A selection of artists feel larger-than-life and seem like they were born to perform on the grandest stage. The late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury certainly fell into this exclusive club among the rock elite, and it all felt like his whole life was building up to his show-stealing performance at Wembley Stadium for Live Aid in 1995.
Mercury created a new archetype in rock ‘n’ roll, which many have attempted to replicate since Queen catapulted to fame decades ago. The Queen frontman was undoubtedly a pioneer who ushered in a new method of being a rock star, which connected deeply with millions across the globe and made the group internationally renowned.The late singer was an original by every possible metric, and he sought those same admirable attributes in the artists he idolised. Notably, one of his favourite bands was Led Zeppelin, who he held on a pedestal, and without their presence, the rock landscape would be unrecognisable. They created fresh music, which Mercury couldn’t help but adore.
He once said of the group: “I would say that Led Zeppelin are the greatest, and as a rock band they deserved the kind of success they got. Robert Plant is one of the most original vocalists of our time. He was always my favourite singer. And he’s said nice things about me.”
While Elton John and Led Zeppelin are entirely different brands of acts, they are both utterly unique in their own way, which is why they garnered the respect of Mercury. For the late singer, it was the most important facet any artist could have, and no matter where they sat on the musical spectrum, they’d earn his admiration.
According to UDiscoverMusic, he once said of John: “Elton’s a good old cookie. I love him to death and I think he’s fabulous. To me he’s like one of those last Hollywood actresses of any worth. He has been a pioneer in rock’ n’ roll. The first time I met him he was wonderful, one of those people you can instantly get on with. He said he liked ‘Killer Queen’ and anyone who says that goes into my white book. My black book is bursting at the seams!”
The two musicians were close friends, and John was deeply affected by the death of Mercury, who passed away following a heartbreaking battle with AIDS. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, John lost many close friends to the illness, and he formed the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which has raised millions for the vitally important cause.In 2019, while speaking onstage at London’s Eventim Apollo for a one-off event to promote his memoir, Me: Elton John, the singer confessed of Mercury’s last days: “I didn’t go and see him often as AIDS was terrifying and he was physically terrifying to look at.”
Furthermore, in the book, he wrote of Freddie: “He was too frail to get out of bed, he was losing his sight, his body was covered in Kaposi’s sarcoma lesions, and yet he was still definitely Freddie, gossiping away, completely outrageous. I couldn’t work out whether he didn’t realise how close to death he was or if he knew perfectly well but was determined not to let what was happening to him stop him being himself.”
While Elton holds regret about not seeing Mercury as often as he should have done during that period, his work with the Elton John AIDS Foundation has had a powerful impact and saved countless lives over the last three decades, ensuring many others don’t suffer the same fate as the Queen singer.