Freddie Mercury: What Queen star would think of Bohemian Rhapsody – friend speaks out

Freddie Mercury died 28 years ago, with yesterday marking the anniversary of his untimely death at the age of 45. The Queen icon, who was diagnosed with AIDS in the late 1980s, passed away on November 24, 1991, of complications due to the disease. Prior to the anniversary of his death, Mercury’s close friend and confidante Dave Clark, of The Dave Clark Five, shared his memories of the incredible singer with Express.co.uk.

Interest in Mercury’s life and his career with Queen has surged since the release of Bryan Singer’s biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, was released last year.

In the movie, Rami Malek portrayed the Queen frontman to great critical acclaim, going on to earn himself the Oscar for Best Actor at this year’s ceremony.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Clark opened up about being asked what Mercury would have thought about the film’s success.

“I have to say, when people ask me, when they got the Oscar, the BAFTA, the Golden Globe and all that, ‘What would he have thought?’ He’d be up there smiling,” he said. “He would love it.”

Freddie Mercury: Queen star and Bohemian Rhapsody still

Freddie Mercury: Queen star’s close friend revealed what he would’ve thought about Bohemian Rhapsody (Image: GETTY • 20TH CENTURY FOX)

Freddie Mercury: Queen star

Freddie Mercury: Queen legend would’ve ‘smiled’ seeing how Bohemian Rhapsody was received (Image: GETTY)

Recalling his “amazing” friend, Clark, who has remastered The Dave Clark Five’s greatest hits for their incredible career for a new album All The Hits, said: “He didn’t take anything too serious.”

Noting the title of the new Mercury solo box set, Never Boring, he added: “It’s an amazing title because that’s Freddie! He was never boring.

“He was very artistic. He was quite shy, Freddie was,” the musician continued.

“On stage, the bigger the better. He’d play to 100,000 people and he was amazing.

Freddie Mercury: Queen star played by Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody

Freddie Mercury: Queen legend was played by Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody (Image: 20TH CENTURY FOX)

“In private, he was a lovely person, great class, great style, I mean — he had a Picasso in his bathroom,” he laughed.

“He had great, great style. And he cared about people, which was nice.

“You see his videos and you think he’s just totally off the wall but he’s not. He’s a person.

To work with, as a performer — and having been an artist myself you appreciate God’s given talent — he was amazing,” Clark said.

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Sharing his own thoughts on Bohemian Rhapsody, Clark, who was good friend with Mercury for 15 years before the singer’s death, admitted: “I wasn’t sure before and when I went to see it, I loved it.

“Rami Malek was amazing, because he had a lot of Freddie’s mannerisms,” he continued.

“Unless you knew him personally… other people would think it was wonderful, but he had them all off pat,” he praised.

“I loved it. It was very moving.”

Elsewhere, Mercury’s bandmate, Queen guitarist Brian May, has also shared his compliments for Singer’s movie, telling Guitar World: “We thought it would do well with the fans, but we didn’t imagine how fully it’s been embraced.

“People are going to see it five, six times. They’re singing along and crying. I met people in Asia who saw it 30 times,” he added. “It’s extraordinary. We couldn’t be happier.”

When accepting the Golden Globe for his portrayal of Mercury, Malek paid tribute to the late, great Queen icon, saying: “Thank you to Freddie Mercury for giving me the joy of a lifetime.

“I love you, you beautiful man. This is for and because of you, gorgeous.”

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