Top 10 Freddie Mercury Moments

they called him mr. Fahrenheit welcome to watchmojo.com and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 Freddie Mercury moments [Music] for this list we'll be looking at the defining moments from the lifetimes and career of one Farouk al-shara the signature moments I built the icon that is Freddie Mercury [Music] number ten 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony it been over two decades since Freddie Mercury had left the stage we mortals call life but his ability to work a crowd hadn't diminished in the least the rumor mill prior to the 2012 London Games closing ceremony had it that the legend would return to the stage as a to [ __ ] in hologram but viewers were instead given something that looked more akin to a commlink from the great beyond [Applause] donning his once trademark mustache and Wembley era yellowjacket virtual Freddie worked the crowd into the same state of frenzy as he did back in 1986 it was a hard act for anyone to follow but especially for Jesse J who donning a snappy yellow jacket of her own joined Queens as Brian May and Roger Taylor to fill in for mercury on we will rock you [Music] number nine leaving almost everything to former girlfriend Mary Austin my name is Mary Austin and the long-term friend of Freddy's the coupling of Mary Austin and Freddie Mercury may have lasted only a handful of years but their friendship remains intact until the end although Mercury had proposed to Austin the relationship came to an end as the singer came to terms with his sexuality it was a relief ready to actually hear it from him when they split Freddy bought Mary a lavish apartment near his home and later became godfather to her first son ten years after the split they remained close with Mercury claiming she was not only irreplaceable but that she was his only friend as the N neared Freddy told Mary he'd planned to leave her his Georgian mansion royalties as well as the bulk of his nine million pound fortune Austin would have preferred the 20 million pound home be donated to a trust but Mercury insisted that if life had turned out differently they would have married and it would have had been hers regardless number eight Barcelona his duet with Montserrat caballé a it's hardly surprising to learn that Freddie Mercury had an appreciation for opera after all Queens fourth album was called a Night at the Opera but what is surprising is just how well he could pull off the genre far from just some rocker riding the coattails and name recognition of an opera star mercury not only co-wrote Barcelona but also sang Montserrat caballé EA's vocal parts for her when demoing the song [Applause] [Music] paired with the soprano mercury was able to sing in his natural baritone vocal range something he rarely did while the rock icon was amazed by Kabbalah's vocal control the opera singer in turn developed the utmost respect for Mercury's range and phrasing which she found astonishing [Music] released as a single in 1987 Barcelona hit number eight on the British charts Legris charted at number two around the time of the 1992 Olympic Games for which it was written [Applause] [Music] number seven Queen Saturday Night Live appearance sure by 1982 lots of bands had played SNL but few of those spots came with the backstory and trivia goldmine of Queens season 8 visit traveling with his then beau bill Reed Freddie blew his voice out the night before during a heated argument with Reed and spent most of the day trying to get it back [Music] [Applause] [Music] fixing his voice just as Showtime approached the band played under pressure and crazy little thing called love a song Freddie not only wrote on guitar but played on guitar as well despite claiming he couldn't play the instrument for Nuts meanwhile the set represented not only Queens only SNL performance but their only performance on American TV as well as their last ever live performance on US soil with mercury in the lead and it was almost sabotage by a shouting match [Music] number six the great Pretender Oh [Music] me too on the surface the great Pretender is just some old song from the 50s but as old songs from the 50s go whew suited him better although arguably the most dynamic frontman of his time offstage Freddie Mercury was a shy and reserved individual and saw the platters cover as a fitting anthem [Music] [Applause] [Music] my heart like a crime for the video mercury shaved his moustache his signature look for most of the decade revisited classic wardrobe choices and even reenacted old Queen videos to make a statement about image the great Pretender suited mercury so well and became the title for the American version of his posthumous album as well as a documentary about his life [Music] right [Music] released right around the time he was diagnosed with HIV the song's title would only become weightier as he denied aids rumors and deflected queries about his health until the week he died [Music] number five piggybacking Darth Vader [Music] despite proclaiming the opposite Freddie really did like Star Wars to this end at a show in Houston Texas on August 10th 1980 mister Fahrenheit returned to the stage for an encore on the shoulders of the Sith Lord himself sure it was security guy Wally verson rather than David Prowse in the Vader suit but it's still a hell of an entrance mercury actually did this a few times during the 1980 tour until George Lucas allegedly took issue that is I am altering the deal pray I don't offer any further at a show in late 1979 Freddie made his way back to the stage by hitching a ride on Superman but it's the Houston Darth Vader encore that's gone down in infamy thanks to photographer Tom Collins who captured the bizarre image number 4 under pressure Queen and David Bowie [Music] proven to be one of Queens biggest hits under pressure was not only the band's second UK number one but also David Bowie's third although the track grew out of a jam session and was partly rooted in an unreleased song from Roger Taylor the former Ziggy Stardust completely drove the session and shook up the band's usual mo [Music] Boies intensity may have put off some of the members of Queen but his super early confident vocals motivated mercury to take things to a whole other level making full use of his upper register Freddie delivered a performance that was complimentary as it was competitive with Bowie and proved that no matter how big the star no one out Shaun Freddie Mercury [Music] number three 1990 Brit Awards they've really never been fully recognized for the outstanding achievements of their impressive career by the time it had comfort Queens collect the Brit for outstanding contribution to music Freddie Mercury had been fending off and denying aids rumors for years however Queens lack of touring and the occasional glimpse of Freddie's deteriorating personal appearance did little to dissuade the rumour mill and the tabloid press taking the stage for the first time since 1986 it was Brian May rather than the always magnetic mercury who fronted the band and I'd like to say a special thank you to the british petroleum industry for giving this magnificent award in recognition of all the amount of vinyl which we've recycled over the years dress as suavely as ever Freddie looked both stoic and yet terribly frail a shell of the man who once worked crowds of thousands into a frenzy on charisma alone while may spoke at length with charm and humor mercury offered only a simple thank you good night in what would prove to be his final public appearance number two is much delayed AIDS reveal it had been very difficult for him to to even announce what he was suffering from but at that point he did although confirmed hiv-positive in 1987 Freddie Mercury did everything he could to keep his diagnosis secret while fans and media were forced to speculate only friend Mary Austin partner Jim Hutton the members of Queen and few others knew the truth even close family was kept out of the loop with his sister kashmira not knowing the reality of her brother's health until August of 1990 mercury kept working and recording with Queen until June of 1991 but by November he saw the end was near and had stopped taking his medications on November 23rd the singer broke the silence by issuing a press release stating that not only had he contracted HIV but was now battling AIDS Freddie Mercury would die of AIDS related complications the following day [Music] so much [Applause] [Music] number one Live Aid [Music] ironically freddie mercury originally didn't want to take part in live 8 for fear of making a political statement but once on board he saw the show as a wafer queen to upstage and outperform all the competition in one go [Music] banking on the band's experience with stadium shows mercury led queen through a week's worth of rehearsals distilling six of the band's biggest hits into a now legendary twenty minutes set [Music] ready also selected an unassuming 6 p.m. timeslot knowing that it was not only British prime time but also early enough that American audiences wouldn't yet be jaded by a day's worth of huge band [Music] meanwhile the band's engineer saw to it that Queen was the loudest band to take the stage which coupled with Freddie's unrivaled stage presence made for what is now considered to be one of the finest rock-and-roll performances of all time [Music] [Applause] [Music] so do you agree with our list what's your favorite Freddie Mercury moment now for more stone cold crazy topped hands that you can't stop now be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com [Music]

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Keywords: top 10, list, top 5, watchmojo, top ten, freddie mercury, queen, rock, rock music, under pressure, saturday night live, montserrat caballe, mary austin, live aid, aids, the great pretender, rock gods, moments, music moments, music history

Id: NeEpjHxZEUM

Length: 13min 26sec (806 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 24 2016