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

@Thor

He grew up in a Zoroastrian faith, I'm sure others can say much more about it than I can though. :-)

I always wondered if Freddie's upbringing could have confused him in terms of religion. I mean, he was raised Zoroastrian, his school in India was Christian, in a region where it was predominantly Hindu, then in Zanzibar I understand some of the community was Muslim.
Being from a small religion could lead to him feeling an outsider...just a thought.

But yeah I guess knowing you're close to death, you might think differently to normal.

Thanks for the insights Smoky and captain. I am going to Google again because I have never even
heard of Zoroastrian.

Wow, the oldest monotheistic religion in history, original ecologists, the theory of humans not being able to
conceive of Ahura Mazda...fascinating stuff.

It was all over the tabloid newspapers and in the books after he passed away, Thor (here in the UK). Saying how he'd come from such a strict, Zoroastrian family. Otherwise many of us wouldn't have known about it, it's one of the more ancient religions I think. His video in Play The Game, where he walks through fire, has been credited to rituals from that religion.

On a different note (doing my bit for the 10% posters today, lol)..

Did Freddie ever tell you to go along to the Tate Gallery in London and check out the painting, The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke by Richard Dadd?

It fascinates me and apparently it fascinated Freddie in the early days with Queen.

(you've since posted, YES it's fascinating, even though I'm not religious)

thundergod wrote:

Thanks for the insights Smoky and captain. I am going to Google again because I have never even
heard of Zoroastrian.

Lol...I hadn't either until his death and I read about it in the obit from Rolling Stone magazine! I actually learned something about Freddie from a rag that did nothing but slag off Queen and ignore them while Freddie was alive!

HaHa Smoky,
Back again to Google. The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke by Richard Dadd is new to me
so I guess Freddie never expressed his opinion of this artwork to me. I also never heard
of the Tate Gallery nor was encouraged by Freddie to go there. Let me check out what
I missed out on. Thanks for the reference.

Wow, beautiful, but a little concerning with all of those ropes and vines. Wish I knew what
the artist was really expressing. Too complex I think for this mind.

@Thor

I'm not sure if you're aware of it but "Who Wants to Live Forever"was written by Brian May, and "These are the Days of Our Lives" was written by Roger Taylor.

But:

1) I think "written by" suggests more exclusivity of authorship than is real; They all chipped in, probably.

2) Freddie imbued both of these songs with something special.

So, I'd be wrong to say Freddie had little to do with either of them.

thundergod wrote:

Thank you shvili,
I did not know that the record signing thing even happened in New York.
The pictures are very FUN...thanks so much. (and what is that girl in the
short short red outfit doing anyway?) ...LOL

Hi Thor,
Glad you liked the pics. Thought you may have remembered this events, since it was in a same time period you and Freddie were hanging out a lot.

As for the girl in red shorts...well; Whatever she is doing like it.
No but seriously, looks like she's going in for a kiss with Freddie.

I love the fact that Freddie is smoking and drinking in record store. Great Times... 80's lol

Thanks and Hey Martin Packer,
I've said it ad nauseam by now, but it is so incredible how much I am able to learn from you Super-fans.
As a fan of history, but limited to World and American history, you are all blowing my mind...and I love it.

Re the painting....There's a You Tube link by Toni Valdivia, if you search Fairy Fellers Master Stroke by Queen and then his link (for some reason I can't link it), you'll get the song and the painting together.

You're right to be concerned, Thor. Richard Dadd painted this in an asylum here after developing psychosis and killing his own father. What I find fascinating in Freddie's song, is that....Richard Dadd's father was an Apothecary. Richard killed him because he was convinced he was the devil and not his real father. In the song Freddie uses the line 'A good Apothecary man, comes to say hello.'

That's my lot for today, lol.

Thank you, Thor, for sharing your insights and for the time you're devoting to the Forum. I'd love to know more about your visits to Garden Lodge - how did your group spend that time with Freddie? Were there structured "plans" for the day or did you just go with the flow.

Could you talk about his beloved gardens and Freddie's home - the Japanese Room has always intrigued me.

Thanks again.

So Smoky, "concerning" is appropriate for this piece. Thanks for the story behind the art. Again, fascinating !

Jumped back into share a laugh. Jane Seymour recently posted a video on social media about the Fashion Aid experience with Freddie. She was modeling a bride's dress and he, the groom's duds. They strutted the runway as "husband and wife". She joked "So Freddie and I got married that day haha". And I kid you not: 12 women in the comments in a certain facebook group said "See! He WAS BISEXUAL! He MARRIED her and Mary was so jealous that it was left out of the books! Mary is ALWAYS trying to bi erase him! He wasnt a gay! He was a proud bisexual."

L O L

I couldn't even try to reason with them. They were too thick. I told them it was a fashion show not real life and I got told to go die lol! Still laughing


Did Freddie ever talk about Fashion Aid with you? It was in 85 I believe. Sort of an extra branch of Live Aid if I understand it correctly.