Freddie's Loves
21.00-22.00
As frontman of Queen, Freddie Mercury was one of the most famous men on the planet, but he kept his love life a private affair. Now for the first time, the loves of Freddie's life speak out about the time they spent with the bombastic rocker, and through the eyes of his close friends, we get a glimpse of what Freddie was like off-stage. Faroukh Bulsara moved to London in 1964 from Zanzibar in Africa, and soon settled into swinging London, changing his name to the more exotic Freddie Mercury. He had girlfriends at college and as his music career took off, he was with shy blonde Mary Austin. "I believe he was in love with Mary," testifies music photographer Mick Rock. "The only problem with her was that she was a girl." Freddie came to terms with his homosexuality as Queen became famous, and even made a pass at the band's promotion manager, Eric Hall. "He told me 'Killer Queen' was about me," chuckles Eric. Freddie embarked on his first proper relationship with a man in 1975, the record company PA David Minns. "He pursued me," says Minns. "He was obsessive about people, but he was very sweet." Freddie was forced to break the news of his bisexuality to Mary, who replied that she thought he was gay anyway. Her honesty and blessing paved the way for a lifelong friendship between the two. After the success of their hit 'Bohemian Rhapsody', Queen were headline news. With the cross-dressing, the highly suggestive name and the camp posturing, the tabloids began to question Freddie's sexuality. He kept them all guessing by turning up to functions with both David and Mary. But as Freddie realised that his fame could bring him any man he wanted, David's days as his boyfriend were numbered. Freddie soon fell for trainee chef Joe Fanelli in 1978, and embarked upon a one-year relationship with him. Like he did with most of his partners, Freddie remained close friends with Joe after their split, and even appointed him as his personal chef.
As Queen's success grew and grew, so did Mercury's appetite for wild parties and gay men. Wayne Sleep was a regular party accomplice of Freddie's in late 70s London. "We all were given girls' names," he says. "I was Bridget the midget." As the 80s loomed, Freddie's leotards and long hair were soon replaced by leathers and a moustache, and Queen's videos went from suggestive to explicit. Freddie moved to New York, where he heartily embraced the vibrant gay scene. He had a brief fling with a biker barman called Vince, and in the Anvil bar Freddie took barman Thor Arnold back to his hotel room. "It was about six in the morning," remembers Thor. "We negotiated, and decided to go back. But we had been partying hard all night, and it was a long time before Viagra." Freddie adopted Thor and his friends as chief sidekicks in New York, and together they would scour the clubs for prey. But the AIDS epidemic was beginning to take effect in the early 80s, and Thor and his friends paid little heed. "It made some people party harder, and made some withdraw from the scene," he says. "We thought it was caused by poppers at the time, we really did." Freddie left the New York scene behind him in 1983, still searching for the love of his life. He had an intense relationship with German actress Barbara Valentin in Munich, and also a fling with a butch Austrian restaurateur. On a return to England in 1985, Freddie finally met the man he would be with until his death, Jim Hutton, who was surreptitiously made Freddie's live-in gardener. He looked like Burt Reynolds, thereby fitting Freddie's criteria to a tee! Freddie's close friend and PA Peter Freestone thinks that Freddie's colossal performance at Live Aid that year was due to the love he felt for Jim. "He looked huge on stage," says Peter. "Part of that was from Jim's emotional input." Freddie enjoyed some of th
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