Freddie was best showman

NEXT Thursday it will be 25 years since Freddie Mercury passed away, just 24 hours after releasing a statement informing the world he had been diagnosed as HIV Positive.

On November 24 1991, at the age of just 45, the Queen singer songwriter lost his battle with Aids at his Kensington home, with close friend Dave Clark, formerly of 60s pop band The Dave Clark 5, by his side.

To call Freddie Mercury the greatest ever frontman is a big shout, we’ve had so many, but the greatest ever showman? Absolutely. Many have tried, but no one has ever, or ever will, come close to his unbelievable talent of performing to a crowd.

He was the ultimate theatrical rock performer, always pushing his craft over the edge and with his band he broke many records around the world for concert attendances.

His last ever live performance with Queen was in August 1986 in front of 160,000 fans at Knebworth, where he left the stage in a long white robe, saying farewell to the adoring masses, whilst God Save The Queen played out loud.

Queen’s list of songs and albums is endless, Mercury himself wrote 10 of the 17 singles on the legendary greatest hits album, including Bohemian Rhapsody, Somebody To Love, We are the Champions and Don’t Stop Me Now.

Born Farrokh Bulsara, Mercury was born and raised in India, until moving to Middlesex in 1970, where he formed Queen.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Twenty five years on, we still remember Freddie Mercury.