The greatest musician of all time, according to Freddie Mercury
There are few more iconic sights in music history than Freddie Mercury on the Wembley Stadium stage in 1985 as part of Live Aid. It was the moment that his entire life had been building up to, a show now engrained into every music fan worldwide.
Although Mercury had many accomplishments to his name at this point, and Queen had been a mainstay of the music world for over a decade, he grabbed the biggest opportunity of his career with both hands, cementing his iconic status. With one performance, Mercury was suddenly perceived to be a god among men, which he felt deserved to be bestowed upon him.
As his stage presence showed, Mercury was never the modest type. The singer quite rightly believed in his talent and thought very few artists in the history of music could compete with his distinct musical mastery. Nevertheless, while believing in his own capabilities, Mercury didn’t think he was the greatest artist ever to walk the earth. Instead, that title belonged to John Lennon, a musical figure he grew up idolising.
Naturally, due to being born in 1946, Mercury became enamoured with The Beatles when they emerged in the early 1960s and meticulously followed their journey to the top. When Mercury arrived in Britain in 1964, he was at the perfect age to appreciate their musical expertise and fell in love with rock ‘n’ roll, which offered him a newfound dopamine kick. After leaving behind his war-torn homeland, the singer was ready to throw himself into fresh experiences, and music was his refuge.
At this time, The Beatles were entering their era of dominance, and Mercury was absorbing everything they created like a sponge. Everybody had their favourite member of the band, and for Mercury, Lennon operated on a level of his own.
While he appreciated the respective expertise that each member of The Beatles contributed, Lennon had a special ingredient that made Mercury relate to him. There was an indisputable star quality to Lennon, which made the masses see him as an icon. This was also down to the way he spoke about vital political matters and fought for a better world.
“John Lennon was larger than life and an absolute genius. Even at a very early stage when they were The Beatles, I always preferred John Lennon’s things,” Mercury once admitted.
“I don’t know why. He just had that magic… to be honest, I would never like to put myself on a par with John Lennon at all because he was the greatest, as far as I’m concerned,” the Queen frontman added.
Mercury then explained his reasoning for placing Lennon on a pedestal above every other artist, which he believed was due to the Liverpudlian’s uniqueness. He added: “It’s not a matter of having less talent, just that some people are capable of doing certain things better than anybody else, and I feel that I’m not equipped to do the things that Lennon did. I don’t think anybody should because John Lennon was unique, a one-off, and that’s the way it is. I admire him very much, and that’s as far as I want to go.”
Furthermore, Mercury also shared his recollection of hearing that Lennon’s life had been brought to a tragic end, revealing that he was “shocked and dumbfounded” by the devastating news.
During these moments of pain, Mercury used the studio as a coping mechanism. Following Lennon’s death, Mercury penned the Queen song ‘Life is Real (Song For Lennon)’, which appeared on their 1982 album Hot Space. On the track, the musician poured his heart out and paid tribute to his hero.
Although the pair had no personal relationship, Lennon praised Queen during his final interview. Speaking to David Sheff in 1980, Lennon said: “Listen to the Beatles records, but dig Queen or Clash or whatever is going on now.”
They may have never crossed paths, but the pair would likely have been kindred spirits who bonded over their shared rebellious nature and love of music. Nevertheless, Lennon had a more significant impact on Mercury than he ever realised, instilling the Queen frontman with the desire to become a rockstar.
