1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:05,440 # Ay-oh (CROWD) # Ay-oh 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:08,160 # Ay-oh (CROWD) # Ay-oh 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,720 # Ayyyyyy-oh (CROWD) # Ayyyyyy-oh 4 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:14,280 # Ay-oh # Ay-oh # Ay-oh # Ay-oh 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:16,520 # Ayyy-oh # Ayyy-oh 6 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,280 'I'm Alfie Boe, and as a singer and performer, 7 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:23,400 I've always been fascinating by the genius of Freddie Mercury. 8 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,160 Montreux, on the shores of Lake Geneva, 9 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,400 was Freddie's home for the last years of his life 10 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:32,760 and where he made his final recordings. 11 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,520 Like so many fans, I've come here to pay homage to a man 12 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,040 who had a greater influence on me than any other artist. 13 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:43,840 # Ayyyyyyy-oh 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:49,040 (CROWD) # Ayyyyyyy-oh 15 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,120 # Ay-oh # Ay-oh # Ay-oh # Ay-oh 16 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,560 # De-doe-de-doe-de-doe-de-doe-de-doe 17 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,280 # De-doe-de-doe-de-doe-de-doe-de-doe All right! 18 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,840 'I remember as a kid being captivated by Freddie the first time I saw him on TV.' 19 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,920 # He's just a poor boy from a poor family 20 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,240 # Spare him his life from this monstrosity 21 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:12,520 'I watched and admired as he wrote one of the biggest-selling singles ever.' 22 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,200 # Bismillah, no 23 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,720 'With Queen, he practically invented the pop video. 24 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:22,960 He even embraced ballet, and finally he took my world, the opera world, by storm.' 25 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,520 # Ahhhh 26 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,600 # Barcelona 27 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,400 'Now, two decades after his death, 28 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,880 I'm rehearsing for a performance to celebrate Freddie's life. 29 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,840 In many ways, my musical journey is the reverse of Freddie's. 30 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,520 He went from rock to opera. 31 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:45,960 I'm a classically-trained opera singer 32 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:51,840 escaping the constraints of my formal education and embracing all kinds of music.' 33 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,920 # This dream was me and you 34 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:57,440 # Tal vez esta aqui 35 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:03,280 'After years of training, performing Freddie's signature pop-opera classic shouldn't be a problem. 36 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,640 But the more I practise, the more I realise how complex the song is. 37 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,000 I find it extraordinary that Freddie, 38 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,240 who as far as I know was an untutored, untrained rock singer, 39 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,760 could write and sing this incredible piece.' 40 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,240 I wanna ask how much of Freddie's lack of formal training 41 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:35,480 made him the creative genius that basically inspired me to get up on the stage.' 42 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,480 (CHEERING) 43 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,920 Yeah, get your phone. How you doing, girls? 44 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:56,480 'Today, I'm lucky enough to play venues like the Albert Hall and the O2 Arena.' 45 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,320 We love you, Alfie. Aw, bless you. 46 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:01,480 'But it wasn't always like that. 47 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,640 And I owe it to Freddie Mercury. 48 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,880 Like Freddie, I suspect, I was a bit of an outsider. 49 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:14,800 I was discovered when I was 19, working as a car mechanic in Blackpool. 50 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,880 I came to London to study at the Royal College of Music. 51 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:22,040 It was a privilege and an honour. It gave me the voice I have today. 52 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:26,000 But I found my first year at college difficult. 53 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,640 The demand for perfection was hard and I struggled to cope with life in London 54 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:35,120 and it got so bad that I ended up sleeping rough here in Hyde Park.' 55 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,520 I was at a point where I didn't know where to continue. 56 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,480 I had no money, I wasn't eating and it was a difficult time for me. 57 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,120 'And then something happened that changed my life. 58 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,480 I got the opportunity to demo a tape of Queen songs 59 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,240 in the famous Abbey Road studios, where the Beatles recorded. 60 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,560 College was all about technical perfection, 61 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,560 and being a massive Queen fan, I was determined to get it right. 62 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,680 The track was The Show Must Go On. 63 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:22,600 Now I'm going back to listen to that recording for the first time in 15 years.' 64 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:27,440 # Empty spaces 65 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,240 # What are we living for? 66 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,920 # Abandoned places, I guess we... 67 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,560 Oh, my goodness. This is awful! 68 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:38,480 # On and on 69 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,440 'Freddie had an amazing voice, four octaves, 70 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,120 but I've got quite a range myself, so that's not the issue.' 71 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:47,800 I'm pronouncing every word. 72 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,680 Yeah, every syllable's... Yeah, clean. 73 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,480 # Behind the curtain... Cur-tain. 74 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,040 'My performance was technically perfect 75 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,680 but it was miles off Freddie. It just had no emotion behind it.' 76 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,920 # Does anybody want to take it any more? 77 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,440 # The show must go on 78 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,240 It's so boring! (LAUGHS) 79 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,640 '15 years ago, that day in this studio 80 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,960 literally changed my life.' 81 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:23,440 When I left here, I was filled with this... energy and drive 82 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,320 to go and pursue what I really wanted to pursue, 83 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:31,520 to go and do what I wanted to do, to sing the music I wanted to sing, and discover emotion. 84 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,880 # The show must go on 85 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,640 'And the spur for me was listening to the real thing. 86 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,960 I heard a raw feeling and freedom in Freddie's voice. 87 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,320 From the very last tracks, like The Show Must Go On, 88 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,400 all the way back to the very first Queen records. 89 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:57,360 This is Seven Seas of Rhye, Queen's first hit 90 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,240 and one of the first Queen tracks I ever heard.' 91 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,160 The start of Seven Seas of Rhye, 92 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,240 that piano intro... (IMITATES PIANO INTRO) ..it's incredible. 93 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,000 # Fear me, you lords and lady preachers 94 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,880 # I descended on your Earth from the skies 95 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,520 # I command your very souls, you unbelievers 96 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,240 # Bring before me what is mine, the seven seas of rhye 97 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:27,720 'Now I want to explore what gave rise to that unique voice and that extraordinary music. 98 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:32,880 I'm hoping it'll help me as I move from opera into new musical worlds. 99 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,040 Freddie had a crossover life himself. 100 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:42,440 Born Farrokh Bulsara in 1946 on the island of Zanzibar... 101 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:48,200 ..from the age of eight, he was sent back to his parents' homeland of India 102 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:52,920 to a boarding school modelled on the English public school system.' 103 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,960 # "Another One Bites The Dust" - Queen 104 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,360 Hey, Bruce. How you doing? 105 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,160 'I've come to the Music Centre in Bedford to meet Bruce Murray 106 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,480 an old school friend of Freddie's. 107 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,360 Together, Bruce and Freddie formed a band known as The Hectics. 108 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:18,200 But surprisingly, Freddie wasn't the vocalist.' 109 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:21,720 Did he do a lot of the singing? No. I was the singer. You were? 110 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:23,880 Wow. That's my claim to fame. 111 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,320 He was just my piano player. (BOTH LAUGH) 112 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,400 So how was he on the piano? Fantastic. 113 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:33,720 I mean, he couldn't read. 114 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:36,600 We used to have a thing called the hit parade 115 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:41,040 and we'd sit down there and he'd just listen to the song, Elvis, 116 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,880 Cliff, something, and just, "We'll do that song, Freddie," and away he'd go and play it. 117 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,200 'It wasn't just innate musical talent Freddie displayed. 118 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:55,160 In the boxing ring, he revealed another quality that would be useful 119 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,720 to an unlikely future rock star.' 120 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:00,560 We were the seconds in the ring for him 121 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,360 and he was having this fight and he was losing. 122 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:08,720 He had the problem with his teeth. You smack him in the mouth, he's gonna bleed. 123 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,200 And he was bleeding all over the place and I said to him, 124 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,920 "Freddie, just let's throw the towel in." 125 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:19,560 The eyes glazed. "No! There's no way I'm gonna do that," kind of thing. 126 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:24,240 He got hammered but he wouldn't give up. He had this determination. 127 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,320 "They don't know anything. I'm gonna be the star." 128 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,080 # Here I stand 129 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:37,360 # Look around, around, around, around, around 130 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:43,000 'But first, the aspiring star had to manage a huge cultural upheaval.' I know you from somewhere! 131 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,120 'To find out what impact this had on his musical development, 132 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:49,760 I'm meeting Freddie's sister, Kashmira. 133 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:56,000 In Kashmira's kitchen, I'm also meeting Freddie's 91-year-old mum, Jer. 134 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,320 His exotic, privileged life ended in 1964 135 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:03,760 when his family moved to a small terraced house in West London 136 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,680 as refugees from revolution in Zanzibar.' 137 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:14,680 When he was growing up, did he have any training, any lessons from anybody? No, not really. 138 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:20,040 His voice was just a natural gift. Yes. Yeah. My goodness, he could sing. 139 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:25,560 Was he able to play piano or play an instrument to encourage his musical... 140 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:30,640 Yeah, but the problem was, we didn't have a musical instrument at home. 141 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,040 And he went to college 142 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:38,280 and some of the boys wanted to move and they had a piano 143 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:42,440 and they wanted to get rid of it, and he came all excited, telling me. 144 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,160 I said, "No, no, no way. We can't afford it." 145 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:49,040 Then he said, "No, you don't have to pay. They just giving it free." 146 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,480 I said, "I've got to make up something." 147 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:58,080 I said, "No, there's no space here. No piano coming here because you've got to study first." (BOTH LAUGH) 148 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,760 What was that programme? Top Of The Pops. Top Of The Pops. Yeah. 149 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:05,160 Oh, he would never miss that. Never miss that. 150 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:12,040 Freddie would have Jimi Hendrix records playing over and over and over again and again. 151 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,400 That's the one where it's the Jimi Hendrix pose. Yeah. 152 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,280 Oh, he loved everything to do with Jimi Hendrix. 153 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:20,480 A Jimi Hendrix hat, as well. Yeah. 154 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:24,680 'Freddie soaked up the cultural life that seeped into his house. 155 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:28,640 He sketched a portrait of Hendrix and used him as inspiration 156 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,120 for his first attempts at writing songs.' 157 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:35,960 He's always humming or his hands are going like this all the time, you know. 158 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:40,160 And then an idea will come to his head and he'll just scribble it down. 159 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:44,040 Yes, sometimes in the middle of the night, he would wake up... Really? 160 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:46,160 And he would just write it down. Wow. 161 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:50,320 I'm usually changing a nappy in the middle of the night. (ALL LAUGH) 162 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,320 Oh, very inspirational. (ALL LAUGH) 163 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,080 He was a perfectionist, though. That's the thing. 164 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,640 He always was the longest in the bathroom. Always. 165 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:03,080 There was only one bathroom there and I was always saying, 166 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:07,960 "Freddie, it should be the other way around. It should be the girl spending more time." 167 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,400 She looks a bit annoyed that he was in the bathroom too long. 168 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:13,720 (ALL LAUGH) Yeah! 169 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:20,560 It was a huge insight to learn a lot about Freddie and his musical tastes. 170 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:23,560 You know, not being able to have a piano in the house 171 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:27,640 and not being able to develop his talent, 172 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:30,640 erm, must've been quite frustrating for him. 173 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:33,760 # "You're My Best Friend" - Queen 174 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,320 # Ooooh, you make me live 175 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:44,520 # Whatever this world... 176 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:50,840 'To find out if Freddie had an outlet for his musical talent, I'm meeting Brian Fanning and Adrian Murish. 177 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:55,280 They were amongst the first friends Freddie made when he arrived in England. 178 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:57,680 Brian is the owner of an unseen treasure 179 00:11:57,680 --> 00:11:59,880 that reveals the teenage Freddie.' 180 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:03,240 Ah. Wow. My goodness. 181 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,160 That's Freddie Mercury. (LAUGHS) 182 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:17,000 He shot the film. OK. This is all shot at Isleworth Polytechnic on one day. 183 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,040 This is interesting, cos he puts his arms up, 184 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,400 as I've seen him do on stage. Like that. 185 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:26,040 That was one of his typical poses. It was already there. 186 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:30,160 So how old were you all there? 17. 187 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,320 So nobody's ever seen this? No. No. 188 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,720 He started the term in September. 189 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,560 He didn't have any friends. He'd just come to the UK. Yeah. 190 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:43,040 He's wearing a maroon jacket. That was his school jacket 191 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,520 from... What, from Mumbai? Yeah. 192 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:50,400 Yeah. He was a very shy, peripheral type of character. 193 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:54,920 There was no inkling of that kind of stardom at all. 194 00:12:54,920 --> 00:13:00,320 In a lot of these shots, he seems to either be at the side of the scene or at the back. 195 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:04,800 He had trouble with self-confidence because of his teeth. Wouldn't smile much. 196 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,080 In fact, that's how I recognised him after all those years. 197 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,880 A photographer had caught him doing that 198 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:14,040 and I looked at him and I thought, "That's Fred Bulsara." 199 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:18,200 'Isleworth College proved the unlikely setting for the rebirth 200 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,520 of Freddie's stifled musical talent.' 201 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:26,360 In the mornings, he'd go to the assembly hall, there was a stage there and a grand piano 202 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:30,680 and he had access to that before everything started and he practised on that. 203 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:33,880 But I'd never heard him sing. No. Never. Wow. 204 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:37,960 I think back then, a guy of that age, 205 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:42,000 if I go off my experiences, I knew I could sing. 206 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:46,240 I knew I had a quality and an ability to produce music, 207 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:51,520 but I didn't really... I wasn't forthcoming with it. I was quite shy about it and nervous. 208 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:57,200 And I think that might be what Freddie's feeling. I think that might be the stage he was going through. 209 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:01,200 He could express himself incredibly on the piano, but when you start 210 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,640 focusing on an instrument that's so personal and internal, 211 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:09,680 trying to get that across, it is quite a big step to take. 212 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,880 'So how did this shy boy on the edge of the crowd 213 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,920 finally find his voice?' 214 00:14:26,762 --> 00:14:30,322 'When Freddie Mercury arrived in Britain in 1964 215 00:14:30,322 --> 00:14:32,722 as the refugee Freddie Bulsara, 216 00:14:32,722 --> 00:14:36,442 he was a shy boy in his old school blazer on the edge of the crowd. 217 00:14:42,202 --> 00:14:46,602 Within a decade, he was one of the most famous rock frontmen on the planet. 218 00:14:48,242 --> 00:14:50,322 How did that happen? 219 00:14:54,642 --> 00:14:57,602 In 1970, Freddie met Brian May, 220 00:14:57,602 --> 00:15:00,962 who, with Roger Taylor, already had a group of his own.' 221 00:15:00,962 --> 00:15:04,002 (STRUMS GUITAR) 222 00:15:06,722 --> 00:15:11,322 'I'm meeting my favourite guitar hero to find out how Freddie Bulsara 223 00:15:11,322 --> 00:15:14,082 transformed himself into Freddie Mercury.' 224 00:15:15,562 --> 00:15:18,202 Is that the riff? Yeah. 225 00:15:18,202 --> 00:15:23,282 I saw some old footage of Freddie when he was at Isleworth. Yeah, yeah. 226 00:15:23,282 --> 00:15:26,722 And it was a totally different guy. 227 00:15:26,722 --> 00:15:31,482 He was in the background, always at the side of the shot, always behind the crowd. 228 00:15:31,482 --> 00:15:36,962 Maybe the truth of the matter is that there was a catalytic thing that happened when we met Freddie. 229 00:15:36,962 --> 00:15:42,122 Cos I know Freddie was very inspired by us. He used to come and watch us and he got very excited 230 00:15:42,122 --> 00:15:47,562 and maybe he saw in us what he wanted to be and where he wanted to be. 231 00:15:47,562 --> 00:15:53,162 Freddie said, "Oh, I'll sing with you." And we went, "Really? You can sing?" 232 00:15:53,162 --> 00:15:58,002 Cos we had no idea. We'd only seen him walking around and having lots of ideas. 233 00:15:58,002 --> 00:16:02,122 We knew he was a very dynamic kind of guy, but we didn't know if he could sing. 234 00:16:02,122 --> 00:16:04,482 But Freddie also was very kind of screamy. 235 00:16:04,482 --> 00:16:07,082 He was very into the posing and running around 236 00:16:07,082 --> 00:16:10,602 and he would kind of screech his lungs out. How was it taken? 237 00:16:10,602 --> 00:16:14,682 Er, it went down well. But the biggest influence on Freddie was Freddie. 238 00:16:14,682 --> 00:16:17,042 And it happened when he started to record, 239 00:16:17,042 --> 00:16:20,282 cos once you hear yourself coming back out of the speakers, 240 00:16:20,282 --> 00:16:23,602 it's very different. It's so different to doing things live. 241 00:16:23,602 --> 00:16:26,682 And as soon as Freddie was hearing himself coming back, 242 00:16:26,682 --> 00:16:29,402 he was visibly dissatisfied 243 00:16:29,402 --> 00:16:32,322 and always searching, always trying to improve. 244 00:16:32,322 --> 00:16:36,162 'The band provided Freddie with creative, talented collaborators 245 00:16:36,162 --> 00:16:39,562 to help develop his untutored song-writing skills.' 246 00:16:39,562 --> 00:16:42,442 Freddie had this great idea called Stone Cold Crazy 247 00:16:42,442 --> 00:16:46,242 and it was all about, erm... I don't know what the hell it's about! 248 00:16:46,242 --> 00:16:48,682 It was one of Freddie's frenetic ideas. 249 00:16:48,682 --> 00:16:51,922 But it wasn't a frenetic song. It went something like... 250 00:16:51,922 --> 00:16:55,082 (PLAYS GUITAR) 251 00:16:58,562 --> 00:17:04,922 Or something like that. So I said, "It would be funny if we did it more frenetic, the way you normally are." 252 00:17:04,922 --> 00:17:07,402 So I did this... 253 00:17:07,402 --> 00:17:10,322 (PLAYS GUITAR) 254 00:17:15,962 --> 00:17:19,922 But he liked that. And so the song instantly became... (IMITATES BEAT) 255 00:17:19,922 --> 00:17:21,962 # Sleeping very soundly on a Saturday morning 256 00:17:21,962 --> 00:17:24,002 And that gelled with us very quickly. 257 00:17:24,002 --> 00:17:25,962 # "Stone Cold Crazy" - Queen 258 00:17:25,962 --> 00:17:29,042 'Once Freddie had an outlet for his voice and his music, 259 00:17:29,042 --> 00:17:32,922 the final exuberant part of his character, the performer, emerged, 260 00:17:32,922 --> 00:17:36,322 backed up with a determination to carry everyone with him.' 261 00:17:36,322 --> 00:17:41,482 Freddie was all about giving a show, connecting with an audience, 262 00:17:41,482 --> 00:17:45,482 and those are concepts which we really had kind of ignored. 263 00:17:45,482 --> 00:17:48,242 In those days, that wasn't the way things were done. 264 00:17:48,242 --> 00:17:50,682 Most people were doing what we did, 265 00:17:50,682 --> 00:17:55,722 just stood on stage and got into their music between themselves and ignored the audience. 266 00:17:55,722 --> 00:17:59,842 Freddie comes in and goes, "No, it's about entertaining people. 267 00:17:59,842 --> 00:18:03,082 Costumes, lights, erm, everything." 268 00:18:10,602 --> 00:18:13,042 # Just a new man 269 00:18:13,042 --> 00:18:16,922 'The costumes became a powerful tool in transforming the shy boy 270 00:18:16,922 --> 00:18:19,522 into the extrovert performer. 271 00:18:19,522 --> 00:18:23,482 In the early 70s, Freddie asked designer Zandra Rhodes to dress 272 00:18:23,482 --> 00:18:28,402 what Freddie called "the most preposterous band that ever lived." 273 00:18:28,402 --> 00:18:34,242 I get a call from this group call Queen that they'd like to come in. So they came in and I'd say, 274 00:18:34,242 --> 00:18:38,722 "Why don't you try things on?" So this is the one that he tried on. 275 00:18:38,722 --> 00:18:42,122 So you had this already made up? I had this already made up. 276 00:18:42,122 --> 00:18:48,002 It's part of an outfit that I did as a wedding dress, in actual fact. Right, OK. 277 00:18:48,002 --> 00:18:53,082 I also did Princess Anne's engagement dress, 278 00:18:53,082 --> 00:18:56,682 that was also part of this whole collection. Right. (LAUGHS) 279 00:18:56,682 --> 00:19:01,962 So it was royalty and Freddie and all of that all mixed up together. 280 00:19:01,962 --> 00:19:08,362 And I'd get them trying on things and saying, "See how you feel as you move around the room. 281 00:19:08,362 --> 00:19:14,522 You've got to feel great." He had this fabulous way of changing into things. 282 00:19:14,522 --> 00:19:17,322 Freddie was like this wonderful chameleon 283 00:19:17,322 --> 00:19:21,402 and the fact that he absorbed all these different things. 284 00:19:21,402 --> 00:19:26,002 It's a huge part of him being able to deliver a song, I believe, anyway, as an artist. 285 00:19:26,002 --> 00:19:29,522 Cos sometimes I've been in operas that I've hated the costume 286 00:19:29,522 --> 00:19:33,882 that I'm wearing and I've not been able to put across the character of the song. 287 00:19:33,882 --> 00:19:37,242 Whereas Freddie needed that to be the guy on stage. 288 00:19:39,562 --> 00:19:45,002 'The costumes may have played their part in encouraging the private Freddie to come out, too.' 289 00:19:46,882 --> 00:19:51,162 He was going through, also, the push-me-pull-you of what he was. 290 00:19:51,162 --> 00:19:54,882 Mm. Hidden and coming out. Yeah. 291 00:19:54,882 --> 00:19:59,642 And then he was only able to come out through the work that he did. 292 00:19:59,642 --> 00:20:04,322 But if that inner fight hadn't been going on, 293 00:20:04,322 --> 00:20:08,242 he might not have achieved what you saw him achieve. Yeah. 294 00:20:08,242 --> 00:20:12,282 # Oooh, lover boy 295 00:20:12,282 --> 00:20:14,242 # What you doing tonight? 296 00:20:14,242 --> 00:20:15,642 # Hey, boy 297 00:20:15,642 --> 00:20:18,122 # Set my alarm, turn on my charm 298 00:20:18,122 --> 00:20:22,242 # That's because I'm a good old-fashioned lover boy 299 00:20:23,362 --> 00:20:25,402 # Ooh, let me feel... 300 00:20:25,402 --> 00:20:29,882 'The 1970s were a difficult time to come out as a gay man in Britain. 301 00:20:29,882 --> 00:20:34,242 Homosexuality had only been decriminalised in 1967. 302 00:20:35,602 --> 00:20:38,482 I wonder how much Freddie's conflicted sexuality 303 00:20:38,482 --> 00:20:40,682 contributed to his creativity. 304 00:20:41,722 --> 00:20:46,122 David Evans first encountered Freddie in 1973, 305 00:20:46,122 --> 00:20:49,522 just as Freddie began to wrestle with his sexuality. 306 00:20:51,322 --> 00:20:56,322 They were to remain close friends until Freddie's untimely death in 1991.' 307 00:20:57,522 --> 00:21:01,082 My flatmate and very, very good friend David Minz 308 00:21:01,082 --> 00:21:05,682 had, erm... Well, he pulled really well that night. (LAUGHS) 309 00:21:05,682 --> 00:21:09,682 And, er, yes, there he was at the breakfast table 310 00:21:09,682 --> 00:21:12,602 with a cup of coffee, "Hello." 311 00:21:12,602 --> 00:21:15,762 Hairbrush in hand. "Ow!" (LAUGHS) 312 00:21:15,762 --> 00:21:21,122 'At the time, Freddie was still living with his long-term girlfriend, Mary Austin.' 313 00:21:21,122 --> 00:21:25,562 That must've been a difficult time. It was difficult for everybody, actually. 314 00:21:25,562 --> 00:21:28,442 I said, "You have to tell her. She must know." 315 00:21:28,442 --> 00:21:32,602 But then Freddie, you see, didn't like to hurt people. 316 00:21:32,602 --> 00:21:36,722 It was a tense time, the becoming the new me, 317 00:21:36,722 --> 00:21:42,842 the shucking off of the old Freddie must've been, you know, "Am I doing the right thing to come out?" 318 00:21:42,842 --> 00:21:45,802 And, you know, there was a lot of conflict in his life. 319 00:21:45,802 --> 00:21:53,122 Was it anger or frustration? Anger not in a sort of, erm, personally directed way. 320 00:21:53,122 --> 00:21:56,762 I think anger is a great spur 321 00:21:56,762 --> 00:22:01,642 for... erm, creative people 322 00:22:01,642 --> 00:22:06,122 who have to somehow be impelled 323 00:22:06,122 --> 00:22:08,682 to do something. 324 00:22:09,802 --> 00:22:14,522 'Freddie began to inject this into his unique performance style.' 325 00:22:16,282 --> 00:22:22,002 I sometimes got the feeling, when he approached the audience, it was like he was cruising in a gay bar. 326 00:22:22,002 --> 00:22:26,802 He was like challenging people. There was a huge libido there in the performance 327 00:22:26,802 --> 00:22:31,242 that he could draw on to almost say, "Come and get me. Come on. 328 00:22:31,242 --> 00:22:34,242 You want it? You want a bit of this? Come and get it." 329 00:22:34,242 --> 00:22:37,642 He was always an outsider all his life. 330 00:22:37,642 --> 00:22:39,882 That's a huge key to Freddie. 331 00:22:39,882 --> 00:22:44,602 You know, he was very much conscious of always being, you know, 332 00:22:44,602 --> 00:22:49,882 slightly infer... not inferior, well, maybe inferior, even. 333 00:22:49,882 --> 00:22:54,202 But he always was very awkward in social situations to start with. 334 00:22:54,202 --> 00:22:58,842 Right. Outsider coming to England in '64, 335 00:22:58,842 --> 00:23:02,482 and being gay, an outsider in his own family, as well. 336 00:23:02,482 --> 00:23:05,122 You know, always a little bit on the outside. 337 00:23:05,122 --> 00:23:08,762 # Is this the real life? 338 00:23:08,762 --> 00:23:11,242 # Is this just fantasy? 339 00:23:11,242 --> 00:23:16,082 'All the elements of Freddie's self-taught passionate and wide-ranging creativity 340 00:23:16,082 --> 00:23:18,722 came together in 1975 341 00:23:18,722 --> 00:23:23,042 when Freddie broke all the rules with Bohemian Rhapsody.' 342 00:23:23,042 --> 00:23:27,202 # Look up to the skies and see 343 00:23:27,202 --> 00:23:31,482 'For me, with this mixture of ballad, mock-opera and rock, 344 00:23:31,482 --> 00:23:34,322 it's one of the greatest songs ever.' 345 00:23:34,322 --> 00:23:36,842 # I need no sympathy 346 00:23:36,842 --> 00:23:42,522 Rhapsody was really a product of Freddie's fevered brain, you know, more than anything else. 347 00:23:42,522 --> 00:23:44,842 And yes, we did contribute loads, 348 00:23:44,842 --> 00:23:49,202 but he had this amazing kind of blueprint in his head of how it should sound 349 00:23:49,202 --> 00:23:52,282 and he came in with most of those harmonies written out. 350 00:23:52,282 --> 00:23:55,962 And we would work them out on the piano, particularly Freddie, 351 00:23:55,962 --> 00:24:00,522 because if the chord sounded right on the piano, it would sound OK for us singing. 352 00:24:00,522 --> 00:24:05,282 'It caused a musical sensation that has lasted 40 years.' 353 00:24:05,282 --> 00:24:09,602 # For me, for me 354 00:24:15,722 --> 00:24:18,762 'This clip from Wayne's World in 1992 355 00:24:18,762 --> 00:24:23,442 illustrates how the song became part of our cultural DNA. 356 00:24:23,442 --> 00:24:28,402 Rick Wakeman sees its brilliance in its unrestrained construction.' 357 00:24:29,682 --> 00:24:33,162 Freddie wasn't technically trained on the piano. No. 358 00:24:33,162 --> 00:24:37,042 Well, that shows... The chords are actually quite straightforward. 359 00:24:37,042 --> 00:24:41,322 (PLAYS MELODY) 360 00:24:41,322 --> 00:24:43,762 They're just very, very straightforward. 361 00:24:43,762 --> 00:24:47,282 But it's what the lads do all around it, 362 00:24:47,282 --> 00:24:51,082 and then he'll do that in as many keys as possible. Yeah. 363 00:24:51,082 --> 00:24:57,082 (PLAYS MELODY) He'll go... Well, I can't... So I'll do it in this key now. (PLAYS IN DIFFERENT KEY) 364 00:24:57,082 --> 00:24:59,842 It builds and builds and builds. And it works. 365 00:24:59,842 --> 00:25:04,522 It's... It's sort of a formula within a lot of Queen pieces. 366 00:25:04,522 --> 00:25:09,722 I think if he'd had any formal training, I don't think he would've done Bohemian Rhapsody 367 00:25:09,722 --> 00:25:14,362 or some of the harmonies and the way he worked with stuff, because I think with Fred, 368 00:25:14,362 --> 00:25:17,482 it was an element of he discovered it for himself 369 00:25:17,482 --> 00:25:22,762 and then, no pun intended, but then did it my way. 370 00:25:22,762 --> 00:25:26,962 He did it as he wanted to. He's not been taught how to do that. 371 00:25:28,082 --> 00:25:33,562 'Bohemian Rhapsody stayed at the top of the UK charts for nine weeks.' 372 00:25:33,562 --> 00:25:37,802 # To me 373 00:25:45,042 --> 00:25:50,442 'For me, one of the best things about embracing musical worlds outside opera 374 00:25:50,442 --> 00:25:55,322 has been the completely different relationship with the audience.' 375 00:25:55,322 --> 00:25:58,082 # It's only love 376 00:25:58,082 --> 00:26:00,402 # Yeah, yeah 377 00:26:00,402 --> 00:26:05,522 'With rock'n'roll, that relationship is less formal, more fluid and interactive.' 378 00:26:05,522 --> 00:26:07,802 # It's only love 379 00:26:07,802 --> 00:26:10,962 'But rock wasn't always like that. 380 00:26:10,962 --> 00:26:15,762 I know how much I've been influenced by the path Freddie forged on the rock stage. 381 00:26:15,762 --> 00:26:18,802 As Queen toured stadia around the world, 382 00:26:18,802 --> 00:26:21,722 Peter Hince, Freddie's roadie for 12 years, 383 00:26:21,722 --> 00:26:27,362 saw the untrained free spirit perfect his own intuitive performing style.' 384 00:26:27,362 --> 00:26:31,082 This is one of the microphones that Freddie used 385 00:26:31,082 --> 00:26:35,162 and we used to change them round, because they did get damaged. 386 00:26:35,162 --> 00:26:38,002 He sang so hard and there was so much spray, 387 00:26:38,002 --> 00:26:42,042 after a day or so, things would be literally growing out of them. 388 00:26:42,042 --> 00:26:45,402 Er, there's bits of the foam disintegrated. 389 00:26:45,402 --> 00:26:48,322 And he always wanted a different clip 390 00:26:48,322 --> 00:26:55,282 and it was because, er, when it was on the sort of stick or his wand or whatever he used to call it, 391 00:26:55,282 --> 00:27:00,042 that had the right tension so he could make it a sword, 392 00:27:00,042 --> 00:27:04,362 he could make it a machine gun, he could, you know, make it whatever. 393 00:27:04,362 --> 00:27:07,882 And it became an extension of him, that prop. 394 00:27:07,882 --> 00:27:12,482 I'm gonna hold Freddie Mercury's microphone. Wow. And it feels good. Yeah, it does. 395 00:27:12,482 --> 00:27:15,922 # We are the champions 396 00:27:15,922 --> 00:27:18,242 # My friend 397 00:27:18,242 --> 00:27:22,642 He started doing more, I suppose, interaction with the audience 398 00:27:22,642 --> 00:27:26,442 and songs like We Are The Champions, 399 00:27:26,442 --> 00:27:29,842 and if the audience picked up on it, then he would go with it. 400 00:27:29,842 --> 00:27:32,522 And then the rest of the band might go with it. 401 00:27:32,522 --> 00:27:34,842 Certainly in South America, 402 00:27:34,842 --> 00:27:38,242 a lot of that stuff in those big football stadiums started. 403 00:27:38,242 --> 00:27:42,842 I mean, he could be very demanding, there's no question about that. 404 00:27:42,842 --> 00:27:45,922 He could play the diva when he wanted to be. 405 00:27:45,922 --> 00:27:49,402 He used to throw roses into the audience at the end of the show 406 00:27:49,402 --> 00:27:53,882 and someone had to de-thorn hundreds of roses 407 00:27:53,882 --> 00:27:57,162 so that he could throw them without being injured. 408 00:27:57,162 --> 00:28:03,602 He pushed everybody, and I think that by doing that, he raised everybody else. 409 00:28:05,162 --> 00:28:09,402 'In stadia around the world in the 80s, Freddie perfected his style. 410 00:28:09,402 --> 00:28:13,522 The power of his voice, the electrifying control of the audience. 411 00:28:13,522 --> 00:28:16,402 But in Britain, Queen had almost disappeared. 412 00:28:17,602 --> 00:28:22,242 Then one performance reinvented Queen for a new generation. 413 00:28:23,882 --> 00:28:28,762 Freddie called on his full armoury of performance skills to cement his reputation 414 00:28:28,762 --> 00:28:32,682 as one of the greatest frontmen of all time. 415 00:28:33,762 --> 00:28:37,602 At 6pm on July 13th 1985, 416 00:28:37,602 --> 00:28:40,522 Bob Geldof was screaming into our living rooms, 417 00:28:40,522 --> 00:28:43,962 asking us to donate money for Ethiopian famine relief. 418 00:28:43,962 --> 00:28:46,682 But then he was distracted.' 419 00:28:47,962 --> 00:28:51,242 Well, suddenly I heard this fantastic sound, 420 00:28:51,242 --> 00:28:54,082 like a huge record, you know? 421 00:28:54,082 --> 00:28:57,122 Like... Like earphones this size. 422 00:28:57,122 --> 00:29:01,122 And... And I heard the crowd 423 00:29:01,122 --> 00:29:05,322 just going... mad, you know? 424 00:29:05,322 --> 00:29:10,362 And again, maybe it was muffled backstage. But this is the part. 425 00:29:10,362 --> 00:29:12,402 # You had the power 426 00:29:12,402 --> 00:29:16,282 # You're yet to have your finest hour 427 00:29:16,282 --> 00:29:18,442 # Radio 428 00:29:18,442 --> 00:29:19,882 Everybody! 429 00:29:19,882 --> 00:29:22,522 # All we hear is 430 00:29:22,522 --> 00:29:24,562 # Radio ga ga 431 00:29:24,562 --> 00:29:26,602 # Radio goo goo 432 00:29:26,602 --> 00:29:28,242 # Radio ga ga 433 00:29:28,242 --> 00:29:30,642 # All we hear is 434 00:29:30,642 --> 00:29:32,362 # Radio ga ga 435 00:29:32,362 --> 00:29:37,082 They're just fantastic songs. I mean, they can only work with that voice. 436 00:29:37,082 --> 00:29:40,522 The construction is so odd, 437 00:29:40,522 --> 00:29:42,922 and in that way, they mirror the band. 438 00:29:42,922 --> 00:29:48,402 It's such an odd band. I mean, you know, you've got this odd-looking bunch of people, 439 00:29:48,402 --> 00:29:52,882 and fronting it all, you cannot say Freddie Mercury is a good-looking man. 440 00:29:52,882 --> 00:29:57,682 You just can't say it. And you don't actually mind. 441 00:29:57,682 --> 00:30:02,242 The sort of pantomime gay moustache. Like, he is the Village People in one. 442 00:30:02,242 --> 00:30:04,802 What's the frontman style he's got? 443 00:30:04,802 --> 00:30:07,562 I mean, it's all marching to a position. 444 00:30:07,562 --> 00:30:10,402 But then his gob opens 445 00:30:10,402 --> 00:30:15,002 and, really, all of this weirdness comes together. 446 00:30:15,002 --> 00:30:19,522 # We are the champions, my friend 447 00:30:21,882 --> 00:30:27,082 # And we'll keep on fighting till the end 448 00:30:27,082 --> 00:30:31,962 He turned out to be one of the great rock archetypes. Well, the greatest. 449 00:30:31,962 --> 00:30:36,322 Is there a better voice, I mean, proper range-wise? 450 00:30:36,322 --> 00:30:39,482 # No time for losers 451 00:30:39,482 --> 00:30:45,842 # Cos we are the champions 452 00:30:45,842 --> 00:30:50,082 'Ironically, Freddie and Queen hadn't initially wanted to do Live Aid. 453 00:30:50,082 --> 00:30:53,002 Bob was forced to turn on the charm.' 454 00:30:53,002 --> 00:30:58,482 I said, "If ever, ever, ever there was a stage 455 00:30:58,482 --> 00:31:02,842 built for Freddie Mercury, it's the Live Aid stage." 456 00:31:02,842 --> 00:31:07,482 And he said, "Darling, what do you mean by that?" And I said, "Darling, the world." 457 00:31:07,482 --> 00:31:11,242 And he said, "Yes, well, I can quite see that." 458 00:31:11,242 --> 00:31:13,082 Yeah, do it! 459 00:31:13,082 --> 00:31:16,282 (ALL) # We will, we will rock you 460 00:31:16,282 --> 00:31:17,922 Sing it again! 461 00:31:17,922 --> 00:31:21,602 # We will, we will rock you 462 00:31:21,602 --> 00:31:23,202 One more time! 463 00:31:23,202 --> 00:31:27,202 (all) # We will # We will rock you 464 00:31:27,202 --> 00:31:30,282 Of course, look at the way he just took over the thing. 465 00:31:30,282 --> 00:31:32,922 The minute he walked out on stage, it was his. 466 00:31:32,922 --> 00:31:35,962 A band, four geezers, on stage, 467 00:31:35,962 --> 00:31:38,322 wall-to-wall hits, 468 00:31:38,322 --> 00:31:40,722 17 minutes, thanks very much, goodbye. 469 00:31:40,722 --> 00:31:45,522 And it's remained in people's heads for 30 years now. 470 00:31:45,522 --> 00:31:49,082 You know, that performance. Extraordinary. 471 00:31:56,382 --> 00:32:00,422 'Freddie Mercury and Queen conquered the rock world at Live Aid. 472 00:32:02,582 --> 00:32:06,422 But Freddie was soon to discover that time was running out. 473 00:32:06,422 --> 00:32:09,222 The rock star who thought pop music disposable 474 00:32:09,222 --> 00:32:11,702 now wanted a legacy. 475 00:32:11,702 --> 00:32:16,382 And he saw a way to it in my world of opera. 476 00:32:16,382 --> 00:32:20,022 It was driven, as always, by his contempt for the rule book. 477 00:32:21,382 --> 00:32:28,102 I want to understand his desire to conquer the elitist world that I found so restricting. 478 00:32:31,782 --> 00:32:35,062 Tonight, at the annual tribute for Freddie, 479 00:32:35,062 --> 00:32:38,182 I'm going to begin my exploration of Freddie and opera 480 00:32:38,182 --> 00:32:41,902 by performing Barcelona, his crossover classic. 481 00:32:43,062 --> 00:32:46,422 I'll be duetting with Laura Wright. 482 00:32:48,342 --> 00:32:52,462 Because of its complexity, Barcelona is rarely performed live. 483 00:32:55,142 --> 00:32:58,342 Freddie only attempted it twice in his life. 484 00:32:58,342 --> 00:33:02,062 And that fact is making me somewhat anxious.' 485 00:33:03,862 --> 00:33:07,822 You're going out in front of a few hundred people, you know, 486 00:33:07,822 --> 00:33:12,582 and you've got a lot of things to think about, you've got the words, the tune, 487 00:33:12,582 --> 00:33:19,102 the... stamina to get through it, as well, because Barcelona, for one, is quite a big sing. 488 00:33:19,102 --> 00:33:21,422 And it's a nerve-racking thing. 489 00:33:21,422 --> 00:33:25,422 If I wasn't nervous then it'd probably be the day to stop. 490 00:33:29,822 --> 00:33:37,502 (BOTH) # Por it sere graviota de tu bella mar 491 00:33:37,502 --> 00:33:41,702 # Barcelona # Seunan las campanas 492 00:33:41,702 --> 00:33:46,822 # Barcelona # Abre tus puertas al mundo 493 00:33:46,822 --> 00:33:51,502 # If God is willing # If God is willing 494 00:33:51,502 --> 00:33:57,582 # If God is willing (BOTH) # Friends until the end 495 00:33:57,582 --> 00:34:02,822 # Viva 496 00:34:02,822 --> 00:34:04,902 # Ahhhh 497 00:34:04,902 --> 00:34:10,902 # Barcelona # 498 00:34:10,902 --> 00:34:14,302 (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 499 00:34:24,262 --> 00:34:26,662 Oh, my goodness, that's something else. 500 00:34:26,662 --> 00:34:30,822 It was really... really wonderful to do, really nice to do. 501 00:34:30,822 --> 00:34:36,502 And I felt Freddie up there, even though I messed up a couple of lines, but I think I got away with it. 502 00:34:36,502 --> 00:34:39,582 (BOTH SING) 503 00:34:39,582 --> 00:34:45,262 'Exploring this challenging number has made me interested in what captivated Freddie about opera. 504 00:34:47,582 --> 00:34:51,702 And it's bringing me and Freddie together in a surprising place. 505 00:34:51,702 --> 00:34:54,302 The Royal Opera House. 506 00:34:54,302 --> 00:34:59,502 I'm going back to the place I know so well from my opera career with Peter Freestone. 507 00:34:59,502 --> 00:35:03,102 Peter was Freddie's PA for the last 12 years of his life.' 508 00:35:03,102 --> 00:35:06,982 So what was his first reaction when he walked into the building here? 509 00:35:06,982 --> 00:35:11,302 Was he... This is the sort of style that he loved. That he liked. 510 00:35:11,302 --> 00:35:17,542 'Freddie fell in love with this world, but this place restricted me.' 511 00:35:17,542 --> 00:35:22,622 How long have you worked here? Six years. Oh, I'm sorry. (LAUGHS) You'll get used to it soon. 512 00:35:22,622 --> 00:35:25,062 (LAUGHS) 513 00:35:25,062 --> 00:35:29,062 I just went through a lot of anger here. It was really annoying. 514 00:35:29,062 --> 00:35:33,982 They... We were told when I worked here as a singer 515 00:35:33,982 --> 00:35:37,582 that we're having a press conference in the morning. 516 00:35:37,582 --> 00:35:42,582 So I turned up, unshaven, hair a mess, had a few beers the night before, 517 00:35:42,582 --> 00:35:46,502 a big sweatshirt on that said Duffer, you know, and I had this... 518 00:35:46,502 --> 00:35:50,902 So from that day on, I think I was, you know, they called me the bad boy of opera. 519 00:35:50,902 --> 00:35:53,222 A marked man. Yeah, I was a marked man. 520 00:35:53,222 --> 00:35:56,622 I basically find going to the opera boring. 521 00:35:56,622 --> 00:36:02,702 It's all this... purist and hemmed-in emotion that you have to control. 522 00:36:04,142 --> 00:36:07,502 'But for Freddie, this place held no fears. 523 00:36:07,502 --> 00:36:14,382 Here Peter introduced Freddie to the voice that would change his artistic life. 524 00:36:14,382 --> 00:36:19,502 They'd come to listen to Pavarotti, but it wasn't Pavarotti who captured Freddie's heart.' 525 00:36:19,502 --> 00:36:24,622 This lady comes in from the back and starts singing. 526 00:36:26,582 --> 00:36:31,022 And Freddie, I could just see out of the corner of my eye, just went... 527 00:36:31,022 --> 00:36:33,742 And his jaw just dropped. 528 00:36:34,702 --> 00:36:37,422 He was... (CHEERS) 529 00:36:37,422 --> 00:36:40,662 "Who is it?" And so I opened the programme. 530 00:36:40,662 --> 00:36:42,982 Montserrat Caballe. Wow. 531 00:36:42,982 --> 00:36:49,182 And he said at that point that this is the best voice in the world. 532 00:36:49,182 --> 00:36:53,702 Wow. Wow. He didn't wanna bother with Pavarotti any more. 533 00:36:53,702 --> 00:36:58,502 He'd grown up. He'd grown into sopranos. (LAUGHS) 534 00:36:58,502 --> 00:37:02,342 Erm, and he just really fell in love with her voice. 535 00:37:02,342 --> 00:37:07,982 And what a voice. She had this thing that he never had, which was the control... Yeah. ..of the voice. 536 00:37:12,062 --> 00:37:14,662 'It's poignant for me to learn that Freddie, 537 00:37:14,662 --> 00:37:17,582 whose unique voice was forged purely by passion, 538 00:37:17,582 --> 00:37:21,022 was in awe of the opera diva's technical prowess. 539 00:37:23,782 --> 00:37:28,782 Producer Mike Moran remembers how Freddie embraced this new discovery. 540 00:37:28,782 --> 00:37:34,382 And the drunken night when Freddie and Montserrat started to create Barcelona.' 541 00:37:34,382 --> 00:37:36,982 I heard that she sang some Aretha Franklin? 542 00:37:36,982 --> 00:37:40,182 Yeah, she... Well, she tried it out. 543 00:37:40,182 --> 00:37:44,462 Cos she was saying to Fred, "I don't know anything about this but I love it." 544 00:37:44,462 --> 00:37:47,462 And he said, "Tell me how you do all these things." 545 00:37:47,462 --> 00:37:51,662 So, you know, all that went on. And he said, "Well, I can't sing opera." 546 00:37:51,662 --> 00:37:54,902 So, you know, it was just fun. 547 00:37:54,902 --> 00:37:57,662 'All Freddie's creative maturity, 548 00:37:57,662 --> 00:38:00,342 iconoclasm and vocal ingenuity 549 00:38:00,342 --> 00:38:05,022 came together as they forged an entirely new song form.' 550 00:38:05,022 --> 00:38:11,702 Don't forget, there was no template for this. The crossover rock and classical just didn't exist. 551 00:38:13,102 --> 00:38:17,142 'And as so often, the emotion of the moment drove Freddie's lyrics.' 552 00:38:17,142 --> 00:38:19,902 I said, "Well, we need a title to start with." 553 00:38:19,902 --> 00:38:23,942 He said, "I don't know. Let's call it Barcelona, it's where we met." 554 00:38:23,942 --> 00:38:29,142 OK. The line in it where he said, "The minute you walked into the room, you took my breath away." 555 00:38:29,142 --> 00:38:31,542 They were fascinated with each other. 556 00:38:31,542 --> 00:38:35,462 "You took my breath away," all that stuff, "I had this perfect dream," 557 00:38:35,462 --> 00:38:39,982 the dream that one day that he would meet her. 558 00:38:39,982 --> 00:38:43,582 I remember saying to him, "Two things are paramount here. 559 00:38:43,582 --> 00:38:47,422 You always are a rock singer, she is always an opera singer. 560 00:38:47,422 --> 00:38:50,142 So you both do what you do best." 561 00:38:50,142 --> 00:38:56,462 So I sat down and I said, "What we need to do is to start out with some kind of operatic intro, if you like. 562 00:38:56,462 --> 00:38:59,742 Something a bit like a fanfare." 563 00:38:59,742 --> 00:39:02,302 (PLAYS PIANO FANFARE) 564 00:39:02,302 --> 00:39:06,342 So that led to an orchestral kind of introduction. 565 00:39:06,342 --> 00:39:10,062 And he said, "Well, that's all very well, but it's in the wrong key." 566 00:39:10,062 --> 00:39:12,982 (PLAYS PIANO) OK. 567 00:39:15,702 --> 00:39:19,582 This is the modulation to the key that suited him. 568 00:39:19,582 --> 00:39:21,822 (PLAYS PIANO) 569 00:39:23,742 --> 00:39:26,702 Little intro. (PLAYS PIANO) 570 00:39:30,062 --> 00:39:33,222 # I had this perfect dream 571 00:39:35,902 --> 00:39:38,742 # This dream was me and you 572 00:39:41,022 --> 00:39:43,582 So... That's wicked. Yeah. That's great. 573 00:39:43,582 --> 00:39:47,742 That was nice. Cheers! (LAUGHS) I enjoyed that. 574 00:39:47,742 --> 00:39:53,022 'It says so much about Freddie's charisma that he could entice Montserrat, like me, 575 00:39:53,022 --> 00:39:57,062 to leave the security of the opera world for the spontaneity of rock.' 576 00:39:57,062 --> 00:40:02,542 It takes a leap of faith to go from something that's written down, and it's absolutely that way, 577 00:40:02,542 --> 00:40:07,902 but in this instance, you can. You can do what you want. But it's a great step to just go, 578 00:40:07,902 --> 00:40:13,342 "I'm just gonna do that." Yeah. Because it's contrary to everything that you've been trained for. 579 00:40:13,342 --> 00:40:17,422 'Mike plays me an early demo of Barcelona that he sent to Montserrat 580 00:40:17,422 --> 00:40:19,702 with Freddie singing both parts.' 581 00:40:19,702 --> 00:40:22,142 # I always had a dream Different lyrics. 582 00:40:22,142 --> 00:40:24,222 # You always had a dream 583 00:40:24,222 --> 00:40:26,422 # Our dream is coming true 584 00:40:26,422 --> 00:40:29,302 (HUMS VERY HIGH) 585 00:40:29,302 --> 00:40:32,102 # I want everyone to see 586 00:40:32,102 --> 00:40:34,662 (HUMS VERY HIGH) 587 00:40:34,662 --> 00:40:37,462 (LAUGHS) It's good, isn't it? It's very good. 588 00:40:37,462 --> 00:40:41,702 (HUMS MELODY) 589 00:40:44,622 --> 00:40:47,502 So the lyrics weren't created. 590 00:40:51,942 --> 00:40:57,862 'Naturally, I've come to Barcelona to meet the legendary diva.' 591 00:40:57,862 --> 00:41:02,022 I am a little nervous, erm, to meet her. 592 00:41:02,022 --> 00:41:06,302 I think it's maybe knowing Freddie was nervous when he met her. 593 00:41:06,302 --> 00:41:10,662 But I suppose when you're taking on board something that is quite classical 594 00:41:10,662 --> 00:41:15,702 and he hasn't really had that much experience of singing or performing classical music, 595 00:41:15,702 --> 00:41:21,062 to meet somebody who's trained in classical music is very intimidating. 596 00:41:21,062 --> 00:41:24,862 It is a little bit like meeting royalty. 597 00:41:26,582 --> 00:41:31,062 'We've arranged to meet in the very same hotel room where Freddie met Montserrat. 598 00:41:32,822 --> 00:41:38,182 I've come armed with a recording made on the famous drunken night when Barcelona was born.' 599 00:41:39,462 --> 00:41:41,502 "(LAUGHTER)" 600 00:42:00,702 --> 00:42:03,342 We were trying. That's wonderful. 601 00:42:03,342 --> 00:42:06,462 "(MONTSERRAT AND FREDDIE SING MELODY)" 602 00:42:15,022 --> 00:42:17,102 (BOTH LAUGH) There he goes! 603 00:42:19,022 --> 00:42:23,822 I think that night we were working on Barcelona until six o'clock in the morning. 604 00:42:23,822 --> 00:42:28,742 Wow. It was like discovering a new world for me, 605 00:42:28,742 --> 00:42:32,782 this... this interpretation. 606 00:42:32,782 --> 00:42:35,782 It was a big crossover. 607 00:42:35,782 --> 00:42:42,622 And, you know, it bring us many people to the opera 608 00:42:42,622 --> 00:42:45,982 that came from pop and rock. Yeah. 609 00:42:45,982 --> 00:42:48,582 And that has made me very happy. 610 00:42:48,582 --> 00:42:52,502 So he was welcomed with open arms into the classical world? 611 00:42:52,502 --> 00:42:56,582 Yeah. Yeah. Because he was a very good musician. 612 00:42:57,702 --> 00:43:02,582 'Montserrat even sang one of Freddie's compositions at the Royal Opera House.' 613 00:43:02,582 --> 00:43:07,702 And I tried to do my best, you know, to sing it well. 614 00:43:07,702 --> 00:43:12,142 And I says at the end, I think it was at the end, 615 00:43:12,142 --> 00:43:15,102 I says, "I have a surprise for you. 616 00:43:15,102 --> 00:43:19,422 We have to make bravo to the composer 617 00:43:19,422 --> 00:43:22,382 which is sitting there, and it's Freddie Mercury." 618 00:43:22,382 --> 00:43:27,022 Oh, my goodness. And it was a big ovation at Covent Garden at the Royal Opera House for him. 619 00:43:28,462 --> 00:43:32,222 'So we both share something - the applause of the Royal Opera House. 620 00:43:33,502 --> 00:43:36,382 For Freddie, it was the validation he craved.' 621 00:43:37,542 --> 00:43:43,262 The way he thought and the way he act in life 622 00:43:43,262 --> 00:43:47,142 is something that you have it in your inside or you don't. 623 00:43:47,142 --> 00:43:52,102 These kind of things, they are things that you never forget. 624 00:43:52,102 --> 00:43:54,022 We... 625 00:43:54,022 --> 00:43:58,382 And we have a great, great friendship. 626 00:43:58,382 --> 00:44:01,182 # I had this perfect dream 627 00:44:01,182 --> 00:44:03,942 # Un sueno me envolvio 628 00:44:03,942 --> 00:44:06,422 # This dream was me and you 629 00:44:06,422 --> 00:44:09,182 # Tal vez esta aqui 630 00:44:09,182 --> 00:44:12,022 # I want all the world to see 631 00:44:12,022 --> 00:44:14,942 # Un instinto me guiaba 632 00:44:14,942 --> 00:44:17,622 (BOTH) # A miracle sensation 633 00:44:17,622 --> 00:44:20,422 # My guide and inspiration 634 00:44:20,422 --> 00:44:22,902 # Now my dream 635 00:44:22,902 --> 00:44:27,462 # Is slowly coming true 636 00:44:34,862 --> 00:44:37,222 'Barcelona certainly speaks to me. 637 00:44:37,222 --> 00:44:40,742 I'm a lad from Fleetwood who took on the opera establishment. 638 00:44:40,742 --> 00:44:44,502 Freddie was the outsider from Zanzibar who, without any training, 639 00:44:44,502 --> 00:44:46,942 conquered the most elitist of the arts. 640 00:44:51,022 --> 00:44:53,342 By the time Barcelona was released, 641 00:44:53,342 --> 00:44:56,862 Freddie already knew he was HIV positive. 642 00:44:59,582 --> 00:45:03,382 Time was now short. But that didn't slow Freddie down. 643 00:45:03,382 --> 00:45:08,782 He spent his last few months living and recording here in Montreux at Queen's Mountain Studios. 644 00:45:20,942 --> 00:45:23,542 The studio floor is now a casino, 645 00:45:23,542 --> 00:45:25,622 but the control room is still there. 646 00:45:28,942 --> 00:45:33,342 I've been invited to make my own version of the last track Freddie ever recorded. 647 00:45:36,582 --> 00:45:40,182 It's my opportunity to express all I've learned from Freddie, 648 00:45:40,182 --> 00:45:43,062 in this film, in my singing.' 649 00:45:45,862 --> 00:45:49,622 # I don't wanna sleep with you 650 00:45:51,022 --> 00:45:55,702 # I don't need the passion too 651 00:45:55,702 --> 00:46:01,142 # I don't want a stormy affair 652 00:46:01,142 --> 00:46:05,382 Those were the last moments I ever had with Freddie in the studio. Very precious. 653 00:46:07,142 --> 00:46:09,942 We weren't exactly talking about Freddie dying, 654 00:46:09,942 --> 00:46:13,142 but we were very conscious that life is finite. 655 00:46:13,142 --> 00:46:16,862 So there was a concerted effort to make the lyrics explore that. 656 00:46:16,862 --> 00:46:22,302 So I kept writing things down and he kept saying, "Give me more, give me more. Darling, I can do it. 657 00:46:22,302 --> 00:46:24,702 Give me the fucking vodka!" 658 00:46:24,702 --> 00:46:28,302 He'd put the vodka down and he went for that. 659 00:46:28,302 --> 00:46:32,622 And it was spine-chilling because he could hit those notes, you know? 660 00:46:32,622 --> 00:46:37,982 Probably more than ever. He seemed to have more power than ever. I don't know where it came from. 661 00:46:37,982 --> 00:46:40,982 And then we got to the last verse. 662 00:46:40,982 --> 00:46:45,462 He went, "Darling, I don't feel too good. We'll finish this off. I'll come back." 663 00:46:45,462 --> 00:46:50,022 And off he went. And, of course, he never came back. That was the last word. 664 00:46:50,022 --> 00:46:55,582 # I've got such a feeling as the sun goes down 665 00:46:55,582 --> 00:47:00,142 # I'm coming home to my sweet 666 00:47:00,142 --> 00:47:03,062 # Mother love 667 00:47:06,022 --> 00:47:09,422 (DISTANT CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 668 00:47:14,262 --> 00:47:18,542 # Ayyyyyy-oh 669 00:47:18,542 --> 00:47:23,262 (CROWD) # Ayyyyyy-oh 670 00:47:26,422 --> 00:47:30,022 'Freddie died on November 24th 1991. 671 00:47:33,022 --> 00:47:36,702 For me, this has been a liberating experience. 672 00:47:36,702 --> 00:47:41,262 It's given me even more confidence to be led by the emotion in the music. 673 00:47:41,262 --> 00:47:45,102 I'm humbled that I've got the training that Freddie knew he lacked, 674 00:47:45,102 --> 00:47:48,462 but I think his passion and creative energy made up for it 675 00:47:48,462 --> 00:47:50,902 and made him the genius he was. 676 00:47:50,902 --> 00:47:54,022 He saw no limits to where his talent could take him 677 00:47:54,022 --> 00:47:58,342 and no boundaries to his extraordinary musical imagination. 678 00:47:58,342 --> 00:48:01,982 From rock to opera, it didn't matter to Freddie. 679 00:48:01,982 --> 00:48:04,262 It was either good or bad. 680 00:48:04,262 --> 00:48:07,142 And for me, that's about as good as you can get. 681 00:48:07,142 --> 00:48:09,502 The world's greatest front man, 682 00:48:09,502 --> 00:48:11,702 the writer of dazzling songs 683 00:48:11,702 --> 00:48:14,462 and that legendary voice.' 684 00:48:14,462 --> 00:48:18,582 Thank you, Freddie. Thanks for letting me, er, do this 685 00:48:18,582 --> 00:48:22,502 and to find out a little bit more about you and, er, 686 00:48:22,502 --> 00:48:24,542 rest in peace, Buddy. 687 00:48:24,542 --> 00:48:29,342 # Those were the days of our lives 688 00:48:32,382 --> 00:48:37,902 # The bad things in life were so few 689 00:48:40,422 --> 00:48:44,702 # Those days are all gone now 690 00:48:44,702 --> 00:48:48,142 # But one thing's still true 691 00:48:49,182 --> 00:48:52,422 # When I look and I find 692 00:48:53,622 --> 00:48:56,462 # I still love you # Subtitles by Deluxe