Back then, Peter Freestone was working as Freddie Mercury’s assistant and he witnessed first-hand how the singer was physically degrading as a result of his AIDS diagnosis. He has recently revealed in an interview how the singer managed to regain control of his life shortly before he died, but how he also had to pay quite a steep price to do so.
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One of his final decisions
On 24th November 1991, Freddie Mercury lost his battle against HIV. Lots of fans would have undoubtedly been very shocked since the singer known for songs such as Another One Bites The Dust and Bohemian Rhapsody had kept his poor health a secret for quite a long time. Only one person, who was particularly close to the star at the time, knew what was really going on with Freddie Mercury.
During his last video shoot, it was clear from both his appearance and demeanour that the singer didn’t have long left to live. And it seems that he had made a decision that ended up resulting in some rather serious consequences for him.
Peter Freestone told Lorraine that the rock star had decided to stop taking his medication:
‘He knew it was coming, this is the thing. He decided two weeks before the end he would have no more drugs that were keeping him alive. He was in control, although the disease was killing him.’
His love for music was so great
Freddie was a true musician through and through. Back in the day, it must have been very difficult for him to even stand up on stage. Another member of the band, Brian May, revealed:
'He knew that if he did announce it his life would become a circus and he would be prevented from going about his business, which was making music. He wanted it to be business as usual until the end.’
Continuing to take his medication was apparently tormenting him more than anything else. One thing is clear however, the world is missing somebody like him nowadays and we are extremely grateful that we are still able to listen to his melodious voice from time to time, despite losing him so early.
