The conclusion to a three-part documentary marking the 40th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s debut album Mr. Bad Guy premiered today on the late Queen frontman’s official YouTube channel.
Originally released in April 1985, Mr. Bad Guy produced four singles—including the UK chart-topping “Living On My Own”—and achieved Top 10 success. A 40th-anniversary special reissue of the record is now available.
This final installment of the three-part series revisits a famed 1985 interview journalist David Wigg conducted with the Mercury in Munich. Over the course of the conversation, they spoke candidly about Mercury’s relationships, art, and the loneliness of his life on the road. Reflecting on writing “Living On My Own,” Mercury noted how the inspiration for the song came from his own transient lifestyle of constant touring.
“I think it’s a collection of songs which seem to sort of get in a groove,” Mercury mused on Mr. Bad Guy. “And to me I couldn’t single out one song, because, at this point in time, I seem to be liking a different song every day.”
The conversation also explored Mr. Bad Guy’s album cover, which features Mercury in aviators and a white tank top looking, in his own words “very butch.” Although the interview highlighted Mercury’s characteristic sharp wit and humor, it also touched on some more complicated topics, specifically Mercury’s relationship to love. He told Zwigg: “I’m not a very good partner for anybody. And I think that’s maybe what my love is, I think my love is dangerous. But who wants their love to be safe?”
Previous episodes of the series also explored interviews from the record’s original promotional campaign, blending old music video clips with archival conversations.
Order the 40th anniversary of Freddie Mercury’s Mr Bad Guy now.
