BLOG 72

Finally, I hear some of you saying. Sorry for the negligence over the last few weeks, things at home just sort of piled up and it took a while to dig myself out from underneath it all. Thanks for all the messages and mails asking after me, I am well and preparing plans for a few projects that should be quite interesting. More to be announced in the future! So here goes:

Lei wanted to know about Freddie and drug consumption.
Firstly let me say that drugs i.e. cocaine never controlled Freddie, he was always in control. It wasn’t an everyday occurrence, just when he felt the urge to really go and party. Even Freddie said that sometimes he would take it in the studio and work till 5-6 in the morning believing he had created a masterpiece, only to go back the next day and after listening to the previous nights efforts, declare them a pile of rubbish.

Pherenike, amongst many of you wondered what happened to Freddie’s clothes.
I am assuming you mean his day to day wear. Before Freddie died, he asked us to go through his wardrobes with him and he decided which clothes he would have no more use for. There was quite an amount of shirts, track-suits, socks etc which were put into black bin liners. Freddie asked what we would do with them and we told him, we would drive to a different area in London, where the staff wouldn’t recognise us, and give them to a charity shop, as there was still a lot of wear in them. Freddie was surprised at this answer, but very happy with it. As to what happened after we all left Garden Lodge, I am not able to say what happened to his suits, shoes etc.

Donna asked what Freddie would say to the current revival of Queen’s music in the USA.
I believe Freddie would be very happy with this. From the mid 70s to the early 80s Queen were huge in North America and obviously the band was ecstatic. Due to a combination of things, this dissipated and Freddie said he didn’t want to go back there until Queen had another hit there. It didn’t happen in his lifetime, but of course their music was always big with their fans. Various documentaries have been made in recent years and a new generation have discovered this wonderful music, that some have known all along. Now, with the current touring taking place, Queen’s music is back, being listened to live, by many thousands of people.

Peter wanted to know if Freddie was still with us, would I still be with him.
Obviously it is speculation, but I certainly believe so. Like all working/personal relationships, there were ups and downs, but we were always able to talk to each other and tackle anything we felt was wrong. Once anyone became a friend of Freddie’s, it was always to be a long term relationship, unless the other person was totally out of order, and even then, they were given 2nd and 3rd chances.

Adrian asked about the truth behind Freddie’s “fish and chip paper” quote about his music.
Freddie was aware that he wrote some great music, and while he was dismissive about music he had written in the past, I think it was less about the music itself, and more about what music he still had to write. Freddie was all about the present and near future. He couldn’t do anything about the music he had written and had been released, and concentrated much more on what he was composing at the time and projects planned for the future.
Robert, along with many others asked what Freddie would be doing now if he was still with us.
I know some regular readers will be bored with this answer. I believe Freddie would still be 25% of Queen as that was the secure base he was able to anchor to when he did his solo work. Music was his life while he was alive; I don’t see that diminishing with time. I’m sure he would have changed his direction in his own work, perhaps gone in a more orchestral direction, musicals etc, but I am just as sure that Queen would still have been his main musical base.

Yazmin asked what kind of furniture was in Garden Lodge.
Different rooms had different themes, and even then there was also a mix. For example there are photos on the internet from when Mary did an interview for Hello magazine and you can see in the big sitting room there was a mix of Empire seating, along with a large seat under the window that was made there, Japanese stands and 1890s commodes. The Japanese room had Japanese wood block prints on the wall, but the furniture was by an 19th century British company in an oriental style. Freddie had an eclectic taste and wasn’t ruled by convention. He put what he liked, where he liked.

Sue asked about the possibility of any exhibition of Freddie’s art.
As all of Freddie’s art passed into Mary’s hands it would be totally up to her what happens to it. Personally I would love to see many of the paintings and various pieces of art again, but I can’t see it happening in the near future.

Annie wanted to know if Freddie was jealous of Mary getting married and having children.
I never saw any signs of jealousy. If anything, Freddie was happy that Mary was trying to find her happiness. Freddie never had any intention of having his own children, but was happy to spend time with them….. as long as he could hand them back to their parents.

Caroline asked about the boat trips in Montreux.
These boat trips are specifically organised for special events. This year the Montreux Tourist Board have arranged some trips around Montreux that include a trip on the lake to see the “Duck House” and the apartment Freddie owned overlooking the lake. There is one more happening on the 1st weekend in October if anyone wants the chance to see Montreux from this angle.

Scot asked about Freddie and hedonism.
I think that hedonism is the wrong word to use when talking about Freddie. Yes, Freddie had money and lived what could be described as a lavish lifestyle, but certainly nothing like the current batch of celebrities who desperately need to be seen everyday splashed all over the internet and press, declaring their wealth to the world as a “see what I’ve got” statement.

Thanks for waiting so long and so patiently for this blog. I promise to do my best to make it regular again!