Freddie Mercury’s talent has always seemed a little bit otherworldly to me. Touched by the gods. Divine. In the truest sense of the word.
Watch how he moves his body. His open-legged stance at the very beginning, like he’s planting his feet on the boards, getting ready to go where the performance will take him. He’s a showman, an entertainer, a born performer, from every hair on his head to the tips of every finger. Every gesture, every breath, every look is all pouring into the intention of this song. And that flow doesn’t stop when he’s not the one singing. Watch his body during her sections. He is tossing massive support under her, throwing his energy at her, filling up the stage at the same time that he is sharing the stage with her.
Kathy Bates came and spoke at my school once, and she said, “Look, if you have a gift for something, you just have to give it away. All day, every day, just give it away.”
That’s what Freddie Mercury does, instinctively, habitually, in every moment, always. There is not one tiny bit of him that is not fully present. And that, to me, is Divine.
man, I miss Freddie.
Me too. Irreplaceable.
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Boy, that was thrilling, goosebump style.
Doc – totally, right??
I love how his body language, as huge as it is, is also there to support her, to set her UP for her moments.
Fantastic.
I will never figure it out, and I don’t really want too, on how it feels like he’s singing in the room live with you whenever I hear him sing. Doesn’t matter what the medium or how old the recording, he’s there, right in the room every time.
JessicaR – Yes.
His talent is an electric current. Or it’s like that ozone smell in the air. A lightning storm where the air is electric.
It is a force of nature.
He is FLASH (lightning bolt) Ahhhhhhahhhhhhh! Savior of the universe!
The real deal.
Wow, that’s a great Freddie performance, first time for me.
And so different from my fave, Wembley 1986, which public TV used to fundraise off of, and is now thankfully available on YouTube.
Sacha Baron Cohen will do Freddie in a movie, can’t wait to see that.
This was all over BBC radio when I lived in England – and I have wonderful memories of doing morning chores with my international co-workers in the huge house where we lived and worked. We would blast the radio and when this song played, I would sing the Freddy part – then from the opposite end of the house I would hear my friend Jenny attempting the soprano! When I left England, one of my gifts was a 45 of this song!
Oh! And the woman who was administrator of the house had worked most of her life in London theatre (behind the scenes) – she was really modest but had the best stories when we could get her going! And one story was that Montserrat Caballe was not very nice so she was referred to as “Monster Rat” behind her back.
So with you Sheila and the other commentators about missing Freddy….he was just so…bombastic is the only word I can think of…there will never be another like him and I personally do NOT look forward to any biopic about him starring Borat or anyone else….Freddy should just be left alone in his death and in our memories. Get on your bikes and ride!
Dg – Bombastic is a great word for him. So so free! His gestures, his body language – not to mention that VOICE – continue to blow my mind.
Yeah, not wacky about the idea of SBC playing him. He’ll always be MY Freddie.
Bets – Ha! I actually remember you coming back from England and playing me this 45 in your room at your parents house. You’re the one who introduced me to it!
Somewhere in my rocknroll youth Sheila, not sure what year or which tour but Queen came in to play MSG and when they played the fat bottomed girl song a bunch girls came out and rode around the stage on bikes and Freddie slapped their asses as they rode by him….so politically incorrect but so funny…ever notice not many try to cover a Queen song? I think because they and mostly Freddie played everything to the absolute hilt…no sense trying to out Freddie Freddie.
Oh, you saw them live? I am so envious.
Yes, I mean you couldn’t do a “politically correct” version of that song. hahahaha The whole point is to be outrageous – and also, strangely, celebratory. I mean, it’s such a happy song. God bless those fat-bottomed girls!!
Just want you to know I have this post up as a constant tab in Firefox today so I can keep listening to this over and over again. ☺
Ha!!! It’s sooooo satisfying.
I’m with you. I’ve never seen anyone commit the way he does to a performance. That mixture of passion and talent has always moved me so much. I can’t think of any other artist that I love in such an uncomplicated way. He was beautiful.
He’s really that very odd bird: a true original.
You know I think Freddie in this video is saying “Yea I’m up here in tux with opera lady and but underneath I’m wearing a plaid jumpsuit and I’m about two seconds away from ripping this tux off and belting bout ‘Death on two Legs”.
hahahahaha