Freddie Mercury biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' premieres
October 23, 2018
On July 13, 1985, over 70,000 people flocked to Wembley Stadium in London to attend the Live Aid fundraising concert to raise money to help fight an ongoing famine in Ethiopia. Though rock band Queen was one of many musical acts there, the group's show — and particularly lead singer Freddie Mercury's epic a capella performance — went down as one of the greatest ever in history of rock.
Today, 33 years later, tens of thousands of Queen fans are expected to flock to Wembley Stadium to watch the premiere of the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, the largely focuses on the singer's life in the lead-up to the event. In the 80s Mercury, who had relationships with women and men, contracted AIDS, changing his personality and his relationship to Queen. He would eventually die from complications related to the disease in 1991.
The film also depicts the earlier years of Mercury's life. It begins when Smile, the predecessor band to Queen, has lost their lead singer to another band. Mercury, in the right time and the right place, steps in to fill the hole, laying the groundwork for the making of Queen and music history — despite initial reluctance from the record industry.
Bohemian Rhapsody, which takes its name from the single off the band's 1975 album, A Night at the Opera, was directed by Bryan Singer, with longterm Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor as coproducers. It features Rami Malek as Mercury.
The film starts worldwide on November 2.
cmb (Reuters, AFP)