Freddie opened up his heart and gave it everything he had
Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is remembered in a new documentary to mark the 30th anniversary of his death Rachael Popow finds out all about it
ON November 24, Queen fans marked the 30th anniversary of frontman Freddie Mercury’s death. But while his life and career may have been cut short at the age of 45, he continues to loom large over pop culture.
In 2018, he was the subject of the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which won an Oscar for leading man Rami Malek. And of course, Queen’s music remains as popular as ever – the song that gave the film its title is still regularly voted one of Britain’s favourites.
Now, BBC2 is dedicating an evening to him. The highlight is the documentary Freddie Mercury: The Final Act, which charts the last years of his life, as well as the tribute concert held in his honour at Wembley Stadium in April, 1992.
The story begins in 1986, when Queen’s Magic tour reached a climax at Knebworth Stadium in Hertfordshire, confirming Freddie’s status as one of rock’s greatest frontmen.
His bandmate Brian May, who is one of the contributors to the documentary, says: “Freddie opened up his heart and gave it everything he had. He was a musician through and through and through. He lived for his music. He loved his music, and he was proud of himself as a musician above everything else.”
Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946, Freddie had his first top 10 UK hit with Queen in 1974 with Seven Seas of Rhye.
They soon enjoyed global success, but it had seemed like their star might be waning in the early 1980s, especially in America.
That all changed with their iconic, show-stealing performance at Live Aid in 1985, which reminded the world how good they were.
However, as the decade progressed, Freddie would find himself battling HIV/AIDS, a disease that was killing millions and, at the time, carried a huge stigma.
So, when Freddie died, his bandmates wanted not just to celebrate him but also to raise awareness of the illness.
Queen drummer Roger Taylor, who is interviewed in the programme, says: “We were very angry and we had to stick up for our friend – our best friend. I became fixated with the idea of giving him a hell of a send-off.”
The documentary looks at how May and Taylor, along with Queen’s manager Jim Beach, devised a plan to commemorate his life with what would be one of the biggest gigs in history.
The resulting Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, which featured Elton John and David Bowie among the line-up, was attended by over 70,000 people, with more than a billion viewers on TV.
This documentary hears from some of the performers, including Roger Daltrey (The Who) and Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), and promoter Harvey Goldsmith, as well as some of those closest to Freddie, including his sister Kashmira Bulsara, his friends Anita Dobson and David
Wigg, and his PA, Peter Freestone.
The film also features contributions from those who saw the impact of HIV/AIDS first hand, including medical practitioners, survivors and human rights campaigners.
Freddie Mercury: The Final Act is on Saturday, BBC2 at 9pm