Don’t stop Queen fans now! Variety reports that BBC will be releasing Freddie Mercury: The Final Act, a new documentary about the Queen lead singer in November. The 90-minute film will honor and mark thirty years since Freddie Mercury died of complications due to AIDS and will shed some light on the final 5 years of the singer’s life, as well as the events that led to the legendary tribute concert at Wembley Stadium that followed his death in April 1992.
To add to the excitement, BBC Two will also be featuring some of Mercury’s top performances with bandmates Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon that have been broadcasted on BBC over the years. Freddie Mercury: The Final Act will also feature Mercury’s sister Kashmira Bulsara, his friends Anita Dobson and David Wigg, and his PA, Peter Freestone.
The massive tribute concert saw performances from legends such as Roger Daltrey (The Who), Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Gary Cherone (Extreme), Lisa Stansfield, and Paul Young, who will also be interviewed for the documentary. Viewers will even hear from the concert promoter, Harvey Goldsmith, and many medical practitioners, AIDS survivors, and human rights campaigners who saw the impact of the epidemic up close and personal.
Following Mercury’s passing, his bandmates and manager, Jim Beach, came up with the idea to bring the biggest acts in music, all of whom were friends of Mercury, together for one giant performance to honor their late friend. The group approached artists such as David Bowie, Annie Lennox, and Elton John to create one of the most iconic concerts in history. Not only was it attended by a whopping 70,000 people, but it also raked in over a billion viewers on television.
Of the story that Freddie Mercury: The Final Act will tell, head of commissioning for BBC Music TV Jan Younghusband said:
"James Rogan’s film ‘Freddie Mercury: The Final Act,’ is a poignant story of one of music’s most popular and talented musicians, and the legacy he left. Not only does it shine new light on Freddie Mercury’s brave journey through those final five years of his life, it also tells a wider — and hugely important — story of the emergence of AIDS at the time and how the incredible tribute concert after his death, helped to change for the better public opinion about the crisis. The artists of Queen and others who were there, speak candidly for the first time.”
Queen fans can get excited to celebrate the life and times of their favorite frontman and hear from the people closest to him. From the sounds of it, this documentary is bound to rock you. Freddie Mercury: The Final Act will be released in November.