0:00:02 > 0:00:05Hang on, I don't know if they want us to go. Do you want us to go?
0:00:05 > 0:00:08"Freddie, we'll be running in half a minute."
0:00:09 > 0:00:13- Half an hour?! - "Half a minute."- Half a minute.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16I could get married and divorced in that time.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Hey!
0:00:20 > 0:00:21Shoot, David.
0:00:21 > 0:00:27When you face an audience of 300,000 people like I saw you in Rio,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30do you get intimidated by the size of that crowd?
0:00:30 > 0:00:31No, the bigger the better.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33In everything.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35HE LAUGHS
0:00:36 > 0:00:38# I want to break free... #
0:00:38 > 0:00:40You sing it.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41CHEERING
0:00:41 > 0:00:45After making 80 million hits, why does the Emperor of Rock
0:00:45 > 0:00:46want to wear new clothes?
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Emperor of Rock, come on.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Queen have been together 13 years or so
0:00:51 > 0:00:53and you want to do different things.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I wanted to write a batch of songs
0:00:55 > 0:00:57that actually came out under the name Freddie Mercury.
0:00:57 > 0:00:58# God knows... #
0:00:58 > 0:01:01It doesn't mean I'm going to finish with Queen,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04it's just a sort of bit on the side.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07# Can't you see
0:01:07 > 0:01:09# I've got to break free... #
0:01:12 > 0:01:15CHEERING
0:01:15 > 0:01:18APPLAUSE
0:01:24 > 0:01:26I probably was very frustrated
0:01:26 > 0:01:29not being able to do a solo album a long time ago,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32so I'm putting everything into every song that I've written.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34I think we decided we needed a break,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36but I think it was fuelled
0:01:36 > 0:01:39by Freddie having a bit of an itch to do something on his own.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43He made it very plain it wasn't a question of leaving Queen,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46it was just something he wanted to do and get done.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02He also, typically Freddie, I think,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05wanted to see how much money he could make out of it as well.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11There's a track called Mr Bad Guy
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and that's what the album's called, so I'm happy with that.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17- Why is it called Mr Bad Guy? - Because it's me.
0:02:17 > 0:02:18# I'm Mr Bad Guy
0:02:19 > 0:02:24# Yes, I'm everybody's Mr Bad Guy... #
0:02:24 > 0:02:26- Do you miss the rest of the guys? - No.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29# I'm Mr Mercury
0:02:29 > 0:02:35# Whoa! Spread your wings and fly away with me... #
0:02:35 > 0:02:40- Who plays on the album? Any surprise guests?- Yeah, me.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42I was hoping to use people like Jeff Beck.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Rod Stewart happened to be in town,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47he came in and we just started jamming and we wrote songs together.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49# All I do is give
0:02:49 > 0:02:52# All you do is take... #
0:02:52 > 0:02:53Sorry. Sorry.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Michael Jackson was going to do a song
0:02:55 > 0:02:56because I'd worked with him before.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00He used to come and se our shows at the Forum in LA.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02I guess he liked us. So I got to meet him.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06And he kept coming to see us and then we started talking.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08PIANO PLAYS Can't get the run.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10PIANO PLAYS
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Michael suggested they might record something together.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16So Freddie went to Michael's studio
0:03:16 > 0:03:21and they started working on a couple of tracks.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25# There must be more to life than this
0:03:27 > 0:03:31# There must be more to life than this
0:03:33 > 0:03:38(BOTH) # How do we cope in a world without love?
0:03:38 > 0:03:43# There must be more to life that this... #
0:03:43 > 0:03:45I'm thinking, "He's 25, I'm 37,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48"yet he's been in the business almost longer than I have!"
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Because he started that young.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54For me, it's quite frightening when I'm talking to someone who's 25
0:03:54 > 0:03:57and you think of them as just starting out
0:03:57 > 0:04:01and I could sort of teach them a few tricks, but not Michael.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02They got on well,
0:04:02 > 0:04:08except for the fact that I suddenly got a call from Freddie
0:04:08 > 0:04:10saying, "Miami dear,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13"can you get on over here? You've got to get me out of this studio."
0:04:13 > 0:04:16I said, "What is the problem?" He said, "I'm recording with a llama!"
0:04:16 > 0:04:20He said, "Michael's bringing his pet llama into the studio every day
0:04:20 > 0:04:22"and I'm really not used to recording with a llama.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24"I've had enough and I want to get out."
0:04:24 > 0:04:25I think one of the tracks
0:04:25 > 0:04:28would have been on the Thriller album if I'd finished it.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30But... I missed out!
0:04:30 > 0:04:34# I was born to love you... #
0:04:34 > 0:04:38By the time I got into recording, I found I was doing it all myself.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40And then I turned the other way
0:04:40 > 0:04:43and said, "I want to do it completely myself."
0:04:43 > 0:04:47# Yes, I was born to take care of you... #
0:04:47 > 0:04:49I don't like to write message songs.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52I'm not like a John Lennon or a Stevie Wonder.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55I'm into writing songs about what I feel about.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58And basically what I feel very strongly about is love and emotion.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01And I think my solo album is filled with that.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04# I wanna love you
0:05:04 > 0:05:08# I love everything little thing about you
0:05:08 > 0:05:11# I wanna love, love you, love you... #
0:05:11 > 0:05:15Michael Jackson had just finished the Thriller album
0:05:15 > 0:05:19and it had sold 25 million copies and CBS were awash with money,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22so I approached Walter Yetnikoff in New York
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and proposed a deal, which Walter accepted.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30# I was born to take care of you... #
0:05:30 > 0:05:35It's actually, I think, the worst deal he ever did.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39CBS? Cock, Bollocks and Satisfaction.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Freddie was getting an advance for his solo album,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47which was considerably higher than EMI were paying Queen
0:05:47 > 0:05:52and, therefore, within the band, when the size of the deal emerged
0:05:52 > 0:05:55there was quite a bit of acrimony about the fact
0:05:55 > 0:05:58that Freddie was getting more money than Queen were getting.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00There is jealousy, that would happen anyway.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03And they're all wondering and waiting to see
0:06:03 > 0:06:08if my album is going to do better than the last Queen album.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11He liked being in Munich and being away from it all.
0:06:11 > 0:06:17He said once, "This is so wonderful, I can eat sausage on the street."
0:06:17 > 0:06:21"Nobody bothers me and I'm totally happy.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24"I can be a person just like anybody else."
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Not that he would like that too much, but still.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Do you think from your stay in Munich...?
0:06:29 > 0:06:31I learned a lot?
0:06:31 > 0:06:33All I know is all the swear words,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36like bleder-hund...Leck mich am Arsch...
0:06:36 > 0:06:41That means "lick my arse". THEY LAUGH
0:06:41 > 0:06:46He took a liking to how we lived together as a family,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50which might have been what he wished for when he was younger.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Because he was shipped off to school and wasn't really
0:06:53 > 0:06:57all that close with his parents for a lot of the time.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04I was put in an environment
0:07:04 > 0:07:07where I had to fend for myself at a very early age.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- Your birthplace was Zanzibar? - Yes, that's right.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13When I was about seven, I was put in boarding school in India,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16so I went from Zanzibar to India and then I came back to England.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20A very...upheaval of an upbringing.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Freddie had whatever you're taught in the choir at school
0:07:24 > 0:07:25and that was it.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27That was his vocal training,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29everything else came from within him.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33I went through art college. I was going to be a graphic illustrator.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Obviously I can paint and do that,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40but when I was going through college I was very interested in music,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44so I joined bands and I got to know Brian and Roger.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48And then I realised that I spent more time rehearsing our songs
0:07:48 > 0:07:50than doing the other thing,
0:07:50 > 0:07:54and I said, "I'm going to try to make money out of this."
0:07:54 > 0:07:55Or make a life out of it.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00I remember we were in our management offices
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and Fred just said, "Oh, by the way, I'm changing my name."
0:08:04 > 0:08:07And we said, "Really? What to?"
0:08:07 > 0:08:08"I'm gonna be Freddie Mercury."
0:08:08 > 0:08:11# Hear me you lords and lady preachers... #
0:08:11 > 0:08:13He created this umbrella of Queen music
0:08:13 > 0:08:17and underneath that you could pretty much do anything you wanted.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Each song is in a different sort of category, really,
0:08:21 > 0:08:22from 1920's vaudeville
0:08:22 > 0:08:27to the real rock 'n' roll to the ballad to, you know.
0:08:27 > 0:08:28# She's a killer queen
0:08:28 > 0:08:30# Gun powder, gelatine... #
0:08:30 > 0:08:32I think when we found
0:08:32 > 0:08:35we had our first number one in England that was very nice.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38# He's just a poor boy from a poor family
0:08:38 > 0:08:41# Spare him his life from this monstrosity... #
0:08:41 > 0:08:44We were just checking in to one of the hotels
0:08:44 > 0:08:46and we realised that Bohemian Rhapsody had gone to number one.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48# Bismillah! No, we will not let you go... #
0:08:48 > 0:08:50The four of us were in a lift jumping up and down
0:08:50 > 0:08:52and the fucking lift stopped.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55So we're, "Here's the number one group in England
0:08:55 > 0:08:58"just going to suffocate in this damn lift."
0:08:58 > 0:09:01# I need somebody to love
0:09:01 > 0:09:04# I need somebody to love
0:09:04 > 0:09:06# Find me somebody to love... #
0:09:06 > 0:09:11People can't put us into one category, there's a lot of ingredients that make up Queen.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13You can't put your finger on it, really.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17# No time for losers
0:09:17 > 0:09:20# Cos we are the champions... #
0:09:21 > 0:09:25# I'm burning through the sky 200 degrees
0:09:25 > 0:09:29# That's why they call me Mr Fahrenheit
0:09:29 > 0:09:31# Travelling at the speed of light
0:09:31 > 0:09:34# I wanna make a supersonic man out of you... #
0:09:34 > 0:09:37# Crazy little thing called love... #
0:09:37 > 0:09:39We all do different things.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43They leave me to just the wardrobe, I guess.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47- They leave me to the wardrobe and writing the hits.- Oh!
0:09:47 > 0:09:50What happens when one of them writes a song...?
0:09:50 > 0:09:54- If I don't like it? - Yeah, that's what I was gonna say.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I'm not gonna sit there and say it's good if it's not good.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- Do they come and tell you that? - Of course they do.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01And I tell 'em to fuck off.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05PIANO PLAYS
0:10:05 > 0:10:07# Another party's over
0:10:07 > 0:10:11# And I'm left cold sober
0:10:11 > 0:10:15# My baby left me for somebody new... #
0:10:15 > 0:10:19I don't think the music industry generally understood Freddie.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24He was always pushing boundaries, you know, changing tack.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Keep them guessing and keep the public interested.
0:10:27 > 0:10:36# I wanna be intoxicated with that special groove... #
0:10:36 > 0:10:39This used to be my restaurant in the 1970s
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and Freddie would come and play the piano over there
0:10:41 > 0:10:43along with Elton and...
0:10:43 > 0:10:46I remember one night Cliff Richard was singing
0:10:46 > 0:10:49and Elton playing the piano and Freddie singing as well.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51It was kind of mad.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55When I first met him, he was already a bit of a rock star,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58but was poised to be a major rock star.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03And the Lisa Minnelli Cabaret soundtrack's playing in the house
0:11:03 > 0:11:05and there's cats everywhere.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08So I thought it kind of doesn't compute.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12I'd always known him as someone whose personal interests
0:11:12 > 0:11:14were beyond rock.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17My interests are in what's going on now
0:11:17 > 0:11:19and so it's kind of research.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22So I go to ballet and the musicals to find out what's happening.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24I want to do interesting things
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and things that I haven't done before.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33I knew Sir Joseph Lockwood, the Chairman of EMI, quite well
0:11:33 > 0:11:36as he was also the Chairman for the Royal Ballet.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41He and Freddie took to each other like ducks to water, it was amazing.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I think Freddie had a general interest in the ballet,
0:11:44 > 0:11:49but Sir Joseph really got him fired up.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55He was fascinated by the scale. I mean, it's quite epic.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59And everything about Freddie's performance was epic.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08In 1979 he said to me, "You've got to come to the Coliseum,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11"I'm...performing with the Royal Ballet."
0:12:11 > 0:12:12They asked me.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15They actually thought I could dance,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18so they actually asked me to do a charity concert.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20And then I realised how I couldn't dance.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23He did live vocals to backing track,
0:12:23 > 0:12:28being manipulated round the stage by 18 ballet dancers.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33# Momma, just killed a man
0:12:33 > 0:12:36# Put a gun against his head
0:12:36 > 0:12:41# Pulled my trigger now he's dead
0:12:41 > 0:12:47# Momma, life had just begun
0:12:47 > 0:12:48# But now... #
0:12:48 > 0:12:52This included that moment when he had his jump
0:12:52 > 0:12:54where he just goes...
0:12:54 > 0:12:58# Momma
0:12:58 > 0:13:01# Where the wind blows
0:13:01 > 0:13:04# I don't wanna die
0:13:04 > 0:13:09# I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all... #
0:13:10 > 0:13:13He disappeared behind a wall of dancers
0:13:13 > 0:13:17and about 20 seconds later, they just sort of lifted him up.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21And there he was wearing a silver sequined outfit.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32# So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye
0:13:34 > 0:13:38# So you think you can love me and leave me to die
0:13:38 > 0:13:42# Oh, baby
0:13:42 > 0:13:45# Can't do this to me, baby
0:13:45 > 0:13:47# Just gotta get out
0:13:47 > 0:13:51# Just gotta get right out of here... #
0:13:51 > 0:13:53As a ballet dancer, I'd be terrible.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57But I can kick my legs up real high.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00# Nothing really matters... #
0:14:00 > 0:14:02And then your the end, he sang the last line
0:14:02 > 0:14:04of Bohemian Rhapsody absolutely upside-down.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21# Anyway the wind blows. #
0:14:25 > 0:14:27CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:14:33 > 0:14:37MUSIC: "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer
0:14:37 > 0:14:39In the early '80s,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43he was living very much in the gay circle in New York.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47He bought a beautiful apartment on about the 52nd floor of 52nd Street.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52Actually East 52nd Street, looking over the bridge there.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55And he was really living it up.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57He was in the bars every night.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00He loved Donna Summer
0:15:00 > 0:15:04and that's where sort of musical influence came from.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10We got more publicity from him growing a moustache
0:15:10 > 0:15:12than were would have done if he'd committed suicide.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14DANCE MUSIC
0:15:14 > 0:15:17It was the height of gay hedonism
0:15:17 > 0:15:21and I think Freddie lived that life outside of England
0:15:21 > 0:15:23where he could be a bit more anonymous.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28And, you know, he wasn't the only one doing it.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Everybody was taking drugs,
0:15:30 > 0:15:35so the combination of all those things and the massive success,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38you start to think you can do anything
0:15:38 > 0:15:43and lead any kind of life without any consequences.
0:15:43 > 0:15:44# Love kills
0:15:45 > 0:15:48# Drills you through your heart
0:15:48 > 0:15:51# Love kills
0:15:51 > 0:15:53# Scars you from the start
0:15:53 > 0:15:56# It's just a living pastime
0:15:56 > 0:15:58# Ruling your heart line
0:15:58 > 0:16:00# Stay for a lifetime
0:16:00 > 0:16:02# Won't let you go
0:16:02 > 0:16:07# Cos love, love, love won't leave you alone... #
0:16:07 > 0:16:10I like to try different things.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13I'm more into the black kind of thing. I like the disco.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16That's why on Hot Space we went off of an limb.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19I said, "Let's just do some of this black stuff that I like."
0:16:19 > 0:16:21And I forced the other three to do it.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23They hate me for it now because it didn't sell much.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27# Steam power... #
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Freddie's particularly looking for a certain sound
0:16:35 > 0:16:37which sounds good in a certain kind of club.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39It's actually quite painful for me to recall
0:16:39 > 0:16:43because it was very intense and it led to some very inspired moments,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47but it also led to some conflicts which were difficult.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49We still fight like kids.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Every time I'm in the same room as Brian within five minutes...
0:16:52 > 0:16:55- Sparks fly.- Yeah. I haven't hit him yet.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59- But there's still time. - I was just thinking.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02When I got involved with the band
0:17:02 > 0:17:04one of the first things Freddie said,
0:17:04 > 0:17:08"We need to have a personal." I said, "What's a personal?"
0:17:08 > 0:17:13So I figured out they needed someone who was a runner, general dogsbody,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16somebody that I could relate to.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19So I knew Paul Prenter and I hired him.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Paul Prenter was an important part of Freddie's life.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28He showed Freddie what he could do.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33And what was available in the club scene.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36# Let me show it to you... #
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Prenter was disrupting creative moments
0:17:38 > 0:17:43where something would be working and he would pace up and down
0:17:43 > 0:17:45at the side of the control room looking at the watch.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50It's seven o'clock or eight o'clock, it's club time.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55He was scoring guys and scoring coke
0:17:55 > 0:17:58and scoring opportunities to get debauchery happening.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00The less said about him the better.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06I saw him as a very subversive influence
0:18:06 > 0:18:08in the worst possible sense.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I don't see Queen touring when they're in their sixties.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15I won't be with them if they are, I hope that I'm sleeping.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19What Paul Prenter was to Freddie was his partner in crime.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21If there was a criticism of him,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25he didn't attempt to curtail or
0:18:25 > 0:18:31dampen things down at various times.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34That would have helped a lot.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37The band sort of rejected Paul Prenter.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40And so Paul Prenter wanted to take Freddie away from the band,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42I suppose!
0:18:42 > 0:18:44And to a degree, he did.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Freddie took him on his own payroll when the band disagreed
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and didn't want him around anymore,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54because they didn't think he was a good influence.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57When we toured America that last time,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59as it turned out to be the last time,
0:18:59 > 0:19:01he was the one who answered the phone.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04So radio stations would phone up and he would be the intermediary,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07and he was telling everybody that Freddie wasn't interested,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09you know, "Freddie says fuck off," or whatever,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12which really wasn't true most of the time.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14As far as I know!
0:19:14 > 0:19:17But we know now because that information has come back to us.
0:19:17 > 0:19:23So basically, this one person, who was a sort of personal assistant,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25managed to piss off the whole of America.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Being a world-famous rock star, does this make it
0:19:30 > 0:19:34more difficult for you to actually keep a friendship going?
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Yes, yes, because I think it's harder for other people
0:19:40 > 0:19:43to try and understand me as a normal person.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47There must e times when you do need to turn to someone.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49I don't have that many people to turn to.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53The only one, if you're talking about it, is Mary, who is a long...
0:19:53 > 0:19:56She's been a girlfriend of mine for a long time
0:19:56 > 0:20:00and even though we're not together at the moment, I refer to her a lot.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03When I met him he was living with Mary and the cats,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Eliza, and I think
0:20:06 > 0:20:11the most difficult thing for him was to not hurt Mary.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16I wasn't around when they had the talk,
0:20:16 > 0:20:20um, but he was very conscious of not embarrassing her,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24or putting her in any difficult positions.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Mary's gone through just about everything.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29She's about the only person I can think about.
0:20:29 > 0:20:35Otherwise, I fend for myself and I just...
0:20:37 > 0:20:41You know, I'll cross my hurdles in my own way.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45# Can...
0:20:45 > 0:20:50# Can you find me
0:20:54 > 0:20:57# Somebody
0:21:01 > 0:21:02# Somebody... #
0:21:02 > 0:21:06I'm sure there comes a time when you want to share your life with someone.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Yes, but nobody wants to share their life with me.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15# Somebody... #
0:21:15 > 0:21:17The more I open up, the more I get hurt,
0:21:17 > 0:21:21so, I mean, you know, basically, what happens is I'm just riddled
0:21:21 > 0:21:24with scars and I just don't want anymore.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29# Somebody to love
0:21:34 > 0:21:36# Can you find me
0:21:38 > 0:21:41# Somebody to
0:21:41 > 0:21:45# Love? #
0:21:47 > 0:21:49- Are you ready? - ALL: Yes!
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Huh? You ready, brothers and sisters?
0:21:52 > 0:21:53ALL: Yes!
0:21:58 > 0:22:01# Each morning I get up I die a little
0:22:01 > 0:22:04# Can't barely stand on my feet
0:22:04 > 0:22:08# Take a look in the mirror and cry
0:22:08 > 0:22:10# Lord, what you're doing to me
0:22:10 > 0:22:13# I have spent all my years in believing you
0:22:13 > 0:22:17# I just can't get no relief, Lord!
0:22:17 > 0:22:18- # Somebody - Somebody
0:22:18 > 0:22:20- # Somebody - Somebody
0:22:20 > 0:22:25# Anybody find me somebody to love? #
0:22:25 > 0:22:27It's not easy living with me.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32In one way, I think the more mishaps I have,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35the better the songs are going to be, you know?
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Once I find somebody, if I can find a long-lasting relationship,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44bang goes all the research for wonderful songs.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47At the moment, I'm sort of living on past mishaps.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54And having said that, I don't know. I don't know what's in store for me.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02# Somebody to love! #
0:23:33 > 0:23:37# I don't want my freedom... #
0:23:37 > 0:23:39You said the rest of the guys have houses in LA,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I assume you mean the other members of Queen.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- Yeah, who did you think I meant? - What are their names again?
0:23:44 > 0:23:45Stop that shit!
0:23:45 > 0:23:48- There's Brian, Roger and John. - John, yes.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51- I sometimes forget their names, too. - But you don't really
0:23:51 > 0:23:53- hang out with them or anything.- No.
0:23:53 > 0:24:00MUSIC: VESTI LA GIUBBA BY GIUSEPPE VERDI
0:24:00 > 0:24:03They have very different characters and they like different things.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05I like to go to ballet and opera and things,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07they don't like all that.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08They just keep going to rock 'n' roll shows.
0:24:08 > 0:24:14MUSIC: VESTI LA GIUBBA BY GIUSEPPE VERDI
0:24:14 > 0:24:17He liked listening to Pavarotti's voice.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Just for the control, for the...
0:24:19 > 0:24:22you know, the amount of training that that voice had had
0:24:22 > 0:24:25and just the sound that he was able to produce.
0:24:25 > 0:24:31MUSIC: VESTI LA GIUBBA BY GIUSEPPE VERDI
0:24:36 > 0:24:39I said, "Look, why don't you hear him live?"
0:24:39 > 0:24:41He says, "OK, yeah, that's fine."
0:24:41 > 0:24:45I got tickets, we were in the front of the grand tier.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49And Freddie was, "I like that, he's good."
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Act I, Scene II - the soprano gets her bit in.
0:24:55 > 0:25:01MUSIC: IL PAGLIACCI BY GIUSEPPE VERDI
0:25:05 > 0:25:08From the minute the voice started,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Freddie's jaw had just sort of fallen open.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16He could not believe what he was hearing.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20MUSIC: IL PAGLIACCI BY GIUSEPPE VERDI
0:25:20 > 0:25:24I was at Covent Garden, the opera house,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26for a recital by Montserrat Caballe.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31MUSIC: IL PAGLIACCI BY GIUSEPPE VERDI
0:25:31 > 0:25:34When, out of the corner my left eye, gesticulating, waving arms.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38And I look over and there in a box seat, is Freddie.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42And he's leaning up like that and he's pointing at the stage
0:25:42 > 0:25:44and he's going...
0:25:44 > 0:25:47He was just like a 12-year-old kid
0:25:47 > 0:25:48seeing The Beatles.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51The grin on his face, he was just, you know...
0:25:51 > 0:25:55he was just so up from that whole show.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59He said, "Look, I have now heard the best voice in the world."
0:26:04 > 0:26:09I was in Munich for a playback of the Mr Bad Guy album
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and we were all sitting there in Musicland Studios.
0:26:12 > 0:26:13It was a strange playback
0:26:13 > 0:26:16cos I could tell that Freddie was slightly bored
0:26:16 > 0:26:17and not really listening to it.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21And we were halfway through the album and he suddenly said,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24"Switch it off, I want to play you something else."
0:26:24 > 0:26:28And he put on this opera singer singing.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32And he said, "That's the most beautiful voice in the world.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36"Do you know who it is?" And I said, "No."
0:26:36 > 0:26:39And he said, "Well, that is Montserrat Caballe.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42"She has the most beautiful soprano voice in the world.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45"And I want to sing with her."
0:26:46 > 0:26:49We're all sitting there, listening to Mr Bad Guy,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52and we looked around and I said, "Are you serious?"
0:26:52 > 0:26:53And he said, "Absolutely."
0:26:53 > 0:26:56He said, "Go and find her and tell her I want to sing with her."
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Freddie had some of the best ears in the business,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04so maybe he sat there, at that early stage, thinking,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06"This is not going to work."
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Maybe that's why he interrupted and said,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11"Let's listen to Montserrat Caballe."
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Because he was moving on, I think,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16already sitting in the studios in Munich,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19aware that maybe he had produced an album
0:27:19 > 0:27:21which wasn't his greatest work.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Out of the songs you've put on this album, Freddie,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27which one do you find the most rewarding, personally?
0:27:27 > 0:27:30I don't know, the one that sells the most.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32I wanted to help him, actually.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35We were sort of fully supporting him.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37But every time I'd go to Munich, he'd say,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40"Come sing some backing vocals or something."
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Dear, I've got to admit it, they'd be no further on.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46It would be exactly the same as it was a month before.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50You know, it was terrible and it was just...wasn't going anywhere.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52I thought, "Well, I've heard this before."
0:27:52 > 0:27:55He underestimated the workload.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00When Michael Jackson had three or four number ones there,
0:28:00 > 0:28:05there's probably 60 songwriters and 900 songs involved.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08And he was just doing everything himself.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12# Fooling around You keep fooling
0:28:12 > 0:28:14# You keep fooling! #
0:28:14 > 0:28:17I would love my album to be better than the last Queen album,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19because that would set a precedent and then the next Queen album,
0:28:19 > 0:28:20you're going to say,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23"It had better be better than Freddie Mercury's solo album."
0:28:23 > 0:28:27Unfortunately, the album didn't sell,
0:28:27 > 0:28:31and so from CBS's point of view, it was their worst deal financially,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34because they paid a lot of money for it.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36Freddie always said, "You know, money is great,
0:28:36 > 0:28:37"it tells me that I am successful,
0:28:37 > 0:28:39"it tells me that people like my work."
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Well, this must have been very odd for him because he had
0:28:42 > 0:28:44a lot of money, which is the advance, but it wasn't really...
0:28:44 > 0:28:47It wasn't real money because the record wasn't selling.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Queen fans didn't really like the fact that Freddie was recording
0:28:54 > 0:28:56without Queen.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59You run the risk of losing your fan base when you do that.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01Do you think they just like you to stay in the bracket
0:29:01 > 0:29:03they know you in and that's that?
0:29:03 > 0:29:05They might like to, I don't give a shit.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07I do what I want, to be honest.
0:29:07 > 0:29:08I don't sit down and say,
0:29:08 > 0:29:12"Oh, OK, what does Mary Potts in Bognor going to buy tomorrow?"
0:29:12 > 0:29:15And, you know, you can't write songs like that
0:29:15 > 0:29:17because you can't please everybody anyway.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19Freddie didn't like failure.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23And this album was a failure.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26And the fact that it was a failure meant that he moved on.
0:29:26 > 0:29:27Instantly.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29So, you will be working with Queen again?
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Oh, yes, definitely.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35Otherwise I'm going to be a car mechanic, dear.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40He came back slightly with, I think, his tail between his legs, really.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43The next project will be a Queen album.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47- Soon, I hope.- Soon?
0:29:47 > 0:29:50If we're still talking to each other.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53OK. Thanks a lot.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56APPLAUSE
0:29:56 > 0:29:58# Eh-oh
0:29:58 > 0:30:00# Eh-oh
0:30:00 > 0:30:02# Eh-oh!
0:30:02 > 0:30:03# Eh-oh!
0:30:03 > 0:30:05# Eh-oh-doh-doh-doh
0:30:05 > 0:30:06# Eh-oh-doh-doh-doh
0:30:06 > 0:30:08- # Eh-oh - Eh-oh
0:30:08 > 0:30:09- # Eh-oh - Eh-oh
0:30:09 > 0:30:11- # Eeh-oh - Eeh-oh
0:30:11 > 0:30:16# Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh-oh
0:30:16 > 0:30:21# Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh-oh
0:30:21 > 0:30:23- # Eh-oh - Eh-oh
0:30:23 > 0:30:24- # Eh-oh - Eh-oh
0:30:24 > 0:30:26# Deeee-dee-doh-dee-doh-dee-doh Dee-doh
0:30:26 > 0:30:29# Deeee-dee-doh-dee-doh-dee-doh Dee-doh
0:30:29 > 0:30:30- # Dee-doh - Dee-doh
0:30:30 > 0:30:31- # Dee-doh - Dee-doh... #
0:30:31 > 0:30:34- All right! - All right!
0:30:34 > 0:30:37How does it affect you when you know you've won an audience?
0:30:37 > 0:30:39I always win an audience.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43So, how are you affected then? Every night you play to a crowd.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47I should add, that's a part of my role, I have to win them over,
0:30:47 > 0:30:51otherwise it's... it's not a successful gig.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55I have to...it's my job to make sure that I win them over
0:30:55 > 0:30:58and make them feel that they've had a good time.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05He was just a natural at communicating
0:31:05 > 0:31:07with the whole audience.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09An amazing thing to watch, actually.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13# Bebop-bop, be-debop, bebop Bebop, bebop, bebop, be!
0:31:13 > 0:31:16# Bebop-bop, be-debop, bebop Bebop, bebop, bebop... #
0:31:16 > 0:31:20On stage, you give this impression that you are quite a formidable
0:31:20 > 0:31:22- individual, Freddie.- I am.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33- # Another one bites the dust, yeah! - Another one bites the dust! #
0:31:33 > 0:31:35I'm very frivolous and I like to enjoy myself.
0:31:35 > 0:31:40What better way to do it than on stage in front of 300,000 people?
0:31:40 > 0:31:42And, you know, I just cook.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44- # Yeah, yeah! - Yeah, yeah!
0:31:44 > 0:31:46- # Yeah, yeah! - Yeah, yeah!
0:31:46 > 0:31:48- # Yeah, yeah, yeah! - Yeah, yeah, yeah!
0:31:48 > 0:31:50- # Yeah, yeah! - Yeah, yeah!
0:31:50 > 0:31:52# Another one bites the dust!
0:31:52 > 0:31:54# Another one bites the dust! #
0:31:54 > 0:31:56He loved it, he thrived on it.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59He thrived on that feeling of contact with the audience.
0:31:59 > 0:32:04And I think it came from being a fan who was that fan who sat there
0:32:04 > 0:32:08and watched Jimi Hendrix, and Jimi Hendrix made that contact with him.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13And I think it gave Freddie the feeling that anything was possible.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16# Bebop-bop, be-debop, bebop... #
0:32:23 > 0:32:27You always felt when he was playing that you were in on
0:32:27 > 0:32:30whatever this amazing, kind of camp, ridiculous joke
0:32:30 > 0:32:33that some people became quite outraged by.
0:32:33 > 0:32:34If you were there in the audience,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37you knew that you were kind of one of the chosen few.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39# Another one bites the dust!
0:32:39 > 0:32:44# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah... #
0:32:45 > 0:32:48And I've seen him like from two rows away and I've seen him right
0:32:48 > 0:32:53from the back, and you never felt any farther or closer either place.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55And I'm not quite sure how he did that.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57# Oh, yeah!
0:32:57 > 0:33:00# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! #
0:33:04 > 0:33:06Yes!
0:33:06 > 0:33:10APPLAUSE
0:33:16 > 0:33:20Everybody looks...looks at me on stage
0:33:20 > 0:33:22and they think that's how I am, like, arrogant and...
0:33:22 > 0:33:24That's the way I am normally.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27And when you look at me now, I'm quite boring, really.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33- A lot of people think that you are reclusive.- I am a bit, actually. Yes.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35But not in the Greta Garbo way.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38It's not alone alone, I like to be alone with my friends
0:33:38 > 0:33:40and then...and shut myself off, yes.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44I'd hate to be on a desert island. I'm petrified of being alone.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48I'm very happy with my relationship at the moment.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50And I couldn't ask for better.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54So now I have finally found a niche that I was looking for...
0:33:54 > 0:33:55all my life.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01Well, we first met accidentally, I suppose, in a club.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04He offered to buy me a drink and I told him to...
0:34:04 > 0:34:05that to sling his hook, basically.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08- Did you know it was Freddie Mercury? - I didn't know who he was, no.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10- Really?- A total, absolute stranger to me, yeah.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12So then, what happened after that?
0:34:12 > 0:34:17Um, I think some months after that, I was out at a restaurant.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20The friend I was with just happened to mention,
0:34:20 > 0:34:22"Guess who is behind you." I said, "Who?"
0:34:22 > 0:34:24"Freddie Mercury again."
0:34:24 > 0:34:28I didn't see Freddie again for I think, oh gosh, about 18 months.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32And I bumped into him at a club.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34- And that was it, was it?- That was it.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37Same routine again, "Let me buy you a drink."
0:34:37 > 0:34:41What was he like in real life? What was he like offstage?
0:34:41 > 0:34:43He was quiet, very reserved.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47Just plain, ordinary, Joe Bloggs on the street, really.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49I'm not scared of doing what I want to do.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51Before I'd sort of hide in my persona.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53So, like, when I went out, I had to sort of try
0:34:53 > 0:34:57and perform a little as well and like not letting them down.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Because Freddie Mercury, I don't know what it means,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03but he had to react in a certain way,
0:35:03 > 0:35:06what the press had told people.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08And a lot of times I used to do that sort of...
0:35:08 > 0:35:14That I was actually living, in a way, living a false image of myself.
0:35:18 > 0:35:23# Guilt stains on my pillow
0:35:25 > 0:35:26# Blood on... #
0:35:26 > 0:35:30That party in Munich was really something else.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33But it did feel, at the time, it was like the last hurrah.
0:35:33 > 0:35:39It felt as those decadent days were, if not over, winding down.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43And it was kind of like Freddie saying goodbye
0:35:43 > 0:35:47to that old hedonistic lifestyle.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51# Success is my breathing space
0:35:51 > 0:35:53# I brought it on myself. #
0:35:53 > 0:35:56Freddie was tiring of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, I think.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59# I can take it or leave it
0:35:59 > 0:36:02# Loneliness... #
0:36:02 > 0:36:05It was kind of like the last days of Berlin.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07# Breast feeding... #
0:36:07 > 0:36:09That was Freddie's last hurrah.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11# What more can I say? #
0:36:11 > 0:36:16# Oh...
0:36:16 > 0:36:19# Is this the world we created?
0:36:19 > 0:36:22# We've made it on our own
0:36:22 > 0:36:26# Is this the world we devastated?
0:36:26 > 0:36:28# Right to the bone... #
0:36:28 > 0:36:31I know there'll be a time where I can't run around on stage,
0:36:31 > 0:36:33because it'll be ridiculous.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36I mean, I know there comes a time when you have to stop.
0:36:36 > 0:36:43# To the world that we created. #
0:36:43 > 0:36:46APPLAUSE
0:36:50 > 0:36:53I remember the very last gig in Knebworth.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Freddie said, "Look, I can't fucking do this anymore."
0:36:56 > 0:36:58You'll have to bleep me again, won't you?
0:36:58 > 0:37:00It's pretty hard to quote Freddie without swearing.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03It was just part of his vocabulary, you know.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08He said, "I can't do this anymore, you have to understand."
0:37:08 > 0:37:11And we thought, "Oh, that's just Fred being Fred," you know.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13You quoted as saying, that he can't do this forever,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16that they're going to be different phases to his career
0:37:16 > 0:37:19because rock 'n' roll is a young man's game.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22And when he is going to be middle-aged,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24he is going to have to do other things.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27You might not have the physical fitness to run around on stage,
0:37:27 > 0:37:28but you can still write songs.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30So, one way or another,
0:37:30 > 0:37:35the music side is always going to be in my life.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40# Is this the kind of magic? #
0:37:40 > 0:37:43It was a hard thing trying to do the new Queen album.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45At the same time, I was also writing a couple of tracks
0:37:45 > 0:37:47for this new musical that's coming out called Time.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50And I worked it out that I'm sure I can fit that in.
0:37:50 > 0:37:51It was pretty, you know...
0:37:51 > 0:37:55Cos there was one time I was actually going from the Queen studio
0:37:55 > 0:37:57and the next day trying to do Time.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00And I was so confused, I didn't know what track I was doing.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05I first met Freddie Mercury at Abbey Road Studios in the mid-'80s.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07And it came about because I was
0:38:07 > 0:38:10musical director on a musical called Time.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12# Here in secret... #
0:38:12 > 0:38:16Dave Pluck and I worked on the album of Time,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19which featured a wonderful selection of really great artists -
0:38:19 > 0:38:21Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Cliff.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24And he told me one day, "I think Freddie Mercury is going to do
0:38:24 > 0:38:27"two tunes." I said, "Well, that is fantastic." I met Freddie.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30This incredible force of nature hurdled through the door.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34It was just an immense presence -
0:38:34 > 0:38:36enthusiastic, keen,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Freddie Mercury for goodness sakes, you know?
0:38:39 > 0:38:42He contacted me not long after that to say,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46"Look, would you be interested in working on a solo album with me?"
0:38:46 > 0:38:47That was agreed.
0:38:47 > 0:38:52He said, "Well, before we do that, I've really always wanted to
0:38:52 > 0:38:55"record a cover version, something I have never done in my own name."
0:38:55 > 0:38:58And he said, the song I want to do is The Great Pretender.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02Hello, my name is Freddie Mercury and this is my latest recording,
0:39:02 > 0:39:04The Great Pretender.
0:39:10 > 0:39:16# Oh, yes, I'm the great pretender
0:39:16 > 0:39:17# Oh, oh, oh
0:39:17 > 0:39:23# Pretending I'm doing well
0:39:23 > 0:39:24# Oh, oh, oh
0:39:24 > 0:39:30# My need is such I pretend too much
0:39:30 > 0:39:37# I'm lonely, but no-one can tell... #
0:39:37 > 0:39:41I wanted to do a cover version, you know, a long time ago,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44and you can't do that with Queen, you know, because, I mean,
0:39:44 > 0:39:46we just write our own sort of original material.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48And I've always had that in the back of my head.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50And this song was the one I always wanted to do.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52# Oh, oh, oh
0:39:52 > 0:39:55# I play the game
0:39:55 > 0:39:58# But to my real shame
0:39:58 > 0:40:05# You've left me to dream all alone... #
0:40:05 > 0:40:07It is brilliant,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10- the whole thing is brilliant. Five. - Well over the top. Carina.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14- I think it's brilliant and the video has lots to it.- Yeah.
0:40:14 > 0:40:15I give it five.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17# What my heart... #
0:40:17 > 0:40:20It is one of the best videos ever.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22It is really good, I really like it. Can we give it a ten?
0:40:22 > 0:40:26# Yes, I'm the great pretender... #
0:40:26 > 0:40:28What I like about it is the way he's sending himself up.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32Anyone who can mock himself in that way, deserves all the marks.
0:40:32 > 0:40:33I give it a 5.5.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37So, well done to Fred, he wins this week's pop medal.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40He thought it was appropriate cos he was a pretender.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42He was certainly the great self-invention.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47In Freddie, you had a shy person who lived
0:40:47 > 0:40:49with the protection of his persona.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52# I seem to be... #
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Most of the stuff I do, it is pretending.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56It's like acting, you know, you go on stage
0:40:56 > 0:40:59and I pretend to be a macho man and all that.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02And in my videos, you know, you go through all the different
0:41:02 > 0:41:04characters and you are pretending anyway.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06So, I think it is a great title for what I do
0:41:06 > 0:41:09and it is sort of suited to what I was doing.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13# Yeah! #
0:41:13 > 0:41:16All of this is pretend, you know. And it's just fun.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20# Too real when I feel
0:41:20 > 0:41:26# What my heart can't conceal
0:41:26 > 0:41:32# Oh, yes I'm the great pretender...! #
0:41:32 > 0:41:34These days we know so much about celebrities.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37If he was around today, people would be taking camera phone
0:41:37 > 0:41:40pictures of him or there'll be snapshots of him
0:41:40 > 0:41:42in Heat magazine.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45But Freddie Mercury was truly elusive
0:41:45 > 0:41:48and mysterious and enigmatic.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50We didn't know a lot about Freddie.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52And we still don't really know a lot about Freddie.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55Why haven't you done any interviews in the past few years?
0:41:55 > 0:41:57- Because I hate them. - Why?- I just hate them.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00I hate talking to people I don't really know.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02# Pretending
0:42:02 > 0:42:05# That you're
0:42:05 > 0:42:10# Still around! #
0:42:13 > 0:42:16It's the media, basically, that built me up being a real ogre
0:42:16 > 0:42:20and a tyrant on stage because of the way I come across on stage.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23You know, I'm very volatile, and that's only part they see of me.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26I don't talk to everybody, so they don't really know the real me.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28I don't think anybody will.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43When we got to the end of The Great Pretender,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46I said, "Fred, one thing we haven't thought about is a B side."
0:42:46 > 0:42:48And he said, "Look, I'll tell you what, why don't you go
0:42:48 > 0:42:51"and play some nice, little classical thing on the piano."
0:42:51 > 0:42:53He said, "I'll warble over the top
0:42:53 > 0:42:55"and we'll kind of figure something out."
0:43:05 > 0:43:09It became the B side of The Great Pretender.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12I was planning to do a solo project.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15I wanted it to have some kind of bearing, something different,
0:43:15 > 0:43:19something different from another boring studio album.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24I think now I have the time and the capacity to actually
0:43:24 > 0:43:27venture into areas which I would never dare.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30I don't want to sort of end my life just being
0:43:30 > 0:43:31a rock 'n' roll star.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34It was 1986, just before Christmas,
0:43:34 > 0:43:39when Freddie got a call that Montserrat Caballe,
0:43:39 > 0:43:44had heard him on an interview when they were in Spain on the tour.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47- You won't believe this, but... - 'I put the television on'
0:43:47 > 0:43:53and there was the group and Freddie of all,
0:43:53 > 0:43:57and they said, "What do you like more of Spain?"
0:43:57 > 0:44:00And he was answering, "Montserrat Caballe."
0:44:00 > 0:44:01She's the best.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03And that's what I listen to.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06I love very much Freddie,
0:44:06 > 0:44:09but I was surprised he says that on television.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11I said, "You'll never guess it,
0:44:11 > 0:44:13"I've had a phone call from Montserrat Caballe
0:44:13 > 0:44:16"and she wants to meet us. I suppose she wants to meet you."
0:44:16 > 0:44:19He said, "No, you're all coming with me, we're going to Barcelona
0:44:19 > 0:44:20"on Saturday."
0:44:28 > 0:44:32He said, "I think we ought to take something to play which might
0:44:32 > 0:44:34"make her laugh and cut the ice a little bit."
0:44:34 > 0:44:38He said, "Why don't we take this thing that we did?"
0:44:38 > 0:44:43We built a full concert PA system and we laid out a lunch
0:44:43 > 0:44:46so we could have lunch together, the plan being that we'd
0:44:46 > 0:44:49all have a lovely lunch and then play her this song.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52And say, "This is the sort of thing that we want to do."
0:44:52 > 0:44:56I have never in my life seen Freddie so nervous.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58I mean, he was chain-smoking,
0:44:58 > 0:45:00he was marching up and down.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03We met here, and the Hotel Ritz.
0:45:03 > 0:45:08He was a little shy in the beginning
0:45:08 > 0:45:10to...to sing with me.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12He was so nervous
0:45:12 > 0:45:13that instead of saying,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16"How lovely to meet you, would you like some lunch?"
0:45:16 > 0:45:20And all the various plans that we had, he just blurted out,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23"I've written a song for you, would you like to hear?"
0:45:23 > 0:45:29MUSIC: EXERCISES IN FREE LOVE
0:45:31 > 0:45:37And I tell him, "But you sure you want to sing with me?"
0:45:37 > 0:45:42And he says, "Yes, I was dreaming of that all my life."
0:45:43 > 0:45:48The only thing I ask him, to have the score of Exercises In Free Love.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51I saying, "Give it to me, the music,
0:45:51 > 0:45:54"I will learn and maybe from that, come something."
0:45:54 > 0:45:57But I was tricking him because I wanted to sing
0:45:57 > 0:45:59that as a vocalize
0:45:59 > 0:46:03in one of my recitals at the Royal Opera House.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07Well, Freddie didn't know, Freddie wasn't told about it.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09This was her idea.
0:46:09 > 0:46:15And Montserrat came on, but the normal pianist didn't.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20And Mike Moran walked on after her and sat at the piano.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25They then... She then performed Exercises In Free Love.
0:46:25 > 0:46:30And I was surprised because of the recognition, the public was crazy.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34I make them be quiet and I says,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37"I'd like to present the Komponist, which is Mike Moran,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40"and...Freddie Mercury."
0:46:40 > 0:46:46So, they went into applause and he was very... Big impact for him.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49He says, "It's the first time I receive an ovation
0:46:49 > 0:46:51"at the Royal Opera House."
0:46:51 > 0:46:55Well, last night, she sang one of my songs at the Royal Opera House,
0:46:55 > 0:46:56so it was amazing.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Now I am going into opera, you know, forget rock 'n roll.
0:46:59 > 0:47:04And we went after this to his home to have dinner
0:47:04 > 0:47:10and so we went in to...after the dinner, to work.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13Simple songs are...
0:47:13 > 0:47:16It's good fun, eh?
0:47:16 > 0:47:19Something incredible, I have never heard something like that.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21No, it's good!
0:47:21 > 0:47:22I'm very excited.
0:47:22 > 0:47:28I said, "This is very good because this is a crossover
0:47:28 > 0:47:31"with feeling, not only with knots."
0:47:31 > 0:47:34You're not tired now? Just rest a little?
0:47:34 > 0:47:35I'm fine.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39No, I don't want you to go... I just...I think, let's rest.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43Freddie was worried, "Oh, you're tired, you've got a flight
0:47:43 > 0:47:47"at nine, you know, I don't want to be in trouble because you're late."
0:47:47 > 0:47:50She says, "Oh, you don't like me, you don't like my voice."
0:47:50 > 0:47:54- I sound so terrible.- You sound...No!
0:47:54 > 0:47:56I can sing till six o'clock in the morning with her.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00Well, what surprised us, we were
0:48:00 > 0:48:04in his home until 6am.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08And they were asking what we have done.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12I said, "Well, we have done everything,
0:48:12 > 0:48:14"but not what you thought."
0:48:17 > 0:48:22She said things like, "Only one song, are you sure?
0:48:22 > 0:48:24"You only want to do one song?"
0:48:24 > 0:48:26I said, "Well, let's see how we get on.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28"You know, if you like more of my music."
0:48:28 > 0:48:32And she said, "How many songs does a normal rock 'n' roll album have?"
0:48:32 > 0:48:35And I said, "Something like ten". "Oh, we'll do ten songs then."
0:48:35 > 0:48:38And we knew we were away. And then she went on to say,
0:48:38 > 0:48:42"But the song I really want is about my hometown.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46"I want a song about Barcelona."
0:48:50 > 0:48:52What drives you on?
0:48:52 > 0:48:56At this very moment, it's Montserrat Caballe.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59It is like a flippant gesture for me to start it off with.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02I really thought it would never come to any sort of fruition.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05And when she accepted, I was dumbfounded.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08So then I thought, "My God, I better put my money where my mouth is."
0:49:08 > 0:49:13# Oh, oh, oh, oh! #
0:49:13 > 0:49:14It is such a challenge, actually.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16I've never thought of writing songs in that way.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Now she said she wants to do duets with me,
0:49:19 > 0:49:22I have to sort of think in a totally different way.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35I tell him, when we do an album,
0:49:35 > 0:49:39it has to be an album of friendship
0:49:39 > 0:49:43and also of understanding, musically.
0:49:43 > 0:49:48Both. Not like two worlds, everyone singing his way, no.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50Two worlds come together.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53# I had this perfect dream
0:49:53 > 0:49:56# Un sueno me envolvio
0:49:56 > 0:49:58# This dream was me and you
0:49:58 > 0:50:01# Tal vez estas aqui
0:50:01 > 0:50:04# I want all the world to see
0:50:04 > 0:50:07# Un instinto me guiaba... #
0:50:07 > 0:50:09I'm sure the opera critics would slam it and everything,
0:50:09 > 0:50:11but, I mean, this is something that...
0:50:11 > 0:50:13It's a good challenge at this time in life, you know.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16# My dream is slowly... #
0:50:16 > 0:50:22Pavarotti was saying, "It's bad, so bad, you are dumbing down opera."
0:50:22 > 0:50:27- # Barcelona! - It was the first time that we met
0:50:27 > 0:50:32- # Barcelona! - How can I forget?
0:50:32 > 0:50:35# The moment that you stepped into the room
0:50:35 > 0:50:40# You took my breath away
0:50:40 > 0:50:44# Barcelona!
0:50:44 > 0:50:47# La musica vibro Barcelona!
0:50:47 > 0:50:50# Y ella nos unio...! #
0:50:50 > 0:50:5498% of the people who bought the Barcelona single had never
0:50:54 > 0:50:55heard of Montserrat Caballe.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58So, Freddie was doing them a great service by introducing them
0:50:58 > 0:51:01to a great artist. It was an immediate hit.
0:51:01 > 0:51:02# Some day... #
0:51:02 > 0:51:05Freddie Mercury has done a lot of good stuff over the years,
0:51:05 > 0:51:08with those videos back in '76 with Bohemian Rhapsody
0:51:08 > 0:51:10and now he brings opera into the singles chart.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14The highest new entry this week with Montserrat Caballe, Barcelona.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16The critical reaction was puzzlement.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19I wouldn't say that the press were negative about it
0:51:19 > 0:51:22because they knew, "Wait a minute, this woman is selling out,
0:51:22 > 0:51:23"Covent Garden, she has got to be good,
0:51:23 > 0:51:26"so, I don't want to show my ignorance by condemning it.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29"But on the other hand, I don't know what it is about, so I can't
0:51:29 > 0:51:32"say that it's good, so let's just say, 'oh, this is different.'"
0:51:32 > 0:51:34# Start the celebration
0:51:34 > 0:51:37# Ven a mi
0:51:37 > 0:51:39- # And cry - Grita
0:51:39 > 0:51:41- # Come alive - Vive
0:51:41 > 0:51:45# And shake the foundations from the skies...! #
0:51:45 > 0:51:48I was a Queen fan when the Barcelona came out.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50I was probably only 12.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53But that song, I just thought, was magnificent.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55It was so exciting.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58It was so...uplifting.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00# Barcelona!
0:52:00 > 0:52:02# Such a beautiful horizon!
0:52:02 > 0:52:04# Barcelona!
0:52:04 > 0:52:07# Like a jewel in the sun...! #
0:52:07 > 0:52:09The single, I thought, was fantastic.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11You sometimes think, "Well, is he having us on?"
0:52:11 > 0:52:17But it was so good musically and so intriguing, wonderful melody
0:52:17 > 0:52:19and beautifully sung.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21And Freddie matched Montserrat.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25# Barcelona! Abre tus puertas al mundo...! #
0:52:25 > 0:52:28There's only ever really one Freddie who could do that
0:52:28 > 0:52:31kind of thing can make that kind of record and make it OK.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34And I think the reason why it was OK is you've got this guy
0:52:34 > 0:52:37standing in front of you, going, "It's all right, you're safe.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39"You're with me, I know what I'm doing."
0:52:39 > 0:52:42Even though it is the most ridiculous thing
0:52:42 > 0:52:44in the entire world, it's OK.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48# Barcelona!
0:52:48 > 0:52:52# Aaaaah! #
0:53:11 > 0:53:14When Freddie decided to record his second album,
0:53:14 > 0:53:16I went back into New York
0:53:16 > 0:53:21and said to Walter that we have come in to discuss the second album.
0:53:21 > 0:53:26Well, the first album had sold about 130,000 copies and CBS were
0:53:26 > 0:53:29reeling from the loss that they had made on the first album.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31So he sat there, he said, "Well, I understand,
0:53:31 > 0:53:33"we've got to do a second album. So, what is it?"
0:53:33 > 0:53:36I said, "Well, it's a duet album."
0:53:36 > 0:53:38And he said, "Well, that sounds interesting,
0:53:38 > 0:53:41"we might get something out of that. Dueting with who?"
0:53:41 > 0:53:43And I said, "It's Montserrat Caballe,
0:53:43 > 0:53:45"she's a Spanish opera singer."
0:53:45 > 0:53:47And he completely freaked and he said,
0:53:47 > 0:53:51"You have to be joking, you can't conceivably be delivering me
0:53:51 > 0:53:54"an opera duet album as a second album."
0:53:54 > 0:53:56And in the end, he paid us quite a substantial amount
0:53:56 > 0:53:58of money to go away and deliver the album somewhere else,
0:53:58 > 0:53:59which is what we did.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02I think the thing about the Barcelona album as it allowed
0:54:02 > 0:54:04Freddie to do things that he couldn't really do with Queen.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06Queen allowed Freddie to do a lot,
0:54:06 > 0:54:08but they certainly wouldn't have allowed him, I think,
0:54:08 > 0:54:13to get an opera singer in, especially a female one.
0:54:13 > 0:54:18There was such intensity because it was a difficult thing.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21Don't forget, this had never been done before, really.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24He was stepping into an area he didn't really know a lot about.
0:54:24 > 0:54:30And one of the reasons why the album was originally recorded
0:54:30 > 0:54:35solely on keyboards was because that way he could control
0:54:35 > 0:54:39at least one end of the environment he was working in.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41I said, "I'll write the songs, then you come in the studio
0:54:41 > 0:54:43"and sort of try out things."
0:54:43 > 0:54:45She looked up her schedule and she said,
0:54:45 > 0:54:49"Well, I have three days to spare in May and that's all."
0:54:49 > 0:54:51She thinks she can just come in and do it,
0:54:51 > 0:54:53and that's the way they work, you see.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55She says she thinks in three days she'll just come in
0:54:55 > 0:54:56and sing the whole...
0:54:56 > 0:54:59So, I have got to have it all prepared.
0:54:59 > 0:55:00But I think three days is pushing it.
0:55:04 > 0:55:09At one point, Fred and I really got bogged down.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12We got really stuck on the lyrics.
0:55:12 > 0:55:18# I know the same old
0:55:18 > 0:55:24# And ooooh... #
0:55:24 > 0:55:30It's easier for me to write a melody and a structure,
0:55:30 > 0:55:34but in terms of the actual lyrics,
0:55:34 > 0:55:36I find it hard, because I'm not a poet
0:55:36 > 0:55:39and I hate writing lyrics anyway.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41I wish somebody else could do it.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45He said, "Oh, you know, why don't we get Tim Rice?"
0:55:45 > 0:55:48I was very happy to be roped in.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51And I did a couple of lyrics for Freddie,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54to these amazing backtracks I was given.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57I was given complete carte blanche to write about what I wanted
0:55:57 > 0:56:02and I thought, "This sounds operatic and it sounds dramatic,
0:56:02 > 0:56:03"so I'll create some characters."
0:56:03 > 0:56:07The two songs I wrote had sort of, I suppose, similar titles.
0:56:07 > 0:56:11One was called The Fallen Priest. And one was called The Golden Boy.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13# The boy had a way with words He sang
0:56:13 > 0:56:18# He moved with grace He entertained, so naturally
0:56:18 > 0:56:22# No gesture out of place His road in life was clearly drawn
0:56:22 > 0:56:24# He didn't hesitate,
0:56:24 > 0:56:29# He played, they saw He conquered as the master of
0:56:29 > 0:56:31# As the master of his fate... #
0:56:31 > 0:56:35My favourite song on the album is The Golden Boy,
0:56:35 > 0:56:37cos I always think of it as the song that has everything.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41It starts off dark and mysterious
0:56:41 > 0:56:45and minor chords and angry.
0:56:45 > 0:56:50And then it goes really sweet - "I love you for your silence."
0:56:50 > 0:56:53# ..for your silence
0:56:53 > 0:56:59# I love you for your peace... #
0:56:59 > 0:57:01And then the gospel comes in,
0:57:01 > 0:57:03and you just don't see that coming at all.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05- # His rise was irresistible - Yeah!
0:57:05 > 0:57:08# He grew into the part
0:57:08 > 0:57:14# His explanation simply That he suffered for his art... #
0:57:14 > 0:57:16And then it goes dark again at the end.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19# The words that made them happy once
0:57:19 > 0:57:22# Now echoed... #
0:57:22 > 0:57:25And you feel like you've heard a whole life in one song.
0:57:28 > 0:57:34# Aaah! #
0:57:42 > 0:57:46I think one of the reasons that Freddie put so much of himself
0:57:46 > 0:57:51into the Barcelona project was the fact that he had just found out
0:57:51 > 0:57:55of his AIDS status.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57He explained to me that, obviously,
0:57:57 > 0:58:00he had some rather heavy news for me.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03And I suppose, like everybody's reaction,
0:58:03 > 0:58:06just total disbelief, "No, we must get someone else's opinion on this."
0:58:06 > 0:58:09We talked a little about it, but then he just said,
0:58:09 > 0:58:13"Look, these are the top AIDS specialists there are."
0:58:13 > 0:58:15In terms of gay visibility back then,
0:58:15 > 0:58:17you had some people like Jimmy Somerville, people like that,
0:58:17 > 0:58:19who were quite political,
0:58:19 > 0:58:22but there was something quite austere about them
0:58:22 > 0:58:24and sort of asexual.
0:58:24 > 0:58:26Or you had gay people who were in the closet.
0:58:26 > 0:58:28But Freddie, along with Elton,
0:58:28 > 0:58:30was just quite flippant about his sexuality.
0:58:30 > 0:58:32And he didn't have a care in the world about it
0:58:32 > 0:58:34and it was a really great role model, I think.
0:58:34 > 0:58:38He wasn't overtly sexual. I mean, he was camp as anything, you know.
0:58:38 > 0:58:41He was the most camp performer ever, he has got to be.
0:58:41 > 0:58:44But I don't think there was ever anything sexual about it.
0:58:44 > 0:58:46- Hello.- Hello.
0:58:46 > 0:58:50Fred, it's true that the song I Want To Break Free
0:58:50 > 0:58:55is dedicated for the gay world?
0:58:55 > 0:58:59No, not at all, not at all. That song...
0:58:59 > 0:59:02To start off with, that song was written by John Deacon, you know?
0:59:02 > 0:59:05And, well, he's a very happily married man,
0:59:05 > 0:59:07you know, with about four children.
0:59:07 > 0:59:09It has got nothing to do with the gay thing.
0:59:09 > 0:59:11Besides, it's not my song anyway, John wrote it.
0:59:11 > 0:59:14Some people now are a bit more critical of Freddie Mercury,
0:59:14 > 0:59:16they feel that he was a bit closeted
0:59:16 > 0:59:20because he didn't talk that directly about his sexuality.
0:59:22 > 0:59:26And they also think he should have spoken about his illness.
0:59:26 > 0:59:29But I think you have to accept that the media at the time
0:59:29 > 0:59:35would crucify almost anyone who spoke about that.
0:59:35 > 0:59:38'Like some prison officers demanding protective clothing,
0:59:38 > 0:59:42'some policemen wearing masks and gloves when dealing with homosexuals,
0:59:42 > 0:59:47'some morticians refusing to embalm the bodies of AIDS victims.'
0:59:47 > 0:59:49I always feel terrible
0:59:49 > 0:59:54when people are judged on their sexual behaviour in the '70s
0:59:54 > 0:59:58from the perspective of today's knowledge.
0:59:58 > 1:00:02Because in fact, while we were going through the '70s,
1:00:02 > 1:00:05it was assumed that there would be no consequences
1:00:05 > 1:00:07for whatever your sexual actions may be.
1:00:07 > 1:00:11I was extremely promiscuous. It was excess in every direction.
1:00:11 > 1:00:16I want everyone to get fucked all night every day, just like I do.
1:00:16 > 1:00:21He intentionally didn't get tested for several years.
1:00:21 > 1:00:25Because in those days, since there was no treatment,
1:00:25 > 1:00:27a lot of people chose not to get tested.
1:00:27 > 1:00:29They didn't want to know.
1:00:29 > 1:00:31And Freddie was one of them.
1:00:31 > 1:00:36I did this big interview with him in Ibiza, Pikes Hotel, Ibiza.
1:00:36 > 1:00:39He had his friends around the swimming pool,
1:00:39 > 1:00:42played a bit of tennis, and it was sadly that day
1:00:42 > 1:00:46when I realised something was wrong,
1:00:46 > 1:00:49that he might possibly have HIV.
1:00:49 > 1:00:55And I brought this up in the interview
1:00:55 > 1:00:58and he was very, very honest.
1:00:58 > 1:01:01Freddie, how has the AIDS thing affected you?
1:01:01 > 1:01:04Well, I've stopped going out, whatever,
1:01:04 > 1:01:06and to be honest, I tell you,
1:01:06 > 1:01:08I've almost become a nun.
1:01:08 > 1:01:12I thought sex was a very important thing to me and I lived for sex
1:01:12 > 1:01:15and everything, and now it has just gone completely the other way.
1:01:15 > 1:01:17And it just frightened me to death and I just...
1:01:17 > 1:01:21I have... I've just stopped having sex.
1:01:21 > 1:01:25- Have you?- Yes. I just like titillation now.
1:01:25 > 1:01:29You know? I'm also an old bird now.
1:01:29 > 1:01:32One of these days, in the studio,
1:01:32 > 1:01:36I saw two glasses of champagne
1:01:36 > 1:01:39and I wanted to take one
1:01:39 > 1:01:42and he told me, "No, the other one, the other one."
1:01:42 > 1:01:45I say, "I'm sorry, I not knewed you have to ask this."
1:01:45 > 1:01:51And I wanted to make a kiss like we have always done, muack, muack.
1:01:51 > 1:01:56You know? And he says, "No, don't kiss me anymore."
1:01:56 > 1:01:59And I thought, "You are angry?"
1:01:59 > 1:02:02Because I don't understood.
1:02:02 > 1:02:06And he says, "No, but, Montserrat..." Montse,
1:02:06 > 1:02:11he calls me Montse, "Montse, I am zero positive.
1:02:11 > 1:02:16"And I don't want to make a kiss to you."
1:02:16 > 1:02:21It was the beginning of this illness.
1:02:21 > 1:02:23And of course,
1:02:23 > 1:02:27I say, "But you look so good, you are so strong
1:02:27 > 1:02:30"and you sing so wonderful."
1:02:30 > 1:02:36He says, "Yes, but I know there will come one day that I can't anymore."
1:02:41 > 1:02:44Freddie was incredibly loyal to his friends,
1:02:44 > 1:02:49even in the case of Paul Prenter, Freddie supported him, basically.
1:02:49 > 1:02:54He gave him money so that he could get his life together again.
1:02:54 > 1:02:57But then he soon went back to Ireland
1:02:57 > 1:03:00once he had sort of got on his feet again.
1:03:00 > 1:03:03He disappeared back and that's where he sold the story.
1:03:03 > 1:03:07When he betrayed him in the newspapers, that was it,
1:03:07 > 1:03:08he was devastated.
1:03:08 > 1:03:10Because, I think,
1:03:10 > 1:03:15it really was the first time that Freddie had been publicly betrayed.
1:03:15 > 1:03:17And that was a terrible shock.
1:03:17 > 1:03:21If you entrust somebody with all your secrets and then they go
1:03:21 > 1:03:22and sell it to a newspaper
1:03:22 > 1:03:27for just £32,000, I mean, it was just dreadful.
1:03:27 > 1:03:33All of this was going on while he was preparing to, you know,
1:03:33 > 1:03:37record with, for him, the greatest singer in the world.
1:03:37 > 1:03:42# When all the salt is taken from the sea
1:03:42 > 1:03:45# I stand dethroned
1:03:45 > 1:03:49# I'm naked and I bleed
1:03:49 > 1:03:53# But when your finger points so savagely
1:03:53 > 1:03:56# Is anybody there...? #
1:03:56 > 1:03:59One of the fascinating things about AIDS,
1:03:59 > 1:04:02which is a fairly long death sentence,
1:04:02 > 1:04:07is that it increases the creativity in artists.
1:04:07 > 1:04:11Freddie was not alone in having an enormous burst of creativity
1:04:11 > 1:04:13towards the end of his life.
1:04:13 > 1:04:18# How can I go on from day to day?
1:04:18 > 1:04:23# Who can make me strong in every way...? #
1:04:23 > 1:04:25As a songwriter,
1:04:25 > 1:04:28do you ever have a fear that your inspiration may dry up?
1:04:28 > 1:04:32I don't wake up every morning and say, "Oh, look, have I dried up?"
1:04:32 > 1:04:37# In this great big world of sadness... #
1:04:37 > 1:04:39He's looking after me.
1:04:39 > 1:04:41# How can I forget...? #
1:04:41 > 1:04:43When that happens, I'll...
1:04:43 > 1:04:47It won't happen, that's all there is to it. There you go.
1:04:47 > 1:04:50I don't think it will ever happen. I'll die first.
1:04:50 > 1:04:54# They're lost And they're nowhere to be found... #
1:04:54 > 1:04:58The time I saw it, I see his adieu.
1:05:01 > 1:05:07He took the hand and I wanted to... to retain,
1:05:07 > 1:05:08and he don't want it.
1:05:08 > 1:05:11It's so significative, you know,
1:05:11 > 1:05:15every movement, every look,
1:05:15 > 1:05:17everything.
1:05:21 > 1:05:25In his mind, he had to create the best music he could for Barcelona
1:05:25 > 1:05:30because it might be the last thing that he was ever involved in.
1:05:34 > 1:05:39He absolutely immersed himself into this album completely and utterly.
1:05:39 > 1:05:43It was, for him, possibly the most important work he ever did.
1:05:43 > 1:05:48- # Aaah... - Aaah...
1:05:48 > 1:05:52# Aaah...
1:05:52 > 1:05:57# How can I go on...? #
1:05:57 > 1:06:01I'm glad I did it. It was a totally different adventure.
1:06:01 > 1:06:04I'd like to see other rock 'n' roll singers try things like that.
1:06:04 > 1:06:06You know? And see if they can get away with it.
1:06:06 > 1:06:08They probably couldn't, Freddie, but you did.
1:06:08 > 1:06:11- I'm wonderful, aren't I?- Yes.
1:06:11 > 1:06:15Barcelona was the first major crossover with a major rock star
1:06:15 > 1:06:16and a major opera star.
1:06:16 > 1:06:20And I think it kind of... It made it OK for other people to do it.
1:06:20 > 1:06:22I mean, then in the '90s,
1:06:22 > 1:06:27there was Pavarotti with... you name it - Bono, Sting, Elton.
1:06:27 > 1:06:29It was a huge success.
1:06:29 > 1:06:33And it rode in on the back of Barcelona, which was a big track.
1:06:33 > 1:06:37And it was a very successful album indeed.
1:06:37 > 1:06:38As he looked back at his artistic life,
1:06:38 > 1:06:40of course he would be most proud of Queen.
1:06:40 > 1:06:44Let's not pretend that he wasn't.
1:06:44 > 1:06:47But, boy, would he be glad that he got this one in.
1:06:47 > 1:06:49# I want it all
1:06:49 > 1:06:52# I want it all
1:06:52 > 1:06:54# I want it all
1:06:54 > 1:06:57# And I want it now... #
1:06:57 > 1:07:01After we took this long sort of holiday doing our solo stuff,
1:07:01 > 1:07:04we decided we'd only come back together if we really wanted to.
1:07:04 > 1:07:06And we felt that we really wanted to.
1:07:06 > 1:07:10We just came into the studio and things just evolved,
1:07:10 > 1:07:11naturally, straightaway.
1:07:11 > 1:07:14So, we were hungry for it and it felt like the early days,
1:07:14 > 1:07:16and that's when we got very sort of excited.
1:07:16 > 1:07:18And out came a whole load of tracks.
1:07:18 > 1:07:20# I want it all
1:07:20 > 1:07:23# I want it all
1:07:23 > 1:07:25# I want it all
1:07:25 > 1:07:28# And I want now
1:07:37 > 1:07:39# I want it
1:07:39 > 1:07:42# Now! #
1:07:42 > 1:07:45In 1989, the doctors told him,
1:07:45 > 1:07:48"You stop everything -
1:07:48 > 1:07:51"the cigarettes, the drink, everything."
1:07:51 > 1:07:54"You stop and you'll have a bit more life."
1:07:55 > 1:07:57But they had also told us at that point,
1:07:57 > 1:08:00"Be prepared that Freddie will not see Christmas."
1:08:03 > 1:08:07Ladies and gentlemen, of course, the top band of the '80s are Queen.
1:08:07 > 1:08:10APPLAUSE
1:08:14 > 1:08:17Innuendo was actually seen as a real critical return to form.
1:08:17 > 1:08:20And Innuendo was the first number one they had had
1:08:20 > 1:08:21since Under Pressure.
1:08:21 > 1:08:24This year's special award
1:08:24 > 1:08:28for an outstanding contribution to British music
1:08:28 > 1:08:30goes to Queen.
1:08:30 > 1:08:33APPLAUSE
1:08:36 > 1:08:42There was absolutely no impression for me that he could have been sick.
1:08:42 > 1:08:45He was full of beans and singing away.
1:08:45 > 1:08:49# You can be anything you want to be
1:08:49 > 1:08:53# Just turn yourself into anything you think that you could be... #
1:08:53 > 1:08:56There was a feeling of sort of re-exploring our youth almost
1:08:56 > 1:08:59buried in there somewhere. And it was fun.
1:08:59 > 1:09:01# Surrender your ego... #
1:09:01 > 1:09:04We were working really flat-out on everybody's ideas
1:09:04 > 1:09:06and not being kind of possessive about things.
1:09:06 > 1:09:09It was quite liberating.
1:09:14 > 1:09:17Actually, we had some fantastic times and were very close knit
1:09:17 > 1:09:20group, like a family, and we would work in the studio until...
1:09:20 > 1:09:23really, until Freddie got tired.
1:09:23 > 1:09:28# You make me smile when I'm just about to cry... #
1:09:28 > 1:09:32He had more concern about his cats than he did
1:09:32 > 1:09:33about most human contact.
1:09:33 > 1:09:38# You make me laugh and I like it... #
1:09:38 > 1:09:41He would much rather, if he was on tour or away recording or something
1:09:41 > 1:09:44talk to his cats than he would friends. And he really would.
1:09:44 > 1:09:45He would call them up.
1:09:45 > 1:09:50# When you throw a moody You're all claws and you bite... #
1:09:50 > 1:09:53He would call up whoever was in the house
1:09:53 > 1:09:56and expect to talk to one of the cats.
1:09:56 > 1:09:59# Meow, meow... #
1:09:59 > 1:10:02They were his babies. His cats were his babies.
1:10:02 > 1:10:05- Would you like to have children, for example?- I can buy them.
1:10:05 > 1:10:08Of course I would like to have children,
1:10:08 > 1:10:10- I'm just being really frivolous and flippant.- Yeah.
1:10:10 > 1:10:13But, yes, I would.
1:10:13 > 1:10:16With the right... with the right girl, yes.
1:10:16 > 1:10:19BABY SQUEALING
1:10:19 > 1:10:22- Hey, hey, hey.- It's nice, isn't it?
1:10:23 > 1:10:25Are you not even taping him?
1:10:32 > 1:10:37He was having radiation therapy, but he had to do that about 5:30,
1:10:37 > 1:10:41six o'clock in the morning, because it had to be done at the hospital,
1:10:41 > 1:10:42it couldn't be done at home.
1:10:42 > 1:10:44But it had to be done
1:10:44 > 1:10:49when as few people as possible were around to see him going in there.
1:10:49 > 1:10:53Yet he would still go home, have a couple of hours rest and go
1:10:53 > 1:10:54and make music.
1:10:54 > 1:10:58When we did discover that Freddie had this terrible AIDS virus
1:10:58 > 1:11:02in his body, there was still a disbelief in us, you know?
1:11:02 > 1:11:04You think, "No, it can't happen to our mate,
1:11:04 > 1:11:05"it can't happen to Freddie.
1:11:05 > 1:11:08"There is going to be some way out of this, he's going to be cured."
1:11:08 > 1:11:13And right up to the last minute, I think we knew but we didn't know.
1:11:13 > 1:11:17We sort of refused to know, if you like.
1:11:19 > 1:11:22Do you ever worry that you could end up a lonely, rich, old man
1:11:22 > 1:11:24when you are 70?
1:11:24 > 1:11:26No, because I will be dead long before that.
1:11:26 > 1:11:31- You don't expect to be an old bones? - No. Actually, I really don't care.
1:11:31 > 1:11:36I have lived a full life and if I am dead tomorrow, I don't give a damn.
1:11:36 > 1:11:39The man was so strong that you couldn't even tell he was sick,
1:11:39 > 1:11:41really, honestly.
1:11:41 > 1:11:45And finally he said, "Well, I have to sit down now for singing."
1:11:45 > 1:11:47Maybe I was stupid but...
1:11:47 > 1:11:50Or maybe I was just trying to ignore it, maybe I couldn't believe it
1:11:50 > 1:11:52and I didn't want to believe it.
1:11:52 > 1:11:57The last time we met was approximately ten days before he died
1:11:57 > 1:12:00and he and I had a long meeting.
1:12:00 > 1:12:05And I talked to him about preparing a press release,
1:12:05 > 1:12:07which he really didn't want to talk about.
1:12:07 > 1:12:09He said, "Well, whatever you want to do, I don't mind."
1:12:09 > 1:12:12Because what he wanted to talk about was his music, still,
1:12:12 > 1:12:15because even at that very late stage in his life,
1:12:15 > 1:12:17the music was the one thing that brought him to life.
1:12:17 > 1:12:19It never really sank into me, you know,
1:12:19 > 1:12:24up till I suppose the last two weeks that he was dying.
1:12:24 > 1:12:28Um, I think I really carried on my normal work.
1:12:28 > 1:12:30Just to keep myself occupied.
1:12:30 > 1:12:33I didn't want to go absolutely crazy thinking about it all the time.
1:12:33 > 1:12:37When they phoned me up, like, two weeks later,
1:12:37 > 1:12:40"This is the Daily Mirror, do you know that Freddie Mercury is dying?"
1:12:40 > 1:12:42"Do you have anything to say about it?"
1:12:50 > 1:12:53It was weird. He didn't seem like he was dying.
1:12:53 > 1:12:56To me, he was full of beans.
1:12:56 > 1:12:58Right till the end.
1:12:58 > 1:13:02The music world has been paying tribute to Freddie Mercury,
1:13:02 > 1:13:04the lead singer of the rock group Queen.
1:13:04 > 1:13:05He died last night,
1:13:05 > 1:13:0924 hours after confirming he was suffering from AIDS.
1:13:09 > 1:13:14I turned on teletext and it said, "Rock star Mercury dies of AIDS."
1:13:14 > 1:13:20And I wept and howled and shrieked
1:13:20 > 1:13:23and I cried all night.
1:13:24 > 1:13:29The night after he died, I went to 1, Logan Place.
1:13:29 > 1:13:32There were probably 100 people there and people just crying
1:13:32 > 1:13:34and comforting each other.
1:13:34 > 1:13:38And it was just incredibly sad.
1:13:38 > 1:13:39Why did you want to come today?
1:13:39 > 1:13:41Just to pay our last respects to him,
1:13:41 > 1:13:44just to show what sort of person he was, a person everyone loved
1:13:44 > 1:13:46and never hurt nobody.
1:13:46 > 1:13:50I wrote on a note, "There can be only one," which of course,
1:13:50 > 1:13:51is a slogan from Highlander,
1:13:51 > 1:13:53which is a film that Queen did the music for.
1:13:53 > 1:13:58And I pinned the note on the door and I lit a candle.
1:13:58 > 1:14:00And Queen music was blasting out of the house,
1:14:00 > 1:14:06but it was just the saddest, saddest, saddest thing.
1:14:06 > 1:14:08Why have you come?
1:14:08 > 1:14:11I can't answer any questions.
1:14:11 > 1:14:14Some say the greatest gift Freddie Mercury left behind
1:14:14 > 1:14:17was his public acknowledgment that he had AIDS.
1:14:17 > 1:14:20Just 24 hours before he died, he ended speculation about his
1:14:20 > 1:14:24health by issuing a statement saying he was HIV-positive.
1:14:24 > 1:14:27I think the press had their final bit of sort of vitriol
1:14:27 > 1:14:29against Freddie at that time, you know?
1:14:29 > 1:14:32Um...
1:14:32 > 1:14:35Which is amazing, you know, that we had some nasty reports,
1:14:35 > 1:14:36you know, saying...
1:14:36 > 1:14:38Some of them even saying that he deserved to die
1:14:38 > 1:14:40cos he had a promiscuous lifestyle.
1:14:40 > 1:14:43Quite unbelievable things people wrote.
1:14:43 > 1:14:45So, Roger and I went on television just to sort of set
1:14:45 > 1:14:47the record straight, really.
1:14:47 > 1:14:49Everybody has become instant experts on the life
1:14:49 > 1:14:51and past of Freddie Mercury,
1:14:51 > 1:14:54be they in the papers or be they on television.
1:14:54 > 1:14:57Where did they go wrong and where did they go right in their assessments?
1:14:57 > 1:14:58You first.
1:14:58 > 1:15:01Well, I mean, it has been quite distressing to read
1:15:01 > 1:15:04- some of the reports in the press. - Yes.
1:15:04 > 1:15:06I mean, it would be wrong of us not to say
1:15:06 > 1:15:09that he has been depicted in certain quarters as sort of decadent,
1:15:09 > 1:15:13wild, bisexual, irresponsible lover.
1:15:13 > 1:15:16Certainly the Freddie we knew wasn't wildly promiscuous.
1:15:16 > 1:15:19He wasn't consumed by drugs, any of the things people are saying.
1:15:19 > 1:15:22He had a very responsible attitude to everyone that he was close
1:15:22 > 1:15:24to and he was a very generous
1:15:24 > 1:15:27and caring person to all the people that came through his life.
1:15:27 > 1:15:29And more than that, you can't ask.
1:15:29 > 1:15:32I tell you, we do feel absolutely bound to stick up for him.
1:15:32 > 1:15:35Cos he can't stick up for himself anymore.
1:15:35 > 1:15:38I think, you can't defend anybody in the context of having
1:15:38 > 1:15:40Paul Daniels sitting next to you.
1:15:40 > 1:15:43Were you a fan of Queen and Freddie Mercury?
1:15:43 > 1:15:47Well, no, because I wasn't a fan of any music,
1:15:47 > 1:15:51I just put my head down, I should imagine like you did into music,
1:15:51 > 1:15:53- I put my head down into magic. - What a dick!
1:15:53 > 1:15:57And can I equally say that I am not giving any
1:15:57 > 1:16:00of the Royal Family magic lessons, which I read in the paper this week.
1:16:00 > 1:16:05# It's winter-fall
1:16:05 > 1:16:10# Red skies are gleaming, oh...! #
1:16:10 > 1:16:13It has been four years since Freddie Mercury,
1:16:13 > 1:16:16lead singer of the rock group Queen, died from AIDS.
1:16:16 > 1:16:18Today, owing to a combination of his foresight
1:16:18 > 1:16:21and the marvels of modern recording techniques,
1:16:21 > 1:16:24a new Queen album will be released with Freddie Mercury singing.
1:16:24 > 1:16:28# Am I dreaming?
1:16:28 > 1:16:31# Am I dreaming...? #
1:16:31 > 1:16:35It was a monumental task to put that album together,
1:16:35 > 1:16:37which became called Made In Heaven.
1:16:37 > 1:16:41Um... But I think it is one of our best albums, strangely enough.
1:16:43 > 1:16:47It was like Winter's Tale really came out of that sort of desperately
1:16:47 > 1:16:48ill stage.
1:16:48 > 1:16:51Because we knew that the situation was closing in on us.
1:16:51 > 1:16:55And it was... So we sort of made the most of every moment.
1:16:55 > 1:16:58They were made very much out of an awareness
1:16:58 > 1:17:00that Fred wasn't going to be around very long.
1:17:00 > 1:17:03# Sound of merry laughter skipping by
1:17:03 > 1:17:05# Dreaming
1:17:05 > 1:17:09- # Gentle rain beating on my face - Dreaming
1:17:09 > 1:17:11# What an extraordinary... #
1:17:11 > 1:17:12The whole album is a fantasy.
1:17:12 > 1:17:15Because it sounds like the four of us
1:17:15 > 1:17:17are there altogether having fun and making the album
1:17:17 > 1:17:20because for most of the time when you're listening,
1:17:20 > 1:17:24that's not the case, you know, it is built to sound that way.
1:17:24 > 1:17:27# It's all
1:17:27 > 1:17:31# So beautiful
1:17:31 > 1:17:35# Like a landscape painting in the sky
1:17:36 > 1:17:38# Yeah!
1:17:38 > 1:17:42# Mountains are zooming higher
1:17:42 > 1:17:45# Little girls scream and cry... #
1:17:45 > 1:17:48We felt he was almost in the corner of the room,
1:17:48 > 1:17:50we sort of had known each other so well for so long
1:17:50 > 1:17:52that we sort of, you know, thought,
1:17:52 > 1:17:55"He'd like that that, he probably wouldn't like that bit."
1:17:55 > 1:17:58And so, we sort of got there.
1:17:58 > 1:18:02# Am I dreaming?
1:18:02 > 1:18:04# Am I dreaming? #
1:18:04 > 1:18:07Now, having been through that, I can listen to the album
1:18:07 > 1:18:08and it's just a joy.
1:18:13 > 1:18:15# Oh, it's bliss. #
1:18:19 > 1:18:23And at number one, five years after its original release,
1:18:23 > 1:18:25Freddie Mercury's Living On My Own.
1:18:28 > 1:18:32# Sometimes I feel I'm going to break down and cry
1:18:32 > 1:18:37# Nowhere to go, nothing to do but buy time, I get lonely
1:18:37 > 1:18:41# So lonely
1:18:42 > 1:18:45# Living on my own... #
1:18:45 > 1:18:50The very last thing he said to me was, "You can do anything you like
1:18:50 > 1:18:55"with my music, my image, my life, anything, but never make me boring."
1:18:55 > 1:18:59# I don't have no time for no monkey business
1:18:59 > 1:19:01# Dee-do-de-de... #
1:19:01 > 1:19:04When I decided to remix Living On My Own,
1:19:04 > 1:19:06I went to EMI
1:19:06 > 1:19:08and said, "There is a great track on his solo album
1:19:08 > 1:19:10"And I think we should remix it."
1:19:10 > 1:19:13They didn't agree and they said, "No, the album is dead,
1:19:13 > 1:19:14"it hasn't worked."
1:19:14 > 1:19:18And I said, "Well, in that case, we'll go ahead and do it ourselves."
1:19:18 > 1:19:22And we remixed it independently, put it out independently
1:19:22 > 1:19:26and then EMI picked up the track later
1:19:26 > 1:19:30once it had become a dance hit across the clubs of Europe.
1:19:35 > 1:19:40I got probably about 100 to 120 hate letters
1:19:40 > 1:19:43from diehard fans saying,
1:19:43 > 1:19:48"How dare you, what are you touching his music for?"
1:19:48 > 1:19:53And the reason that I had done that is because Freddie had always
1:19:53 > 1:19:58made it very plain that he was not precious about what he produced.
1:19:58 > 1:20:01To him, it was a disposable product.
1:20:01 > 1:20:05# Got to be some good times ahead! #
1:20:05 > 1:20:08Songs are like buying a new dress or a new shirt, I mean,
1:20:08 > 1:20:10you wear it and you then you discard it.
1:20:10 > 1:20:12I mean, people are always writing new songs.
1:20:12 > 1:20:15I think, OK, a certain few classics will always remain,
1:20:15 > 1:20:17and as far as I'm concerned,
1:20:17 > 1:20:20I like to sort of look upon as writing new material.
1:20:20 > 1:20:22What I have written in the past is finished and done with.
1:20:22 > 1:20:27Freddie Mercury was quoted as saying, "My songs are disposable."
1:20:27 > 1:20:32And he was either being modest or disingenuous,
1:20:32 > 1:20:34but either way he was wrong
1:20:34 > 1:20:38because his songs have completely stood the test of time.
1:20:38 > 1:20:40They might have been written for fun,
1:20:40 > 1:20:43but actually, they mean a lot to a lot of people,
1:20:43 > 1:20:47and they will be listened to long after any of us have gone.
1:20:57 > 1:21:01Now that we are at the 25th anniversary of the Barcelona song,
1:21:01 > 1:21:03it seemed the right moment to do what
1:21:03 > 1:21:06I am quite sure Freddie would have wanted to do
1:21:06 > 1:21:08had he had the balls at the time,
1:21:08 > 1:21:12which was to do the album with full orchestra and not with keyboards.
1:21:12 > 1:21:17So, we are working with Stuart Morley, who is our musical director
1:21:17 > 1:21:21from We Will Rock You in London and he has gone back to the album
1:21:21 > 1:21:26and orchestrated it, faithfully, for a full 80-piece orchestra.
1:21:32 > 1:21:37And then we will put Freddie and Montserrat's voice back onto that.
1:21:37 > 1:21:41And realise album that I think should have been there
1:21:41 > 1:21:43had we had the balls to do it at the time.
1:21:43 > 1:21:46# Barcelona!
1:21:46 > 1:21:50# Barcelona! #
1:21:50 > 1:21:54It turned out to be such a success that it sold better
1:21:54 > 1:21:57after he died than before he died.
1:21:57 > 1:22:00In 1992, the Olympics actually happened in Barcelona
1:22:00 > 1:22:03and the song goes to number two.
1:22:05 > 1:22:07It succeeded in its great purpose,
1:22:07 > 1:22:10but it's great purpose was after Freddie died.
1:22:10 > 1:22:14# Barcelona!
1:22:22 > 1:22:30# Ah, ah, ah, ah! #
1:22:35 > 1:22:40Freddie was a shy boy who was worried about his skin and his teeth
1:22:40 > 1:22:42and how he looked and everything.
1:22:42 > 1:22:45But he overcame everything to become that rock God.
1:22:45 > 1:22:48# Made in heaven
1:22:48 > 1:22:51# Made in heaven
1:22:51 > 1:22:57# It was all meant to be! #
1:22:57 > 1:22:59You think you're going to get to heaven?
1:22:59 > 1:23:01No, I don't want to.
1:23:01 > 1:23:03- You don't want to? - No, hell is much better.
1:23:03 > 1:23:07Look at the interesting people that you are going to meet down there.
1:23:07 > 1:23:09You're going to be there, too, you know.
1:23:09 > 1:23:13# If it's really meant to be
1:23:13 > 1:23:17# So plain to see
1:23:17 > 1:23:19# Everybody, everybody... #
1:23:19 > 1:23:23He invented this persona which he inhabited in public
1:23:23 > 1:23:26with his outrageous sort of showmanship, etc, etc.
1:23:26 > 1:23:29But at the heart of it, he was a brilliant, brilliant musician.
1:23:29 > 1:23:33And I think that is what people forget about Freddie Mercury.
1:23:37 > 1:23:39# Written in the stars. #
1:23:39 > 1:23:41How would you like to be remembered?
1:23:41 > 1:23:45Oh, I don't know. I don't really think about it. It's up to them.
1:23:45 > 1:23:48When I'm dead, who cares? I don't.
1:23:54 > 1:23:56Go on, and again.
1:23:56 > 1:23:59# Do-do-do, yeah Oh, oh, oh...
1:24:02 > 1:24:03# Yeah!
1:24:03 > 1:24:05# Yeah, yeah, yeah!
1:24:05 > 1:24:07# Yeah! #
1:24:09 > 1:24:12You know, your album is being shipped around the world, Freddie,
1:24:12 > 1:24:15have you anything to say to the stations in Australia?
1:24:15 > 1:24:18I'm looking to actually outrage them with my new costumes.
1:24:18 > 1:24:21Do you have a message for the stations in Brazil?
1:24:21 > 1:24:24I just want them to have a carnival every time they listen to my songs.
1:24:24 > 1:24:29- A message for the stations in Japan? - Japan, better watch out.
1:24:29 > 1:24:32And do you have a message for the stations in Mexico?
1:24:32 > 1:24:34No.
1:24:34 > 1:24:38- Why not?- Because I don't give a shit.
1:24:38 > 1:24:41And finally, the stations in Sweden?
1:24:41 > 1:24:43Fuck everybody else, that's it.
1:24:43 > 1:24:46You forgot Tibet.
1:24:48 > 1:24:50Oh, fucking hell, that's enough, isn't it?
1:24:50 > 1:24:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd