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Freddie Mercury lost most of his foot to AIDs reveals Brian May

Brian May has opened up about his Queen bandmate’s tragic death in 1991, with the music world being left in mourning when the iconic Freddie Mercury passed away following a battle with AIDs.

Speaking about the devastating effect that the illness had on his friend, Brian has revealed that Freddie ended up losing most of his foot to the disease.

Brian May and Freddie Mercury were incredibly close friends.
Brian May and Freddie Mercury were incredibly close friends.

Recalling some of his final memories of Freddie in new book Queen in 3D, Brian wrote according to Times magazine: “The problem was actually his foot – and, tragically there was very little left of it.

“Once, he showed it to us at dinner. And he said: ‘Oh Brian, I’m sorry I’ve upset you by showing you that’.

“And I said, ‘I’m not upset, Freddie, except to realise that you have to put up with so much terrible pain’.”

Brian went on to admit that he has been left saddened by the fact that Freddie passed away just months before a life-saving “cocktail of drugs” to help AIDs-sufferers was discovered.

Queen shot to fame in the 70s.
Queen shot to fame in the 70s.

He shared: “He missed it by just a few months.

“If it had been just a bit later he would still be with us, I’m sure. But you can’t go there because therein lies madness.”

Freddie was notoriously private about his AIDs battle, only publicly confirming that he had the illness 24 hours before he died, writing in a statement: “Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS.

“I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me.

Freddie kept his AIDs battle a secret from the public.
Freddie kept his AIDs battle a secret from the public.

“However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease.”

And Brian has now admitted that Freddie was just as secretive about his battle with his close friends and family, and although he did tell his bandmates that he was suffering from AIDs he made it clear that it was not something that he wished to discuss.

Brian said: “Of course, we all knew [he had AIDS], but we didn’t want to.

“He said: ‘You probably gather that I’m dealing with this thing and I don’t want to talk about it and I don’t want our lives to change, but that’s the situation.’ And then he would move on.”