The death of Freddie Mercury did not signify the end of Queen‘s classic era. Instead, that conclusion came with Made in Heaven, an album released on Nov. 6, 1995, featuring the last recordings made by the ailing singer before he passed away from AIDS in 1991. This album also marked the final full-length project to include the band’s co-founding bassist John Deacon.
In the months following the release of 1991’s Innuendo, Mercury tirelessly worked to ensure there was enough material for Queen to continue without him. He relocated from Munich to Montreux, where Queen owned Mountain Studios, allowing him to work through his final days.
“Our plan was to go in there whenever Freddie felt well enough, just to make as much use of him as possible,” recalled Queen guitarist Brian May. “We basically lived in the studio for a while, and when he would call and say ‘I can come in for a few hours,’ our plan was to just make as much use of him as we could.”
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Even as his health rapidly declined, Mercury continued recording vocals until September 1991, when he was unable to complete a track titled “Mother Love.” By November, Mercury had passed away. The members of Queen were heartbroken. Despite knowing Mercury’s wishes regarding a follow-up recording, it took nearly two years before they could bring themselves to revisit the project.
“I have never gotten over his death. None of us have,” drummer Roger Taylor later told Rolling Stone. “We thought we could come to terms with it quickly, but we underestimated the impact his death had on our lives. I still find it difficult to talk about. For those of us left, it feels as though Queen was another lifetime entirely.”
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Despite this heavy backdrop, Made in Heaven remains one of Queen’s most optimistically crafted works and is a stronger album than its predecessor, despite its posthumous release nature. As Mercury approached the end of his life, everyone knew it and came together like never before. “Freddie said, ‘Write me stuff. Keep giving me words. I will sing,'” May recounted in an interview with Rolling Stone.
Not all of Made in Heaven‘s content was derived from Mercury’s final vocals; some material dates back to sessions for 1984’s The Works, while other parts originated from Mercury’s 1985 solo album, Mr. Bad Guy. The track “You Don’t Fool Me” was pieced together by producer David Richards from leftover material. Nevertheless, it comes together beautifully.
The sun shines through songs like the John Deacon-composed “My Life Has Been Saved,” “Heaven for Everyone” (an original by Taylor that insists “this world could be fun“), Mercury’s “I Was Born to Love You,” and “A Winter’s Tale,” which offers fans a glimpse into the view Mercury had at Montreux.
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The track “Mother Love” is the only one on Made in Heaven that hints at what lay ahead. There are narrative clues (“I’m a man of the world and they say that I’m strong“, Mercury sings at one point. “But my heart is heavy and my hope is gone“). It’s also more visceral; May had to sing the last verse because by then Mercury was no longer able.
Made in Heaven became Queen’s fourth consecutive U.K. No. 1 album and their seventh overall before Deacon announced his retirement a few years later. “Freddie’s death affected him badly,” said Robert Ahwai, a college friend and musical collaborator. “Maybe he thought, ‘Freddie was the band, so what’s the point?'”
No other Queen album has reached the top of the charts since.
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Their presence in the news and fans’ hearts remains so strong that it’s hard to believe singer Freddie Mercury has been gone for decades now.
Gallery Credit: Eduardo Rivadavia
