Freddie Mercury: Queen Sger, Gay Clubs, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – Rollg Stone

Contents:

• FREDDIE MERCURY’S BOYIEND REVEALS AN UNTOLD ‘GAY NIGHTCLUB’ STORY
• WAS FREDDIE MERCURY GAY?
• THE WILD FREDDIE MERCURY STORI YOU WON’T SEE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODYGOG CLUBBG WH PRCS DIANA AND PISSG OFF SID VIC SOMEHOW DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT FOR THE BPIC.BY YOHANA DTANOVEMBER 6, 2018FREDDIE MERCURY BOARDG A TRA OM LEIN TO AMSTERDAM 1982.BY ROB VERHORST/REDFERNS.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVECLUBBG WH PRCS DIANA. PISSG OFF SID VIC. HCHG A RI ON DARTH VAR’S SHOULRS. ALL ARE JT A FEW OF THE WILD, WONRFUL THGS FREDDIE MERCURY DID DURG HIS THUNRCLAP OF A LIFE. ALAS, YOU WON’T SEE ANY OF THOSE AFOREMENTNED STORI FEATURED BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, THE QUEEN BPIC STARRG RAMI MALEK AS THE CHARISMATIC ROCK ONTMAN. THE FILM FOC ON THE BROAR STROK OF THE SGER’S LIFE, SKIPPG OVER SOME OF THE MORE LORFUL BS THAT HAVE BEEN LEFT TO LEGEND. BUT FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO DIG A LTLE EPER, HERE’S A BRIEF GUI TO SOME OF THE BT FREDDIE MERCURY STORI AROUND.QUEEN, MEET THE PRCSAMONG THE MOST LEGENDARY MERCURY STORI IS THE ONE ABOUT THE TIME HE WENT CLUBBG WH PRCS DIANA. IT ALL STARTED WHEN THE TWO OF THEM, ACPANIED BY EDIAN PAL KENNY EVERETT AND ACTRS CLEO ROS, WERE HANGG OUT ONE DAY, DRKG CHAMPAGNE AND WATCHG GOLN GIRLS RENS, ACRDG TO ROS’S BOOK THE POWER OF POSIVE DRKG. MERCURY, EVERETT, AND ROS HAD PLANS TO GO OUT LATER THAT NIGHT AND DIANA SISTED ON JOG; SHE WAS “ FULL MISCHIEF MO,” THE ACTRS NOT. THOUGH THEY TRIED TO NVCE HER OTHERWISE, MENTNG THE HEADL SUCH AN OUTG ULD GARNER, DIANA WOULDN’T HEAR OF , AND NEHER WOULD MERCURY. “GO ON, LET THE GIRL HAVE SOME FUN,” HE TOLD ROS AND EVERETT. SO, THEY DRAGGED HER UP, DRSG HER AN ARMY JACKET, A P, AND SUNGLASS AND THEN HEAD OUT TO ROYAL VXHALL TAVERN, A GAY BAR SOUTH LONDON.“WHEN WE WALKED . . . WE FELT SHE WAS OBVLY PRCS DIANA AND WOULD BE DISVERED AT ANY MUTE,” ROS RELLED. “BUT PEOPLE JT SEEMED TO BLANK HER. SHE SORT OF DISAPPEARED. BUT SHE LOVED .”IT WAS MERCURY, ROS NOT, WHO DREW MOST OF THE ATTENTN OM THE CROWD, WHICH HELPED PULL EYEBALLS AWAY OM THE MYSTER MAN WHO LOOKED AN AWFUL LOT LIKE PRCS DI . . .MOCKG SID VICFREDDIE MERCURY WASN’T NOTOR FOR FDG WH OTHER ARTISTS, BUT HE DID MAKE AN EXCEPTN FOR SEX PISTOLS BASSIST SID VIC. IT WAS 1977, AND QUEEN AND THE SEX PISTOLS, THE BURGEONG FAC OF PUNK ROCK, WERE ALL UNR ONE ROOF AT WSEX SOUND STUDS NORTH LONDON. QUEEN WAS WORKG ON NEWS OF THE WORLD, WHILE THE PISTOLS WERE WORKG ON NEVER MD THE BOLLOCKS, HERE’S THE SEX PISTOLS. DRAW WHATEVER SYMBOLISM YOU LIKE ABOUT TWO BANDS ON OPPOSG ENDS OF A SHIFTG GENRE WORKG UNR THE SAME ROOF, BUT THIS MUCH WAS SIMPLE: VIC WASN’T A FAN.PER AN OLD TERVIEW WH BRIAN MAY, VIC MA THE FIRST REMARK. “YOU’RE FREDDIE MERCURY, AREN’T YOU? YOU’RE BRGG BALLET TO THE MASS,” HE SNEERED, ACRDG TO MAY; VIC WAS REFERRG TO A PREV QUOTE MERCURY HAD GIVEN THE PRS. MERCURY RPOND WH A CUTTG LTLE JAB OF HIS OWN: “I LLED HIM SIMON FEROC OR SOMETHG, AND HE DIDN’T LIKE AT ALL,” THE SGER SAID AN 80S-ERA TERVIEW. “I SAID, ‘WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT ?’”HE NTUED, MOCKG THE SCRATCH ON VIC’S BODY. “HE HATED THE FACT THAT I ULD EVEN SPEAK LIKE THAT,” MERCURY SAID. “I THK WE SURVIVED THAT TT.”LLAMA SAY LLAMA SA LLAMA COO SAIN 1983, MERCURY AND MICHAEL JACKSON, HOT OFF THE RELEASE OF THRILLER, WERE PLOTTG TO RERD AN ALBUM OF DUETS. IT WAS A PERFECT IA, THIS POTENTIAL UNN OF QUEEN AND THE NASCENT KG OF POP. THREE TRACKS HAD ALREADY BEEN WRTEN AND MOED, BUT THE STUD SSNS ULTIMATELY FALTERED. WHY? BEE JACKSON BROUGHT HIS LLAMA TO THE STUD. MERCURY WAS APPARENTLY NOT TO !ACRDG TO MERCURY’S FORMER MANAGER, JIM BEACH, THE ROCKER LLED HIM AND ASKED, “CAN YOU GET OVER HERE? YOU’VE GOT TO GET ME OUT OF HERE, I’M RERDG WH A LLAMA.”HOWEVER, JACKSON HAD HIS PLATS, TOO. THE POP STAR WASN’T FOND OF THE SGER’S ALLEGED E HAB AND THEY EVENTUALLY HAD A FALLG OUT OVER MERCURY’S E OF THE DG JACKSON’S LIVG ROOM.THE SGER’S APPARENT DG E HAS SCE BEE PART OF HIS LORE. ELTON JOHN, WHO’S SPOKEN NDIDLY ABOUT HIS OWN DG E AND ADDICTN, ONCE SAID THIS OF THE SGER: “FREDDIE MERCURY ULD OUT-PARTY ME, WHICH IS SAYG SOMETHG. WE’D BE UP FOR NIGHTS, STG THERE AT 11 THE MORNG, STILL FLYG HIGH.”STAR WARS?IN THE 1978 SONG “BICYCLE RACE,” MERCURY DISMISS THE DOMANT MOVI OF THE DAY, SGG: “JAWS WAS NEVER MY SCENE / AND I DON’T LIKE STAR WARS.” IT’S A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD LYRIC, BUT TURNS OUT THAT MERCURY DIDN‘T REALLY HARBOR THAT MUCH ILL WILL TOWARD GEE LUS’S SPACE OPERA. DURG SHOWS 1979 AND 1980, MERCURY ADD A SILLY STUNT TO QUEEN’S LIVE SHOWS TO PROVE , ROLLG UP ONSTAGE ON THE SHOULRS OF A MAN DRSED A DARTH VAR STUME (THOUGH SOMETIM WAS A SUPERMAN STUME). SOMETIM HE’D DO WEARG NEXT TO NOTHG, SAVE FOR A TEENY-TY PAIR OF BLACK SHORTS.MOST POPULARSARA RAMIREZ ISSU STHG RPONSE TO ANTI–CHE DIAZ PROFILEBY SAVANNAH WALSHHOW MADONNA TURNED THE LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN SET INTO A THREE-RG CIRCBY ER CARLSON2023 FALL PREVIEW: 46 FILMS TO WATCH OUT FORBY REBEC FORDPHOTOGRAPHER TOM CALLS PTURED THE NOW-INIC SHOT OF MERCURY ON AUGT 10, 1980, AT HOTON’S SUMM CENTER. MERCURY, WEARG A FLASH T-SHIRT, SS ON VAR’S SHOULRS AND HOLDS HIS FIST THE AIR. AT THAT SHOW, HE PULLED THE STUNT DURG THE BAND’S ENRE, WHICH BEGAN WH “WE WILL ROCK YOU”“EVERYBODY JT THOUGHT WAS SO FUNNY,” CALLS SAID A 2015 TERVIEW. “SO FREDDIE. IT WAS SO OVER-THE-TOP.”20 DEFG NATALIE PORTMAN ROL1 / 20CHEVRONCHEVRONFROM ©COLUMBIA PICTUR/PHOTOFT.LéON: THE PROFSNALTHE 1994 H-MAN DRAMA TAPULTED 13-YEAR-OLD PORTMAN TO STARDOM AFTER SHE PLAYED MATHILDA, A WORLD-WEARY PRE-TEEN WH AN LIBLE BOB CUT AND EVER-PRENT CHOKER.YOHANA DTA
• FREDDIE MERCURY ONCE SNUCK PRCS DIANA INTO A GAY CLUB — WHOUT GETTG CGHT

FREDDIE MERCURY’S BOYIEND REVEALS AN UNTOLD ‘GAY NIGHTCLUB’ STORY

At one pot he claimed to be bisexual, but he may have been a gay man who got volved wh members of the oppose sex bee he was tryg to survive — and build a reer — a very homophobic world.

WAS FREDDIE MERCURY GAY?

Mercury hid his sexualy om his fayFor most of Mercury's life, the wir world didn't accept gays and bisexuals. LGBT people were barely reprented the media, and the msage society had to offer was that not beg heterosexual was homophobia rampant, many gay men felt prsured to hi their sexualy, cludg om their fai.

Mercury's Parsee parents practiced Zoroastrianism, a relign that saw beg gay as a type of mon worship. The two lived together for several years and even got engaged before Mercury told At he was bisexual (her rponse was that she thought he was gay).

THE WILD FREDDIE MERCURY STORI YOU WON’T SEE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODYGOG CLUBBG WH PRCS DIANA AND PISSG OFF SID VIC SOMEHOW DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT FOR THE BPIC.BY YOHANA DTANOVEMBER 6, 2018FREDDIE MERCURY BOARDG A TRA OM LEIN TO AMSTERDAM 1982.BY ROB VERHORST/REDFERNS.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVECLUBBG WH PRCS DIANA. PISSG OFF SID VIC. HCHG A RI ON DARTH VAR’S SHOULRS. ALL ARE JT A FEW OF THE WILD, WONRFUL THGS FREDDIE MERCURY DID DURG HIS THUNRCLAP OF A LIFE. ALAS, YOU WON’T SEE ANY OF THOSE AFOREMENTNED STORI FEATURED BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, THE QUEEN BPIC STARRG RAMI MALEK AS THE CHARISMATIC ROCK ONTMAN. THE FILM FOC ON THE BROAR STROK OF THE SGER’S LIFE, SKIPPG OVER SOME OF THE MORE LORFUL BS THAT HAVE BEEN LEFT TO LEGEND. BUT FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO DIG A LTLE EPER, HERE’S A BRIEF GUI TO SOME OF THE BT FREDDIE MERCURY STORI AROUND.QUEEN, MEET THE PRCSAMONG THE MOST LEGENDARY MERCURY STORI IS THE ONE ABOUT THE TIME HE WENT CLUBBG WH PRCS DIANA. IT ALL STARTED WHEN THE TWO OF THEM, ACPANIED BY EDIAN PAL KENNY EVERETT AND ACTRS CLEO ROS, WERE HANGG OUT ONE DAY, DRKG CHAMPAGNE AND WATCHG GOLN GIRLS RENS, ACRDG TO ROS’S BOOK THE POWER OF POSIVE DRKG. MERCURY, EVERETT, AND ROS HAD PLANS TO GO OUT LATER THAT NIGHT AND DIANA SISTED ON JOG; SHE WAS “ FULL MISCHIEF MO,” THE ACTRS NOT. THOUGH THEY TRIED TO NVCE HER OTHERWISE, MENTNG THE HEADL SUCH AN OUTG ULD GARNER, DIANA WOULDN’T HEAR OF , AND NEHER WOULD MERCURY. “GO ON, LET THE GIRL HAVE SOME FUN,” HE TOLD ROS AND EVERETT. SO, THEY DRAGGED HER UP, DRSG HER AN ARMY JACKET, A P, AND SUNGLASS AND THEN HEAD OUT TO ROYAL VXHALL TAVERN, A GAY BAR SOUTH LONDON.“WHEN WE WALKED . . . WE FELT SHE WAS OBVLY PRCS DIANA AND WOULD BE DISVERED AT ANY MUTE,” ROS RELLED. “BUT PEOPLE JT SEEMED TO BLANK HER. SHE SORT OF DISAPPEARED. BUT SHE LOVED .”IT WAS MERCURY, ROS NOT, WHO DREW MOST OF THE ATTENTN OM THE CROWD, WHICH HELPED PULL EYEBALLS AWAY OM THE MYSTER MAN WHO LOOKED AN AWFUL LOT LIKE PRCS DI . . .MOCKG SID VICFREDDIE MERCURY WASN’T NOTOR FOR FDG WH OTHER ARTISTS, BUT HE DID MAKE AN EXCEPTN FOR SEX PISTOLS BASSIST SID VIC. IT WAS 1977, AND QUEEN AND THE SEX PISTOLS, THE BURGEONG FAC OF PUNK ROCK, WERE ALL UNR ONE ROOF AT WSEX SOUND STUDS NORTH LONDON. QUEEN WAS WORKG ON NEWS OF THE WORLD, WHILE THE PISTOLS WERE WORKG ON NEVER MD THE BOLLOCKS, HERE’S THE SEX PISTOLS. DRAW WHATEVER SYMBOLISM YOU LIKE ABOUT TWO BANDS ON OPPOSG ENDS OF A SHIFTG GENRE WORKG UNR THE SAME ROOF, BUT THIS MUCH WAS SIMPLE: VIC WASN’T A FAN.PER AN OLD TERVIEW WH BRIAN MAY, VIC MA THE FIRST REMARK. “YOU’RE FREDDIE MERCURY, AREN’T YOU? YOU’RE BRGG BALLET TO THE MASS,” HE SNEERED, ACRDG TO MAY; VIC WAS REFERRG TO A PREV QUOTE MERCURY HAD GIVEN THE PRS. MERCURY RPOND WH A CUTTG LTLE JAB OF HIS OWN: “I LLED HIM SIMON FEROC OR SOMETHG, AND HE DIDN’T LIKE AT ALL,” THE SGER SAID AN 80S-ERA TERVIEW. “I SAID, ‘WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT ?’”HE NTUED, MOCKG THE SCRATCH ON VIC’S BODY. “HE HATED THE FACT THAT I ULD EVEN SPEAK LIKE THAT,” MERCURY SAID. “I THK WE SURVIVED THAT TT.”LLAMA SAY LLAMA SA LLAMA COO SAIN 1983, MERCURY AND MICHAEL JACKSON, HOT OFF THE RELEASE OF THRILLER, WERE PLOTTG TO RERD AN ALBUM OF DUETS. IT WAS A PERFECT IA, THIS POTENTIAL UNN OF QUEEN AND THE NASCENT KG OF POP. THREE TRACKS HAD ALREADY BEEN WRTEN AND MOED, BUT THE STUD SSNS ULTIMATELY FALTERED. WHY? BEE JACKSON BROUGHT HIS LLAMA TO THE STUD. MERCURY WAS APPARENTLY NOT TO !ACRDG TO MERCURY’S FORMER MANAGER, JIM BEACH, THE ROCKER LLED HIM AND ASKED, “CAN YOU GET OVER HERE? YOU’VE GOT TO GET ME OUT OF HERE, I’M RERDG WH A LLAMA.”HOWEVER, JACKSON HAD HIS PLATS, TOO. THE POP STAR WASN’T FOND OF THE SGER’S ALLEGED E HAB AND THEY EVENTUALLY HAD A FALLG OUT OVER MERCURY’S E OF THE DG JACKSON’S LIVG ROOM.THE SGER’S APPARENT DG E HAS SCE BEE PART OF HIS LORE. ELTON JOHN, WHO’S SPOKEN NDIDLY ABOUT HIS OWN DG E AND ADDICTN, ONCE SAID THIS OF THE SGER: “FREDDIE MERCURY ULD OUT-PARTY ME, WHICH IS SAYG SOMETHG. WE’D BE UP FOR NIGHTS, STG THERE AT 11 THE MORNG, STILL FLYG HIGH.”STAR WARS?IN THE 1978 SONG “BICYCLE RACE,” MERCURY DISMISS THE DOMANT MOVI OF THE DAY, SGG: “JAWS WAS NEVER MY SCENE / AND I DON’T LIKE STAR WARS.” IT’S A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD LYRIC, BUT TURNS OUT THAT MERCURY DIDN‘T REALLY HARBOR THAT MUCH ILL WILL TOWARD GEE LUS’S SPACE OPERA. DURG SHOWS 1979 AND 1980, MERCURY ADD A SILLY STUNT TO QUEEN’S LIVE SHOWS TO PROVE , ROLLG UP ONSTAGE ON THE SHOULRS OF A MAN DRSED A DARTH VAR STUME (THOUGH SOMETIM WAS A SUPERMAN STUME). SOMETIM HE’D DO WEARG NEXT TO NOTHG, SAVE FOR A TEENY-TY PAIR OF BLACK SHORTS.MOST POPULARSARA RAMIREZ ISSU STHG RPONSE TO ANTI–CHE DIAZ PROFILEBY SAVANNAH WALSHHOW MADONNA TURNED THE LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN SET INTO A THREE-RG CIRCBY ER CARLSON2023 FALL PREVIEW: 46 FILMS TO WATCH OUT FORBY REBEC FORDPHOTOGRAPHER TOM CALLS PTURED THE NOW-INIC SHOT OF MERCURY ON AUGT 10, 1980, AT HOTON’S SUMM CENTER. MERCURY, WEARG A FLASH T-SHIRT, SS ON VAR’S SHOULRS AND HOLDS HIS FIST THE AIR. AT THAT SHOW, HE PULLED THE STUNT DURG THE BAND’S ENRE, WHICH BEGAN WH “WE WILL ROCK YOU”“EVERYBODY JT THOUGHT WAS SO FUNNY,” CALLS SAID A 2015 TERVIEW. “SO FREDDIE. IT WAS SO OVER-THE-TOP.”20 DEFG NATALIE PORTMAN ROL1 / 20CHEVRONCHEVRONFROM ©COLUMBIA PICTUR/PHOTOFT.LéON: THE PROFSNALTHE 1994 H-MAN DRAMA TAPULTED 13-YEAR-OLD PORTMAN TO STARDOM AFTER SHE PLAYED MATHILDA, A WORLD-WEARY PRE-TEEN WH AN LIBLE BOB CUT AND EVER-PRENT CHOKER.YOHANA DTA

" Ci like New York and Munich had gay scen where Mercury, who'd lled his sex drive "enormo" and who'd sung about beg "a sex mache ready to reload, " found one-night stands and UP FOR THE NEWSLETTERBeg a rock star allowed Mercury to ph genr boundariMercury was the one who suggted namg the band Queen, which at the time was a rogatory term for a gay man. Among his sartorial choic were leotards, angel-wg cloaks, tight shorts, and leather or PVC attire that evoked a biker image then popular gay a star allowed Mercury to ph some boundari, but he still lived at a time when honty about his attractn to men uld have limed his reer, and the reers of his bandmat. Mercury didn't label his sexualy even after his AIDS diagnosisThe exact circumstanc of how Mercury was fected wh HIV are unknown, but the vis was spreadg through New York Cy's gay muny the late 1970s and early '80s.

)As the 1980s progrsed, was obv many gay men were gettg sick and there was talk about a "gay ncer"; Mercury himself knew people wh the disease.

Even after velopg AIDS, he nied reports about his illns and beg gay. He was more upont wh his bandmat, but never told his fay why he was reason for Mercury's silence was worry about how his public image and legacy would change wh this revelatn, which at the time would have been enough to nfirm him as gay.

FREDDIE MERCURY ONCE SNUCK PRCS DIANA INTO A GAY CLUB — WHOUT GETTG CGHT

He drsed Lady Diana drag and snuck her to a gay club. ” When Diana quired about their eveng plans, Mercury said they were planng to vis the Royal Vxhall Tavern, one of the most inic gay venu London. “We plead, ‘What would be the headle if you were ught a gay bar brawl?

“Sctizg her the half light, ” Ros ntu, “we cid that the most famo in of the morn world might jt – jt – pass for a rather eccentrilly drsed gay male mol.

” The film has been dogged by accatns of homophobia, and the film’s director, Bryan Sger, was acced of rape and sexual abe. But as a gay historian, I keep g back to somethg else – the tragic history that’s glargly absent om this movie. Gay men, the thkg went, were gettg bee of “risky” behavrs like havg lots of partners.