[MARY AUSTIN – AND BRIAN MAY AND ANITA DOBSON’S THOUGHTS ON QUEEN MOVIE]
DAVID WIGG was a great friend of Freddie Mercury for 16 years, here he reveals how a blockbuster new film about Queen has captured all its frontman’s swagger and vulnerability. Plus Mary Austin talks about her relationship with Freddie, plus Brian May and Anita Dobson’s thoughts on “Bohemian Rhapsody” movie:
DAILY MAIL for Weekend Magazine
5 October 2018
– David Wigg recalls memories from his friendship with Queen’s Freddie Mercury
– He has followed the eight year production of a new film about the superstar
– He first met Freddie who he was friends with for 16 years at a Manchester show
– He says the meeting was a glimpse into how temperamental Freddie could be
– David shared how Mary Austin struggled to come to terms with the star’s death
EXTRACT:
[David Wigg] Settling into my seat at the cinema a few months ago I saw parts of my life flash before me. For two mesmerising minutes I sat spellbound – along with the rest of the packed auditorium – as the trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody lit up the screen, and my great friend Freddie Mercury exploded back into life.
The film tells the story of the most flamboyant frontman rock music’s ever seen, and the tortured private life that turned him into a virtual recluse. It features the foot-stomping anthems that stole the show at Live Aid, the drink and drug-fuelled parties, the bitter disputes, the heart-rending affair with the only woman he ever loved, and the tragedy that shook the world.
I knew Freddie well throughout much of this period and I can say that Rami Malek, who plays him, has captured brilliantly the mercurial combination of swagger and vulnerability that made Freddie who he was. And mercurial he certainly was. I knew Freddie for 16 years, and our first meeting gave me a glimpse of how temperamental he could be.
He came storming into his dressing room after a concert in Manchester where I was waiting to interview him, picked up a clothes iron and hurled it at a full-length mirror, smashing it to pieces. Well, I thought, he’s obviously not superstitious!
His outburst had been sparked by a faulty microphone, and although the audience were unaware anything was wrong, Freddie blew his top.
When he’d calmed down, I asked if it was worth getting so wound up over a problem the public knew nothing about.
‘Some people can take second best, but I can’t,’ he said.
‘If you’ve got the taste for being number one, then number two isn’t good enough. I’m spoilt! If anything goes wrong, it’s no good bottling it up until tomorrow.
‘So we shout at each other and break a few chairs to get it out of our system.
… READ ON
Editor: Fascinating article