November 23, 2020
Posted in: This Week in Music History
On November 24th, 1991, the world lost a music legend, Freddie Mercury of Queen due to complications from AIDS. Even though he was diagnosed with the deadly disease in 1987, Mercury announced that he had AIDS just the day before his death. News of his death reached newspaper and television crews in the early hours of November 25th. In October 1986, the British press reported that Mercury had his blood tested for HIV/AIDS at a Harley Street clinic. However, Mercury denied the claims and in an interview he said he tested negative for HIV. He pushed through his illness to continue working with Queen. Bandmate Brian May said, “He just kept saying, ‘Write me more. Write me stuff. I want to just sing this and do it and when I am gone you can finish it off.'” His official cause of death was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS. Despite his death, the legacy of Freddie Mercury has been kept alive. As a member of Queen, Mercury was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 as well as the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. We remember one of the greatest vocalists and songwriters of all time with This Week in Music History.
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Tags: Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Queen, This Week in Music History