“Thoroughbred”: The singer Robert Plant thought nobody could touch
Freddie Mercury was a limited-edition, one-of-one figure. Not only did he have a voice that nobody could compete with, but he also had the showmanship to back up his artistry.
While Queen have attempted to keep his legacy alive with various stand-in singers in the decades since Mercury cruelly lost his life, in reality, it’s nothing more than a tribute show to him. It was an impossible task to find another Mercury, which will never be accomplished, despite how hard they may try.
Mercury was the whole package, and while Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant himself once had the stamina of an Olympic athlete, he knew that the Queen frontman was on another level in that regard.
There was a deep-held respect between the two artists, with Mercury once declaring: “I would say that Led Zeppelin are the greatest, and as a rock band they deserved the kind of success they got”.
He also kindly said of Plant’s gift, “Robert Plant is one of the most original vocalists of our time. He was always my favourite singer. And he’s said nice things about me.”
Following his sad passing, the musical landscape suddenly had an immense void nobody could realistically fill, but for one night only, it was down to Plant to try his best to do so.
In 1992, Wembley Stadium held the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, months after his death, which saw the former Led Zeppelin frontman perform with Queen. At the concert, he spectacularly led Mercury’s bandmates through renditions of ‘Thank You’, ‘Innuendo’, and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ as a touching homage, all in the name of raising money to tackle the AIDS crisis.
As much as it was a daunting task, even for Plant, he knew that raising millions for charity mattered more than swallowing his pride.
Ahead of the show, Plant spoke in a television interview about his respect for Mercury and explained precisely why he’s an all-time great: “Freddie sang all these songs originally, and he sang them better than we’re going to sing them. He sang them in the correct keys, he sang them with confidence, he sang them really, really well. His personality vocally and his whole projection we can’t capture. The real thing about today is that he is not here.”
Additionally, Mercury’s official website boasts the following quote from Plant, which details how the Queen frontman’s ability on-stage was unmatched, stating, “There’s so few people behind the glamour who really make it as true performers. It’s a very strange thoroughbred condition to be a successful musician and still be able to project it with confidence. Freddie had that, and there’s not many people who have had it.”
Plant perfectly explained the dexterity of Mercury, which propelled him to greatness and separated him from the other rock performers of his generation. Countless singers have tried to be the next Freddie Mercury in the many decades since his passing, but he was the one who invented a whole new rock ‘n’ roll archetype.
Mercury seemed like an alien from another universe, who had been dropped down on Earth purely to entertain the masses and enrich lives across the globe. While he did grow up admiring rock figures like Plant, he created his own mould and left everyone else trailing in his wake.
Although he was somewhat reserved when the lights were dimmed, as soon as it was time to hit the stage, he became a larger-than-life character. As strange as it sounds to most, Mercury felt far more comfortable at Live Aid than in an everyday environment, and the stage was the one place he could be the truest version of himself.
