QUEEN history: dwarfs with cocaine trays and the brutal loneliness of Freddie Mercury

Back in the 1980s, queen was hitting the absolute top of music world. freddie was around forty, making insane money, and his managers were literally tearing their hair out over how he spent it.

Money was never a problem for him, so he threw some of most messed-up, wild parties history has ever seen. Like in october 1978, when they celebrated release of the Jazz album in New Orleans. That party became a legend of rock decadence. According to people who were there, guests were greeted by naked fire-eaters. Even crazier? they hired dwarfs to walk through the crowd carrying silver trays loaded with cocaine on their heads for the exhausted rock stars.

But while the music was loud, freddie's private world was spinning out of control. The guy simply could not stand being alone. Loneliness scared him more than anything.

To fill the emptiness of his huge London mansion, Garden Lodge, he would go to nightclubs, pick up casual lovers, and shower them with expensive cars, luxury gifts, and exotic trips. He was literally buying affection because he was terrified of an empty house.

The brutal turning point happened during his 39th birthday party at a club in Munich. Freddie threw this massive black-and-white drag ball. Champagne was flowing like water, music was blasting until early morning, but in middle of all this madness, freddie slipped away to the bathroom.

He looked into mirror and saw how tired he was. True panic hit his face.

On the sink, there was a crumpled letter from an ex-partner. It had one terrifying message about a mysterious new killer disease starting to destroy gay communities in New York and London. It was early days of HIV/AIDS. Freddie reportedly tore note into tiny pieces and flushed them down toilet. Like destroying paper could erase the horror that was coming for him.

But clock was already ticking.

On outside, he still played the indestructible icon. In 1985, queen did Live Aid, which is still voted as best live performance in rock history.

Privately, everything was turning to ash. In 1987, doctors officially confirmed he had AIDS. The tabloids smelled blood immediately. Paparazzi followed him everywhere, turning his dying days into a media circus. Freddie locked himself behind high walls of Garden Lodge.

The only real comfort he had left in those dark years? His cats. Freddie obsessed over them. He gave them their own rooms in mansion and used to call them on phone to let them hear his voice when he was away traveling.

On november 24, 1991, freddie mercury died at just 45 years old. Only one day before, he finally released an official statement admitting he had AIDS, just to stop the media lies and protect his privacy until the end.

His ashes were given to Mary Austin, his lifelong friend and former fiancée. He was terrified that fans would desecrate his grave or turn it into a crazy shrine, so he ordered her to hide his remains. To this day, nobody knows where freddie is buried.

The guy who performed in front of 100,000 shouting fans at Wembley disappeared from earth in total secrecy. Behind the glamorous mask was just a regular guy who spent millions trying to buy a little bit of genuine love.

Sources

• Freddie Mercury Official Website – Biography
  Official biography covering Freddie Mercury’s career, Live Aid performance, final years with Queen and his death in 1991.

• Sotheby’s – “Feline Groovy: The Cats of Garden Lodge”
  Details about Freddie Mercury’s beloved cats, Garden Lodge and his habit of calling his cats while he was away on tour.

• Sotheby’s – “Freddie Mercury: A collection of ephemera relating to his birthday parties”
  Contemporary material documenting Freddie’s famous 39th birthday party in Munich in September 1985.

• Louder / Classic Rock – “Queen: the outrageous New Orleans Jazz party that went down in rock'n'roll history”
  First-hand recollections from people who attended the legendary 1978 Jazz album launch party, including accounts of the entertainers and the famous cocaine-tray story.

• QueenOnline – Live Archive, 1978
  Queen’s official archive confirming the New Orleans concert and the huge party held afterwards for the world premiere of the Jazz album.

• The Guardian – “The extraordinary untold story of Freddie Mercury: Mary Austin on her best friend – and love of her life”
  Recent interview with Mary Austin discussing Freddie’s private life, Garden Lodge and his final wishes concerning his ashes.

• Vanity Fair – “Bohemian Rhapsody: Freddie Mercury and His Cats, a Love Story”
  Background on Freddie’s extraordinary attachment to his cats and his habit of speaking to them by telephone while touring.

• HIV.gov – A Timeline of HIV and AIDS
  Historical timeline documenting the development of the AIDS epidemic and Freddie Mercury’s death on November 24, 1991.

AI Disclosure

AI was used to assist with the English translation and language editing of this article. The original article was written by the author in Czech. The English version was reviewed, edited and adapted by the author before publication.