An alliance made in heaven: On the devoted friendship of Freddie Mercury and Elton John...
To this day, Freddie Mercury and Elton John remain two of the greatest British rock icons of all time! Given their similar musical style and passion for showmanship, it's no surprise that they were great friends... Their friendship can only be described as if this union was made in show business heaven! The warm and devoted relationship of these two characters lasted for decades! Until Mercury's death...
Freddie tragically passed away in 1991 after a long battle with AIDS. The Queen frontman told the world about his condition only a few hours before his last breath ... Elton John was one of the few whom Freddie allowed to see himself dying ...
How the friendship of two legends was born ...
In one of his interviews, Elton John recalled:
“I always knew that in show business, almost everyone has vaudeville notes in themselves ... But Freddie had this quality in abundance ...”
John also added:
“I admire the musicianship of this man ... For a long time I talked with tennis player Billie Jean King. And she often talked about the songs "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" as the best for the sport! I couldn't ask Bernie Taupin to sit down and write such lyrics - he was not one of those writers ... And why? “We Are the Champions” is unbeatable: this song is so beautiful and powerful that it can be used in any sport!”
“... But here's the irony: "We Are the Champions" became a timeless sports anthem when Freddie himself hated sports ... He had no idea what Arsenal was! And this is one of the most famous football clubs in England!”
Well... Since their first meeting, Freddie and Elton have been through a lot together. It's no secret that John suffered from addiction in the 80s... In fact, it was Mercury who led the celebrity attack to get Elton to pull himself together! And it was Freddie who encouraged him to go to rehab...
Later, John said that he got addicted because of the struggle with fame and an emotionally difficult childhood ... But Freddie was always there, he always pointed in the right direction. That is why Elton was devoted to him until his death. And, in fact, even more!
Happy days of friendship...
In his book Love Is the Medicine: About Life, Loss, and the End of AIDS, John shared his impressions of the Live Aid charity concert:
“Queen literally stole this show! After the performance, I said to Freddie: "You were especially great." And he said: "You're absolutely right, dear, we ... tore them all!" He was very excited…”
“…Then he said, “On the other hand, you, honey, looked like a fucking queen on stage! Where did you get this terrible hat? It was the real Freddie. He was funny…”
Well! It's nice to know that a legendary man like Elton John has a good sense of humor about himself!
It's no secret that Freddie called all his friends "maiden names"! So, Elton had the name "Sharon", and Mercury himself had the name "Melina".
Elton John was a frequent guest at Freddie's parties and stated that "hang out with Freddie was a lot of fun!" They often teased each other along with Rod Stewart. And once the trio even came up with a fictional group called "Nose, Hair and Teeth", which made fun of their physical shortcomings.
The last months of Freddie's life...
In his statements, Elton repeatedly recalled how Mercury remained cheerful even in the darkest times ...
“Freddie never lost his sense of humor and kindness! He was too weak to get out of bed... He was losing his sight and his body was covered in Kaposi's sarcoma... But he was still definitely good old Freddie - gossiping, and downright outrageous!" - Elton describes the last days of Freddie's life in his memoirs.
“One day I came to him, and he says: “Did you hear the new Mrs. Bowie album, dear? Does he even think what he's doing? Yes, I was always comfortable and fun with him ... "
During his lifetime, Freddie liked to collect Japanese art. And even when he was dying, he still continued to order unique items at the auction.
Elton John:
“All around him on the bed were medicines, as well as catalogs from auctions. I thought it was amazing, just amazing that this person loves life so much ... "
Last gift...
After Freddie's death, Elton discovered a Christmas present from him - a painting by his favorite artist, Henry Scott Tuke!
“Mercury was dying, but he still thought about his friends… He was that kind of person. He was so full of love for life… There was a note attached to the painting that said, “Dear Sharon, I saw this at an auction and thought you would like it. I love you, your Melina ... ""
In memory of Mercury...
Elton was one of the few with whom Freddie shared his terrible diagnosis ... Even his Queen bandmates Mercury told about it only a couple of years later. In the last few years of his life, Freddie cut off a lot of people close to him. He did not want to be seen in such a state ... He wanted people to remember him healthy and happy.
Freddie's love was based on trust. Therefore, the people he trusted he loved the most. Freddie was very careful and it took a long time for people to earn his trust. That Freddie let Elton see him so vulnerable and sick says a lot about their friendship! Need I remind you that Freddie arranged for Elton's Christmas present to be delivered in advance, before his own death...?
Elton was one of the few who was allowed to visit Freddie in the last weeks of his life... And he regularly did this, despite the fact that he could not stay there for a long time, because it was too difficult to watch a friend suffer...
“My heart broke. Freddie really lived for others until the very end ... "
His last visit to Garden Lodge was the day Freddie died.
Life after death
Freddie was worried about his loved ones and tried to take care of them until the very end. He even left his 25% share of the royalties for their last few albums to the three remaining members of the band! After his death, Elton laid the care of his friend's relatives on his shoulders ...
When Elton had a party with a couple of dozen guests at his country estate for Christmas (after Freddie's death), he invited Mercury's loved ones: Joe, Phoebe and Jim. He understood that this was a very difficult time for all of them… Freddie loved Christmas as much as he loved birthdays and he went all out with decorations, food and gifts…
Once Elton said that he felt sorry for the remaining members of Queen:
“You guys should come out and play again. It must be like a Ferrari in the garage waiting for the driver…”
To help them, in January 1997, Elton sang the legendary "The Show Must Go On" with Queen at an event in Paris in honor of Freddie and other victims of AIDS...
This was only the second time the band had played since Freddie's death (the first being a tribute concert). After that, Brian and Roger began to play again along with various guest singers at award ceremonies and benefit concerts. Unfortunately, according to Roger, John was severely traumatized by Freddie's death, which is why he refused to perform with them further ... This was the last time Elton John performed with Queen.
Do I need to mention Elton's contribution to the fight against AIDS? In addition to his tireless work, he helped raise a huge amount of money to help AIDS victims! Since its inception (in 1992 in the US and 1993 in the UK), The Elton John AIDS Foundation has raised over $500 million to fight AIDS!
Elton also came to Garden Lodge and dined with Freddie and Jim. After Freddie's death, Elton came to Garden Lodge, where he was always warmly welcomed by Jim ... In turn, John invited Jim to his place during the holidays.
This is just a short story with interesting facts. However, she proves that there was a real camaraderie in the friendship between Freddie and Elton ...
