- Nothing lasts forever.
Not even life.
No, no, I'm not scared of dying.
I'm just a little sad to find myself at the finish line.
You know, me, Jim.
You know, I never like it when a party comes to an end!
I somehow always want more.
How do I look?
- Oh, Freddie!
You look great.
- (chuckles) You're such a liar.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] November 24th, 1991.
The man, the myth and the legend, Freddie Mercury,
died at the age of 45.
In this episode, we'll celebrate the life
of rock and roll most engaging performer.
And show you how and why he died.
(mechanical and buzzing noises)
It's hard to imagine Freddie Mercury as anything
other than the front man of Queen.
Holding stadium audiences,
in the palm of his hand. (crowds cheering)
But Freddie hadn't always been like that.
In fact, Freddie hadn't always been Freddie.
His story began on an island of Zanzibar,
where in 1946, Farrokh Bulsara was born.
A musical prodigy,
who could play anything and sing anything.
Little Farrokh was in the spotlight.
But, not for his musical talents.
- [Bully] (laughing) Look at this kid!
Hey, what's wrong with ya?
Ya got a mouth full of teeth.
Buck-teeth-kid! (kids laughing)
There's a nickname for you, Bucky!
Bucky, Bucky, Bucky, Bucky!
Born with a genetic dental condition
that left him with four extra teeth,
Farrokh indeed had a unique appearance.
He was teased by his peers, and was shy and quiet,
except for when he was performing on his school stage.
There, Farrokh would transform into someone else.
Someone confident and charismatic.
That someone needed a name.
- I'm going to be Freddie.
Yeah! Freddie sounds rock and roll.
Much better than Farrokh or Bucky.
- [Narrator] Amidst the Zanzibar revolution of 1964,
the Bulsara family moved to London.
(rock music)
And for a 17 year old Freddie,
it was a headfirst dive into the swinging sixties
with their sexual liberation, recreational drugs,
and of course, music.
Really good music.
That same year, Beatlemania began sweeping the globe.
Suddenly it was not just the American artists
who were dominating the pop and rock and roll genres,
It was the UK artists that were taking up the lead.
Much like London was transforming
into the musical capital of the world,
Freddie stepped on his path to
becoming the greatest lead singer
with not just a unique voice and appearance,
but with truly unique vision.
Formed in 1970, a decade after the Beatles,
Queen became the quintessence of Freddie's vision.
There was something unparallel about them.
No other band had such a flamboyant stage presence,
yet such complex music.
Such outlandish costumes, yet such deep lyrics.
For over 20 years, Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger
were the powerhouse of British rock.
until late 1991, when Freddie died of AIDS.
(clicking sound)
- Certainly don't have any aspirations to live to 70.
It would be so boring!
I've lived a full life.
And if I'm dead tomorrow, I don't give a damn!
- [Narrator] How did Freddie contract AIDS?
Well, as Freddie just said,
he was living life to the fullest.
During the day, a quiet gentlemen
surrounded by 10 adorable cats. (meowing)
At night, a party animal.
Freddie was known for throwing the most
outrageous, wild, and lavish parties in the entire industry.
- Hey, I'm a sex machine
ready to reload like an atom bomb, darling.
Yeah, like there's no tomorrow, darling.
Remember, dullness is a disease. (laughs)
- [Narrator] Okay, Freddie loved partying,
but partying doesn't cause AIDS.
Freddie's bisexuality wasn't the reason
for his illness either.
It was the unprotected sex with random partners
that killed him.
Freddie contracted HIV in 1981 or 1982.
And it was not until 1987
when he learnt about his diagnosis.
But it was already too late.
HIV had been slowly destroying
Freddie's white blood cells for years.
Those white blood cells
act as the human body's shield against diseases.
The fewer of them were remaining in his blood,
the weaker his immune system was becoming.
Eventually, Freddie's immune system collapsed,
leaving him completely unprotected from deadly diseases.
This is when his HIV turned into the final stage, AIDS.
And since that moment, his death was just a matter of time,
as there was no effective treatment up until 1996.
- Gentlemen, I need to tell you something.
I'm dying.
I have this AIDS thing.
But don't worry.
It's going to be fine and,
I just want to focus on the music.
Let's record as much as we can.
Let's go get to work.
In the last three years of his life,
Freddie Mercury recorded two more albums with Queen.
His voice was thinning, but he kept going
until he could no longer hit the notes.
Whenever he wasn't working on music,
he was spending time
with his ex-girlfriend and best friend, Mary Austin,
and partner, Jim Hutton.
And of course, his cats. (meowing)
This was Freddie's team who he loved dearly.
One day before his death,
Freddie issued a statement to the press and public
confirming that he indeed had AIDS.
This brought an enormous amount of attention to the disease.
He raised AIDS and HIV awareness
in an era when much of the discussion was taboo.
Yet the epidemic was just around the corner.
This is the story of Freddie Mercury's death.
This is how it was.
(mechanical noises and buzzing)
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