The king of excess
As Queen and Freddie Mercury gained fame as performers and recording artists they also acquired notoriety for their excesses. The parties held by the band were meticulously planned, hugely expensive, and legendary for their decadence. Elton John told the magazine Uncut in 2001 that Freddie Mercury could out-party him, “which is saying something.” Both John and Mercury exhibited insatiable appetites for cocaine at the time.
Expensive wines and other beverages, which Freddie arranged to have served by nude waiters and waitresses, were accompanied in at least one party with dwarves, who mingled among the guests wearing trays upon their heads containing lines of cocaine for the consumption of the partiers. The Party for the launch of the 1978 album Jazz, held in New Orleans at the Fairmont Hotel, featured nude wrestlers in a pit filled with liver.
As a promotion for the same album, which included the song Bicycle Race, the band booked Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium and 65 professional models to appear in a photo and video. The models were nude and rode the bicycles for several takes while the video was being filmed, which led the company from which the bicycles were rented to request that the band purchase new seats for the bikes. The album Jazz contained a poster sized picture of the race.
For his 39th birthday Mercury held a Black and White Ball, with invitations requesting his guests dress in drag, using only the hues of black and white in their appearance. The party was held in Munich, and some footage from the party was filmed for use in a video for Freddie’s solo single, Living on My Own. Cristal champagne and high grade cocaine flowed freely, and Freddie and his guests celebrated his birthday well into the following morning.
Friends remembered other parties which ran for days and even weeks, impromptu affairs which drifted from site to site, but Freddie always ensured his birthday parties were well-planned and equally well executed. The site of his 41st birthday party, a legendary affair with over 500 guests flown to the island of Ibiza off the coast of Spain, still celebrates his birthday in remembrance, as do numerous cities around the world, where his fans try to live up to his legend.