Freddie Mercury and the AIDS Crisis

In summary, this transcription discusses the life and impact of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the band Queen, and how he became the face of AIDS. It highlights his unique voice, powerful stage presence, and the success of Queen in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. It also mentions his personal life, including his closeted homosexuality and his fear of coming out due to potential repercussions for his career. The transcription touches on Queen's memorable Live Aid performance in 1985 and Freddie Mercury's private battle with HIV and AIDS, which he revealed shortly before his death in 1991. It emphasizes how Freddie Mercury's secrecy and care for his fans made him a symbol for AIDS awareness and brought the disease to the forefront of public consciousness. The transcription concludes by discussing the lasting impact of Queen's music and Freddie Mercury's legacy as an icon. Are you ready? Are you ready to fit? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? I don't know where's the fullest risk, but it's time to be a kid Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust And another one does, and another one does Another one bites the dust, yeah Hey, we're gonna get to do Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust I didn't think I was gonna get alone That's the way I've known it You took me for everything that I had And kicked me out of my own head I ain't happy, I ain't satisfied All I can say is Another one bites the dust And another one does, and another one does It's time to be a kid Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust And another one does, and another one does Another one bites the dust Hey, we're gonna get to do Another one bites the dust Hey! Hey, this is Tyce This is the Dirty Diseases Done Not So Dirt Cheap podcast And we're gonna be talking about Freddie Mercury And how he became the face of AIDS Now, podcasts aren't really my big thing Or recording myself, so I'm gonna do my best And hopefully, hopefully this comes out alright But, the big thing about Freddie Mercury Was how big he became Born in 1946 in Zanzibar He moved to England with his family When he was pretty young And he He kinda, he kinda had this unique voice And he met He met Who would become his friends And band members Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon And they formed the band Queen Queen became a widely successful And widely popular band throughout the 70s, 80s And early 90s Because of Freddie Mercury's voice And his, uh, his unique voice His powerful voice And his stage presence He was really He was like other English singers at the time Like Mick Jagger Uh, kinda very Very flamboyant And sporadic And people loved coming to see him And he loved the attention But Freddie Mercury's He kept his He kept his personal and private life Private While Doing everything he could to make the The fans feel a part of the band And all their success His popular, his most popular songs Often involved Often involved the crowds with We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions There's a lot of times where he He wants the crowd to join in As the band progressed Throughout the 70s and 80s Uh, 1985 Their biggest Their biggest event was Live Aid And Live Aid was a Charity event for The starving people in Ethiopia Trying to raise awareness And raise funding and support And Queen, although they weren't They weren't the sole Biggest Band there There were musicians such as David Bowie And Mick Jagger And the Rolling Stones Queen is often remembered for Their Live Aid performance More than anybody else And more than any of their other performances Queen had A hold on the audience With Again, Freddie Mercury's Insane voice talent And his stage presence The callback With the audience He was kind of endeared Because of how well He performed with the crowd And how much he showed he cared To them and how much they cared About him The Live Aid encapsulated Queen with With the The theatrics The interactions with fans And Performing hit songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody One thing about Freddie Mercury That Comes back to keeping his personal life Private Although He entertained A semi Relationship with A woman He was a closeted homosexual For most of his life And As a homosexual He did He did fear Personal Persecution And he feared that His popularity Or the band's popularity would falter If he came out So he kept that private for most of his life And In doing so He also kept When he contracted HIV and AIDS Extremely private Going to a doctor in New York In the late 80s And he didn't want This to come out for Much of his life When Freddie finally Came out it was In 1991 A few A day before he actually died He wrote a letter Telling his fans How he Had AIDS And how he didn't have much longer And he wanted them to Support The fight against the disease And support All those going through The pain that comes with having AIDS And the family struggles He didn't want He didn't want the disease to Define him and his legacy So he kept it private and he didn't want He didn't want the band to suffer From it In that way he was very Looking out for the fans And looking out for his band members And not wanting them to worry About what he had Even though the band The band knew about His disease much earlier Than the fans And they wrote Songs kind of alluding to it Such as the show must go on And His final song These are the days of our lives All allude to Freddie's love for the fans And What he was going through Trying to Do everything he could To keep performing and keep Living up to the fans Expectations and Wanting to do right by them With that Freddie worked hard to Make sure that the disease Once he finally announced it Once he finally announced it To so many of his fans And It had been speculated for so long Because he became More and more reclusive And did less and less Public appearances In some videos And some Appearances He looks very frail And very sickly And people were curious to see What was going on What was wrong But Once it finally came out I think that's the reason why he became The face of AIDS is because Of how secret he was But how much he cared For his fan base And his friends And he didn't want anything To detract from the music Shortly after he died Queen Partnered with several other Prominent musicians And bands To perform a benefit Concert in remembrance of Freddie And in To fundraise against AIDS Similar to how Live Aid Brought awareness to The struggling people in Ethiopia Bands like Duns and Roses Musicians such as Elton John and David Bowie All who were Close friends with Freddie and the band Queen Came out in support And really drove The message home that AIDS isn't just A Isn't just this Fringe disease for gay people But it affects everyone It affects celebrities Common people alike It affects people that People care about And brings it to the worldwide stage There were however Several other prominent figures That would bring AIDS To the forefront such as When Magic Johnson contracted HIV Or when Princess Diana Shook hands with an AIDS patient Without wearing any gloves They brought those issues to light The tennis player Arthur Ashby Or Arthur Ash He was also a prominent celebrity Or a prominent athlete Who brought AIDS to light And brought about change Not everyone is a basketball fan Not everyone Is A tennis fan And not everyone Pays attention to the royal family But everyone In the world at that time Knew Queen Knew how powerful Or how prominent That band was And most people Loved Loved Queen Their Live Aid performance Was listened to It is believed to be 1.9 billion people Listened to Live Aid whenever it occurred And that's billion with a B So I think His Impact on the world Just as a musician Brought AIDS Immense Public Awareness And his death Kind of shocked the world Because he kept it Private for so long So once everyone knew What he was dealing with And how it affected him They saw how he became this Vibrant Character who Loved the stage Trying to turn into this Recluse and this frail Sickly person Who did everything he could To keep performing and keep Producing for the fans I think that kind of hit Close to home Seeing how it affected him And his legacy Can't be understated Even today There's people in my Generation who Were not alive for Queen Who were Not even a thought during Queen's reign That Those songs are still popular If you go to a sporting Event there's a good chance That you hear We Will Rock You or We Are The Champions after it's done Freddie Mercury Is still a household name And even When you don't associate him with AIDS You associate Queen With great music So The band's Lasting presence on Pop culture And Freddie Mercury's impact As a performer and as an Icon Is the reason why He becomes the face of AIDS because He's such a giant Personality And He's one of the biggest He's one of the biggest Not so much Gay icons but He's one of the biggest icons That is gay or that was gay So Not only does he hold a special Place in the hearts of the gay community He holds a place in the hearts of the Worldwide community And to have such a Prominent figure who was gay and Did have AIDS And died from AIDS Brings him to the forefront Of the topic Because many people dismiss AIDS as just this Gay disease that no one Should worry about whenever it But it really does affect everyone And it affects Anyone that no matter What class you are no matter what Orientation you are It brings about This This feeling of We need to do something and we need to do Something now instead of Dismissing it and turning a blind eye To it as Prominent Politicians were accused of In the early 80s Late 80s and early 90s A prime example President Ronald Reagan is accused of turning a blind Eye to the AIDS crisis And Dr. Fauci Who's still Who's still around He was accused of not doing enough For the AIDS crisis In the Not labeling it a crisis But I think Freddie His death Fully supplanted it in the minds Of everyone that this is a crisis This is a terrible disease That needs dealt with And Yeah It's just a terrible thing but It's kind of great whenever A tragedy Can be used to Prevent more tragedy Yes it would be I think everyone would agree They would rather have him alive Freddie Mercury alive than not But At least his death His death brought awareness To such a deadly disease And brought The mainstream media To talk about it And discuss How such a deadly disease Was able to take One of the largest One of those people that is Larger than life it seems And brings him down to earth And sadly takes his life But Yeah I'm trying to Trying to go through this as best as I can This is probably the hardest Thing I've done in college I don't You know I just try to Keep my head down in the back of class But Anyways Freddie Mercury Was so important And more important than all those other Well I shouldn't say more important Because some of these guys tragically did die His death was Viewed as more impactful And more More substantial to the fight against AIDS Than most others Because of how well How beloved he was To the entire world And He transcended music He didn't Most people think of Magic Johnson Like I said earlier Most think Magic Johnson But not everyone is a basketball fan He's more of an American icon Whereas Arthur Ashe he's a tennis icon And most people Including myself Don't know who Arthur Ashe is And we probably would have known back in the day That the AIDS crisis was In full swing But he's kind of died off His legacy has kind of died off Outside of Tennis fans Or those who Who fully Remember the AIDS crisis Or were alive for it But Freddie has He's transcended music He's transcended sports He's transcended countries and cultures He He's outlasted What normally would have happened Had he Died of anything else Or Had he not died If he didn't contract AIDS Maybe AIDS would not be as Talked about or as remembered Or as Fought against But since he was such a Larger than life personality And just What seemed to be A good person at heart That his fans loved And People still today Love his music and listen to it I think How he connected with his fans Is why everyone Connected with him And Wanted to see the end of this disease And wanted to bring Awareness to it So he became Not only the poster child But the face of AIDS For better or for worse And his impact Has not been forgotten And I think his letter His letter moved so many people Who probably would have been on the fence Talking about Being so vulnerable And so open the day before he died In his letter And how he Kept it such a secret I think it moved a lot of people And that's why he became the face of AIDS But Alright Thank you so much So sorry for the delay This was kind of Kind of really hard to do But I'm kind of Muscling my way through it It It feels like stage fright Even though I'm the only one here But Thank you, so sorry for the delay Hopefully Hopefully we can get through the rest of this Semester and I'll get out of your hair But thank you so much Have a good one