Freddie's last days - from Italian newspaper "La Stampa", November 1991
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This is a collection of articles from the Italian newspaper La Stampa on the last days of Freddie Mercury's life, translated from Italian into English.
On the morning of Sunday 24th November 1991, a few hours before the death of Freddie Mercury, Italian newspaper La Stampa reported the news of his illness, made public the day before with an official statement.
On the morning of Sunday 24th November 1991, a few hours before the death of Freddie Mercury, Italian newspaper La Stampa reported the news of his illness, made public the day before with an official statement.
The article was titled Mercury ora conferma: «Sì, l'AIDS mi uccide» (translated as Mercury now confirms: «Yes, AIDS kills me») and was published at page 24 with a photo of Freddie taken in 1987.
The king of rock is the leader of the famous "Queen"
Mercury now confirms: «Yes, AIDS kills me»
Mercury now confirms: «Yes, AIDS kills me»
LONDON. Freddie Mercury, the singer of the famous English rock group Queen, has AIDS. The dramatic news was revealed by himself, yesterday, in a statement to the press, confirming the recurring rumors that had been circulating for a couple of weeks about his illness.
"I thought it was right to keep this information confidential to protect my privacy. But now is the time to let my friends and fans around the world know the truth", Mercury said firmly and courageously. The rock star had not appeared in public for about two years. According to his friends, he was practically a recluse in his London apartment. His illness would have left devastating marks on him: he appears to have lost over twenty kilos of weight.
"Privacy - continued Freddie Mercury - has always been very important to me and it is known that I have never loved giving interviews. Please understand me if I continue to behave like this." His clinical picture has worsened in recent days and now the best specialists in the world alternate at his bedside.
Freddie Mercury, in twenty-one years of a glorious career started to imitate the success of the Beatles, has never hidden his diversity; on the contrary, he did everything to make the world know, so much so that he declared several times: "During my life I have loved men and women and I have had more loves than Elizabeth Taylor".
The news that the "king" of rock suffered from AIDS had spread immediately, but his closest friends had denied: "He only suffer from a strong nervous breakdown and that's it." But while they denied it, they couldn't hold back the tears. He himself, then, had denied the evil that afflicted him, but he was not convincing: his fans could not explain why he did not leave the house anymore.
However, the first suspicions of the evil had arisen about a year ago, shortly before the release of the 17th Queen album, "Innuendo". The title, translated into Italian as «Insinuazione» [Insinuation], now takes on a tragic meaning. In his long career Queen, of which Freddie has always been the inspiring soul, have sold 80 million records and made rock history.
Monday 25th November 1991, the news of his death was made public all over the world. La Stampa only released a little paragraph on his death:
Rock singer Freddie Mercury died in London
LONDON. The singer of the rock group "Queen" Freddie Mercury died in the night in London. His spokesman announced it. Freddie Mercury, who was 45, revealed on Saturday that he had AIDS.
La Stampa Sera, 25th November 1991
AIDS, Queen's leader is dead
LONDON. Freddie Mercury, founder and singer of Queen, has died in his Kensington home in London. He died of bronchopneumonia, caused by AIDS. Leading exponent of British rock for nearly 20 years, Mercury has taken his group to the top of the charts with songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are The Champions", which have sold million of copies wordwide. The musician was 45. Only last Saturday he revealed he had AIDS. He will be cremated this week.
(at page 19)
On the same day, La Stampa Sera published an article (at page 19) entitled E' morto Freddie Mercury (translated as Freddie Mercury is dead); on the same page, the newspaper shows the Top 10 list of LP, singles, films, VHS and books. Queen's "Greatest Hits II" compilation album was at number 9 in Italy that week. Here's the article (Freddie's real name Farrokh Bulsara is reported incorrectly as Frederick Bulsara):
Freddie's real name Farrokh Bulsara is reported again 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 (again).
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.
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»
"I thought it was right to keep this information confidential to protect my privacy. But now is the time to let my friends and fans around the world know the truth", Mercury said firmly and courageously. The rock star had not appeared in public for about two years. According to his friends, he was practically a recluse in his London apartment. His illness would have left devastating marks on him: he appears to have lost over twenty kilos of weight.
"Privacy - continued Freddie Mercury - has always been very important to me and it is known that I have never loved giving interviews. Please understand me if I continue to behave like this." His clinical picture has worsened in recent days and now the best specialists in the world alternate at his bedside.
Freddie Mercury, in twenty-one years of a glorious career started to imitate the success of the Beatles, has never hidden his diversity; on the contrary, he did everything to make the world know, so much so that he declared several times: "During my life I have loved men and women and I have had more loves than Elizabeth Taylor".
The news that the "king" of rock suffered from AIDS had spread immediately, but his closest friends had denied: "He only suffer from a strong nervous breakdown and that's it." But while they denied it, they couldn't hold back the tears. He himself, then, had denied the evil that afflicted him, but he was not convincing: his fans could not explain why he did not leave the house anymore.
However, the first suspicions of the evil had arisen about a year ago, shortly before the release of the 17th Queen album, "Innuendo". The title, translated into Italian as «Insinuazione» [Insinuation], now takes on a tragic meaning. In his long career Queen, of which Freddie has always been the inspiring soul, have sold 80 million records and made rock history.
Monday 25th November 1991, the news of his death was made public all over the world. La Stampa only released a little paragraph on his death:
Rock singer Freddie Mercury died in London
LONDON. The singer of the rock group "Queen" Freddie Mercury died in the night in London. His spokesman announced it. Freddie Mercury, who was 45, revealed on Saturday that he had AIDS.
La Stampa Sera, 25th November 1991
AIDS, Queen's leader is dead
LONDON. Freddie Mercury, founder and singer of Queen, has died in his Kensington home in London. He died of bronchopneumonia, caused by AIDS. Leading exponent of British rock for nearly 20 years, Mercury has taken his group to the top of the charts with songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are The Champions", which have sold million of copies wordwide. The musician was 45. Only last Saturday he revealed he had AIDS. He will be cremated this week.
(at page 19)
On the same day, La Stampa Sera published an article (at page 19) entitled E' morto Freddie Mercury (translated as Freddie Mercury is dead); on the same page, the newspaper shows the Top 10 list of LP, singles, films, VHS and books. Queen's "Greatest Hits II" compilation album was at number 9 in Italy that week. Here's the article (Freddie's real name Farrokh Bulsara is reported incorrectly as Frederick Bulsara):
On Saturday the voice of Queen said: «I have AIDS»
Freddie Mercury is dead
Freddie Mercury is dead
LONDON. «Freddie Mercury passed away peacefully in his home in Kensington in London. He died of bronchopneumonia, induced by AIDS», said Queen agent Roxy Meade, in a brief statement released late yesterday evening.
Leading exponent of British rock for nearly 20 years, Queen leader and singer, Mercury has taken his group to the top of the charts with songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are The Champions", which have sold millions of copies all over the world and resounded in all nightclubs. Mercury (whose real name was Frederick Bulsara), was 45 years old.
Only last Saturday, by spreading through his agent a communiqué that had aroused a lot of emotion in the London artistic environment, Mercury had revealed that he was suffering from AIDS. But the musician had never made a secret to anyone about his bisexuality and the wild life he loved to lead. «I have had many lovers, I have looked for relationships of both genders, with males and with females, but all have gone wrong», he often said.
Announcing that he had AIDS, the singer had explained that up until that moment he had wanted to keep his condition hidden "to protect the privacy of the people who are close to me»; «However, the time has come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth», he said, «and I hope everyone wants to join me, my doctor and all those around the world who are struggling with this terrible disease».
«Confidentiality», he added, «has always been very important to me, who was famous for not giving interviews. Please understand that this line will continue.» And he concluded, «I've learned to stay calm. I think naturalness and sincerity are winning qualities and I hope they both show through in my songs. How would I like to be remembered? It concerns others and, after death, who will it care? Not to me, for sure, I live for tomorrow».
For almost two years Mercury had lived almost segregated in his beautiful London home, frequenting a very small circle of friends. His last public appearance, little more than a brief appearance, was 18 months ago, for an awards ceremony. The photographs taken on that occasion, and published today by the English newspapers, show him suffering and very thin.
Since 1986, Queen, the pop group of which he was founder and soul, had not toured, and their return to the scene would now be considered an event.
Mercury was born in Zanzibar on September 5, 1946, the son of a government accountant, and had studied at a private school in Bombay. When the family returned to Britain, he enrolled in the Ealing College of Aris. He formed Queen in 1971, with Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor.
Their first album, from July 1973, was simply titled "Queen". A year later, "Queen II" followed, but it was Tip "A Night At The Opera" - containing the seven-minute piece, also released as a single, "Bohemian Rhapsody" - to decree its success. Among the early pop and rock, Queen successfully relied on video to launch their music. Their records have been sold in millions of copies all over the world. Freddie Mercury's funeral (the musician will be cremated) will take place privately during the week.
Leading exponent of British rock for nearly 20 years, Queen leader and singer, Mercury has taken his group to the top of the charts with songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are The Champions", which have sold millions of copies all over the world and resounded in all nightclubs. Mercury (whose real name was Frederick Bulsara), was 45 years old.
Only last Saturday, by spreading through his agent a communiqué that had aroused a lot of emotion in the London artistic environment, Mercury had revealed that he was suffering from AIDS. But the musician had never made a secret to anyone about his bisexuality and the wild life he loved to lead. «I have had many lovers, I have looked for relationships of both genders, with males and with females, but all have gone wrong», he often said.
Announcing that he had AIDS, the singer had explained that up until that moment he had wanted to keep his condition hidden "to protect the privacy of the people who are close to me»; «However, the time has come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth», he said, «and I hope everyone wants to join me, my doctor and all those around the world who are struggling with this terrible disease».
«Confidentiality», he added, «has always been very important to me, who was famous for not giving interviews. Please understand that this line will continue.» And he concluded, «I've learned to stay calm. I think naturalness and sincerity are winning qualities and I hope they both show through in my songs. How would I like to be remembered? It concerns others and, after death, who will it care? Not to me, for sure, I live for tomorrow».
For almost two years Mercury had lived almost segregated in his beautiful London home, frequenting a very small circle of friends. His last public appearance, little more than a brief appearance, was 18 months ago, for an awards ceremony. The photographs taken on that occasion, and published today by the English newspapers, show him suffering and very thin.
Since 1986, Queen, the pop group of which he was founder and soul, had not toured, and their return to the scene would now be considered an event.
Mercury was born in Zanzibar on September 5, 1946, the son of a government accountant, and had studied at a private school in Bombay. When the family returned to Britain, he enrolled in the Ealing College of Aris. He formed Queen in 1971, with Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor.
Their first album, from July 1973, was simply titled "Queen". A year later, "Queen II" followed, but it was Tip "A Night At The Opera" - containing the seven-minute piece, also released as a single, "Bohemian Rhapsody" - to decree its success. Among the early pop and rock, Queen successfully relied on video to launch their music. Their records have been sold in millions of copies all over the world. Freddie Mercury's funeral (the musician will be cremated) will take place privately during the week.
Tuesday 26th November 1991, La Stampa (like a lot of other Italian newspapers) made another report of Freddie's death. 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 again 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 (again).
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
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.
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.
Thursday 28th November 1991, La Stampa published an article about Freddie's funeral service, held on 27th November in London. Here's the translation of the article, originally entitled Elton a Freddie: «T'amerò sempre» (Elton to Freddie: «I'll always love you»):
LONDON. Flowers from all over the world for Freddie Mercury's funeral which took place yesterday in London. The British rock star, lead singer of the group Queen, died last Sunday of Aids. About fifty people took part in the short ceremony, according to the rite of Zoroaster, wanted by the artist. In addition to the three members of the band, Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon, also Elton John and Mary Austin, former partner of Mercury, accompanied by Dave Clark. Two priests officiated at the sung funeral rite, during which recordings of songs by Aretha Franklin were played, "Precious Lord Take My Hand", "You've Got A Friend", and a Verdi aria interpreted by soprano Monserrat Caballé, on whose music Mercury recorded the song «Barcelona». The coffin was transported to the West London crematorium in a black Rolls-Royce. Roxy Meade, Mercury's press officer, said flowers have arrived from all over the world, in quantities that cover an area of nearly a thousand square meters. The tributes, including that of David Bowie, accompanied by a note with the words «Will be missed» were distributed in all London hospitals where AIDS patients are housed. Elton John placed a heart-shaped wreath of pink roses on the tomb of the singer of "Queen" on which it was written: "Thank you for being my friend. Will always Love You. Elton». The lightning news of Freddie Mercury's death has hit the rock world with an impact comparable to what the news that basketball star Magic Johnson, who is HIV positive, has had on American public opinion. Many hard rock groups that change their philosophy of life. The Danger Danger, who incite their fans to sex try to correct the game, and in their concerts invite to fight the battles of sex and to «put a helmet on your soldier».
Thursday 28th November 1991, La Stampa published an article about Freddie's funeral service, held on 27th November in London. Here's the translation of the article, originally entitled Elton a Freddie: «T'amerò sempre» (Elton to Freddie: «I'll always love you»):
Rock stars at Mercury's funeral
Elton to Freddie: «I'll always love you»
Elton to Freddie: «I'll always love you»
LONDON. Flowers from all over the world for Freddie Mercury's funeral which took place yesterday in London. The British rock star, lead singer of the group Queen, died last Sunday of Aids. About fifty people took part in the short ceremony, according to the rite of Zoroaster, wanted by the artist. In addition to the three members of the band, Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon, also Elton John and Mary Austin, former partner of Mercury, accompanied by Dave Clark. Two priests officiated at the sung funeral rite, during which recordings of songs by Aretha Franklin were played, "Precious Lord Take My Hand", "You've Got A Friend", and a Verdi aria interpreted by soprano Monserrat Caballé, on whose music Mercury recorded the song «Barcelona». The coffin was transported to the West London crematorium in a black Rolls-Royce. Roxy Meade, Mercury's press officer, said flowers have arrived from all over the world, in quantities that cover an area of nearly a thousand square meters. The tributes, including that of David Bowie, accompanied by a note with the words «Will be missed» were distributed in all London hospitals where AIDS patients are housed. Elton John placed a heart-shaped wreath of pink roses on the tomb of the singer of "Queen" on which it was written: "Thank you for being my friend. Will always Love You. Elton». The lightning news of Freddie Mercury's death has hit the rock world with an impact comparable to what the news that basketball star Magic Johnson, who is HIV positive, has had on American public opinion. Many hard rock groups that change their philosophy of life. The Danger Danger, who incite their fans to sex try to correct the game, and in their concerts invite to fight the battles of sex and to «put a helmet on your soldier».
La Stampa Sera of 25th November published a similar article:
LONDON
Queen Freddie Mercury's funeral took place yesterday in London
LONDON. The funeral of Freddie Mercury, singer of the pop group Queen, who died last Sunday of AIDS, took place in London yesterday. About fifty people took part in the short ceremony, held according to the Zoroastrian rite, wanted by the artist. In addition to the three members of the band - Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon - also Elton John and Mary Austin, former partner of Mercury, accompanied by Dave Clark.
Two Parsi priests officiated at the sung funeral rite, during which recordings of songs by Aretha Franklin were played,"Precious Lord Take My Hand" and "You've Got A Friend", and a Verdi aria interpreted by soprano Monserrat Caballé, with which Mercury recorded the song "Barcelona". On the coffin, only a red rose.
The coffin was transported to the West London crematorium in a black Rolls-Royce.
LONDON
Queen Freddie Mercury's funeral took place yesterday in London
LONDON. The funeral of Freddie Mercury, singer of the pop group Queen, who died last Sunday of AIDS, took place in London yesterday. About fifty people took part in the short ceremony, held according to the Zoroastrian rite, wanted by the artist. In addition to the three members of the band - Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon - also Elton John and Mary Austin, former partner of Mercury, accompanied by Dave Clark.
Two Parsi priests officiated at the sung funeral rite, during which recordings of songs by Aretha Franklin were played,"Precious Lord Take My Hand" and "You've Got A Friend", and a Verdi aria interpreted by soprano Monserrat Caballé, with which Mercury recorded the song "Barcelona". On the coffin, only a red rose.
The coffin was transported to the West London crematorium in a black Rolls-Royce.