Mercury is rising!

Freddie Mercury would have been 65 today, had his fabulous career as the front singer and founder of the avant-garde rock super group Queen not been cut short by the ravages of the AIDS epidemic in 1991.

I remember the first time I heard a Queen album. I was on holidays visiting at an older cousin's house.  Her husband pulled out a new album: A Night at the Opera and insisted we all had to listen to it.  He then put the song Bohemian Rhapsody on his stereo and life was never the same again!  It was so different from any kind of rock music I had ever heard before.  I wasn't sure if I should take it seriously or not.  But I couldn't deny the artistry of it. Freddie Mercury's soaring operatic vocals, the crazy but touchingly delivered lyrics, the band's powerful electric guitar solos, the symphonic background -- all converged to create a mastery of sound which was joyfully exhuberant and mind boggling in its originality.  That night, cold sober at the age of 14 -- I had my mind blown! Queen's a Night at the Opera and the later A Day at the Races became two of my most favourite albums in my rather extensive record collection.

Now please forgive me, but I can't help thinking that Saturday Night Live's Mike Myers and Dana Carvey had the best interpretation of Bohemian Rhapsody in the crazy movie Wayne's World  (1992) 

Are you still there?  I really hope so, because I have a real treat for any Richard Armitage fans that didn't run away screaming after that last video. :)

I would like to use this opportunity to listen to more Queen tunes and look at fanvids of Richard Armitage. ;)

Good Old Fashioned Loverboy / by CatChester66

 

This vidder must be a big fan of Queen too!  Here are three of her slideshow vids set to Queen songs.

This is the song that was used in the fantastic tribute by Google, which luckily alerted me to this special day.

 Don't Stop Me Now / by angieklong

If Youtube doesn't work for you, here is a link to the same video on Vimeo.

This song is a staple anthem at hockey games to get the crowd going.

Just looking at pictures of RA gets me going! ;)

We Will Rock You / by angieklong

Watch this video on Vimeo.

Here is Liisakee's version of that song! (Update added thanks to Fanny/Iz4blue)

This is another favourite song.  It is very well suited to Gerry and Harry's relationship, don't you think?

 You're My Best Friend / by angieklong

Here is a link to the same video on Vimeo.

I am very glad somebody made an RA fanvid to this song, or I would have had to because it is my all-time favourite Queen song!  I spent many teenaged hours in front of a mirror singing into my hairbrush along to the words of this song!

Somebody to Love / by austen2gaskell

I am sure I probably missed some good videos out there.  Please let me know and I will update this.

King or Queen, Freddie Mercury deserves all the honour he can receive for his fabulous contribution to Rock music.