Freddie's death report from "La Stampa", 26 Nov. 1991
Aug 26, 2021 8:45:28 GMT
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Post by fabiogminero on Aug 26, 2021 8:45:28 GMT
Hi,
this is the original report of Freddie Mercury's death, published on the Italian newspaper La Stampa on Tuesday 26th November 1991 at page 19. The article, entitled L'AIDS più forte di Freddie (translated as AIDS is stronger than Freddie) was written by journalist Gabriele Ferraris.
Freddie's real name Farrokh Bulsara is reported incorrectly as Frederick Bulsara; also, Roger Meddows Taylor is reported as Roger Meadows-Taylor. Also, if you read the article, you will notice some inaccuracies about the founding of the band.
Disease confirmed when the singer's agony had already begun
AIDS is stronger than Freddie
He's the first rockstar killed by the plague of 2000
AIDS is stronger than Freddie
He's the first rockstar killed by the plague of 2000
LONDON - Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the British rock group Queen, passed away on Sunday at the age of 45 in his luxurious London home in Kensington. On Saturday, his manager admitted - after repeated denials - that Mercury was suffering from AIDS. A few hours later, bronchopneumonia, a consequence of the disease, killed the English rock star. And in this announced death - only when the agony began it was decided to confirm what everyone knew by now - there is something sadly disturbing.
Mercury died as he lived, under the spotlight of curiosity and scandal: the perfect hero of a rock that is no longer rebellious, but produced by the supermarket. A music to sell and consume, which sells and consumes its myths.
Freddie Mercury is the first planetary rock star to suffer from the plague of 2000. Victim, because the disease is not a choice: those of Jim Morrison crushed by excesses, of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix killed by drugs were chosen, desperate but conscious. Even John Lennon, who was murdered, paid the ultimate tribute to the mythology of the cruel rock god who devours his favorite children. The Queen leader did not have the cursed and self-destructive genius of those ancient champions: his artistic existence was created and orchestrated by music puppeteers, record companies and press offices who build characters according to the changing tastes of a market run with industrial criteria. Even the rumors about his illness, which had been circulating with insistence for a couple of years, have been - it seems to us exploited commercially, by inserting sinister signals in the recent records and videos of Queen: last example, the title of the album "Innuendo", which in English means "malicious innuendo".
Something similar happened in the 1960s, at the time of the rumors about the alleged death of Paul McCartney. The Beatles may have enjoyed spreading encrypted pseudo-messages on their records that fans interpreted in their own way. But it was a game, McCartney was in excellent health. Instead, just these days it comes out with alarming timing - a Queen anthology album, advertised on TV with an old video showing us a still beautiful and impossible Freddie Mercury. Quite different from the thinner and tried man of the last few days: a terminally ill still mercilessly fed to the newspapers amid gossip and incredible denials. Born in Zanzibar on 5th September 1946, the son of a British government consultant, Frederick Bulsara (this is his real name) had studied in Bombay before moving to England with his family. In London he had met Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Meadows-Taylor, and with them he had founded Queen in '71. At the time, two musical genres were the most popular: Led Zeppelin-branded hard rock, and Marc Bolan glam. Queen, well advised by Emi's record companies, knew how to combine the two strands: they combined the seductive image of Mercury, homosexual sex symbol, now cheeky macho in provocative black leather outfits, now queen of the dance among sequins and chiffon.
"Queen", the debut album in '73, was an immediate success. But it was "A Night at The Opera" and "A Day at The Races", respectively of '75 and '76, that consecrated Mercury and his companions in the difficult role to maintain as rock stars of the decade and new Beatles: at the time the orphaned English press of the Fab Four was desperately looking for someone to take the place of Lennon and his associates, and even the rock supergays seemed worthy candidates for the succession.
From the very beginning, the few shrewd critics, and the most demanding public, did not hide their reservations about a pompous and elaborate sounding band, but far from innovative. However, "Bohemian Rhapsody", a song with a vague operatic flavor, and "We Are the Champions", a caressing best seller enhanced by the very particular voice of Mercury, have conquered a niche among the rock classics. If nothing else, in the "consumer phenomena" sector. Other hits were "Radio Ga Ga" and "We Will Rock You". As Queen's popularity grew, their sound abandoned hard to adapt to the fashions of the day, from rockabilly to disco-music. And Freddie Mercury, a recognized star - in the Eighties he will actually be a soloist with backing group - never missed an opportunity to reveal disconcerting musical tastes: from the Spanish episodes ("Las Palabras de Amor"), to the remake of the classic "The Great Pretender", up to the kitsch apotheosis of "Barcelona", a gruesome hybrid of rock and lyric in a duet with soprano Montserrat Caballé.
Of course, from an artistic point of view, the story of Queen may not be considered fundamental: but the figure of Freddie Mercury remains a crucial example, a symbol of an era and a taste. The era of industrialized superrock, based on business and image. Perhaps, musician Freddie Mercury didn't say much. But he said it loudly.
Mercury died as he lived, under the spotlight of curiosity and scandal: the perfect hero of a rock that is no longer rebellious, but produced by the supermarket. A music to sell and consume, which sells and consumes its myths.
Freddie Mercury is the first planetary rock star to suffer from the plague of 2000. Victim, because the disease is not a choice: those of Jim Morrison crushed by excesses, of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix killed by drugs were chosen, desperate but conscious. Even John Lennon, who was murdered, paid the ultimate tribute to the mythology of the cruel rock god who devours his favorite children. The Queen leader did not have the cursed and self-destructive genius of those ancient champions: his artistic existence was created and orchestrated by music puppeteers, record companies and press offices who build characters according to the changing tastes of a market run with industrial criteria. Even the rumors about his illness, which had been circulating with insistence for a couple of years, have been - it seems to us exploited commercially, by inserting sinister signals in the recent records and videos of Queen: last example, the title of the album "Innuendo", which in English means "malicious innuendo".
Something similar happened in the 1960s, at the time of the rumors about the alleged death of Paul McCartney. The Beatles may have enjoyed spreading encrypted pseudo-messages on their records that fans interpreted in their own way. But it was a game, McCartney was in excellent health. Instead, just these days it comes out with alarming timing - a Queen anthology album, advertised on TV with an old video showing us a still beautiful and impossible Freddie Mercury. Quite different from the thinner and tried man of the last few days: a terminally ill still mercilessly fed to the newspapers amid gossip and incredible denials. Born in Zanzibar on 5th September 1946, the son of a British government consultant, Frederick Bulsara (this is his real name) had studied in Bombay before moving to England with his family. In London he had met Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Meadows-Taylor, and with them he had founded Queen in '71. At the time, two musical genres were the most popular: Led Zeppelin-branded hard rock, and Marc Bolan glam. Queen, well advised by Emi's record companies, knew how to combine the two strands: they combined the seductive image of Mercury, homosexual sex symbol, now cheeky macho in provocative black leather outfits, now queen of the dance among sequins and chiffon.
"Queen", the debut album in '73, was an immediate success. But it was "A Night at The Opera" and "A Day at The Races", respectively of '75 and '76, that consecrated Mercury and his companions in the difficult role to maintain as rock stars of the decade and new Beatles: at the time the orphaned English press of the Fab Four was desperately looking for someone to take the place of Lennon and his associates, and even the rock supergays seemed worthy candidates for the succession.
From the very beginning, the few shrewd critics, and the most demanding public, did not hide their reservations about a pompous and elaborate sounding band, but far from innovative. However, "Bohemian Rhapsody", a song with a vague operatic flavor, and "We Are the Champions", a caressing best seller enhanced by the very particular voice of Mercury, have conquered a niche among the rock classics. If nothing else, in the "consumer phenomena" sector. Other hits were "Radio Ga Ga" and "We Will Rock You". As Queen's popularity grew, their sound abandoned hard to adapt to the fashions of the day, from rockabilly to disco-music. And Freddie Mercury, a recognized star - in the Eighties he will actually be a soloist with backing group - never missed an opportunity to reveal disconcerting musical tastes: from the Spanish episodes ("Las Palabras de Amor"), to the remake of the classic "The Great Pretender", up to the kitsch apotheosis of "Barcelona", a gruesome hybrid of rock and lyric in a duet with soprano Montserrat Caballé.
Of course, from an artistic point of view, the story of Queen may not be considered fundamental: but the figure of Freddie Mercury remains a crucial example, a symbol of an era and a taste. The era of industrialized superrock, based on business and image. Perhaps, musician Freddie Mercury didn't say much. But he said it loudly.
On the same page, the newspaper also shows a short paragraph in which the reactions of some fellow musicians were shown, especially that of Phil Collins.
«A promiscuous life»
LONDON. While popular newspapers were announcing Mercury's death with their usual elegance ("A kamikaze of sex, drugs and rock", as the "Daily Telegraph" calls him), a crowd of fans gathered yesterday in front of the singer's house. Someone comes from afar: a Japanese girl came from Tokyo. Pain has been expressed by many colleagues: Elton John, who had visited him about ten days ago, Phil Collins ("When you live in the name of promiscuity, you are exposed to the risk of AIDS", he moralized), and Sandie Shaw, the former barefoot singer today engaged in fundraising against AIDS. Soprano Montserrat Caballé, who was supposed to perform with Mercury during the Barcelona Olympics, said: "He had a great desire to continue living through music." Freddie Mercury's funeral will be held privately. The date is secret, we only know that his body will be cremated.