and then it went so fast 415 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:05,080 during, say, Bohemian Rhapsody time, I think things were moving so fast 416 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:10,080 we couldn't even keep up. 417 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:24,560 I understand that in Japan that you couldn't even leave your hotels. 418 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,040 It was very difficult. 419 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:29,960 I suppose this time around it was... 420 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:34,080 We had to have bodyguards around. We did see a lot of kitchens. 421 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:37,880 In fact, yes, and we were reduced to travelling in laundry lifts 422 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,840 and things like that, but, the price of fame, they tell me. 423 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,280 The punk groups are referring to you and many other groups 424 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,520 as being these megastars. That their time is over... 425 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:25,720 Anti-establishment, yes. 426 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:27,680 It was a tough phase for us, actually. 427 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:30,600 At one point I actually thought it was going to be it. 428 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,600 But I think Queen have this sort of... 429 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,000 If there's a challenge, you know, we embark on it 430 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,840 and that's what keeps us going. 431 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:39,800 I'll never forget, we were in the studios 432 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,480 and the Sex Pistols happened to be in the next studio. 433 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:46,200 I got Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious in to listen to one of our tracks 434 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:50,040 and I said, "I'll sing on one of yours if you sing on one of mine." 435 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:51,360 You should have seen them. 436 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:53,800 "We can't be singing with Freddie Mercury", and all that. 437 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:55,760 I was wearing ballet pumps at the time. 438 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,720 There's quite a lot of mythology about Queen and the Sex Pistols, 439 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,680 which is almost a novel, isn't it? Queen and the Sex Pistols, 440 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,920 they would seem like the antithesis of each other, 441 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,600 but they were signed to the same label - EMI, 442 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:09,560 so they were always going to come across each other. 443 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,280 I called Sid Vicious... I called him Simon Ferocious or something. 444 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:16,160 He didn't like it at all. I said, "What are you going to do about it?" 445 00:28:16,160 --> 00:28:21,120 He hated the fact that I could even speak like that. 446 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,560 There's always competition. The competition is always there, 447 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:33,440 and whether it be a punk rock movement or, call it what you like, 448 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,360 it's all there. I'm never one for resting on my laurels, really, 449 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:38,680 because I always know there's that competition, 450 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:42,720 and that's what keeps us, you know, it keeps the driving force there. 451 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:47,000 Can I be bold to say that it almost brings the cunning out in you? 452 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,720 The cunning? I think you almost enjoy it. Oh yes. 453 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:02,560 # Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise 454 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,560 # Playing in the street, gonna be a big man some day 455 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,000 # You got mud on your face, you big disgrace 456 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,480 # Kicking your can all over the place, singing 457 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:15,920 # We will, we will rock you 458 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:20,920 # We will, we will rock you... # 459 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,800 Queen and Freddie took punk and threw it away. 460 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,880 Freddie wanted to be unique 461 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,160 and he was unique in everything he did. 462 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:37,200 He didn't want to copy punks or copy anybody. 463 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:39,640 They went another way, which was the glamour way. 464 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:42,200 The glamour punk, I suppose. 465 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,800 # I've paid my dues 466 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:49,440 # Time after time 467 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,840 # I've done my sentence 468 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,600 # But committed no crime... # 469 00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:00,400 From the start of this album, even from the onset 470 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:04,000 of actually writing it, writing the material. 471 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,920 that we weren't going to spend as much time in the studios 472 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,240 because I think we've done to death multi-tracking tracking harmonies 473 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,560 and the lavish productions and things. 474 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,240 We needed a change anyway. From the writing aspect as well. 475 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:17,440 And so I think we wanted a much fresher 476 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:21,040 and sort of raw approach to songs. 477 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:23,720 # I've had my share of sand kicked in my face 478 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:28,120 # But I've come through 479 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,320 # And we mean to go on and on and on and on 480 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:35,760 # We are the champions, my friends... # 481 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:42,840 And all of a sudden, by the end of that first verse, 482 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,520 it has built into what Queen do a couple of times, 483 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,720 which is these sort of football terrace chants - 484 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:53,680 these really anthemic songs that you can hook onto events in your life. 485 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:57,480 I wanted to write a song that everybody could sing along, 486 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,200 like a football chant or things like that, and, erm... 487 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:05,160 At the same time, I thought it would be nice to... 488 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:08,160 It's a winning song and it's meant for everybody, you know. 489 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:11,720 I had to say "we are the champions", but that doesn't mean it's us. 490 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:15,000 It's for... 491 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,400 I can just imagine people going to a game, and if their team wins, 492 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,480 they can go, "We are the champions." It's a winning song for everybody. 493 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:23,520 # It's been no bed of roses 494 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:27,200 # No pleasure cruise 495 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:29,800 # I consider it a challenge before the human race 496 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:34,680 # And I ain't gonna lose... # 497 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:36,920 When he's singing, "I'm not going to lose", 498 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:38,600 that goes right up to a B-flat. 499 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:40,760 It's really high. 500 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:44,200 It's a really hard vowel for most people to actually 501 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:47,640 create that sound on and he doesn't compromise. 502 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:51,160 He just anchors down because that's what the lyric is all about. 503 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,080 The lyric is all about not giving up. 504 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:56,680 # And I ain't gonna lose 505 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:00,040 # And we mean to go on and on and on and on 506 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:05,000 # We are the champions, my friends... # 507 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:10,280 It really is up to the listener to make up its interpretation. 508 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:11,720 And I like that, actually. 509 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:15,480 I mean, it's a nice escape for me, from the writer's point of view, 510 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:17,800 but I think from the listener's point of view, 511 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,400 it's nice that they can make up different interpretations. 512 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:23,800 So, basically, if you ask me what it's all about, 513 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:25,280 I would say it is tongue-in-cheek 514 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:27,400 and it's not to be taken too seriously. 515 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:29,400 I'm like, my God, I can't be serious. 516 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:31,680 No... You know, it's something that... 517 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:34,760 I wanted to write a song that was very cold and calculated 518 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:37,560 and kind of to the point. 519 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:40,600 And, basically, it was a song of sort of participation. 520 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:43,160 I wanted people to participate. 521 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:48,160 # We are the champions, my friends 522 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:50,880 Sing it! 523 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:55,840 # And we'll keep on fighting till the end... # 524 00:32:57,480 --> 00:32:59,880 Come on! 525 00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:02,800 "You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with that. 526 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,440 "I thank you all. But it's been no bed of roses." 527 00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:08,480 It's my way of saying that, erm... 528 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:11,400 To a lot of people... I mean, a lot of people think 529 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:15,440 being a rock and roll star 530 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:18,120 is kind of going into a studio and making a disc 531 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:20,040 and then going around spending all the money, 532 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:22,240 which I don't think it is, and I think... 533 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,280 I know that a lot of people do realise that, 534 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:27,680 but at the same time, a lot of people don't. 535 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:29,520 They think it's a very easy-going life. 536 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:32,400 And, I mean, a lot of people still think when I say, 537 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:34,320 "Oh, we're going to America for a tour", 538 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:35,840 they think, "Oh, nice long holiday", 539 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:38,800 and that's just my way of saying that it's not easy going. 540 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,280 I mean, God, don't for one minute think 541 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:45,640 that it's all peaches and cream. There's no bed of roses. 542 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:51,640 # We are the champions 543 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:55,640 # No time for losers 544 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,000 # Cos we are the champions 545 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:04,000 # Of the world. # 546 00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:19,560 Do you like being rich? Of course. 547 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:23,200 What do you do with... I flaunt it. What do you do with your money? 548 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:25,680 I spend it. On what? All kinds of things. 549 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,080 His enjoyment of life, he didn't let up. 550 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,720 You know, I'm going to be what I'm going to be. 551 00:34:30,720 --> 00:34:33,160 And I think that was brilliant of him, you know, 552 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:36,000 but not a lot of people could do that. 553 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:40,120 I mean, you had to be very rich and know that you were going to be able 554 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:42,760 to sustain yourself financially to do that, and he knew that. 555 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:44,560 # Tonight I'm gonna have myself 556 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:49,000 # A real good time 557 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:54,000 # I feel alive... # 558 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:57,400 It's just such a celebration. It's so kind of life affirming, 559 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:01,720 but fundamentally it is just this really, really great pop song. 560 00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:04,000 # Floating around... # 561 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,520 That euphoric feeling of not wanting a night to end 562 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:11,760 and having a song like that capture it is amazing. 563 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:13,240 # Don't stop me 564 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:16,720 # Cos I'm having a good time, having a good time. 565 00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:19,280 # I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky 566 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:24,240 # Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity... # 567 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:27,800 My God, I mean, it was more than hedonistic. 568 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,880 It was absolutely fantastic. It was the most wonderful time. 569 00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:34,640 We had no worries, we didn't worry about, you know, 570 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:36,800 getting anything, catching anything. 571 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:39,600 Sex was flamboyant, was wonderful. 572 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:42,440 We enjoyed every single moment of it. It was a freedom. 573 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:45,480 And Freddie embraced that. 574 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:48,840 You know, he took it in both his hands and absolutely went for it. 575 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:51,160 He really enjoyed it. 576 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:54,000 # Don't stop me now Cos I'm having a good time... # 577 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:55,960 We all went out, we drank a lot, 578 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:57,160 took some drugs sometimes, occasionally. 579 00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:59,600 Looking back, one could have said, well, we behave badly 580 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:03,480 or somebody else behaved badly or they were too excessive. 581 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:05,600 # I am a satellite, I'm out of control 582 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:07,520 # I'm a sex machine ready to reload 583 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,200 # Like an atom bomb, about to 584 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,360 # Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, explode 585 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:19,360 # I'm burning through the sky, yeah 586 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:23,320 I thought it was a lot of fun, but, yes, I did have an undercurrent 587 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:25,480 feeling of, "Oh, aren't we talking about danger here?", 588 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:27,680 because we were worried about Freddie at this point. 589 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:29,840 And I think that feeling lingers, but it's become... 590 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:31,760 I'd say almost the most successful Queen track. 591 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:33,720 # Have a good time, good time... # 592 00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:34,840 I like to go out every night. I hate staying in one room 593 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:39,520 I just... I want to do things my way and, erm, I want to have fun. 594 00:36:39,520 --> 00:37:01,760 for too long anyway. I don't give a damn. 595 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:03,160 # Ooh, let's go 596 00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:04,880 # Steve walks warily down the street 597 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:09,840 # With his brim pulled way down low... # 598 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:15,160 The '80s was their most successful decade by far. 599 00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:17,040 Their focus is much more on their audience 600 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:18,240 and less on critical acclaim. 601 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:23,240 # The edge of your set... # 602 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:25,440 # The edge of your seat...# 603 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:26,520 You expected the unexpected. 604 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:29,400 You never quite knew what they were going to come up with. 605 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:31,760 And they came up with Another One Bites The Dust. 606 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:33,200 # Another one bites the dust 607 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:34,960 # Another one bites the dust... # 608 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:38,760 They went into funk. It's a funk song. 609 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:40,200 # Another one bites the dust 610 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:41,880 # Hey, I'm gonna get you too 611 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:43,600 # Another one bites the dust... # 612 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:45,960 Sometimes we make our own... We make our own challenges. 613 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:47,040 We were becoming blase. 614 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:49,680 You know, after you have success for a long time, whatever, 615 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:52,800 it's quite easy to say, "Oh, yeah, we are the greatest", or whatever. 616 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,240 But I really don't think we're that kind of group. 617 00:37:55,240 --> 00:37:59,080 # Are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? # 618 00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:02,720 Delivery is really punchy and dynamic. 619 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:05,840 There's a lot of use of, kind of, consonants for spitting words out 620 00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:07,520 rather than singing through long, elegant vowels. 621 00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:11,320 You can hear in his voice the, kind of, commitment to it. 622 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:13,680 # Oh, yeah 623 00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:15,400 # Another one bites the dust... # 624 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:17,560 I remember when it was out in America, 625 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:20,440 a lot of people that, of course, hadn't heard of Queen, 626 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:22,880 were buying it thinking that we were a black act 627 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:25,960 and then would come to see us and realise we were all white. 628 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:27,400 # Another one bites the dust 629 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,400 # Shoot out 630 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:36,040 # All right. # 631 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:47,320 I'd like to think that I'm just... I'm a songwriter. 632 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:51,080 I don't want to be just, erm... 633 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:55,280 ..in a sort of minority of just writing heavy, heavy music. 634 00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:56,520 Besides, I like... I like... 635 00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:59,440 It's interesting for me. I just like writing different songs every time 636 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:03,400 and I hate repeating the same formula as well. 637 00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:07,160 It used to be that you were pigeonholed as a performer. 638 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:10,920 You did this style and you did this style well. 639 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:14,880 Amazingly, Freddie Mercury, along with Queen, 640 00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:17,280 were able to push all the boundaries that were there 641 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,640 and start fusing different genres together. 642 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:25,600 A lot of people keep saying to me, you know, 643 00:39:25,720 --> 00:39:27,120 "Why haven't you repeated Bohemian Rhapsody?" 644 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:29,960 I mean, the whole point of that is to write a song 645 00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:31,680 and then just leave it that way. 646 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:33,800 How can I repeat that kind of thing anyway? 647 00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:37,840 It's just... It would be farcical. 648 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:42,680 # Seaside 649 00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:47,160 # Whenever you stroll along with me 650 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:48,800 # Merely contemplating what you feel inside 651 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:52,960 # Meanwhile, I ask you to be... # 652 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:54,880 For me, Queen are always a rock band. 653 00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:58,080 However, there are influences of other genres in their work. 654 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:02,280 A lot of the music hall stuff is amazing. 655 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:05,160 They've got this brilliant sense of sort of very British humour - 656 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:09,400 a sort of British seaside... There's a song Seaside Rendezvous. 657 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:11,840 # I feel so romantic Can we do it again? 658 00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:14,680 # Can we do it again sometime? Ooh, I'd like that... # 659 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,320 I really like My Melancholy Blues. 660 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:21,000 # Another party's over... # 661 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:25,960 It's like you've walked into a jazz bar. It's just piano and vocals. 662 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:30,600 Oh, it's supremely good. 663 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:34,960 # Well, I don't wanna talk about it... # 664 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:38,480 One that means a great deal to me, Somebody To Love gospel. 665 00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:41,640 And you don't immediately associate Freddie Mercury with gospel. 666 00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:43,880 # Can 667 00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:47,600 # Anybody 668 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:51,920 # Find me 669 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:56,920 # Somebody to love? # 670 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:01,560 It's just beautiful, 671 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:05,880 those harmonies, when they're all singing together. 672 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:08,960 And then when Freddie starts on the piano, 673 00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:12,400 it's pure confessional. 674 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:17,800 # Ooh, ooh, ooh 675 00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,520 # Each morning I get up I die a little 676 00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:23,240 # Can barely stand on my feet... # 677 00:41:23,240 --> 00:41:25,760 Aretha Franklin's, like, phrasing is just wonderful. 678 00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:29,320 I wish I could sing like her. 679 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:31,240 You know, her phrasing is just so beautiful. 680 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:34,120 It's so effortless, and it's just... She just sings like a dream. 681 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:36,520 It's like she doesn't have to think about it. 682 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:39,360 I mean, when I have to sing, I think about it. 683 00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:43,640 I'll practise a few phrases and then do it. 684 00:41:43,640 --> 00:41:46,280 Whereas I can tell by just listening to Aretha Franklin's records 685 00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:48,680 that she just goes in there and just... It's effortless. 686 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:50,080 # He works hard Every day 687 00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:54,200 # I try and I try and I try 688 00:41:54,200 --> 00:41:56,920 # But everybody wants to put me down 689 00:41:56,920 --> 00:42:00,160 # They say I'm going crazy... # 690 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:04,040 What you then find in the middle section is a build-up of notes, 691 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:05,080 build up of voices. 692 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,640 # Find me somebody to love 693 00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:12,600 # Oooh Find me somebody to love... # 694 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:18,120 It reminds you of being in any sort of performance with a gospel choir 695 00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:21,000 and all you want to do is join in with that music. 696 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:22,040 # Somebody Somebody 697 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:23,200 # Somebody Find me somebody 698 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:25,560 # Find me somebody to love 699 00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:30,560 # Can anybody find me 700 00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:36,160 # Somebody to 701 00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:42,480 # Love. # 702 00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:45,720 I love the way he fuses a couple of genres together 703 00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:50,360 but doesn't compromise on being himself. 704 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:54,160 When I'm not thinking about it, that's when it happens best. 705 00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:58,040 I mean, I know there's a story about Crazy Little Thing Called Love. 706 00:42:58,040 --> 00:43:02,920 I mean, I was having a bath and I just suddenly had an idea and... 707 00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:06,520 I called up Paul and I said, "Just get me a guitar" 708 00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:09,800 Just an acoustic, and there I was in the bath. 709 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:11,720 And because I was restricted in the bath, 710 00:43:11,720 --> 00:43:14,840 I could only play three chords. I can still only play three chords. 711 00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:17,440 And so I was limited and out came Crazy Little Thing. 712 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:22,440 # This thing called love 713 00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,840 # I just can't handle it 714 00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:29,600 # This thing called love 715 00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:33,080 # I must get 'round to it 716 00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:35,360 # I ain't ready 717 00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:39,720 # Crazy little thing called love... # 718 00:43:39,720 --> 00:43:43,320 It's very different. It is rockabilly, rock and roll. 719 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:46,520 And I think you have to put it into the context 720 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:49,520 of Freddie's age and Elvis Presley. 721 00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:53,120 You know, Elvis Presley, like Freddie, 722 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:56,600 was this iconic figure and this is almost an homage. 723 00:43:56,600 --> 00:44:01,280 He even imitates his voice 724 00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:03,520 and imitates the way he shapes consonants and stuff. 725 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:06,840 # Take a backseat, hitchhike 726 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:09,840 # And take a long ride on my motorbike 727 00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:11,560 # Until I'm ready Ready, Freddie 728 00:44:11,560 --> 00:44:15,160 # Crazy little thing called love... # 729 00:44:15,160 --> 00:44:19,200 It's just another example of how he wasn't in any way concerned 730 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:22,400 about drawing influences and celebrating them. 731 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:25,200 He didn't try and hide them. 732 00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:27,320 He would celebrate them and pay homage to them. 733 00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:31,720 # Crazy little thing called love 734 00:44:31,720 --> 00:44:34,880 # Crazy little thing called love Yeah, yeah 735 00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:39,840 # Crazy little thing called love... # 736 00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:47,600 Queen, at the beginning of the early '80s, 737 00:44:47,600 --> 00:44:50,200 became the first significant rock band to actually tour South America. 738 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:51,440 That was a big deal. 739 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:56,400 The logistics of a tour like South America in the '80s, 740 00:44:58,240 --> 00:45:01,120 in the early '80s, when you haven't got mobile phones and internet... 741 00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:04,320 ..it's literally suitcases of money being exchanged for visas 742 00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:06,960 and it's dealing with armed guards 743 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:11,360 and it's working out how to get a sound rig through a jungle. 744 00:45:11,360 --> 00:45:16,320 For me, Sao Paulo is the pinnacle of that effort. 745 00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:20,760 It was madness though, wasn't it, in South America? 746 00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:24,720 They have the biggest stadium in the world. 747 00:45:24,720 --> 00:45:29,240 They can hold 200,000 people at one time. 748 00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:32,200 Hello, Sao Paulo! 749 00:45:32,200 --> 00:45:35,480 CHEERING 750 00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:37,560 My personal favourite moment is Love Of My Life. 751 00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:39,000 You know, it's mind-blowing. 752 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:43,000 They're singing the verses and the choruses back. 753 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:44,880 # You've broken my heart 754 00:45:44,880 --> 00:45:46,360 # And now... # 755 00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:49,880 It's... It's up there with Live Aid. 756 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:52,960 CROWD: # Love of my life, can't you see? # 757 00:45:52,960 --> 00:45:56,560 And you can tell that Freddie and Brian 758 00:45:56,560 --> 00:45:59,160 are realising the impact of this song as they're singing it. 759 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:01,960 # Because you don't know 760 00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:06,960 # What it means to me. # 761 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:12,560 Everybody wants to play to the biggest audiences ever. 762 00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,200 I want to play to as many people as I can. 763 00:46:15,200 --> 00:46:18,080 And the more the merrier, you know, because music is for everybody. 764 00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:22,240 It's an international language and that's the way it is. 765 00:46:22,240 --> 00:46:24,840 So, as far as I'm concerned, I like to... 766 00:46:24,840 --> 00:46:28,200 I like the whole world to listen to my music, and I want anybody 767 00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:30,320 and everybody to come in and listen to me 768 00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:32,000 and look at me when I'm playing. 769 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:37,000 # I still love you. # 770 00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:43,040 It's absolutely beautiful listening to the audience sing back to him 771 00:46:44,240 --> 00:46:49,200 his words, his melody, because it is one of those songs 772 00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:52,000 that if you've ever been in love 773 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:53,640 and felt vulnerable, it speaks to you. 774 00:46:53,640 --> 00:46:55,000 CROWD: # Away from me 775 00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:58,000 # Because you don't know 776 00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:03,000 # What it means to me 777 00:47:03,840 --> 00:47:09,120 # Love of my life 778 00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:11,920 # Oooh 779 00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:16,920 # Yeah. # 780 00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:21,080 CHEERING 781 00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:23,640 Very extrovert stage act by any standards. 782 00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:27,000 Will you be able to go on with... You mean I flaunt it? 783 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:29,400 You're over the top. 784 00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:34,360 He was nothing like the performer out there on stage. 785 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:37,200 So, he would walk out on stage 786 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:40,560 and he would put on the stardom the way you put on an overcoat 787 00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:42,960 and he would go out there and become someone else. 788 00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:45,840 He would treble size and he would stun everybody with his presence. 789 00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:50,120 And then at the end of the show, he would come off, 790 00:47:50,120 --> 00:47:53,000 he would drop the stardom the way you take off the overcoat, 791 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:56,560 and he would reduce that down to being Freddie. 792 00:47:56,560 --> 00:47:59,640 Everybody looks at me on stage and they think that's how I am. 793 00:47:59,640 --> 00:48:03,480 Like, arrogant, and... 794 00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:06,120 And when you look at me now, I'm quite boring, really. 795 00:48:06,120 --> 00:48:09,240 But, no, I like to enjoy life, but, I mean, that's just my... 796 00:48:09,240 --> 00:48:11,880 A lot of people ask me that. That's my stage persona. 797 00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:15,240 That's the only way I like to be on stage, but that doesn't mean... 798 00:48:15,240 --> 00:48:19,560 ..I go around wearing the same clothes... 799 00:48:19,560 --> 00:48:24,520 But I still like to have a good time offstage as well, you know. 800 00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:27,640 But, erm, oh, no. I mean, I think... 801 00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:30,480 ..most of the time I leave that face back on the stage. 802 00:48:30,480 --> 00:48:32,920 He's an amazing contrast of an introvert and an extrovert. 803 00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:35,520 Offstage, he was very often quite shy, quite quiet, 804 00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:38,440 quite reserved, didn't give a lot of interviews. 805 00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:43,440 OK? Shoot. OK. 806 00:48:44,120 --> 00:48:47,040 Why haven't you done any interviews in the past few years? 807 00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:49,720 Because I hate them. Why? I just hate them. 808 00:48:49,720 --> 00:48:52,720 I hate talking to people I don't really know. 809 00:48:52,720 --> 00:48:56,400 You I know, so I'm doing it. Yes, thanks. 810 00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:58,560 I found out later that he couldn't stand journalists. 811 00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:02,640 He thought we were all scumbags. He hated the lot of us. 812 00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:04,560 He couldn't see the point of doing publicity. 813 00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:08,360 One, well, I suppose he has to promote that as well. 814 00:49:08,360 --> 00:49:11,400 Yeah, I'm talking to you. That's about all I'm going to do. Right. 815 00:49:11,400 --> 00:49:13,480 That's my worldwide promotion. 816 00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:16,120 I think you can often tell if he likes the interviewer. 817 00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:20,040 And that's true of lots of performers and musicians. 818 00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:22,480 If it's someone he knows or he's comfortable with. 819 00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:25,360 If he knows it's someone who's not going to stitch him up, 820 00:49:25,360 --> 00:49:29,680 then he's much more playful and he's much more catty and fun. 821 00:49:29,680 --> 00:49:32,080 I assume you mean the other members of Queen? Yeah. 822 00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:34,680 Who do you think I meant? What are their names again? 823 00:49:34,680 --> 00:49:38,400 Stop that shit. 824 00:49:38,400 --> 00:49:41,760 In general, people think that you are not really like the way you are. 825 00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:43,440 First of all, you're hysterically funny and... 826 00:49:43,440 --> 00:49:45,080 Well, you are. I'm hysterical, all right. 827 00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:47,040 Now, you are funny. I mean, you are. 828 00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:49,760 You're funny and you're talkative and you're a great storyteller... 829 00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:52,160 That's because people do get the wrong impression of me 830 00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:54,800 because they've got... It's the media, basically, 831 00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:57,640 built me up being a real ogre and a tyrant on stage 832 00:49:57,640 --> 00:50:01,040 because of the way I come across on stage. 833 00:50:01,040 --> 00:50:03,880 I'm very volatile and that's the only part they see of me. 834 00:50:03,880 --> 00:50:05,840 I mean, I don't talk to everybody, 835 00:50:05,840 --> 00:50:08,120 so they don't really know the real me. 836 00:50:08,120 --> 00:50:12,320 And I don't think anybody will. 837 00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:16,680 We understand a bit more now that artists are human beings 838 00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:19,800 and that they have feelings and they're going to have ups and downs, 839 00:50:19,800 --> 00:50:21,480 whereas, possibly, in Freddie's heyday, we didn't, 840 00:50:21,480 --> 00:50:24,360 and we expected them to be Freddie Mercury on and off stage. 841 00:50:24,360 --> 00:50:26,240 Erm, and the idea of him being shy... 842 00:50:26,240 --> 00:50:31,240 ..was just so impossible to imagine. 843 00:50:32,240 --> 00:50:36,080 But, of course, that was the truth. 844 00:50:36,080 --> 00:50:39,920 There used to be a pub in Montreux on Lake Geneva in Switzerland 845 00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:44,480 where Queen had Mountain Studios 846 00:50:44,480 --> 00:50:49,440 and I was in there with a friend of mine 847 00:50:49,800 --> 00:50:51,680 and suddenly spotted Freddie in an opposite corner, 848 00:50:51,680 --> 00:50:54,560 and we ended up going down to the shore of the lake, 849 00:50:54,560 --> 00:50:56,920 just the three of us, and Freddie said to us... 850 00:50:56,920 --> 00:50:58,480 .."You guys are the lucky ones. 851 00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:02,680 "You can walk down the street, you can just be who you are." 852 00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:04,760 He said, "I always have to be him 853 00:51:04,760 --> 00:51:08,160 "and there are times when I don't want to be him." 854 00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:12,120 And he was talking about Freddie Mercury in the third person. 855 00:51:12,120 --> 00:51:15,080 And for the first time I ever saw the division 856 00:51:15,080 --> 00:51:18,120 between who he really was and who he had to be. 857 00:51:18,120 --> 00:51:20,040 And what he was really saying was that, 858 00:51:20,040 --> 00:51:24,080 "I've created this monster and now I have to be him. 859 00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:29,040 "I have to live according to his rules and not mine." 860 00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:34,280 And it haunted me for a really long time and I felt sorry for him. 861 00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:36,120 Thank you very much. OK. Thank you. 862 00:51:36,120 --> 00:51:41,080 Fine. Thank you. That's good. 863 00:51:41,200 --> 00:52:02,360 Oh, that's great. I wish all of them to be that short. 864 00:52:02,360 --> 00:52:05,160 # Give me 865 00:52:05,160 --> 00:52:09,200 # Body 866 00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:12,600 # Give me 867 00:52:12,600 --> 00:52:16,080 # Body 868 00:52:16,080 --> 00:52:18,800 # Give me... # 869 00:52:20,360 --> 00:52:23,760 The success of Another One Bites The Dust 870 00:52:23,760 --> 00:52:27,120 and Crazy Little Thing Called Love in America, 871 00:52:27,120 --> 00:52:29,520 you could say that sort of threw them off whack 872 00:52:29,520 --> 00:52:32,320 because John and Freddie are then pursuing that sound, 873 00:52:32,320 --> 00:52:35,880 listening to a lot of funk, 874 00:52:35,880 --> 00:52:38,440 and trying to bring it back in Hot Space - 875 00:52:38,440 --> 00:52:41,800 the Queen album that, critically, an awful lot of people 876 00:52:41,800 --> 00:52:43,680 think is a bit of a misstep. 877 00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:47,360 They were taking risks. They were experimenting. 878 00:52:47,360 --> 00:52:50,000 Brian May and Roger Taylor didn't like it very much either. 879 00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:52,840 Brian May, in particular, wanted it to be more rock and roll 880 00:52:52,840 --> 00:52:54,920 than it turned out to be. 881 00:52:54,920 --> 00:52:59,880 Hot Space, the album, went on off on a limb, 882 00:53:00,200 --> 00:53:03,520 and I said let's just do some of this black stuff that, you know, 883 00:53:03,520 --> 00:53:06,400 that I liked, and I forced the other three to do it. 884 00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:09,280 They hate me for it now because it didn't sell that much 885 00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:11,640 but I still love the album, you know. It's just... 886 00:53:11,640 --> 00:53:12,680 They're just songs. 887 00:53:12,680 --> 00:53:15,680 # Body language. 888 00:53:15,680 --> 00:53:24,160 # Body language 889 00:53:49,280 --> 00:53:51,400 For two years, we didn't come up with anything, 890 00:53:51,400 --> 00:53:54,040 we didn't tour, and I think that was a good thing. 891 00:53:54,040 --> 00:53:57,400 We sort of went away from each other and then when we came back, 892 00:53:57,400 --> 00:53:59,760 it was like coming back together again from the start. 893 00:53:59,760 --> 00:54:01,240 So we started fighting about all... 894 00:54:01,240 --> 00:54:04,320 All the things we used to fight about five or ten years ago. 895 00:54:04,320 --> 00:54:09,320 And so off we go again. 896 00:54:13,880 --> 00:54:16,960 The I Want To Break Free video is one of the best things 897 00:54:16,960 --> 00:54:19,240 I've ever seen. 898 00:54:36,320 --> 00:54:39,440 Everyone, for some reason, thought it was his idea to go in drag, 899 00:54:39,440 --> 00:54:42,760 but it was Roger Taylor's idea to go in drag. 900 00:54:42,760 --> 00:54:46,800 And if you look at the way that they did it, Roger Taylor is the only one 901 00:54:46,800 --> 00:54:50,480 that looks vaguely pretty, if you want to put it in those terms. 902 00:54:50,480 --> 00:54:52,280 # God, no... # 903 00:54:52,280 --> 00:54:55,640 It wasn't my idea at all. I'm sure everybody thinks it's my idea, 904 00:54:55,640 --> 00:54:58,600 being outrageous... It was Roger's, wasn't it? It was. 905 00:54:58,600 --> 00:55:00,720 It came from Roger. And everybody thinks, I bet... 906 00:55:00,720 --> 00:55:03,840 They ask me, "How did you get the other three to get in...?" 907 00:55:03,840 --> 00:55:06,240 In fact, they ran into their frocks quicker than anything. 908 00:55:06,240 --> 00:55:09,600 # For the first time and this time I know it's for real... # 909 00:55:09,600 --> 00:55:13,120 What this encapsulates perfectly is flipping on the head 910 00:55:13,120 --> 00:55:16,680 that whole idea of what a band should be, 911 00:55:16,680 --> 00:55:19,720 what a band of four men should be. 912 00:55:19,720 --> 00:55:23,880 # God knows I've fallen in love... # 913 00:55:23,880 --> 00:55:28,280 Is it dedicated for the gay world? 914 00:55:28,280 --> 00:55:30,440 No, not at all. Not at all. 915 00:55:30,440 --> 00:55:34,600 That song... To start off with, that song was written by John Deacon, 916 00:55:34,600 --> 00:55:37,280 you know, and he's a very happily married man 917 00:55:37,280 --> 00:55:42,280 with about four children. 918 00:55:59,920 --> 00:56:03,120 We need to remember that America during the '80s 919 00:56:03,120 --> 00:56:06,560 was a very conservative country 920 00:56:06,560 --> 00:56:10,000 and glam didn't go down as well in the States 921 00:56:10,000 --> 00:56:12,840 as it did here because we have a sense of irony. 922 00:56:12,840 --> 00:56:16,560 America was not ready for cross-gender. 923 00:56:16,560 --> 00:56:19,280 It just was a bit of a step too far. 924 00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:22,320 # But life still goes on... # 925 00:56:22,320 --> 00:56:25,000 A lot of the American psyche is always very, very literal 926 00:56:25,000 --> 00:56:28,040 in terms of the way they perceive things. 927 00:56:28,040 --> 00:56:32,560 If they thought that it was just drag queenery, it clearly isn't. 928 00:56:32,560 --> 00:56:36,040 The very fact that it would alienate the sensitive American psyche 929 00:56:36,040 --> 00:56:40,440 is still... The point is still absolutely valid. 930 00:56:40,440 --> 00:56:45,360 I mean, one wonders what they think of RuPaul now. 931 00:56:45,440 --> 00:56:48,720 # So, baby, can't you see? # 932 00:56:48,720 --> 00:56:51,120 It's got nothing to do with gay people at all. 933 00:56:51,120 --> 00:56:53,760 It's basically about everybody. Somebody who has a very tough life 934 00:56:53,760 --> 00:56:56,920 and he just wants to break free from whatever problems he's got. 935 00:56:56,920 --> 00:56:59,760 It's got nothing to do with the gay thing. 936 00:56:59,760 --> 00:57:04,760 # I want to break free, yeah. # 937 00:57:15,560 --> 00:57:18,760 # An amazing feeling 938 00:57:18,760 --> 00:57:22,480 # Coming through 939 00:57:22,480 --> 00:57:27,480 # I was born to love you... # 940 00:57:27,840 --> 00:57:31,600 So, Mr Bad Guy, Freddie's first solo album, you can tell, 941 00:57:31,600 --> 00:57:34,480 was written for, you know, those gay clubs in the early '80s 942 00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:38,240 where he was hearing that kind of dance music. 943 00:57:38,240 --> 00:57:43,200 # Was born to take care of you... # 944 00:57:43,200 --> 00:57:47,640 You have to bear in mind that the early '80s, 945 00:57:47,640 --> 00:57:50,560 homophobia was part of the establishment. 946 00:57:50,560 --> 00:57:52,680 However, there was a scene. 947 00:57:52,680 --> 00:57:56,000 To discover that scene, to discover bars and nightclubs 948 00:57:56,000 --> 00:57:59,160 where you could be yourself... 949 00:57:59,160 --> 00:58:01,840 For the first time, certainly in British history, 950 00:58:01,840 --> 00:58:04,800 there were places where you could be you. 951 00:58:04,800 --> 00:58:07,960 That must have felt so incredible, so freeing. 952 00:58:07,960 --> 00:58:11,560 # An amazing feeling 953 00:58:11,560 --> 00:58:16,360 # Coming through... # 954 00:58:16,360 --> 00:58:20,120 That freedom that came from the person he was able to be 955 00:58:20,120 --> 00:58:22,040 I think is reflected in Mr Bad Guy. 956 00:58:22,040 --> 00:58:27,040 # With every single beat 957 00:58:27,200 --> 00:58:28,200 # Of my heart 958 00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:29,240 # Yeah 959 00:58:29,240 --> 00:58:33,240 # I was born to take care of you 960 00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:38,240 # Every single day... # 961 00:58:58,160 --> 00:59:00,720 Barcelona... 962 00:59:00,720 --> 00:59:02,760 ..that's just a whole other world. 963 00:59:02,760 --> 00:59:07,720 That's an exceptional, exceptional piece of work. 964 00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:10,960 # I had this perfect dream 965 00:59:10,960 --> 00:59:13,480 # Un sueno me envolvio 966 00:59:13,480 --> 00:59:16,040 # This dream was me and you 967 00:59:16,040 --> 00:59:19,480 # Tal vez esta aqui... # 968 00:59:19,480 --> 00:59:21,880 The difficulty was, there was no template for this before. 969 00:59:21,880 --> 00:59:24,880 There was no real crossover before this happened. 970 00:59:24,880 --> 00:59:28,440 Opera singers don't sing rock and rock singers don't sing opera. 971 00:59:28,440 --> 00:59:31,000 It's a different technique. So what we had to do 972 00:59:31,000 --> 00:59:33,960 is find something which didn't compromise either one's talent. 973 00:59:33,960 --> 00:59:38,960 # Is slowly coming true 974 00:59:41,560 --> 00:59:45,840 # The wind is a gentle breeze... # 975 00:59:45,840 --> 00:59:49,160 So we met at the Ritz in Barcelona and a quick decision was made 976 00:59:49,160 --> 00:59:53,880 to try something out, and he said, 977 00:59:53,880 --> 00:59:55,800 "Well, I don't know where to start, really." 978 00:59:55,800 --> 00:59:58,920 I said, "Why don't we just start about... Let's give it a title." 979 00:59:58,920 --> 01:00:02,520 He said, "Let's call it Barcelona - It Was The First Time That We Met." 980 01:00:02,520 --> 01:00:05,120 And that, of course, is the first line of the chorus. 981 01:00:05,120 --> 01:00:06,160 # Barcelona 982 01:00:06,160 --> 01:00:08,320 # It was the first time that we met 983 01:00:08,320 --> 01:00:10,520 # Barcelona 984 01:00:10,520 --> 01:00:13,600 # How can I forget? 985 01:00:13,600 --> 01:00:15,800 # The moment that you stepped into the room 986 01:00:15,800 --> 01:00:20,800 # You took my breath away 987 01:00:22,560 --> 01:00:25,280 # Barcelona 988 01:00:25,280 --> 01:00:27,440 # La musica vibro 989 01:00:27,440 --> 01:00:30,120 # Barcelona 990 01:00:30,120 --> 01:00:33,120 # Yella nos unio... # 991 01:00:33,120 --> 01:00:36,600 It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that, because Fred kept saying, 992 01:00:36,600 --> 01:00:40,320 "Well, we can't... She's got to do these operatic diva things as well", 993 01:00:40,320 --> 01:00:43,880 so we had to build in places for her to do a little, you know, 994 01:00:43,880 --> 01:00:45,640 a fabulous operatic cadenza. 995 01:00:45,640 --> 01:00:49,000 We had to have bits in it where Fred was just Fred. 996 01:00:49,000 --> 01:00:51,840 It was all these things that we had to take into consideration 997 01:00:51,840 --> 01:00:53,280 that made it a tricky write. 998 01:00:53,280 --> 01:00:54,320 # Dejalo nacer 999 01:00:54,320 --> 01:00:56,120 # Let the music play 1000 01:00:56,120 --> 01:00:59,640 # Ah-ah-ah... # 1001 01:00:59,640 --> 01:01:02,440 Sometimes, for a duet to work really, really well, 1002 01:01:02,440 --> 01:01:06,840 you want as contrasting voices as possible. 1003 01:01:06,840 --> 01:01:11,800 It's the fact that the two voices are so different but so committed. 1004 01:01:12,080 --> 01:01:14,440 When the song is reaching its climax at the end 1005 01:01:14,440 --> 01:01:17,280 and you've got that big choral "viva". 1006 01:01:17,280 --> 01:01:20,840 # Viva... # 1007 01:01:20,840 --> 01:01:24,520 Montserrat Caballe then does what's known as a cadenza, 1008 01:01:24,520 --> 01:01:28,600 which is a run of notes in a relatively free time, 1009 01:01:28,600 --> 01:01:30,720 and she goes from the top of her voice 1010 01:01:30,720 --> 01:01:32,440 down to the bottom of her voice, 1011 01:01:32,440 --> 01:01:35,040 right the way back up to the top of her voice. 1012 01:01:35,040 --> 01:01:38,640 # Aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aah... # 1013 01:01:38,640 --> 01:01:41,520 Freddie doesn't try and do that because that's not what he does. 1014 01:01:41,520 --> 01:01:43,640 He almost just shouts the word Barcelona. 1015 01:01:43,640 --> 01:01:46,320 # Barcelona... # 1016 01:01:46,320 --> 01:01:48,680 He just comes crashing in, 1017 01:01:48,680 --> 01:01:52,120 celebrating what he does on the word Barcelona, 1018 01:01:52,120 --> 01:01:55,040 and it is so different from what she has just done, 1019 01:01:55,040 --> 01:01:59,840 it creates this kind of moment of real drama. 1020 01:01:59,840 --> 01:02:04,840 # Aaaaaaaaah. # 1021 01:02:09,880 --> 01:02:12,720 And I remember when we finished it, Fred said, "Oh, that's finished." 1022 01:02:12,720 --> 01:02:15,720 You know, "We'll put this out as a single." 1023 01:02:15,720 --> 01:02:18,320 And I said to Freddie, "Are you sure about this, mate? 1024 01:02:18,320 --> 01:02:20,040 "It's..." 1025 01:02:20,040 --> 01:02:22,880 You know, "It's absolutely nothing to do with 1026 01:02:22,880 --> 01:02:25,760 "what you've done before with Queen or whatever." 1027 01:02:25,760 --> 01:02:29,240 And he said, "Do you like it?" 1028 01:02:29,240 --> 01:02:31,880 I said, "Yeah, I do." He said, "Well, it goes out." 1029 01:02:31,880 --> 01:02:35,400 That's another mark of Freddie Mercury. 1030 01:02:35,400 --> 01:02:38,040 When he had the conviction, when he thought something suited him 1031 01:02:38,040 --> 01:02:40,680 or a good piece of work, he went, "Yep, that's it. 1032 01:02:40,680 --> 01:02:45,640 "Let everybody hear it. If they don't like it...", you know. 1033 01:02:48,840 --> 01:02:51,920 Did you ever sort of take vocal lessons at any stage? I mean... 1034 01:02:51,920 --> 01:02:53,360 Not at all. Not at all. 1035 01:02:53,360 --> 01:02:55,640 No, it's just, erm... 1036 01:02:55,640 --> 01:02:58,920 That's my voice. I didn't, erm... 1037 01:02:58,920 --> 01:03:01,560 I think most of the time, I actually misused my voice 1038 01:03:01,560 --> 01:03:05,560 because I have these nodules on my vocal cords. 1039 01:03:05,560 --> 01:03:10,120 He had this amazing range due to abnormalities in his vocal folds, 1040 01:03:10,120 --> 01:03:13,000 which is very rare. 1041 01:03:13,000 --> 01:03:15,600 But what that meant is that he could sing exceptionally high 1042 01:03:15,600 --> 01:03:18,560 and exceptionally low. 1043 01:03:18,560 --> 01:03:22,160 So, on average, and people do vary, a low bass note is this F here. 1044 01:03:22,160 --> 01:03:25,520 And the highest note that a tenor can usually go is this note here. 1045 01:03:25,520 --> 01:03:30,480 Now, Freddie Mercury, his voice could go from here, 1046 01:03:31,640 --> 01:03:36,160 one semitone higher than the lowest bass note, 1047 01:03:36,160 --> 01:03:40,000 but instead of this note, which was the tenor note, 1048 01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:42,120 he could sing all the way up here. 1049 01:03:42,120 --> 01:03:44,240 Three octaves. 1050 01:03:44,240 --> 01:03:49,240 Amazing range. Totally unique. 1051 01:04:08,040 --> 01:04:09,040 # Why? Why? 1052 01:04:09,040 --> 01:04:14,080 # Why? 1053 01:04:17,600 --> 01:04:20,560 # Love, love, love, love... # 1054 01:04:20,560 --> 01:04:23,760 His ability to jump from low to high is incredible 1055 01:04:23,760 --> 01:04:26,880 and I know there was a study that showed 1056 01:04:26,880 --> 01:04:31,400 the way that his vocal cords vibrate 1057 01:04:31,400 --> 01:04:34,040 is different to most other singers. 1058 01:04:34,040 --> 01:04:39,000 # Gets me higher, higher, higher... # 1059 01:04:40,920 --> 01:04:44,240 But though we don't see Freddie using this amazing range 1060 01:04:44,240 --> 01:04:47,600 in one song, we get glimpses of it. We Are The Champions, for example, 1061 01:04:47,600 --> 01:04:50,440 we see an octave jump in the last chorus. 1062 01:04:50,440 --> 01:04:53,640 # We are the champions 1063 01:04:53,640 --> 01:04:57,400 # We are the champions... # 1064 01:04:57,400 --> 01:05:01,040 Going down to a low G in Bicycle Race. 1065 01:05:01,040 --> 01:05:03,520 # Bicycle, bicycle 1066 01:05:03,520 --> 01:05:08,480 # Bicycle, bicycle, bicycle, bicycle race. # 1067 01:05:09,480 --> 01:05:11,160 An A-flat in Somebody To Love. 1068 01:05:11,160 --> 01:05:13,280 # Find me somebody to love 1069 01:05:13,280 --> 01:05:16,440 # Find me, somebody to love... # 1070 01:05:16,440 --> 01:05:19,360 He can go from the very bottom of his range 1071 01:05:19,360 --> 01:05:23,720 all the way up from the top with no worries at all. 1072 01:05:23,720 --> 01:05:27,680 Most people have a break in their voice and he just glides over it. 1073 01:05:27,680 --> 01:05:31,080 So that means he's not scared of using the top of his voice 1074 01:05:31,080 --> 01:05:34,360 in a sort of screaming way or a very light way 1075 01:05:34,360 --> 01:05:37,480 or a very, kind of, classical soprano way. 1076 01:05:37,480 --> 01:05:42,360 # I don't want my freedom 1077 01:05:42,360 --> 01:05:47,360 # There's no reason for living 1078 01:05:47,600 --> 01:05:50,960 # With a broken heart... # 1079 01:05:50,960 --> 01:05:53,760 My voice takes a beating. 1080 01:05:53,760 --> 01:05:57,280 When you say your voice takes a beating, yet you go out on stage... 1081 01:05:57,280 --> 01:06:00,440 Because I sing my arse off and it's very hard to do it. 1082 01:06:00,440 --> 01:06:04,040 Freddie apparently credited his amazing range 1083 01:06:04,040 --> 01:06:09,000 to some extra incisors in his mouth - four extra incisor teeth. 1084 01:06:10,960 --> 01:06:13,000 Unfortunately, we think this isn't necessarily the case. 1085 01:06:13,000 --> 01:06:15,880 Some studies have been done and it shows that that wouldn't affect 1086 01:06:15,880 --> 01:06:19,640 the voice, but what it does do is create space in the mouth. 1087 01:06:19,640 --> 01:06:22,600 He was able to open his mouth really wide 1088 01:06:22,600 --> 01:06:25,960 and that may sound a little bit odd, but when you think about it, 1089 01:06:25,960 --> 01:06:29,000 acoustically, brass instruments have a tube 1090 01:06:29,000 --> 01:06:33,960 and then a wide opening at the end. If you think of a trumpet, 1091 01:06:34,360 --> 01:06:38,120 the larger opening at the end gives the amplification its kind of push. 1092 01:06:38,120 --> 01:06:41,240 If you can't open your mouth very wide, you will never be able 1093 01:06:41,240 --> 01:06:51,560 to really sing with some of the higher dynamics. 1094 01:06:51,560 --> 01:06:53,680 July 13th, 1985 - it was the global jukebox. 1095 01:06:53,680 --> 01:06:55,600 It was the opportunity to feed the world. 1096 01:06:55,600 --> 01:06:58,000 It wasn't the first time in history that rock concerts 1097 01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:00,040 had been held to raise money for causes, 1098 01:07:00,040 --> 01:07:01,760 but it never had been televised. 1099 01:07:01,760 --> 01:07:06,720 It has never been a global experience. 1100 01:07:07,240 --> 01:07:10,320 Because Live Aid was a one-off and it was such a massive event, 1101 01:07:10,320 --> 01:07:15,280 you needed a massive band like Queen, 1102 01:07:16,880 --> 01:07:19,480 who were complete pros at they did, to bring everybody together. 1103 01:07:19,480 --> 01:07:21,040 It was a huge cultural moment 1104 01:07:21,040 --> 01:07:25,680 and Queen were a huge, important cultural band. 1105 01:07:25,680 --> 01:07:29,280 Fred, I remember him just before it, didn't speak too much about it. 1106 01:07:29,280 --> 01:07:32,160 You know, he was quite modest about, you know, what it entailed 1107 01:07:32,160 --> 01:07:36,640 and I think given the fact that this was the largest audience ever 1108 01:07:36,640 --> 01:07:41,600 in the history of just about anything, if you knew Fred at all, 1109 01:07:42,400 --> 01:07:46,200 you knew damn well that he would want to be the best. 1110 01:07:46,200 --> 01:07:50,720 Her Majesty, Queen! 1111 01:07:50,720 --> 01:07:52,880 I remember Freddie talking to me about Live Aid 1112 01:07:52,880 --> 01:07:56,280 and he said that they had been rehearsing 1113 01:07:56,280 --> 01:07:58,680 and, well, they rehearsed to the inch of their lives 1114 01:07:58,680 --> 01:08:01,080 because they hadn't been doing a lot at that stage. 1115 01:08:01,080 --> 01:08:04,120 And it became very serious for Queen and for Freddie. 1116 01:08:04,120 --> 01:08:07,280 What he said to me, "We're going to get this right 1117 01:08:07,280 --> 01:08:09,920 "because we want to do this", and apart from it being 1118 01:08:09,920 --> 01:08:12,920 a great charity thing, they just wanted to show 1119 01:08:12,920 --> 01:08:17,560 what they could do and how good a band they were. 1120 01:08:17,560 --> 01:08:22,520 And it couldn't have been planned better. 1121 01:08:25,520 --> 01:08:29,600 In the Live Aid performance, when he starts off with Bohemian Rhapsody... 1122 01:08:33,080 --> 01:08:36,280 ..you can see that he's playing around with the rhythm a little bit 1123 01:08:36,280 --> 01:08:38,920 and the melody, and I think that's because he knows that 1124 01:08:38,920 --> 01:08:43,120 the audience are all going to sing it with him. 1125 01:08:43,120 --> 01:08:46,520 So, if you change that slightly, it means that you can be heard firstly, 1126 01:08:46,520 --> 01:08:49,600 and also it means that you're once again driving home with the story. 1127 01:08:49,600 --> 01:08:51,680 And that's what Freddie Mercury is all about. 1128 01:08:51,680 --> 01:08:54,320 Telling the story of the lyrics. 1129 01:09:00,600 --> 01:09:03,200 # Mama 1130 01:09:03,200 --> 01:09:06,080 # Just killed a man 1131 01:09:06,080 --> 01:09:08,760 # Put a gun against his head 1132 01:09:08,760 --> 01:09:12,760 # Pulled my trigger Now he's dead... # 1133 01:09:12,760 --> 01:09:16,120 They came out and they blew the stadium away, 1134 01:09:16,120 --> 01:09:19,880 and I only found out why afterwards. 1135 01:09:19,880 --> 01:09:21,920 They had a sound engineer called Trip Khalaf. 1136 01:09:21,920 --> 01:09:23,920 And just before Queen went out on stage, 1137 01:09:23,920 --> 01:09:27,040 Trip went around to the sound desk and he whacked the sound up. 1138 01:09:27,040 --> 01:09:29,320 So, from the moment they started playing, 1139 01:09:29,320 --> 01:09:31,360 they were louder than everybody else. 1140 01:09:31,360 --> 01:09:35,120 Everybody in the stadium went... 1141 01:09:35,120 --> 01:09:39,240 Everybody backstage went, "Who's making this sound?" 1142 01:09:39,240 --> 01:09:42,040 and ran to the monitors to see who was performing. 1143 01:09:42,040 --> 01:09:46,640 It was extraordinary. 1144 01:09:50,720 --> 01:09:55,240 Radio Ga Ga is just incredible because he's exploded into action 1145 01:09:55,240 --> 01:09:57,280 after sitting at the piano. 1146 01:09:57,280 --> 01:10:01,480 And all the gestures he's doing is to galvanise the audience 1147 01:10:01,480 --> 01:10:04,880 into participating in the song with him. 1148 01:10:04,880 --> 01:10:09,400 So him standing centre, raising his hand, punching forward, 1149 01:10:09,400 --> 01:10:13,560 is both an invitation and a kind of...threat. 1150 01:10:13,560 --> 01:10:15,040 You know, he's going, "Come on!" 1151 01:10:15,040 --> 01:10:18,000 Like, "Come on this journey with me." 1152 01:10:18,000 --> 01:10:19,640 Everybody! 1153 01:10:19,640 --> 01:10:23,280 # All we hear is radio ga ga 1154 01:10:23,280 --> 01:10:27,480 # Radio goo goo Radio ga ga... # 1155 01:10:27,480 --> 01:10:31,840 Lots of punches forward. At the note change, he puts his arm down, 1156 01:10:31,840 --> 01:10:35,160 so he's going between these kind of two points of contact 1157 01:10:35,160 --> 01:10:39,120 with the audience. 1158 01:10:39,120 --> 01:10:42,520 And he moves... From centre stage, he moves down to stage left. 1159 01:10:42,520 --> 01:10:45,400 He gets down on that lower platform there, sort of taking everybody, 1160 01:10:45,400 --> 01:10:49,120 including the roadies around the stage, by surprise. 1161 01:10:49,120 --> 01:10:54,120 So he goes, he's galvanising, he's asking people to participate. 1162 01:10:54,120 --> 01:10:58,000 And that's kind of the story of Radio Ga Ga. 1163 01:10:58,000 --> 01:10:59,680 # We watch the stars 1164 01:10:59,680 --> 01:11:02,920 # On videos for hours and hours 1165 01:11:02,920 --> 01:11:06,600 # We hardly need to use our ears 1166 01:11:06,600 --> 01:11:11,560 # How music changes through the years... # 1167 01:11:12,040 --> 01:11:15,040 They were not Queen's audience. They were everybody's audience. 1168 01:11:15,040 --> 01:11:17,720 But the most extraordinary thing 1169 01:11:17,720 --> 01:11:20,720 was the way Freddie communicated with that audience. 1170 01:11:20,720 --> 01:11:24,880 This was the best audience for him, the entire world. 1171 01:11:24,880 --> 01:11:29,040 And Freddie really demonstrated that day what he did best, 1172 01:11:29,040 --> 01:11:30,920 which was engaging with a live audience 1173 01:11:30,920 --> 01:11:34,360 and making them part of the show. 1174 01:11:34,360 --> 01:11:37,280 When they did Radio Ga Ga, the hand clapping sequence, 1175 01:11:37,280 --> 01:11:40,920 you know, everybody fell into it. 1176 01:11:40,920 --> 01:11:45,880 And it's one of the most moving sequences of the footage 1177 01:11:46,120 --> 01:11:48,440 from Live Aid, is to see that sea of audience 1178 01:11:48,440 --> 01:11:49,920 responding to Freddie in that way. 1179 01:11:49,920 --> 01:11:53,920 # All we hear is radio ga ga 1180 01:11:53,920 --> 01:11:57,920 # Radio goo goo Radio ga ga... # 1181 01:11:57,920 --> 01:12:01,640 When the hand claps kick in, it's just a... 1182 01:12:01,640 --> 01:12:04,920 It's just a beautiful moment. They knew how to work a stadium. 1183 01:12:04,920 --> 01:12:09,240 # Radio, what's new? # 1184 01:12:09,240 --> 01:12:12,480 Try and put yourself in his place. 1185 01:12:12,480 --> 01:12:15,560 I don't know how you'd get into that frame of mind, 1186 01:12:15,560 --> 01:12:20,400 the fantastic confidence and the affection for the audience. 1187 01:12:20,400 --> 01:12:25,200 I mean, clearly, in order to draw the audience into that, 1188 01:12:25,200 --> 01:12:29,400 you've got to have an affection for them. 1189 01:12:29,400 --> 01:12:32,440 # Loves 1190 01:12:32,440 --> 01:12:37,440 # You! # 1191 01:12:37,600 --> 01:12:42,600 CHEERING 1192 01:12:52,360 --> 01:12:55,160 In terms of unifying the entire audience 1193 01:12:55,160 --> 01:13:00,000 and the millions watching around the world as well, 1194 01:13:00,000 --> 01:13:04,320 what better way than doing the vocal warm ups? 1195 01:13:04,320 --> 01:13:06,520 # Ay-oh 1196 01:13:06,520 --> 01:13:08,520 CROWD: # Ay-oh... # 1197 01:13:08,520 --> 01:13:10,640 One, you're showing off and you're being brilliant 1198 01:13:10,640 --> 01:13:13,360 and everybody knows you're an amazing vocalist, 1199 01:13:13,360 --> 01:13:17,120 but the main thing that you're just bringing everybody together. 1200 01:13:17,120 --> 01:13:21,600 It's spine-tingling. It gives me goose bumps, just thinking about it. 1201 01:13:21,600 --> 01:13:26,160 It's a real moment of connectivity between the audience and Freddie. 1202 01:13:26,160 --> 01:13:27,200 # Ayyyyyyyyy-oh 1203 01:13:27,200 --> 01:13:28,280 CROWD: # Ayyyyyyyyy-oh 1204 01:13:28,280 --> 01:13:33,240 # Ay-oh Ay-oh 1205 01:13:37,840 --> 01:13:39,200 # Ay-oh Ay-oh 1206 01:13:39,200 --> 01:13:41,760 # De-da-de-da-de-da... # 1207 01:13:41,760 --> 01:13:44,680 He seduced them. He had them in the palm of his hand. 1208 01:13:44,680 --> 01:13:47,000 It was extraordinary to watch. 1209 01:13:47,000 --> 01:13:49,520 You could tell the rapport they had with the crowd 1210 01:13:49,520 --> 01:13:53,400 was like nothing else any other artists had on that day, at all. 1211 01:13:53,400 --> 01:13:55,120 Didn't come close. 1212 01:13:55,120 --> 01:13:57,320 # De-da-de-da-de-da... # 1213 01:13:57,320 --> 01:13:58,360 # De-do De-do 1214 01:13:58,360 --> 01:13:59,440 # De-do De-do. # 1215 01:13:59,440 --> 01:14:02,760 All right! All right! 1216 01:14:02,760 --> 01:14:06,560 "All right! Everything after that moment is just... 1217 01:14:06,560 --> 01:14:09,200 He just sails through it because he's playing. 1218 01:14:09,200 --> 01:14:11,120 And there are very few performers 1219 01:14:11,120 --> 01:14:14,280 that would put themselves in that position. 1220 01:14:14,280 --> 01:14:19,280 Give it to me one more time! 1221 01:14:22,800 --> 01:14:25,200 But the one thing Queen did differently from anybody else 1222 01:14:25,200 --> 01:14:28,520 who appeared on Live Aid - they rehearsed! 1223 01:14:28,520 --> 01:14:30,400 It's very simple. You know, it's a job. 1224 01:14:30,400 --> 01:14:32,200 It's a day at the office. 1225 01:14:32,200 --> 01:14:34,840 You've got to prepare for it. And Queen did. 1226 01:14:34,840 --> 01:14:36,960 They went into a rehearsal studio for three weeks 1227 01:14:36,960 --> 01:14:40,600 and they honed it down. 1228 01:14:40,600 --> 01:14:43,440 So you had Status Quo sort of wandering over the car park, 1229 01:14:43,440 --> 01:14:44,680 hungover from the night before, 1230 01:14:44,680 --> 01:14:49,640 and you had Queen, who did it properly. No wonder they stole it. 1231 01:14:58,360 --> 01:15:02,400 There ware going to be pros and cons to not touring for a while, 1232 01:15:02,400 --> 01:15:05,840 because, for a singer, touring is exhausting. 1233 01:15:05,840 --> 01:15:08,440 Queen having not toured for a while, 1234 01:15:08,440 --> 01:15:11,240 perhaps that's why he sounded so great 1235 01:15:11,240 --> 01:15:14,400 because, actually, he'd had some vocal rest. 1236 01:15:14,400 --> 01:15:16,560 # Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise 1237 01:15:16,560 --> 01:15:19,200 # Playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday 1238 01:15:19,200 --> 01:15:21,600 # You got mud on your face, you big disgrace 1239 01:15:21,600 --> 01:15:24,360 # Kicking your can all over the place... # 1240 01:15:24,360 --> 01:15:28,120 Resting as a singer is so important, 1241 01:15:28,120 --> 01:15:31,320 Keeping your voice match-fit, building yourself up to a position 1242 01:15:31,320 --> 01:15:34,600 where you can sing and hold an arena in the palm of your hand, 1243 01:15:34,600 --> 01:15:38,080 of course, that's hugely demanding, 1244 01:15:38,080 --> 01:15:40,480 and a lot of Queen's numbers are big vocal numbers. 1245 01:15:40,480 --> 01:15:43,680 That is really tiring on the vocal cords. 1246 01:15:43,680 --> 01:15:48,640 # We are the champions, my friends... # 1247 01:15:51,080 --> 01:15:55,360 So the fact that he'd had some rest, I think he sounds great on Live Aid. 1248 01:15:55,360 --> 01:15:58,200 I think his vocals... When he goes up to the high notes, 1249 01:15:58,200 --> 01:15:59,400 I think he sounds amazing. 1250 01:15:59,400 --> 01:16:00,640 # We are the champions 1251 01:16:00,640 --> 01:16:05,600 # No time for losers 1252 01:16:07,520 --> 01:16:12,440 # Cos we are the champions of the world... # 1253 01:16:17,880 --> 01:16:20,960 I've got to tell you, I never used to go to many concerts, 1254 01:16:20,960 --> 01:16:24,920 but I went to the Live Aid shtick. 1255 01:16:24,920 --> 01:16:28,000 I watched Queen, who were sensational. 1256 01:16:28,000 --> 01:16:31,200 Sensational, they were. 1257 01:16:31,200 --> 01:16:35,200 And I stood in that audience and cried. 1258 01:16:35,200 --> 01:16:40,160 I thought, "That's my Freddie out there!" Boy! 1259 01:16:40,320 --> 01:16:45,280 The Live Aid performance is 20 minutes of pure energy. 1260 01:16:46,000 --> 01:16:49,080 And what's amazing is you listen to the early albums of Queen 1261 01:16:49,080 --> 01:16:53,120 and you see that energy, that they never stopped. 1262 01:16:53,120 --> 01:16:55,360 He never stopped. 1263 01:16:55,360 --> 01:16:57,040 I mean, what a legacy to... 1264 01:16:57,040 --> 01:17:00,200 All that you want to do is give the audience the performance 1265 01:17:00,200 --> 01:17:03,760 that they want, the performance that they want to feel part of. 1266 01:17:03,760 --> 01:17:08,400 # We are the champions We are the champions 1267 01:17:08,400 --> 01:17:10,560 # No time for losers 1268 01:17:10,560 --> 01:17:15,560 # Cos we are the champions 1269 01:17:16,160 --> 01:17:21,160 # Of the world! # 1270 01:17:29,760 --> 01:17:34,760 CHEERING 1271 01:17:56,600 --> 01:18:01,600 CHEERING 1272 01:18:34,160 --> 01:18:36,440 Nobody wanted to admit that Fred was ill. 1273 01:18:36,440 --> 01:18:40,080 Fred was one of the larger-than-life characters 1274 01:18:40,080 --> 01:18:42,760 that you see only in movies. 1275 01:18:42,760 --> 01:18:45,800 But this is in real life. 1276 01:18:45,800 --> 01:18:48,360 We all just went into a bit of denial, 1277 01:18:48,360 --> 01:18:50,520 although there was something... Obviously, Fred wasn't well. 1278 01:18:50,520 --> 01:18:55,480 There was never this feeling that Fred couldn't beat whatever it was. 1279 01:18:59,960 --> 01:19:01,480 There was a sense of disbelief. 1280 01:19:01,480 --> 01:19:04,040 There was a lot of speculation in the papers 1281 01:19:04,040 --> 01:19:07,920 about what was happening. There was a lot of condemnation of him, 1282 01:19:07,920 --> 01:19:11,480 in terms of, "Well, if you live that kind of hedonistic lifestyle, 1283 01:19:11,480 --> 01:19:14,120 "What do you expect?" 1284 01:19:14,120 --> 01:19:17,440 And when what was revoltingly referred to 1285 01:19:17,440 --> 01:19:22,040 as "the gay plague" first appeared 1286 01:19:22,040 --> 01:19:25,600 and there was such dreadful homophobia in the media 1287 01:19:25,600 --> 01:19:28,000 at that time, Freddie was the one going around, saying, 1288 01:19:28,000 --> 01:19:30,600 "Well, I'm doing everything with everyone, dear. 1289 01:19:30,600 --> 01:19:33,560 "I'm not curbing my enthusiasm. 1290 01:19:33,560 --> 01:19:37,480 "I'm continuing to live my life the way I've always lived it." 1291 01:19:37,480 --> 01:19:42,320 So that bravado was, you know, a death sentence for him, really. 1292 01:19:42,320 --> 01:19:46,040 He was... What he was really saying is, you know, "I'm going to die." 1293 01:19:46,040 --> 01:19:48,400 But he didn't care. 1294 01:19:48,400 --> 01:19:51,280 And I think there wasn't so much a death wish in Freddie, 1295 01:19:51,280 --> 01:19:54,080 as just a refusal to kowtow to anything that might inhibit 1296 01:19:54,080 --> 01:19:59,080 the way he wanted to live. 1297 01:20:05,840 --> 01:20:10,800 Ladies and gentlemen, the chair of the BPI, Terry Ellis! 1298 01:20:11,000 --> 01:20:14,640 In 1990, at the Brit Awards, Queen were awarded the ultimate accolade, 1299 01:20:14,640 --> 01:20:19,640 the Outstanding Achievement Award. 1300 01:20:21,000 --> 01:20:24,760 Brian was wearing a dinner suit with his clogs, you know, 1301 01:20:24,760 --> 01:20:26,440 his trademark, which I thought was hilarious. 1302 01:20:26,440 --> 01:20:27,440 And Freddie came on 1303 01:20:27,440 --> 01:20:29,040 in this powder-blue suit, 1304 01:20:29,040 --> 01:20:33,520 looking very gaunt. 1305 01:20:33,520 --> 01:20:35,120 He looked small. 1306 01:20:35,120 --> 01:20:37,680 I mean, Freddie Mercury wasn't a giant of a man, 1307 01:20:37,680 --> 01:20:40,320 but he always looked so tall and imposing. 1308 01:20:40,320 --> 01:20:42,080 And you watched it and think, 1309 01:20:42,080 --> 01:20:47,040 "Oh yeah, that guy is not very well, is he?" 1310 01:20:48,560 --> 01:20:49,800 On behalf of the group, 1311 01:20:49,800 --> 01:20:52,920 I'd like to say thank you very much to everyone within the industry 1312 01:20:52,920 --> 01:20:57,600 and, perhaps more importantly, outside the industry. 1313 01:20:57,600 --> 01:21:00,160 Brian May made the speech, and Freddie was in the background. 1314 01:21:00,160 --> 01:21:01,920 It was as if... they were protecting him. 1315 01:21:01,920 --> 01:21:04,600 The looks on the faces of the other members of the band 1316 01:21:04,600 --> 01:21:05,520 were very sombre. 1317 01:21:05,520 --> 01:21:08,800 You would think that to be there, 1318 01:21:08,800 --> 01:21:10,280 accepting this Outstanding Achievement Award, 1319 01:21:10,280 --> 01:21:12,080 was the sort of pinnacle of their career 1320 01:21:12,080 --> 01:21:13,880 and they should be very excited by that. 1321 01:21:13,880 --> 01:21:16,600 Nobody was. 1322 01:21:16,600 --> 01:21:19,240 There was a sense of something being over, 1323 01:21:19,240 --> 01:21:21,640 rather than something just beginning. 1324 01:21:21,640 --> 01:21:26,640 You gave us a lot of freedom 1325 01:21:26,800 --> 01:21:28,600 to pursue what we loosely call our art, 1326 01:21:28,600 --> 01:21:31,160 to any extent that we felt like at the time, 1327 01:21:31,160 --> 01:21:33,480 and to go out on a lot of strange limbs, 1328 01:21:33,480 --> 01:21:35,040 which seemed very precarious at the time, 1329 01:21:35,040 --> 01:21:37,560 but we didn't quite fall off. 1330 01:21:37,560 --> 01:21:39,360 It's kind of subdued, it's kind of sad. 1331 01:21:39,360 --> 01:21:40,480 There's no joy there, really. 1332 01:21:40,480 --> 01:21:45,480 It's as if, em... 1333 01:21:50,640 --> 01:21:53,680 You know, I'm sure they were chuffed to bits to get the award, 1334 01:21:53,680 --> 01:21:55,360 but it's as if they all knew 1335 01:21:55,360 --> 01:21:57,960 that there was something a lot bigger happening in their lives. 1336 01:21:57,960 --> 01:21:59,840 Freddie said nothing, except right at the end, 1337 01:21:59,840 --> 01:22:01,840 he stepped forward to the mic and he said, "Thank you." 1338 01:22:01,840 --> 01:22:04,680 Thank you. Goodnight. 1339 01:22:04,680 --> 01:22:08,920 And it was the last time he ever appeared before... 1340 01:22:08,920 --> 01:22:12,440 ..a live audience, it's choking me up here. 1341 01:22:12,440 --> 01:22:13,600 Um... 1342 01:22:13,600 --> 01:22:18,560 That was the last time we ever saw him in public. 1343 01:22:37,320 --> 01:22:38,920 # Empty spaces 1344 01:22:38,920 --> 01:22:41,720 # What are we living for? 1345 01:22:41,720 --> 01:22:43,760 # Abandoned places 1346 01:22:43,760 --> 01:22:48,400 # I guess we know the score 1347 01:22:48,400 --> 01:22:52,160 # On and on 1348 01:22:52,160 --> 01:22:56,800 # Does anybody know what we are looking for...? # 1349 01:22:56,800 --> 01:22:59,680 I think Innuendo is an album about borrowed time, 1350 01:22:59,680 --> 01:23:02,760 and I think that's what makes it such a masterpiece, 1351 01:23:02,760 --> 01:23:05,760 and I do really think it is a masterpiece. 1352 01:23:05,760 --> 01:23:09,080 # In the pantomime 1353 01:23:09,080 --> 01:23:12,280 # Hold the line... # 1354 01:23:12,280 --> 01:23:15,920 It's... It's a testament, really, to Freddie's whole life. 1355 01:23:15,920 --> 01:23:18,640 # The show must go on 1356 01:23:18,640 --> 01:23:23,640 # The show must go on, yeah 1357 01:23:27,040 --> 01:23:31,320 And there is a defiance in it, even though it is a very sad song. 1358 01:23:31,320 --> 01:23:35,080 I think it's probably one of the most poignant songs, 1359 01:23:35,080 --> 01:23:37,720 one of the most...naked songs. 1360 01:23:37,720 --> 01:23:42,680 During the recording, Freddie was incredibly ill. 1361 01:23:43,360 --> 01:23:48,320 There are quite a few stories about moments in those recordings 1362 01:23:48,560 --> 01:23:51,800 where I think Brian, especially, with The Show Must Go On, 1363 01:23:51,800 --> 01:23:56,520 had concerns that the song he'd written, 1364 01:23:56,520 --> 01:24:00,040 Freddie wouldn't be able to perform and to hit certain notes. 1365 01:24:00,040 --> 01:24:02,520 I did a complete demo for The Show Must Go On, 1366 01:24:02,520 --> 01:24:04,920 including that very high part, you know, "On with the show." 1367 01:24:04,920 --> 01:24:06,640 I remember apologising in advance, 1368 01:24:06,640 --> 01:24:09,240 I said, "Look, I've done this in falsetto. 1369 01:24:09,240 --> 01:24:11,720 "I don't know if it's possible to do it full voice, 1370 01:24:11,720 --> 01:24:13,040 "but obviously that would be great." 1371 01:24:13,040 --> 01:24:14,720 And he went, "Oh, for God's sake!" 1372 01:24:14,720 --> 01:24:16,760 And he said, "Roll the tape!" 1373 01:24:16,760 --> 01:24:19,000 A couple of vodkas, and he went for that line, 1374 01:24:19,000 --> 01:24:23,960 which is...outstanding, you know, for him to reach those notes. 1375 01:24:24,240 --> 01:24:26,200 He's reaching heights he's never done before. 1376 01:24:26,200 --> 01:24:28,400 He's just finding the energy from somewhere. 1377 01:24:28,400 --> 01:24:32,160 And the voice on The Show Must Go On is incredible. 1378 01:24:32,160 --> 01:24:34,600 I've never heard anybody sing like that in my whole life. 1379 01:24:34,600 --> 01:24:36,760 # I face it with a grin 1380 01:24:36,760 --> 01:24:38,960 # I'm never giving in 1381 01:24:38,960 --> 01:24:43,960 # On with the show! 1382 01:24:54,120 --> 01:24:57,200 # Ooh, I'll top the bill, I'll overkill 1383 01:24:57,200 --> 01:25:02,200 # I have find the will to carry on 1384 01:25:04,200 --> 01:25:06,000 # On with the show, on with the 1385 01:25:06,000 --> 01:25:09,680 # Show! 1386 01:25:09,680 --> 01:25:14,640 # Show must go on, go on, go on, go on... # 1387 01:25:33,240 --> 01:25:36,160 It just makes, you know, anyone who knows that story 1388 01:25:36,160 --> 01:25:38,640 and knows the story of those final years, 1389 01:25:38,640 --> 01:25:42,520 it's...it's so heartbreaking, 1390 01:25:42,520 --> 01:25:47,480 because those songs have such resonance and such meaning. 1391 01:25:49,000 --> 01:25:54,000 CROWD NOISE BUILDS 1392 01:26:21,040 --> 01:26:22,760 Towards the end of the Magic Tour, 1393 01:26:22,760 --> 01:26:24,520 that was Queen at their absolute peak, 1394 01:26:24,520 --> 01:26:27,720 and it's quite rare that you get to do the biggest gig 1395 01:26:27,720 --> 01:26:32,720 when you're at your best, to the most people. 1396 01:26:32,720 --> 01:26:34,640 All those sort of stars have to align, 1397 01:26:34,640 --> 01:26:39,600 and that's what happened at Wembley in '86. 1398 01:26:53,360 --> 01:26:55,920 Hey! 1399 01:26:55,920 --> 01:27:00,920 Whoo! 1400 01:27:09,760 --> 01:27:11,240 # One man 1401 01:27:11,240 --> 01:27:13,720 # One goal 1402 01:27:13,720 --> 01:27:15,120 Ha! 1403 01:27:15,120 --> 01:27:16,880 # One vision 1404 01:27:16,880 --> 01:27:18,760 # One heart 1405 01:27:18,760 --> 01:27:22,320 # One soul 1406 01:27:22,320 --> 01:27:24,440 # Just one solution 1407 01:27:24,440 --> 01:27:26,320 # One flash 1408 01:27:26,320 --> 01:27:28,920 # Of light 1409 01:27:28,920 --> 01:27:32,240 # Yeah, one god, one vision... # 1410 01:27:32,240 --> 01:27:35,040 The way the audiences were included in his persona, 1411 01:27:35,040 --> 01:27:37,200 in his stage persona, 1412 01:27:37,200 --> 01:27:38,600 that's what's made him 1413 01:27:38,600 --> 01:27:40,240 loved by everybody. 1414 01:27:40,240 --> 01:27:43,280 # Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa 1415 01:27:43,280 --> 01:27:45,080 # Give me one vision... # 1416 01:27:45,080 --> 01:27:47,360 Freddie's legacy is really tied in 1417 01:27:47,360 --> 01:27:50,480 with his relationship with his audience. 1418 01:27:50,480 --> 01:27:53,080 People don't forget in a hurry when you care about them, 1419 01:27:53,080 --> 01:27:57,360 and you can't fake that. 1420 01:27:57,360 --> 01:28:02,120 It's as if there's a globe of light at the centre of everybody, 1421 01:28:02,120 --> 01:28:05,320 and Freddie's was like a supernova. 1422 01:28:05,320 --> 01:28:07,360 And everybody was drawn to it. 1423 01:28:07,360 --> 01:28:12,320 And they're still drawn to it, it's still glowing. 1424 01:28:17,320 --> 01:28:20,280 My darling friend, as I dared to call him, 1425 01:28:20,280 --> 01:28:22,120 he stood the test of time. 1426 01:28:22,120 --> 01:28:27,120 Not many people have that, not many people have that. 1427 01:28:32,440 --> 01:28:34,080 He had a special talent, 1428 01:28:34,080 --> 01:28:38,480 like Sinatra, like Ella Fitzgerald, like Elvis Presley. 1429 01:28:38,480 --> 01:28:40,280 They have got special talent. 1430 01:28:40,280 --> 01:28:45,200 And boy, do I miss him, I miss him so much. 1431 01:28:45,200 --> 01:28:47,440 The friendship is something that's invaluable. 1432 01:28:47,440 --> 01:28:49,080 That's how I remember him. 1433 01:28:49,080 --> 01:28:50,960 He was a lovely friend, a lovely man, 1434 01:28:50,960 --> 01:28:53,120 and we miss him very much. 1435 01:28:53,120 --> 01:28:57,120 # One flesh, one bone, one true religion... # 1436 01:28:57,120 --> 01:29:01,000 If I didn't do...this, I don't have anything to do, 1437 01:29:01,000 --> 01:29:04,560 you know, I can't cook, I'm not very good at being a housewife. 1438 01:29:04,560 --> 01:29:07,680 I just, um... This is in my blood, I mean, I just... 1439 01:29:07,680 --> 01:29:11,000 It's so in my blood, I don't know what else to do, you know? 1440 01:29:11,000 --> 01:29:13,120 # Gimme, gimme fried chicken! # 1441 01:29:13,120 --> 01:29:18,120 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 1442 01:29:22,000 --> 01:29:26,960 MUSIC: God Save The Queen by Queen 1443 01:29:35,840 --> 01:29:40,840 Subtitles by Red Bee Media