Freddie Mercury’s heartbreaking AIDS statement the day b
Freddie Mercury performing with Queen at Wembley Stadium in 1986. (Getty)
Freddie Mercury performing with Queen at Wembley Stadium in 1986. (Getty)
This article is part of Yahoo’s ‘On This Day’ series
It was just 24 hours before his death that Queen frontman Freddie Mercury finally admitted to the world that he had been diagnosed with AIDS.
The singer of the rock band Queen – one of the biggest-selling groups of all time – released his statement on this day in 1991.
In the heartbreaking message, he said, “Following enormous conjecture in the press, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS.
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“I felt it correct to keep this information private in order to protect the privacy of those around me.
UNITED STATES – NOVEMBER 01: MADISON SQUARE GARDEN Photo of Freddie MERCURY and QUEEN, Freddie Mercury performing in stage (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)
Freddie Mercury performing on stage (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)
“However, the time has now come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth, and I hope everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease.”
Speculation had abounded about Mercury’s health: he looked frail and thin in a video for These Are the Days of Our Lives, and had stopped touring for several years.
He had only told his bandmates that he was ill two years previously, although confidants said he had been aware he had contracted the virus as early as 1987.
Freddie Mercury, Queen, Live Aid, 13 July 1985 Wembley Stadium, London. (Photo by Solomon N’Jie/Getty Images)
Freddie Mercury on stage at Live Aid (Photo by Solomon N’Jie/Getty Images)
Floral tribute from Elton John at Freddie Mercury’s funeral at West London Crematorium, 27th November 1991. (Photo by Ken Lennox/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Floral tribute from Elton John at Freddie Mercury’s funeral at West London Crematorium (Photo by Ken Lennox/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
But when he recorded Queen’s last single, The Show Must Go On, he was in extreme physical pain, his bandmates revealed in a new documentary..
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Queen guitarist Brian May told a new BBC documentary, Freddie Mercury: The Final Act, ‘”When he came in he wasn’t in a great state. He was finding it hard to walk, even finding it hard to sit.
“He said, ‘Bring the vodka,’ he pours himself a shot, knocks it down and then he props himself up, knocks another vodka back and then he went for it. Those notes came out of him and I don’t know where they came from
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