Freddie Mercury would be 76 years old: this was the “wildest” night of the leader of Queen | Who was invited and how much was spent on the celebration of his 39th birthday

This September 5 could be one more day on the calendar if it were not for Freddie Mercury would have turned 76. The artist, born in 1946 in Zanzibar under the name of Farrokh Bulsara, He was one of the most emblematic and legendary voices in the history of music. And not only that: the leader of the legendary band Queen is also recognized for the intensity with which he used to celebrate his birthday.

In 1985, Mercury organized the celebration of his 39 years, a celebration that ended up being one of the most remembered in rock history.

A very special invitation

For that new Freddie birthday, the artist was already in a relationship with Jim Hutton, his last great love. It was precisely Hutton who suggested that the celebration should be thematic, in “black and white”.

“On a weekend in August we talked about the kind of party he would have to prepare for his 39th birthday, which would be on September 5. I suggested it should be a black and white party, and he seemed to like the idea.”Hutton recounts in his memoir.

Thus, the then leader of Queen invited all his friends to a nightclub in Munich, Germany, called Henderson’s, that he had rented for the occasion, requesting that the place be decorated in these two tones.

On the other hand, all the guests had to be dressed up: the purpose of the party was also to record material for the video “Living on my own”. It is rumored that more than 50 hours of video were filmed.

Freddie Mercury’s iconic wardrobe

The costume that Freddie Mercury wore that day became one of the artist’s most remembered outfits. The singer wore a black and white harlequin leotard and a military-style jacket designed by the Emanuelsdesigners well known for having created the wedding dress for Princess Diana of Wales.

The guests of the great party of Freddie Mercury

Most of the guests were German, in addition to the fact that many belonged to the LGTBIQ + collective.

Hutton expanded on the details in his memoir: “Brian May came as a witch. David Wigg wore a captivating cloak; Phoebe was dressed as a gypsy and even Richard Young, a paparazzi photographer, was dressed to perfection. Reinhold Mack was there with his wife, Ingrid, and also Steve Strange, as well as a number of other label people.”

Rudi Dolezal, director of the “Living on my own” video, described that historic night as follows: “The craziest party I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been on tour with The Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi.”

For his part, David Wigg, a journalist and friend of Freddie, commented on The Telegraph: “The younger guests hardly wore anything, and with the passing of the hours the costumes seemed less and less”.

The birthday cake, another mark of excellence

Mercury’s then partner said that when the traditional “Happy birthday” was sung, the cake that appeared was huge: It was a cake in the shape of a grand piano. Hutton commented in his memoirs. “It was so big that every one of the three hundred guests got their slice,” she recalled.

the wildest party

Hutton also recounted that there was a time when Mercury couldn’t take it anymore and fainted from exhaustion: “All there was to drink that night was champagne and more champagne. We all had a few drinks, but Freddie was completely over the top. Drugs were circulating and someone had given them some kind of dangerous mixture. Although he liked cocaine, he did not like to experiment with different drugs. He was very devastated by the experience.”.

After a short rest, Mercury recovered, He returned to the party and insisted on recording more material for his video, something very typical of Freddie.

How much did the birthday party cost?

Apparently, Freddie Mercury was not very happy with the amount of money that was spent on the party. His partner, Jim Hutton, said: “When Freddie got the bill, it wasn’t so funny anymore. The expense was huge, around £50,000, because so many people had been extravagant at his expense. He felt he had been taken for a fool.”

Taking inflation into account, it is currently estimated that this figure would amount to 150,000 pounds, which would be equivalent to more than 170,000 euros.

Rumors and denials

Partygoers commented that there were horse-drawn carriages, strippers, lots of alcohol, sex and drugs. Also Rumors spread that there were midgets with trays on their heads handing out cocaine, however, several attendees denied it.

in the documentary A Kind of Magicthe journalist David Wigg assures: “I’ve never seen midgets on cocaine, so I don’t know where that came from.”

RogerTaylor, Queen’s drummer, said something similar in that same documentary: “The idea was just to have fun and for people to free their minds. Many of the stories are exaggerated. Actually, midgets with trays of cocaine, I don’t know where that came from. The thing about the fighters in the mud is true.”

an unreleased song

In recent years both Brian May What Roger Taylorguitarist and drummer for Queen, respectively, continued to perform shows with the singer Adam Lambert.