About this time last year, a fixation on Queen hit me, kind of out of nowhere. Especially “A Night at the Opera.” My best friend had just moved away, I was in-between apartments, the weather was getting cooler, and I just felt out of sorts. I’m not really sure what was so grounding about Opera, but I listened to it daily for about a month.

My favorite story to come out of this album is the one about Mary Austin, whom Freddie Mercury often described as the “love of his life.”

The two were lovers for six years before Freddie decided he preferred men. (Mary: “He said, ‘I think I’m bisexual.’ I told him, ‘I think you’re gay.’ And nothing else was said. We just hugged.”) The two remained the greatest and most loyal of friends. She was his rock from the early stages of Queen to his skyrocket to stardom, and he became the godfather of her children. Mary was also the first person Freddie confided in about contracting the AIDS virus, and she was at his bedside as he lived out his last days. Their friendship ran so deep that they spoke of their relationship as of it were a marriage:

“All my lovers asked me why they couldn’t replace Mary, but it’s simply impossible. The only friend I’ve got is Mary and I don’t want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that’s enough for me.”

- Freddie Mercury in People, 1977.

“I lost somebody who I thought was my eternal love. When he died I felt we’d had a marriage. We’d lived our vows. We’d done it for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health. You could never have let go of Freddie unless he died - and even then it was difficult.”

- Mary Austin in OK! Magazine, 2000.

Freddie left his Kensington dream home to Mary and her sons, along with 50% of his multi-million dollar fortune and a steady income from portions of record sales and publishing rights. She left everything in the home just as it was when Freddie was alive, although she did admit that it took her five years before she could sleep in his bright yellow master bedroom.

Freddie also left her a beautiful gift in the form of this song, which is one of my favorites:

And here’s the studio version, because while that live version packs a punch to the gut, the layered vocals on the album version are STUNNING and also BRIAN MAY IS PLAYING THE HARP:

Freddie Mercury would have been 65 today.

So this evening, take a second to put on your checkered jumpsuit and STRUT.