![]() My subconscious knew that singing a Freddie Mercury song after his passing in front of my lover. ![]() For George, he was determined to make “his performance both the perfect tribute to Freddie but also a prayer for Anselmo.”Īs George revealed in the Freedom documentary released in 2017 and the Red Line interviews, Freddie was an important influence on him growing up: ![]() His then partner Anselmo Felleppa had contracted the deadly virus. Unbeknownst to the public at that time, the impact of HIV had hit George very personally. His performances of “Somebody to Love” and a duet with Lisa Stansfield on “These Are the Days of Our Lives.” Proceeds from the release benefited the Mercury Phoenix Trust, a charity organization that had been launched in Freddie’s name to combat AIDS, and it became a Number One seller in the U.K., going gold there it bowed at Number 46 on the Billboard 200 but the songs received copious MTV airtime. Rolling Stone credited George’s performances as the biggest thing to come out of the show:īut the biggest thing to come out of the show, other than a home-video release, was a collection of George Michael’s performances with (and a few without) Queen on an EP called Five Live that came out a year later. “It was probably the proudest moment of my career, because it was me living out a childhood fantasy: to sing one of Freddie’s songs in front of 80,000 people,” Michael later said. With his version of the Queen classic hit “Somebody To Love,” he captivated fans just like Freddie had during his peak. George Michael undeniably offered the best performance of the evening. German publication Deutsche Welle described George’s performance as: George was hailed for his electric performance at the concert. The concert was broadcast in 76 countries, about one billion people watched the show live. Tickets sold out in a matter of hours, before the lineup of performers was even announced. To this day, the Freddie Mercury tribute concert remains the largest concert held in tribute to a deceased musician. Aside from George Michael, other performers include Elton John, David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, Metallica, Annie Lenox, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli and many more. The concert was the first major rock event to draw attention to AIDS awareness. ![]() Freddie died of an AIDS-related illness five months earlier on November 24, 1991. It was organized by the three remaining Queen members to celebrate the life of their hugely flamboyant frontman, Freddie Mercury. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was held on April 20, 1992, at the Wembley Stadium in front of an audience of 72,000. George Michael called his performance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness as “very probably the most important performance of my life.” George’s performance was heartfelt and stunning, and many news reports throughout the years agree that George was the top star of the star-studded evening. ![]()
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