Remembering Freddie Mercury on the 20th anniversary of his death
Freddie Mercury died 20 years ago last Thursday. The Queen singer and songwriter had been secretly battling AIDS for four years, announcing that he had contracted the disease on Nov. 23, 1991, one day before he passed away of AIDS-related bronchopneumonia. He was 45.
Known for his wide vocal range and unparalleled showmanship, the Zanzibar-born Mercury (nee Farrokh Bulsara) also wrote many of Queen’s biggest hits including the six-minute-long rock opus "Bohemian Rhapsody,” sports anthems "We Are the Champions" and “We Will Rock You” and throwback "Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
“Somebody to Love” and “Fat Bottom Girls” both got the Glee treatment this year, but in many ways, Mercury remains nearly as relevant today as his was throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Just ask Katy Perry, who dressed up as the Queen frontman for her 24th birthday party in 2008, or Lady Gaga, who named herself after a Queen song. American Idol glam rocker Adam Lambert has also cited the magnetic entertainer as a major influence, and perhaps to prove it, stepped in for the late singer at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards, performing a medley of Queen hits along with original members Brian May and Roger Taylor.
Soon after midnight on Nov. 24, the phrase RIP Freddie Mercury was already trending in the U.S. and worldwide.
Of course, what endures now two decades after his passing is the music. Queen sold 32 million albums in the U.S., more than half of which were purchased after Mercury’s death, while globally, it’s estimated that the band has moved some 300 million units.
Currently celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary, surviving member Taylor is leading the charge on the Queen Extravaganza contest, which through audition videos submitted on Youtube, aims to put together a Queen tribute tour. And guitarist May collaborated with Gaga on the MTV Video Music Awards in August. But Mercury’s sprit lives along with iconic imagery forever etched in the minds of the early MTV viewers.
The Hollywood Reporter offers seven of those moments.
Known for his wide vocal range and unparalleled showmanship, the Zanzibar-born Mercury (nee Farrokh Bulsara) also wrote many of Queen’s biggest hits including the six-minute-long rock opus "Bohemian Rhapsody,” sports anthems "We Are the Champions" and “We Will Rock You” and throwback "Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”“Somebody to Love” and “Fat Bottom Girls” both got the Glee treatment this year, but in many ways, Mercury remains nearly as relevant today as his was throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Just ask Katy Perry, who dressed up as the Queen frontman for her 24th birthday party in 2008, or Lady Gaga, who named herself after a Queen song. American Idol glam rocker Adam Lambert has also cited the magnetic entertainer as a major influence, and perhaps to prove it, stepped in for the late singer at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards, performing a medley of Queen hits along with original members Brian May and Roger Taylor.
Soon after midnight on Nov. 24, the phrase RIP Freddie Mercury was already trending in the U.S. and worldwide.
Of course, what endures now two decades after his passing is the music. Queen sold 32 million albums in the U.S., more than half of which were purchased after Mercury’s death, while globally, it’s estimated that the band has moved some 300 million units.
Currently celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary, surviving member Taylor is leading the charge on the Queen Extravaganza contest, which through audition videos submitted on Youtube, aims to put together a Queen tribute tour. And guitarist May collaborated with Gaga on the MTV Video Music Awards in August. But Mercury’s sprit lives along with iconic imagery forever etched in the minds of the early MTV viewers.
The Hollywood Reporter offers seven of those moments.
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