Sunday's Flashback

Queen was one of the biggest bands of the 70’s and 80’s. Fronted by the immortal Freddie Mercury, Queen racked up an enviable string of hits that included Another One Bites The Dust, Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are The Champions, We Will Rock You, and Crazy Little Thing Called Love. During their heyday no one could touch them. They were a tight, cohesive quartet of friends who only wanted to make music and audiences swooned for them.

Then the unthinkable. In late 1991 Freddie Mercury died of AIDS at his London home. He had just completed work on the final Queen album to be released in his lifetime, Innuendo. A superior project in all respects, this was a huge hit in the UK and Europe. Here in the US it didn’t make a lot of noise until Freddie’s untimely death, and then it went platinum. With Mercury’s vocals, as pristine as ever despite the illness he was dealing with at the time, Innuendo is packed with one great track after another. It’s a true Queen masterpiece in every sense.

These Are The Days of Our Lives is a fitting finale to Freddie’s tenure on this planet. The biggest hit from the album, it served as a swan song of sorts for him. Shortly after the video was completed, Freddie withdrew from public appearances and eventually went public with his AIDS battle. The next day he died. I can never hear this song without getting misty eyed, remembering Freddie in all his glory, and taking to heart the last line of the song’s refrain… “I still love you…”