Blog 10

Jose asked about dogs in Freddie’s life.
Freddie didn’t have any dogs, as most people know; Freddie was very much a cat person, of which he had 6 in November ’91. He identified more with cats, as he felt that cats owned their masters/mistresses and would be able to survive with out them for a while and allow themselves to be petted when they were ready, whereas dogs just seemed to wait around for the petting and to be fed, very much the property of their owners. Of course he didn’t hate dogs…… he just preferred cats.

Xinthrau wanted to know about Freddie’s designs from school days.
Many of Freddie’s designs were on show at the ‘Storm Troopers in Stilettos’ Exhibition in London. They show a very good artistic hand, and it was something that I am sure he could have developed if music had given him any spare time. Most of his designs are with his mother, who has, like all proud mothers, kept just about everything that Freddie ever created while he was at home. He even created some clothing from his designs that Jer wasn’t so happy with as he destroyed one of her prized linen tablecloths to make it.

Derek asked about any vocal exercises Freddie did.
I can not remember any real vocal exercise Freddie made in the 12 years I was around. I suppose Freddie knew his voice that was it. Before a show he would try his voice out in the dressing room, seeing what he was able to do with it. I remember Trip Khalaf, the sound engineer, would come to the dressing room before each show and Freddie would try out his voice, and they would then see if he was in good voice or not. If he sounded ok, Trip would know Freddie would sing all the high notes and to keep Freddie’s mike on full, if not, then Roger would do all the high notes and Freddie would then sing a lower note and his sound would be turned slightly lower.

Shannon wanted to know what Freddie felt for his fans.
While Freddie truly enjoyed his life, he knew that everything he had came from the fans love of him and of Queen’s music. In one of his songs ‘We Are The Champions’ he really meant what he says in one of the lines….. ‘the fame and fortune and everything that goes with it… I thank you all’, were his way of saying thanks. Also while he expected fans to give him some privacy at home, he would almost always be happy to give autographs and photos outside of Garden Lodge. I remember one occasion there was a group of us were at Freddie’s favourite restaurant for lunch and there were a couple of fans sitting near by. Freddie’s food arrived and he was just about to take a mouthful when one of the fans pushed a piece of paper under his nose asking for a signature. Freddie told them to leave him alone in a very sharp tone, so the fan went back to his table and Freddie continued eating. At the end of the meal, on his way out, Freddie went to the fan’s table and gave a short lesson in politeness and then signed the paper.
Also you only had to be in the audience at any Queen concert and you could see Freddie connecting with everyone there. He never sang to a particular spot at the back of the venue, he would try a search out each pair of eyes.

Bill wanted to know more about Freddie’s wishes after Knebworth.
Freddie did say to Brian he didn’t want to tour again after that last show, but I don’t think too much can be read into it. Hindsight is often called the perfect vision and with what we all know now, every one of us can read between the lines and come to possibly wrong conclusions. Freddie was very tired after what had been the biggest tour of the band’s life. They had played to massive crowds at each show and it had taken a toll on Freddie, who was actually sick at the time, but nobody, including Freddie, knew about this. How many times do all of us say something that we go back on after we have had time to think. There was also something up with John at that time. You only have to look at that final shot from the Knebworth show where you can see John really throwing his bass into the monitor on stage. I think what Freddie was really saying was that he wanted a break.