‘He was completely focused’: Queen’s Brian May remembers Freddie Mercury’s

Even as Freddie Mercury was fighting for his life, he worked on Queen music. The hope was always, it seemed, that something could be made of these final musical moments. But, as Brian May remembers, it wasn’t always easy.

At the turn of the 1990s, Mercury had become noticeably thinner as he battled AIDS. By 1991, he was gone — but Mercury was determined to give all that he could, right up until the end. That moment finally came as the duo was at work on one last unfinished song. May fed lines to a struggling Mercury, who would stop only for a moment of liquid courage before battling on.

“I would write a verse down, and sing it to him,” May tells Herman Grech, “because the song wasn’t really written at that time. And for each line, he did four takes. And then we’d write another verse. And he would be like, ‘Give me a vodka.’ That gave him his strength. After another shot, he’s say: ‘Give me more lyrics. More, more more. I want to do this.’ He was completely focused. He knew that he wouldn’t be there that long.”

This session was about one month before Mercury succumbed. The resulting track, titled “Mother Love,” would eventually appear on 1995's posthumous Made in Heaven.

“That was the last thing we ever did together,” May says. “Freddie was really quite ill. He would only have moments where he was OK, and he could prop himself up and sing. But he was eager to work. He loved to work. It was the thing that really made him smile.”

http://somethingelsereviews.com/2014/04/09/he-was-completely-focused-queens-brian-may-on-freddie-mercurys-brave-final-days/

And there we go with just another version about his last recording session. Wasn`t there a statement from "someone" related to Queen here on QZ, that his last session was in May 91`???
Well one way or the other it`s sad to hear...

That - and Brian had also recently said Freddie did three takes of each line, and not four.

Which is it?

LAST SESSIONS:

-Give me a vodka.

-Give me more lyrics!

-Now another vodka.

-More lyrics,More lyrics!!!

-Where is my VODKA????

-Lyrics. I WANT LYRICS!!

( ...poor Brian)

He could've said "several". I wonder when he'll say "five". :-) I suspect part of it was the potential need to "thicken up" what might've been quite thin at that point. And part of it to give choice in the mix. Anyone have a view on how many Freddies there are in Mother Love?

[QUOTE] [b]Stelios wrote:[/b]

LAST SESSIONS:

-Give me a vodka.

-Give me more lyrics!

-Now another vodka.

-More lyrics,More lyrics!!!

-Where is my VODKA????

-Lyrics. I WANT LYRICS!!

( ...poor Brian)
[/QUOTE]


Considering he was practically consigned to death and apparently only "able" for a portion of a day (let's say 1-2 hours to be tough. .. 2-4 to be generous) I'd easily say sooner. ... "Poor Freddie. ... :'("

Poor both of them. I'm certain it troubled them immensely. Can't fathom the spirit it took to really accomplish what they did.

Without all the gruesome details, I'm certain it was fun but probably very dispiriting in many ways. Makes you speculate particularly about John.

Freddie was so brave and did not want the illness stopping him from making more music, how many people could do what freddie did dying?
Such a wonderful inspiring guy was freddie, its just a shame
The Made in Heaven album turned out to be such a dogs dinner, the secret track at the end was a waste of space
and something mote palatable could have been put there.
There was a few songs that were ok, and a few which were not up to Queen standards like "you dont fool me"
Personally i loved "Hot Space" better.
I found "Made in Heaven" to be sounding like the guys were not really enjoying themselves because they were just getting another batch of Queen songs out and that was it really.
Still Freddie played a blinder in the condition that he was in and i am amazed he could actually get out of bed to attend the studio sessions, not many could do that!

[QUOTE] [b]gerry wrote:[/b]

how many people could do what freddie did dying?
[/QUOTE]
Many have - Joey Ramone, Warren Zevon, George Harrison, to name a few..


[QUOTE]The Made in Heaven album turned out to be such a dogs dinner, the secret track at the end was a waste of space
and something mote palatable could have been put there.
There was a few songs that were ok, and a few which were not up to Queen standards like "you dont fool me"
Personally i loved "Hot Space" better.[/QUOTE]
Once again, you're revealing yourself to be a Freddie fan instead of a Queen fan. There is more depth in that last track than you can obviously grasp.

"Queen standards" ? You think Action This Day is a better song than You Don't Fool Me ?


[QUOTE]I found "Made in Heaven" to be sounding like the guys were not really enjoying themselves because they were just getting another batch of Queen songs out and that was it really.
[/QUOTE]
How could they possibly enjoy themselves? They were working with their dead singer's leftover vocal tracks. You can't be bothered to peel yourself away from your self-imposed negativity and see the layers of what was going on. But you've always been a self-appointed expert on the inner workings of the band, so why am I even wasting my time ?

[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE] [b]gerry wrote:[/b]

how many people could do what freddie did dying?
[/QUOTE]
Many have - Joey Ramone, Warren Zevon, George Harrison, to name a few..
[/QUOTE]

You forgot Frank Zappa.. . A true musical genius!

Gerry, I think we all know the script now. Almost everything recorded after nov 91 isn't worth a jot. .
In your world anyway.

Real wizard:
Im not revealing myself as a freddie fan i was merely stating
what a courageous guy Freddie was, and having HIV and full blown aids and still able to stand and even speak at that time was incredible.
Yes i do honestly think anything from Hot Space is more enjoyable than the shit at the end of Made in Heaven.
Brian & Roger were obviously getting very tired by the time
they came to the end of the album so made that weird track,
which most Queen fans do not even rate.
Freddies "Staying power" is more of a thrill to me than that last track on "made in heaven album".

Vocal harmony:
Everything in your world is not worth a jot after 1991, going by the artists you mentioned like,
George Harrison, warren zevon, Frank Zappa, so please do not get bitchy!

^If you like a more "pervert" comparison - look at KLAUS NOMI. He had full blown AIDS ( about eight month before his death) and performed three songs LIVE in Munich in December 82` and he was working on an album.
Think of all the nameless people killed by AIDS...

[QUOTE] [b]gerry wrote:[/b]

Vocal harmony:
Everything in your world is not worth a jot after 1991, going by the artists you mentioned like,
George Harrison, warren zevon, Frank Zappa, so please do not get bitchy![/QUOTE]

Are you seriously trying to say that the likes of George Harrison and Frank Zappa ard not worthy musicians and composers. If you are it speaks volumes about your musical knowledge. . . . . . .

Or total lack of it.

FWIW I immensely enjoy both Action This Day (but prefer Calling All Girls) and You Don't Fool Me. Talking of "Queen standard" is highly personal and subjective.

Such guts and determination. Never fails to amaze me.