Though he'd been ill for several years,
Freddie Mercury's untimely death came as a shock to even
his closest friends.
The day he died, the world changed forever,
and not just because one of the greatest rock bands
of all time had lost its vocalist.
On November 23rd, 1991, fans of Freddie Mercury received some
terrible news.
Their musical hero had been diagnosed as HIV positive and
had AIDS,
a fatal autoimmune disease caused by HIV.
In a statement, the usually private musician informed his fans.
Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last
two weeks,
I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV
positive and have AIDS.
I felt it correct to keep this information private to
date to protect the privacy of those around me.
He went on to explain that he'd decided it was
finally time to go public with the news saying.
The time has come now for my friends and fans
around the world to know the truth,
and I hope that everyone will join with me,
my doctors, and all those worldwide in the fight against
this terrible disease.
As Mercury's statement noted, there had been feverish speculation about
the singer's condition,
with published photographs showing him looking thin and frail.
Though knowledge of HIV and AIDS had been growing among
the general public for around a decade by the time
of Mercury's disclosure,
the news was deeply shocking.
We had everything
and we avoided questions. He was the biggest name to
be confirmed as having the disease and the statement also
turned attention to
Mercury's sexuality as he had never publicly confirmed he was
gay,
but also made no effort to hide it.
Just 24 hours after Mercury told the world that he
was HIV positive and had AIDS,
he was on his deathbed at his London home,
succumbing to the effects of bronchial pneumonia.
With a weakened immune system,
the illness took hold of him quickly.
News outlets that had only just broken the news of
Mercury's diagnosis to his fans now shared that Queen's electrifying
frontman was no more.
The rock star Freddie Mercury died last night,
the day after he announced that he had AIDS.
He was 45. After months of nothing but rumor and
speculation,
many, including Mercury's friends, were stunned by the sudden barrage
of tragic news stories,
and few expected events to move so quickly.
Mercury had first been diagnosed with HIV back in
1987, sharing the information only with his inner circle.
Though his health was certainly deteriorating.
Those closest to him, such as Peter Freestone,
who helped care for Mercury in his final days,
thought that he had more time left after he made
his announcement to the world.
Freestone, who worked as Mercury's full time personal assistant from
1980 until his death, has been open about his love
for his friend and the job he held for more
than a decade.
But even he was shocked at Mercury's death,
despite having knowledge of his condition.
On Ask Phoebe, A blog he wrote for Freddie Mercury's
official site,
he said we all knew it could not be too
long,
but Freddie's doctor had said that he could be with
us for quite a few days longer.
I tend to feel that Freddie had decided he had
had enough and it was time to go under his
own terms.
Freestone claims Mercury was aware that his health was declining
in the mid
1980s, which is why he decided to be tested for
HIV.
However, though Mercury went for the test when his doctor
called to give him his diagnosis,
he reportedly avoided speaking to him,
afraid that he would get the worst news possible.
Treatment for HIV was still in its infancy at the
time,
unlike today when the condition can be managed with regular
medication.
Back then, the diagnosis was practically a death sentence.
But as his friends and colleagues have made clear,
when Mercury became aware of his condition,
he showed great resolve. According to Elton John,
who was close friends with the Queen singer and who
continued to receive gifts from Mercury up until the latter's
death,
it seemed that Mercury was unafraid of his fate.
Indeed, Mercury's bandmates have confirmed that despite his diagnosis and
ailing health,
he remained focused on his music.
In the documentary Queen, Days of Our Lives,
guitarist Brian May said that Mercury sat his bandmates down
and explained his condition.
However, he didn't want to linger on it and instead
planned to dedicate his remaining time to making music as
they had always done.
For their final work before his death,
Mercury shared songwriting credits with his bandmates,
which reportedly brought the four men closer than ever before.
Despite Freddie Mercury's diagnosis and declining health,
Queen did manage to return to the studio and continue
to write and record music in the years leading up
to his death.
With full knowledge of Mercury's condition at the time,
some of these works are incredibly moving.
In retrospect, The Miracle was a defiantly optimistic album which
outlined Mercury's vision of the world.
Elsewhere, and These Are the Days of Our Lives,
Mercury offers a sign off to the world.
The song's famous music video even sees the legendary showman
gazing into the eye of the camera to whisper the
words I Still love you.
What has emerged through the testimony of friends is the
fact that on November
10th, 1991, almost two weeks before his death,
Mercury had ceased taking medication
on his Ask BB blog,
Freestone wrote. He made all his arrangements.
I think he just felt and knew it was his
time.
Speaking to OK Magazine, his lifelong partner Mary Austin also
explained
the quality of his life had changed so dramatically and
he was in more pain every day.
He was losing his sight.
His body became weaker as he suffered mild fits.
One day he decided enough was enough and stopped all
the medical supplements that were keeping him going.
Despite his immense fame, Mercury endeavoured to live a private
life,
especially as his health began to fail him.
He made his dislike of interviews and of celebrity culture
clear,
preferring instead to surround himself with people who made him
laugh.
I hate talking to people I,
I don't really know. Austin lived with Mercury at his
London home and was with him until the end of
his life.
The two had met before
Mercury's mega stardom, when the singer was 24 and Austin
was 19.
Mercury described Austin as the woman who would have been
his wife,
as well as the love of his life.
Peter Freestone was also present,
with the assistance role transforming into that of Nurse in
Mercury's final months. Freestone recalled that Mercury was so weak
towards the end of his life that a bodyguard had
to carry the singer downstairs so that he could view
his art collection. Others continue to visit Mercury,
including Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five,
who was reportedly at his fellow musician's bedside when he
passed.
Sadly, while the history of LGBTQ plus lives and the
struggle for equality and acceptance are widely honored today,
attitudes towards HIV, AIDS, and homosexuality were quite different in
1991. This was reflected in many of the news stories
about Freddie Mercury's illness and death,
especially in the notorious British tabloid press.
Of course, many news channels were honoring Mercury as a
singular artist and performer,
and fans were mourning his death from a disease which
took so many lives prematurely.
In the 1980s and 1990s,
however, some muckraking journalists and editors were seeking salacious angles
from which to approach the story,
with articles often spilling over into blatant homophobia.
Indeed, at a time when some coroners falsely considered HIVA
disease that affected only gay men,
some people implied that Mercury's death was representative of some
moral justice for his promiscuity,
an aspect of his life he had not attempted to
hide in interviews.
Talking to The Pink News,
Freddie Mercury The Final Act director James Rogan recalled his
horror at some of the headlines he uncovered during the
making of the documentary,
Saying there were headlines like I'd shoot my son if
he had AIDS and ones where they'd catch you unawares
and you'd read it and think,
how did this manage to make it into print?
I just can't get my head around it.
In the weeks following Freddie
Mercury's death, many of the same tabloids who previously published
candid photos of him looking frail focused on uncovering sensational
details of Mercury's life on the London gay scene and
accounts of his sex life.
Grieving their loss, the other members of Queen were shocked
by the treatment of their friend and bandmate received in
the press an aspect of his death that they were
still angry about years later.
Mercury's bandmate Rodger Taylor even described the journalists who hounded
him as vultures,
he told Rolling Stone. I have never got over his
death.
None of us have. I think that we all thought
that we could come to terms with it quite quickly,
but we underestimated the impact his death had on our
lives.
I still find it difficult to talk about.
For those of us left,
it is as though Queen was another lifetime entirely.
In Queen Days of Our Lives,
Mercury's bandmates explain how they essentially closed ranks and lied
to the world about the singer's condition,
which was necessary to prevent his life descending into a
media circus that would prevent him from spending his last
years working.
Producer Dan Hall identified the actions of the other members
of Queen who stood by their friend and also publicly
denounced the vilification of homosexuality after Mercury's death as fine
examples of solidarity. As many news reports from the time
noted,
Mercury's death caused discourse around HIV and AIDS to reach
fever pitch.
Mercury's diagnosis came fast on the heels of several other
news stories around the disease,
such as the diagnosis of basketball star Magic Johnson and
the death of British theater director Tony Richardson.
Mercury's disclosure contained a rallying cry to the world to
combat the deadly disease,
the consequences of which were written large a day later.
Campaigners believed that the tragic death represented a turning point
in the history of HIV and AIDS,
changed how it was viewed by the public and contributed
to it being taken seriously as a major health crisis.
News of Freddie Mercury's death shook his fan base,
especially those living in London where his final moments played
out
as fans grappled with their feelings over the tragic loss.
Mercury's Kensington home seemed the logical destination for one young
man who,
in front of the cameras of the world's press,
left a bunch of roses and a note for the
late singer on the front step of his home Garden
Lodge put down to Freddie,
one of the greatest rock singers
ever lived,
from one of his loyal fans.
Before long, Mercury's home became a place of pilgrimage for
countless fans who came to pay their respects and offer
their condolences.
It remains a popular destination for Queen fans who find
themselves in London.
For their part, Mercury's bandmates quickly made it clear that
Queen had no intention of disbanding and within days of
the heartbreaking news,
began putting together plans for a tribute show dedicated to
the singer's memory.
The band followed through on their word with the Freddie
Mercury Tribute Concert taking place the following April at London's
Wembley Stadium,
the site of Mercury's timeless Live Aid performance.
Staged especially for AIDS awareness,
the concert saw the band's surviving members performing a twenty
hit set with a bevy of A list guest vocalists
including David Bowie,
Mercury's good friend Elton John and noted rock vocalist Robert
Plant of Led Zeppelin and Axel Rose of Guns N'
Roses. The show was considered a great success and was
key to giving the remaining members the confidence to continue
their acclaimed stage show.
In the years that followed,
Queen joined up with guest vocalists Paul Rogers and Adam
Lambert on a series of acclaimed tours.
Freddie Mercury was known for his kindness and generosity,
which included countless charitable donations and extravagant gifts for his
friends.
At the time of his death,
his net worth was believed to be in the region
of
£75,000,000. In his last will and testament,
Mercury left half of his estate to marry Austin.
Austin inherited the Kensington mansion they shared together,
as well as the majority of his possessions such as
his art collection.
The rest was divided among family members,
with friends and romantic partners such as Jim Hutton and
Peter Freestone receiving 6 figure cash gifts or property.
Though Mercury had many friends and lovers throughout his life,
none were as close to him as Austin,
who supported him in the early days when he was
broke and trying to make it as a rock star.
She was at his side to the very end and
was charged with possession of Mercury's ashes after his death.
She has never revealed where she scattered them in tribute
to the very private icon.