With relation to AIDS, this is not a situation where negative judgement is appropriate, as Amazon noted generally. First, I'd bet the house on the fact that Freddie became HIV positive in America in the late 1970's, two or three years before anybody knew there was a terrifying new illness stalking the gay community and more than five years before anybody knew how you got it. Sexual attitudes were relaxed in general in that era, and the things that usually get between men and sex - access and the need for negotiation (for lack of a better word) with women - don't apply to gay men in general, and certainly don't apply to gay rock stars specifically. He moved in a world where this behaviour was normal.
Later, the gay community was so struck with fear and denial about a disease that literally made you a modern day leper that a staggering number of people reacted completely counterintuitively. Many people grew more reckless rather than less as a means of anesthetizing and coping, many avoided testing because of the unbearable stigma, and most surreal of all were the number of people who deliberately attempted to ensure they became infected so as not to suffer guilt or be excluded from the community that had become essentially defined by this disease. Anybody who lived through those times and remembers the news stories remembers it was a strange, frightening period. Freddie was far, far from alone in sticking his head in the sand and attempting to sidestep reality. AIDS throughout most of the 80's and even beyond is just not a disease where it's appropriate to talk about fault. He was more than anything a victim of the time in which he lived.
Winter Land Man · Member since
Freddie knew about AIDS since '82. End of story. A rep at Elektra released the story in the 80s.
Forget about AIDS though, it has nothing to do with the topic.
GratefulFan · Member since
It's not irrelevant if you consider his use of sex to be an addiction, or his use of drugs/alcohol to have influenced his decisions about sexual partnters.
What's this about '82?
Winter Land Man · Member since
GratefulFan wrote: It's not irrelevant if you consider his use of sex to be an addiction, or his use of drugs/alcohol to have influenced his decisions about sexual partnters.
What's this about '82?
=========================== Ever heard of the Queen Gazette? It was sort of an American fan club magazine.. sort of... with a million articles from mags and other publications. Reviews, articles, rumours, interviews, advertisements, press releases, etc. The works in terms of publications. I bought like 20 of those magazines and recall reading about Freddie partying it up in NY in '82, and someone he knew was dying of AIDS and he was upset about it, and he talked about it and changed the subject quickly. It was before there were any rumours about Freddie having it, so he certainly knew of it's exhistance. There's also friends of his who asked if he slowed down his sex drive due to the "gay plague" or the "gay thing", or "AIDS", and he said "Fuck it, I'm doing everything with everybody!"
skip · Member since
GratefulFan wrote: With relation to AIDS, this is not a situation where negative judgement is appropriate, as Amazon noted generally. First, I'd bet the house on the fact that Freddie became HIV positive in America in the late 1970's, two or three years before anybody knew there was a terrifying new illness stalking the gay community and more than five years before anybody knew how you got it. Sexual attitudes were relaxed in general in that era, and the things that usually get between men and sex - access and the need for negotiation (for lack of a better word) with women - don't apply to gay men in general, and certainly don't apply to gay rock stars specifically. He moved in a world where this behaviour was normal.
Later, the gay community was so struck with fear and denial about a disease that literally made you a modern day leper that a staggering number of people reacted completely counterintuitively. Many people grew more reckless rather than less as a means of anesthetizing and coping, many avoided testing because of the unbearable stigma, and most surreal of all were the number of people who deliberately attempted to ensure they became infected so as not to suffer guilt or be excluded from the community that had become essentially defined by this disease. Anybody who lived through those times and remembers the news stories remembers it was a strange, frightening period. Freddie was far, far from alone in sticking his head in the sand and attempting to sidestep reality. AIDS throughout most of the 80's and even beyond is just not a disease where it's appropriate to talk about fault. He was more than anything a victim of the time in which he lived.
RE: He was more than anything a victim of the time in which he lived.
I don't agree with that at all.
He smoked. He knew that wasn't healthy.
He drank heavily. He knew that wasn't healthy.
He did various drugs. He knew that wasn't healthy and that it was illegal.
He trolled strangers for sex. He knew about other STDs besides HIV/AIDS.
Freddie definitely was not a victim. He brought his illness upon himself.
Winter Land Man · Member since
I know a person with HIV, and the person is a man.
FREDDIEMANIAC · Member since
Are you people even Queen fans?? Esp. Mike Hunt! You think Freddie was high @Live Aid?! Get real!!! That's called Passion! "Attacking the camera man!"....Ah, it's called Playing w/ him!!! OMG! You guys are unbelievable! FREDDIE was the most amazing & BEST PERFORMER ever to grace the Earth!!!!!! His views on addiction are quite public. FREDDIE WAS NOT AN ADDICT of any kind! He even said that he liked to be in control, rather than drugs controlling him. And as for him being high on stage......Never!!! You cannot perform so spectacularly as him if you're out of your mind. Queen was never a druggie group.....none of them were.
GratefulFan · Member since
skip wrote:
RE: He was more than anything a victim of the time in which he lived.
I don't agree with that at all.
He smoked. He knew that wasn't healthy.
He drank heavily. He knew that wasn't healthy.
He did various drugs. He knew that wasn't healthy and that it was illegal.
He trolled strangers for sex. He knew about other STDs besides HIV/AIDS.
Freddie definitely was not a victim. He brought his illness upon himself.
==========================================
Smoking? Are you serious? I think you are. Hard to know how to respond to that.
Bottom line is he conducted himself like an awful lot of rock stars did in the 1970's and early/mid 80's, and like an awful lot of gay men in the same period. There was and is no reason to believe he was at risk of popping off from drugs or drink like Bon Scott etc. He died from having sex, and he's the only rock star I can think of among many who conducted themselves similarly (though with women) for whom that is true. People typically have decades to rethink unhealthy or unhappy and unproductive lifestyles. Freddie's fate was almost certainly sealed before he turned 35, sometime in the first handful of years of figuring out how to be a gay man. Most of us will die as a result of some chain of choices or other. To single him out is in my view pointless and factually and morally wrong given the way the early AIDS crisis unfolded.
andreas_mercury · Member since
play with fire you get burned
skip · Member since
FREDDIEMANIAC wrote: Are you people even Queen fans?? Esp. Mike Hunt! You think Freddie was high @Live Aid?! Get real!!! That's called Passion! "Attacking the camera man!"....Ah, it's called Playing w/ him!!! OMG! You guys are unbelievable! FREDDIE was the most amazing & BEST PERFORMER ever to grace the Earth!!!!!! His views on addiction are quite public. FREDDIE WAS NOT AN ADDICT of any kind! He even said that he liked to be in control, rather than drugs controlling him. And as for him being high on stage......Never!!! You cannot perform so spectacularly as him if you're out of your mind. Queen was never a druggie group.....none of them were.
I've already covered Freddie's addictions here.
Roger was a massive coke head. Major drinker, too. He said he hated pot. Don't know what other drugs he tried.
Brian was/is? a drinker. Don't know his background with drugs.
John was/is? a drinker. Don't know his background with drugs.
skip · Member since
GratefulFan wrote: skip wrote:
RE: He was more than anything a victim of the time in which he lived.
I don't agree with that at all.
He smoked. He knew that wasn't healthy.
He drank heavily. He knew that wasn't healthy.
He did various drugs. He knew that wasn't healthy and that it was illegal.
He trolled strangers for sex. He knew about other STDs besides HIV/AIDS.
Freddie definitely was not a victim. He brought his illness upon himself.
==========================================
Smoking? Are you serious? I think you are. Hard to know how to respond to that.
Bottom line is he conducted himself like an awful lot of rock stars did in the 1970's and early/mid 80's, and like an awful lot of gay men in the same period. There was and is no reason to believe he was at risk of popping off from drugs or drink like Bon Scott etc. He died from having sex, and he's the only rock star I can think of among many who conducted themselves similarly (though with women) for whom that is true. People typically have decades to rethink unhealthy or unhappy and unproductive lifestyles. Freddie's fate was almost certainly sealed before he turned 35, sometime in the first handful of years of figuring out how to be a gay man. Most of us will die as a result of some chain of choices or other. To single him out is in my view pointless and factually and morally wrong given the way the early AIDS crisis unfolded.
A guy who didn't smoke suddenly starts smoking after he's become a successful musician. Stupid on so many levels.
We aren't talking about other rock stars, we are talking about Freddie.
Nobody ever told Freddie to start smoking, drink until intoxicated, do drugs, and troll for strangers (mainly while under the influence of alcohol and drugs) in gay bars. He brought all of his problems on himself.
BTW, Freddie could have died just as easily from a heart attack induced by cocaine like John Entwistle did.
Freddie was aware of AIDS and when questioned by an interviewer if he was being careful his quote was fuck it; he was going to do as much as he could as often as he could.
Freddie was never the brightest bulb in that group.
Gregsynth · Member since
skip wrote: FREDDIEMANIAC wrote: Are you people even Queen fans?? Esp. Mike Hunt! You think Freddie was high @Live Aid?! Get real!!! That's called Passion! "Attacking the camera man!"....Ah, it's called Playing w/ him!!! OMG! You guys are unbelievable! FREDDIE was the most amazing & BEST PERFORMER ever to grace the Earth!!!!!! His views on addiction are quite public. FREDDIE WAS NOT AN ADDICT of any kind! He even said that he liked to be in control, rather than drugs controlling him. And as for him being high on stage......Never!!! You cannot perform so spectacularly as him if you're out of your mind. Queen was never a druggie group.....none of them were.
I've already covered Freddie's addictions here.
Roger was a massive coke head. Major drinker, too. He said he hated pot. Don't know what other drugs he tried.
Brian was/is? a drinker. Don't know his background with drugs.
John was/is? a drinker. Don't know his background with drugs.
Freddie: Cocaine, alcohol, smoking Roger: Coke (didn't know that)? But he drank alot, and smoked alot (quit in the mid/late 80s) Brian: No drugs, no smoking, very light drinker (mostly just Guinness wine) John: No drugs, Smoked, causal drinker
In a sense, yes they ingested their share of substances over the years, but as for being druggies/addicts? Not really Go check out bands like Fleetwood Mac for a druggie band! lol
Gregsynth · Member since
BTW, he smoked to get a husky tone for his voice.
mike hunt · Member since
FREDDIEMANIAC wrote: Are you people even Queen fans?? Esp. Mike Hunt! You think Freddie was high @Live Aid?! Get real!!! That's called Passion! "Attacking the camera man!"....Ah, it's called Playing w/ him!!! OMG! You guys are unbelievable! FREDDIE was the most amazing & BEST PERFORMER ever to grace the Earth!!!!!! His views on addiction are quite public. FREDDIE WAS NOT AN ADDICT of any kind! He even said that he liked to be in control, rather than drugs controlling him. And as for him being high on stage......Never!!! You cannot perform so spectacularly as him if you're out of your mind. Queen was never a druggie group.....none of them were.
Calm down youngster!.....In the end I couldn't give a rats ass if freddie was addicted to drugs and sex. I'm just having a simple discussion about my favorite singer......Maybe freddie never went on stage high (including live aid) it was all passion that great day, but off stage we all know the man had problems...He would spend thousands of dollars on drug and drink. No matter how you spin it's obvious the man liked to party. He loved the white stuff for sure.....Was he an addict?.....not sure....I personnly think freddie wasn't a true addict, but he did go out for bingers.....As an old binge drinker myself could you little chridren understand there's a difference between being an addict and binger. An addict get you that feeling that you can;t suvive another day in this world until you get your fix. The binger, like our man fred and Queenzones best freinds mikehunt.....people like mike hunt and freddie are very classie people. most of the time. we could be calm and collect then this fling happens, the feeling of "let's go fucking party"....., it;d been a few months so why the hell not.Let's party!.......fred miss Coke..mike hunt misses drinks....I need to get wasted. Then the beautiful women start walking in here with their tight young little bodies rubbing those bodies against freddie mercury and mike hunt......the binger Just does it till he can;t no more.....then when he's done it could be years you could see him a again why?....because he has ballance. The addict doesn't have ballance.
Winter Land Man · Member since
Anyone remember reading about (from Freddie's friends), about Freddie using too many drugs mixed with alcohol and going into some kind of seizure like situations (or walking along and suddenly just passing out) in the mid-1980s??? Particularly during the Munich years???
