BLOG 52

Blog 52
I had a good time with some Dutch friends last weekend. It brought back many memories. Memories are what life is made of, whether they are good or bad, and they are something that other people cannot take away from you, and they don’t wear out, no matter how many times you recall them.

Kirsty asked how long it took for Freddie to lose his accent when he moved to England.
I’m not sure what accent he had to lose. He would have been taught in English at his school and I can tell you from experience, the accent he learnt at St. Peter’s would have been much the same as you hear when you listen to Freddie talking. A lot of attention would have been paid to speaking in English, particularly when learning it in a foreign country.

Pieter wanted to know what music Freddie listened to.
Like many of us, Freddie had a wide taste in music, depending on his mood. As many people know he would occasionally listen to opera, Luciano Pavarotti for the tenor voice and Montserrat Caballe for THE voice. I remember Freddie playing an LP of Montserrat in the studio with the volume turned up so loud, you could hear the orchestra turning the pages and the scraping of chairs on the floor as they moved while playing. He loved listening to Prince at home but would generally have the latest compilation disc playing in the back ground.

Xavi asked if Freddie had a particular relationship with any specific countries.
I’m not sure Freddie would think of a particular country with regard to his thoughts, rather he would have feelings for a place. Freddie really was a man of the world. He was lucky enough to be able to travel wherever he wanted and enjoyed being where he was. An exception to this would have to be Japan, as he loved just about everything Japanese, except perhaps sushi. He had feelings for Barcelona, Ibiza, New York, Munich are just examples, but they were for those cities rather than the whole country.

Matthew asked about the hour or so after a concert.
The first half hour or so was the same after almost every show. I was in the dressing room helping the guys out of their wet clothes, undoing shoe laces, taking of the shoes and socks, basically giving them a chance to cool down. They would be discussing the show, the good parts, the bad parts everything. Generally after this, family and guests would be allowed in to be with the band. If the record company was there, everyone would go out for a meal and then part company to go to whichever bar, club or the hotel that they wanted to go to. At some gigs there was a very quick exit, where each band member was guided into a limousine and taken straight to the plane which would then serve as the dressing room as we flew to the next destination. Helicopters were used only when there was a good chance that the band party would get caught up for hours in traffic jams after a show like Knebworth.

Tad, amongst a few others asked about Freddie’s relationship with his father.
There is very little I can say about this, other than whenever I saw Freddie and his family together, Freddie had a lot of respect for his father. He talked much more with his mother and sister while his father would sit quietly by listening to everything that was said. He would occasionally make a comment and Freddie would always pay attention.

Harry wanted to know if Freddie was upset about the press outside Garden Lodge for the last couple of years of his life.
In fact they were only camped outside the house for the last two weeks of Freddie’s life. Before then they only occasionally captured Freddie on the streets at various places. Of course, Freddie hated this, but he accepted that this was also part of the price of fame. As far as the last couple of weeks were concerned, he was only unhappy that friends had to go through the barricade to come and see him. Freddie had already decided that he would not be leaving the house again, so the press could be as uncomfortable as they were going to be waiting for him.

Erin asked if I still miss Freddie, and if writing this blog makes things worse.
I miss Freddie everyday. There are still times I am doing something and will recall Freddie making some comment about what I was doing, and then I can only smile. I remember good times, I also remember so many different situations and even burst out laughing at some inopportune moments and try to explain away why I was laughing. If it hurt too much, I would not write this blog. For me it is wonderful the amount of people of all nationalities and ages who are still interested in Freddie and want to know more and more. It also stirs up memories for me that I might not otherwise think about.

Hannah wanted to know what size shoe Freddie wore.
Depending on the fit he would wear anything from 41 – 43. The most important fact was that they were comfortable. He hated spending time in shoes that caused him any discomfort. I remember a time when he wore a full dinner suit, bow tie and all, but because his foot was hurting he wore tennis shoes. On stage he always wore boxing boots and I remember I always had to buy pairs if I found them, because even in the early 80s they were not easy to find. They fitted his feet well and he felt sure of his movements on stage. You can see in various pieces of footage, Freddie wore the same shoes quite often, purely for comfort.

Tamara asked which hotel Freddie used when in Montreux.
Before Freddie used the Duck House and bought his apartment, Freddie’s home from home was The Montreux Palace. I stayed with Freddie in a few of the big suites on the 1st and 5th floor, and they actually have a suite named after him, the last suite he stayed in.

I know many of you will be remembering Freddie particularly this weekend. I know he was very important for so many of you. We will remember that he is no longer physically with us, but while there is interest in him and his music, he will go on forever. Try to celebrate the wonderful life of Freddie Mercury and all the music he did give us over the years.