Freddie Mercury

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Lore & Background

Freddie Mercury kept his AIDS diagnosis private until the week of his death. The surviving members of Queen—John Deacon, Brian May, and Roger Taylor—resolved to continue raising money for charity to honour his legacy. Brian May said the band decided the night of Mercury's death to stage a concert as his memorial, giving him 'an exit in the true style to which he's accustomed.' A wishlist of performers was created, with Elton John and Elizabeth Taylor recruited since they were already publicly involved with AIDS charities. The band ruled out a single vocalist performing with them, as they felt Mercury's range could not be duplicated without a variety of singers. May and Taylor publicly announced the event at the Brit Awards on 12 February 1992.

In Their Own Story

The concert lasted four and a half hours, ending at 22:30 BST. Cindy Crawford hosted the event, providing backstage interviews. 100,000 red ribbons and 40,000 red scarves were distributed to fans entering the venue. Queen's set began with a video montage of Mercury's call-and-response interactions with his audiences. Their performance featured the surviving Queen members playing with guest singers and guitarists, including Joe Elliott, Slash, Roger Daltrey, Tony Iommi, Zucchero Fornaciari, Gary Cherone, James Hetfield, Robert Plant, Paul Young, Mike Moran, Seal, Lisa Stansfield, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Phil Collen, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, George Michael, Elton John, Axl Rose, John Jones, and Liza Minnelli. The performance of 'Somebody to Love' by George Michael and Queen was regarded as the show's highlight.

Reader's Guide

Freddie Mercury was the lead vocalist of Queen, not an alter ego of David Bowie. He died on 24 November 1991 from an AIDS-related illness. The tribute concert on 20 April 1992 at Wembley Stadium raised £20 million for the Mercury Phoenix Trust. Queen had previously played their famous Live Aid set at the venue in 1985 and sold out two nights at the stadium for their Magic Tour the following year. About 72,000 tickets were sold. The event was broadcast to 70 countries and watched by an estimated one billion people. Key performances included David Bowie joining Queen for 'Under Pressure', 'All the Young Dudes', 'Heroes', and 'Lord's Prayer'. The concert was released to VHS on 23 November 1992, to DVD on 13 May 2002, and to Blu-ray on 22 July 2013.

Did You Know?

• Freddie Mercury died of an AIDS-related illness on 24 November 1991.
• The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was watched by an estimated one billion people worldwide.
• Proceeds from the concert totalled £20 million and were used to launch the Mercury Phoenix Trust.
• The concert lasted four and a half hours, exceeding the planned runtime by one hour.
• 100,000 red ribbons and 40,000 red scarves were distributed to fans entering the venue.