What I Learned from Freddie

I was merely 13 when I heard the news that Freddie Mercury died. I remember a few months prior; I saw a TV presenter mentioning on a pop chart show that Freddie looked like he lost a lot of weight and he hoped that Freddie was not sick.

At that point of time, I was not much of a Queen fan. I listened to their music, recognised some of their hits but did not dwell much into it. But a few years after the passing of Freddie, I got my hands on his posthumous Queen album, “Made in Heaven”. That got me intrigued.

I loosely followed Queen’s journey (the surviving band members) after that. I learned that John Deacon chose to retire, a decision that later I respected considering what they have achieved and knowing nothing else could be as good as the times he may have had with Freddie. I saw Brian and Roger tried to carry on with Paul Rogers but was never convinced that it worked. One thing I always find inspiring was that the band kept going but at the same time held great respect to the legacy of Freddie. Sure, you can say that it was a business decision to keep milking the cow, however the interviews and countless documentary footages I saw seems to lean towards the fact that these were friends coping with grief in their own way – to celebrate the memories and not let the music fade away. But how come? What did Freddie do to deserve such honour by the surviving bandmates?

 The philosophy of Freddie Mercury

A few years back, way before the hype of the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody”, I found this clip from an interview in 1983. A journalist had asked Freddie about being the frontman of Queen. And how Freddie answered, really struct a chord with me.

“As far as I’m concern… I think of this as a job… like anybody else… I’m a frontman, and I write songs and that’s what I want to do, and I want to do it to the best ability that I have.”

Such powerful words. It just made me want to learn more about this man, dubbed as “The Greatest Frontman of All Time”. Upon further looking into his life, I realised that his philosophy towards his work was probably the main reason for his and his band’s undisputed success. Many singers and musicians were talented before and after him, but no doubt, he was special because of what he did with his talents – he most definitely did the job to his best ability.

The Final Years of Freddie Mercury’

Fresh from the new rise in popularity due to the movie release in late 2018, there was a spike in materials available about Queen and Freddie. I came across a documentary titled “Queen: Days of Our Lives” which was released in 2011.

In this one, I learned what Freddie did despite being terminally ill. Towards the last days of his life, Freddie just kept on recoding vocals. He would ask Brian May to “write anything” and he would go into the studios and record it, at times up to 3 – 4 takes, with only a drum track to guide. He knew he would not be able to see of hear the final product, but he had faith that his friends will finish it and finish it right. And true enough, that was the album “Made in Heaven” the first Queen album I had owned – a testament echoing his words from the 1983 interview “do it to the best ability that I have.”

So, what did I learned from Freddie, close to 30 years after his death?

The pandemic really propelled me to a higher level of realisation that life is short. I had lost two (2) dear relatives in the span of a few months in 2020 and was a few weeks away from closing my training business for good. However, the opportunity given to continue living is a gift that is to be cherished and the time we have been bestowed upon should be put to good use. Hence, taking inspiration from this man’s philosophy of work, I am now writing almost daily with no other intention than to leave a positive digital footprint in hopes that the gift that I have (my experiences and knowledge) can be of benefit to others, beyond my time. Sure, I still would prefer to earn an income from it, but I cannot be too selfish and only wait for a training gig to share what I have with the world. Just like Freddie said, “That’s what I want to do, and I want to do it to the best ability that I have.”

Ahmad Fauzan Othman

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