Today (5th of September 2021) would have been Freddie Mercury’s 75th birthday. Known as one of the greatest rock icons who ever lived, Freddie’s life was unfortunately cut short in 1991. The last birthday party the queen star had was in 1990 where he was surrounded by his friends and loved ones. Let’s take a look at some of Freddy’s best performances and greatest tributes around today!
The video below is from 1987 featuring Freddie Mercury performing live on stage with the Catalan operatic soprano, Montserrat Caballé, Freddie showcased his own operatic talents. The performance was live at Ku Club in Ibiza and the duet went on to be officially released as a single the following year.
Live Aid Performance
Said by some to be the greatest ever live performance, this video from 1985 has gone down in history as Freddie owned the stage with one of the most exuberant live on stage moves you’ll ever see!
If you are a Queen fan you may be aware of the film released in 2018 called “Bohemian Rhapsody”, where the story of Freddie’s life and his rise to fame was told. The film received many accolades including a Golden Globe Award in 2019 for Best Picture.
The actor that played the main character, Freddie Mercury, in the movie was Rami Malek. For his fantastic performance in the movie, he was personally awarded a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actor’s Guild Award and a BFTA. Below you can see a very clever video edit of the original Queen performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert alongside the final scene of the 2018 movie.
Below is a Freddie Mercury tribute act who sounds uncannily like the great man himself. Marc Martel is an exceptionally talented singer from Montreal, Quebec in Canada. Born in November 1976 he started out as a Canadian rock Musician. Some of his most popular videos have been him impersonating Freddie Mercury.
1. “I won’t be a rock star. I will be a legend.”
2. “You can be anything you want to be, just turn yourself into anything you think that you could ever be.”
3. “The most important thing is to live a fabulous life. As long as it’s fabulous I don’t care how long it is.”
4. “I always knew I was a star. And now, the rest of the world seems to agree with me.”
5. “I’m possessed by love, but isn’t everybody?”
6. “I like to be surrounded by splendid things.”
7. “Dullness is a disease.”
8. “What will I be doing in 20 years time? I’ll be dead, darling! Are you crazy?”
9. “Who wants to live forever?”
10. “I’m just a musical prostitute, my dear.”
11. “I think my melodies are superior to my lyrics.”
12. “I’m very emotional. I think I may go mad in several years time.”
13. “When I’m dead, I want to be remembered as a musician of some worth and substance.”
14. “The reason we’re successful, darling? My overall charisma, of course.”
15. “If I die tomorrow I will not regret. I really did everything I could.”
16. “The whole point of Queen was to be original.”
17. “When we began, we approached it the way we did because we were not prepared to be out-of-work musicians, ever. We said either take it on as a serious commodity or don’t do it at all.”
18. “A lot of my songs are fantasy. I can dream up all kinds of things. That’s the kind of world I live in. It’s very sort of flamboyant, and that’s the kind of way I write. I love it.”
19. “The concept of Queen is to be regal and majestic. Glamour is part of us, and we want to be dandy.”
20. “A concert is not a live rendition of our album. It’s a theatrical event.”
21. “I love the fact that I can make people happy, in any form. Even if it’s just an hour of their lives, if I can make them feel lucky or make them feel good, or bring a smile to a sour face, that to me is worthwhile.”
22. “Years ago, I thought up the name Queen. It’s just a name. But it’s regal, obviously, and sounds splendid.”
23. “Money can not buy happiness, but it can damn well give it!”
24. “Oh, I was not made for heaven. No, I don’t want to go to heaven. Hell is much better. Think of all the interesting people you’re going to meet down there”
25. “My soul has painted like the wings of butterflies,
Fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die,
I can fly, my friends…”