The release of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ has led to a renewed interest in late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s love life.
One newspaper article stated, “Tragic rock star Freddie Mercury’s “Russian Roulette” sex life is likely to kill scores of his lovers, a top doctor claimed yesterday. Bisexual Freddie admitted sleeping with at least 100 people – and close friends believe there were many more.”
WNG reported, “Early in his adult life he was engaged to be married to his muse Mary Austin. They broke off their engagement after Mercury admitted to multiple homosexual affairs, but they remained close throughout his life. Queen guitarist Brian May told Fresh Air’s Terry Gross that in the early days of Queen, he and Mercury shared hotel rooms. ‘I knew who Freddie slept with in the early days,’ May said. ‘And they weren’t men.’
But after his breakup with Mary Austin, and after the band became successful, Mercury became unmoored. A fascinating biography of Mercury, Somebody to Love by Matt Richards and Mark Langthorne, documents in detail how sex and drugs poured out of the rock ’n’ roll. After many shows, Mercury would take a man back to his room for [intimacy]. Estimates of the number of [intimate] partners Mercury had during his lifetime range from hundreds to several thousand.
None of these aspects of Freddie Mercury’s life made it into the sanitized version offered by Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Mercury’s hey day was during a time where the LGBTQ community sadly had less rights, and there was rampant homophobia.
