Of all the eccentric frontmen in history, few stood out as effervescent as Freddie Mercury. Even his convergence with Queen way back when was signposted by a certain unabashed confidence, making him one of the most forthcoming figures in all of music history. Even better was the fact that this never faltered; in his last moments, he remained full of dignity, signing off the only way a true legend ever could.
Even in his snarkiest moments, Mercury was a warm presence, with a mind few could sit in opposition against and a brilliance charred only by the broader prejudices that lingered around those destined for greatness. You only have to look as far as some of the more critical comments uttered by his peers to realise Queen was only too much to those who could handle only the more traditionally heteronormative rock arenas.But Mercury’s perceived standoffishness was usually merely a product of his own intuition; if he knew a certain song would sound better another way, he made it known. If someone’s creativity was falling short, he would let them know. And if he didn’t want to do something, he wouldn’t ever come close to suffering through it for the purpose of art. In his view, if it opposed his better judgment, it wasn’t art anyway.
Many of the band’s greatest hits include several stories demonstrating this sturdy position, including ‘We Will Rock You’, although this likely testified more to the band’s ability to collaborate effortlessly rather than anything resembling Mercury’s core leadership tendencies. In fact, his adherence to his own inhibitions is perhaps best evidenced by ‘You’re My Best Friend’, namely his aversion to going anywhere near a piano per John Deacon’s request.The song was a personal one of Deacon’s, written about the simplicities of life with his wife. It’s something many can identify with, like finding solace in a partner and enjoying their company so much that everything else seems like mere background noise. Mercury’s smooth vocalisation provides the perfect mouthpiece for Deacon’s sentiment as he sings about his best friend being his “sunshine”.
To give the track its simple yet complete feel, Deacon played an electric piano, mirroring similar efforts by many of their contemporaries at the time, including Stevie Wonder. He initially wanted Mercury to embrace the instrument for the song, but as usual, the frontman wasn’t shy about expressing his disdain for the techniques he rendered pointless.
“I refused to play that damn thing,” he later said. “It’s tiny and horrible and I don’t like them. Why play those when you have a lovely superb piano.”
Nonetheless, Deacon took it upon himself to go away and learn the instrument, making sure the track stayed as true to his original vision as it possibly could. Interestingly, the song came to epitomise a good chunk of early-2000s cinematography, likely a notable credit to Deacon’s persistence with his electric piano—instead of appearing more straightforward in the traditional sense, it created a layered, almost cinematic soundscape.