Freddie Mercury died of complications due to AIDS in 1991, having kept his diagnosis private for years. The following week, Queen stars Brian May and Taylor gave a poignant interview on TV-am in which they opened up on his illness and legacy.
“The one thing he wanted to do was keep on working in the studio,” Taylor said. “He was absolutely determined to keep the group going and to keep working.
“And that actually kept him going for a long time.”
He then went on to discuss how emotionally difficult it had been for the band to record These Are the Days of Our Lives, which was released around the time of Mercury’s death.
“It was hard but we were trying to support him through it. And he was incredibly brave at that time,” Taylor said.
READ MORE: FREDDIE MERCURY’S FINAL DAYS: THIS GAVE HIM PEACE TO ‘LET GO’
“He knew and we all knew, at that time, but the best thing is just to get on with life and do it.”
The Queen stars were also asked how long Mercury had known he was living with AIDS, to which May replied: “We don’t actually know ourselves. It was always a very private thing with him.
“We knew intuitively something was going on but it wasn’t talked about. He didn’t officially tell us until just over a few months before he went.
“But certainly he knew for five years or so,” the guitarist added. “He was living under the shadow for a very, very long time.”
“For the last week he never left his bed and he was never alone,” he said. “We did 12-hour shifts. I would sit on the bed, holding his hand so if he woke up someone was there.
“We chatted, easy conversation about friends or gossip.
“The last time I saw him was on the Friday night, November 22,” he continued.
It was that day that Mercury decided to share his AIDS diagnosis with the public, issuing a statement which confirmed ongoing reports about his illness.
“Contrary to belief, he did not release the statement about his status the day before he died,” Freestone explained. “It was released at 8pm on the Friday night but the papers ran it on the Saturday morning.
“I have never seen him so relaxed because the secret was out. There was nothing to hide or worry about.
“So, he could prepare himself. It was such a huge relied to just let it out,” he added.
Mercury’s friend said he believed the star chose to go after making the announcement about his diagnosis, saying: “We all knew it could not be too long, but Freddie’s doctor had said that he could be with us for quite a few days longer.
“I tend to feel that Freddie had decided he had had enough and it was time to go under his own terms.”