Brian May Recalls Freddie Mercury’s Attitude Before His Death

Queen’s Brian May recalled Freddie Mercury’s attitude right before his death during a new conversation with Sammy Hagar for AXS TV.

During a clip shared on YouTube, May spoke about Queen’s decision to break up the band after the frontman’s death in 1991.

“We’d always said, ‘If one of us goes, that’s it,'” May remembered.

Queen released one final album with Mercury’s vocals in 1995, Made in Heaven, which they worked on after the singer died. He’d left behind a batch of vocal and piano recordings that he created during his final days.

“Freddie, in his last days, was like, ‘Okay guys, I’m not gonna be here long. Just give me stuff to sing, I’ll sing. Write me stuff on the back of a cigarette packet, whatever. Just give me stuff to sing.’ So we did a lot of that,” May described.

“He was very undramatic about it… I never, ever saw him kind of cry or go, you know, self-pity. He never did that. He was like, ‘Let’s just do it. Let’s keep doing stuff.'”

See the full clip below.

Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, according to Euro News, and performed for the final time in 1990 at the Brit Awards. He issued a statement confirming the diagnosis on November 22, 1991, and then died the following day.

READ MORE: Who Queen’s Brian May Thinks ‘Basically Invented’ Rock Guitar Playing

“Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me,” Mercury said.

“However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue.”

Two decades later, Queen performed with Adam Lambert, and they’ve toured together as Queen and Adam Lambert over the years since then. Prior to Lambert, Queen toured utilizing Free and Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers.

Queen’s Brian May Recalls Freddie Mercury’s Attitude Before His Death