clarification of Thor Arnold's role in Freddie's life

Hey There BETA215,
This is my second attempt to respond to you. Something must have gone wrong with the first try.
Anyway, Yes that is me next to Freddie in LA. He looks GREAT. I look like something the cat dragged
in - oh well! Thank you for sending me the info to get your ...let's say borrowed merchandise ...connection site.

Hello again PrimeJiveUSA,
Freddie did smoke when I met him but I don't know if he STARTED in New York or not. I'm sure his doctors were not pleased with this.
I have watched some video's with Adam Lambert and although no Freddie, he was better than Paul Rogers when I saw the (new) Queen
at the Hollywood Bowl. In my opinion, he did not fit in at all. I found him to be a bit of...bad company. Adam, I'd say is pretty good.

Hi Thor

I don't post here that often, my interest is mainly Queen in the 70's and Freddie, well, I imprinted on him as a 5 year old girl when I watched Bohemian Rhapsody, lol. He lit up my imagination with his 'gotta leave you all behind and face the truth,' etc, and My Fairy King, etc, I think for a while I thought he really was some otherworldly figure.

What others have said, it's truly amazing to have someone here who actually knew Freddie and yet are giving us their time, so thank you! It's also amazing because we've heard about you, you are in the fable, so to speak, and now you're 'real' and talking to us. It gives me an opportunity to say how sorry I am for what happened with AIDS in the 80's and for the loss of your friends. I wish there was more I could say. I wasn't directly affected, and was only 15 when it all started, but it hurts to think about still and I've since had losses of my own

My question would be how did Freddie cope with death as an abstract idea (before or after aids making an appearance), did he ever share a philosophy about that? And, had he lived, how do you imagine he would have approached getting older?

Last one I promise....did you ever see his creative side at work in or outside the studio, if so what were those sessions like?

Thanks Thor! :-)

Nice to finally put a face to your name, Thor! Even if that's not a recent pix :)

Hello SmokyQuartz,
Thank you for your kind words. I'll repeat what I have already answered about my remembrance of the death subject. We were young with the instinct/notion in us
of living long lives. With Freddie, we only had one discussion of death after our friend John Murphy passed away. I believe we all lied to ourselves with that inner
little voice that said "it could not happen to us." The topic was never again brought up even when I visited Freddie in 1990. Although quite ill at that point, he always
kept a brave face. It seemed obvious that he had come to terms with his fate. It was also clear that I would not be seeing him again and I would need to come to terms
with that.
Also, I never got to see the creative Freddie at work with his music but I did get to enjoy the finished product as did the rest of the world. I also got to see many
Queen concerts culminating with Queen at Wembley Stadium for the "Kind of Magic" performance. It was absolutely fantastic. Even Mic Jagger (one box away) seemed
to really like it too..LOL

I am sorry that this last reply is so broken up, which kind of makes it more difficult to read.

Hi Thor, I think we are all aware of the band's connection to Japan, they enjoyed playing there and seemed to some extent to embrace the culture.

What I've always wondered was did Freddie ever express more of a liking for certain tours or periods on tour than others?

Sorry Vocal harmony,
All I know is that he loved his two tours when he was based in New York. Other than that, he never mentioned to me any favorite tours. I know he was very proud of
Live Aid and Kind of Majic at Wembley..

@thundergod

Oh, sorry if it bothered you! That's my signature, a message that is always shown under every of my replies. Don't pay attention to that.

I hope my greetings were profound enough :)

Hello BETA215,
I'm afraid I don't understand your last reply. What supposedly "bothered me", in your opinion, because nothing bothered me
at all about your message. I said nothing about the words below your message except Thank You for the info. I am confused.
Your words were great and easy to read about... but "profound?" Hmmmm. .

Hi Thor! My first time posting here. First of all, I wanted to thank you for your contribution to the forum, I've been reading you and enjoying like a kid.
I don't have any specific questions but what I like most are the random memories and stories you shared, so funny and sweet, if you have (as I suppose you do) more of those to tell us it would be so great.
Thank you!

An interesting read, and seemingly genuine. Thanks Thor you have been candid but respectful (as much as we crave any new morsel).

The narrative on this time in Fred's life is very consistent in that away from music he liked to keep things light and was indeed a hedonist, but without being unduly cruel to anyone. It also does seem to support the narrative that in terms of sexual behaviour he was irresponsible and selfish, something which his critics love to jump on. It also corroborates the story that away from his party loving side not many people really knew him. Indeed Brian and Roger maintain that they hardly knew him and that after the formative years they spent very little time together away from the music. In many ways I can't help but get the feeling that Freddie was a treasured colleague as opposed to an out and out friend. It's his relationship with Deaky that intrigues me the most. Seemingly polar opposites (although let's face it one would have to be bloody naive to believe that John wasn't a rock star in the formative years, I'm sure he was no saint) I've read that they were the closest in the band, something John's retirement adds credence too. Thor, you say you never spoke to John so for now I guess we remain in the dark.

I've only ever read one book on Fred as it's been chronicled so often how private he was and I have no desire to read 1000s of pages on his drug taking and partying. Hence I'm new here and it's been a treat to read a genuine inside view on a certain period of his.

Of course we have all read some outrageous quotes from Freddie and for some it matters not if they are true, they seem in keeping. My fave involves Fred allegedly in a Turkish brothel, probably a quote Queen ultras are sick of and as true as The Bible but it does make me chuckle.

Mr Mercury certainly still captures the imagination. Because of his tragic early passing he's frozen in time as the mustachiod gay rock god of legend. Long may he reign!

"I've been reading you and enjoying like a kid."

Yep! Perfectly stated, RBoulain!

@Thor

So, I guess you were a part of the group called the "New York Daughters"?

I am curious as to certain dynamics within this social group. Was there ever any sinickering at Freddie without his knowledge...you know, mocking or making fun of him? Did anyone say anything about how they thought his teeth were disgusting or hideous?

I've always wondered about these kinds of things because you KNOW that in the "real world" if Freddie were just an average joe that it is human nature for many people to do this. I know he was made fun of by other kids before he became a star. Or is star-power so blinding that none of you would think to talk that way amongst yourselves when Freddie wasn't present?

OK everyone,
I have a feeling some participants are not reading this thread from the beginning because a few of the more recent comments
and questions were already answered as best as I could.

PrimeJive USA,
Thank you for the compliment. However, the discussion about "Mother" and "Daughters" has been covered. It should be
somewhere on page 1,2 or 3. For the sake of others, I don't want to repeat my replies UNLESS for some reason
you were not able to read the earlier pages.
I must scold you on your remarks about his teeth. I already explained how Freddie felt about his teeth. He hated them,
His friends accepted him without regard to any physical characteristics. We covered this in the "armpit wars" section. Please
read it and let's not start any "teeth wars". I will not comment on any messages like THAT again. Friends accept, they do not
mock.

Hi RBoulain,
Thank you so much for your comments. I think I might be running low on clever and funny statements until
some new ones come to mind. But, here is one in keeping with my last reply.
As I have said, Dave Clark was a good friend of Freddie's. I have always had a crush on Dave Clark, starting
in the 60's. Freddie had him over the house in London and Lee and myself got tickets to the show he directed
called "Time" on the West End. I was a bit shocked to see the amount of plastic surgery done on Dave Clark's
face. especially because it didn't look right. I, asked Freddie, after he left, if Dave was aware of his appearance?
Freddie answered:
"Well, of course he knows dahling. What was he supposed to do?... 'Say, Hello, how are you...sorry, but my
cheeks have fallen." Although Freddie said it in a joking way, and we took it that way it may have indicated his
true feelings about friends criticizing other friend's personal attributes..