Moving footage from the final days of music legend Freddie Mercury, 45, shows his heartbreaking decline. Even though the singer appears frail and gaunt, his voice still shines and his dedication to getting the job done is apparent as he works toward his performance in his last ever music video.
The footage comes from a documentary that delves into the band, Queen, and the final days for its frontman, Freddie Mercury. The 1991 clip shows the band preparing a video clip for the song, “These Are the Days of Our Lives.” At that point in time, Mercury was terminally ill, and as Smooth Radio points out, only had days to live.
During the clip, Mercury can be seen wearing makeup, likely in an effort to conceal his gaunt appearance. Queen guitarist Brian May said Freddie spent “hours and hours and hours in makeup.”
It is explained in the video clip that, at points during the recording of the video clip for “These Are the Days of Our Lives,” Mercury was so weakened that he had to use a table for support while he sang. In addition, it is revealed that he could only stand freely for short periods of time and one such instance is captured in the video clip.
As well as the heartbreaking footage of Freddie in his weakened state, the clip also contains footage of Freddie’s bandmates, Roger Taylor and Brian May, as they defend Freddie regarding the bad press he received after his death.
? Watch the heartbreaking final video footage of Freddie Mercury – Smooth Radio https://t.co/QdEP36t99q pic.twitter.com/50pbOqZQEs
— QUEEN NewsFlash (@wwry_jp) November 29, 2018
“These Are the Days of Our Lives” was a posthumous hit for Freddie Mercury and Queen, reaching No. 1 on the charts after his death. It was also 1991’s Christmas number one as a double A-side with “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Prior to Freddie Mercury’s death, the singer had not released details of his illness. According to Smooth Radio , the announcement by Mercury that he was HIV-positive was only made 24 hours prior to his death on November 24, 1991. However, speculation had been rife in the media and there had been rumors circulating from as early as 1986 that he had tested positive to HIV/AIDS, according to People . While diagnosed in 1987, the intensely private singer kept this information to himself and continued to make music right up until his death, as is shown in the following video.
The original video clip was posted back on July 31 of this year by YouTube user QueenAllTheWay. It has since been viewed more than 9.5 million times.
You can view Freddie Mercury’s final music clip video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uazC2IdI8rw