Interesting Facts About Freddie Mercury Bohemian Rhapsody Doesn’t Reveal

By Monykanchna Kunvuth

Former lead vocalist of Queen, Freddie Mercury led one fabulous life. If you think the Academy Award winning film Bohemian Rhapsody depicts Mercury’s life in a colorful light, you’re in for a wilder ride if you’re interested in knowing more about the man.  

Lesley-Ann Jones, Author of Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury, covers the most compelling aspects of Mercury’s life. She interviewed members of Queen, Mercury’s lovers, family members, and many more. She even visited places of significance to the lead vocalist such as London, Zanzibar, and India. 

Here are some interesting facts that are never revealed in the Academy Award winning movie.

The unpublicized female lover: It’s widely known that the song Love of My Life was written by Mercury for Mary Austin, the only woman famously known for stealing Mercury’s heart. What’s hidden is the fact that Austin is not the only woman the singer fell for. Mercury was seriously involved with the late Austrian soft-porn actress and model, Barbara Valentin. 

Valentin said in the biography, “I don’t want to hurt anybody by talking about Freddie. Let Mary Austin be the widow, I’ve always said. I have refused to talk about Freddie until now.”

The many unpublicized male lovers: The movie depicts merely a few somewhat serious male lovers, with the rest are just there to shed lights at Mercury’s promiscuity. The book digs deeper into his serious involvement with men, some of whom is reported to have taken advantage of Mercury’s fame and fortune and even became abusive to the late singer. Such experience is believed to have led Mercury to rather opt for relationships with no-strings attached. 

John Deacon suffered severe depression after Mercury’ death: According to the biography, Freddie Mercury’s death triggered Deacon’s deep painful path of losing his own father at age 11. A devoted husband and father, his late bandmate’s sudden death drove Deacon into a dark tunnel, frequenting a lap-dancing club and even got involved with a 25-year-old dancer. Deacon then left the band in 1997, six years after Mercury’s death. 

He released a public statement about his HIV diagnosis just one day before his death: Despite rumors whirling around about his sexuality, Mercury preferred to lay low regarding his HIV status. Due to a serious health complication, he decided to release a public statement regarding his heath one day before he died.

“I felt it correct to keep this information private to date in order to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has now come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth, and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease.” 

Bad treatment towards Jim Hutton: “Jim was a puppet on a string,” said Barbara. She described in the book how Mercury would bring Hutton over from London, and then send him back home, sometimes in one day. Hutton would cry very often and did whatever Mercury said. Barbara described Mercury as “often mean”. He even cut up and threw around all the tulips Jim has planted, and called Hutton an “asshole” and “good for nothing”.