Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Brian May: Freddie was so ill he lost a foot before he died
QUEEN legend Freddie Mercury went through “terrible pain” as he battled with Aids, Brian May has revealed.
The disease had a devastating effect on the singer’s body towards the end, though he carried on working. Guitarist May, who formed hit band Queen in 1970, said: “The problem was actually Freddie’s foot and, tragically, there was very little left of it. “Once, he showed it to us at dinner. And he said: ‘Oh, Brian, I’m sorry I’ve upset you by showing you that.’ And I said, ‘I’m not upset, Freddie, except to realise that you have to put up with so much terrible pain’.” Mercury, aged 45, lost his battle with Aids in November 1991, shortly before drugs that can prevent death became available. Within months of his passing, prescriptions for AZT were shown to be helping patients to live for years after their initial HIV diagnosis. The cruel timing is a source of frustration for those who loved the flamboyant frontman. May, 69, said: “He missed it by just a few months. If it had been just a bit later, he would still be with us, I’m sure.” Despite his pain, Mercury continued recording right up to the end. Queen, who had 18 No.1 albums and 18 No.1 singles, including classics such as Bohemian Rhapsody and Somebody To Love, held their final recording sessions in a studio in Montreux, Switzerland, in May 1991. May, promoting his new picture book Queen In 3D, revealed: “What we did was get on with business as usual, which is what Freddie wanted. “He said, ‘I don’t want anything to change’. There wasn’t any self-pity.”