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Titolo: This week the Queen idol would've been 65... now pop star Dave Clark reveals: 'F

This week the Queen idol would've been 65... now pop star Dave Clark
reveals: 'Freddie chose to die when his life stopped being fun'
 
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2035367/Dave-Clark-reveals-Freddie-Mercury-chose-die-life-stopped-fun.html#ixzz1XSW2mLXV
 
 
Celebrations of Freddie Mercury's Life and Outstanding Contribution to
Music all set to Continue on the 18th October
 
PR Newswire
 
LONDON, September 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
 
Paying tribute to Freddie Mercury on what would have been his 65th
Birthday, The Asian Awards this morning announced that Freddie's
outstanding contribution to music will be honoured on 18th October, at the
Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London.
 
Very few people know that Farrokh Bulsara, known to the world as Freddie
Mercury, was Parsi - with origins in the South Asian community - born in
Zanzibar and educated in Bombay. The Asian Awards will not only turn the
world's spotlight on the musical legacy of this iconic and inspirational
man, but Freddie's cultural heritage as well.
 
A host of stars including Freddie Mercury's family and bandmate Brian May
will attend the Awards, which celebrates the outstanding achievements of
individuals born in or with direct family origin from India, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan or Bangladesh across all disciplines of life.
 
The Asian Awards were an ambitious idea conceived by Paul Sagoo,
entrepreneur and founder of Lemon Group, and realised by co-founder
Caroline Jackson Levy, Managing Director of UBM Awards. "Our goal was to
celebrate the highest calibre of individuals from the Asian community
across all spheres of activity," said Sagoo. "Last year's inaugural event
was spectacular, and set the bar high for 2011. This year, we will take it
a notch higher," added Jackson Levy.
 
Tickets are selling fast so call 
+44-(0)20-7234-8732
 or visit
http://www.theasianawards.com
 for the opportunity to celebrate Asian
Excellence and network with the world's most inspiring Asian stars in
music, business, sport, the arts, science and cinema.   
 
Notes for Editors:
 
ABOUT THE ASIAN AWARDS
 
The Asian Awards in partnership with Lebara, were an ambitious idea
conceived by Paul Sagoo, entrepreneur and founder of Lemon Group, and
realised by co-founder Caroline Jackson Levy, Managing Director of UBM
Awards. A celebration of excellence among the global Asian community, they
were launched in 2010 to recognise and reward the outstanding achievements
of individuals born in or with direct family origin from India, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan or Bangladesh across all disciplines of life - from business to
the arts, culture, sport and public service. The inaugural ceremony drew
1,000 of the most influential people in the Asian community and raised
over £100,000 for its chosen charity, Save the Children. Visit
http://www.theasianawards.com
 for further information.
 
Copyright 2011 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved
 
-- 
 
questo articolo e` stato inviato via web dal servizio gratuito 
http://www.newsland.it/news
 segnala gli abusi ad 
ab...@newsland.it
 
 
 

This week the Queen idol would've been 65... now pop star Dave Clark
reveals: 'Freddie chose to die when his life stopped being fun'
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2035367/Dave-Clark-reveals-Freddie-Mercury-chose-die-life-stopped-fun.html#ixzz1XSW2mLXV
This week the Queen idol would've been 65... now pop star Dave Clark
reveals: 'Freddie chose to die when his life stopped being fun'
By Spencer Bright
Last updated at 1:54 AM on 9th September 2011
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The invitation to dinner at Freddie Mercury�s home held the promise of a
fun-filled evening for his close friend, Sixties pop idol Dave Clark.
Clark � leader of the chart-topping group The Dave Clark Five � had spent
many a happy time at the flamboyant Queen singer�s lavishly furnished
house in West London.
But when he got there, Clark was greeted with shattering news.
Freddie confided that he had been diagnosed with HIV � at that time, a
virtual certain death sentence, as indeed it was to turn out for him.
In memory: Freddie Mercury performing during Live Aid Concert at Wembley
Stadium, London, in 1985
In memory: Freddie Mercury performing during Live Aid Concert at Wembley
Stadium, London, in 1985
As the 20th anniversary of Freddie�s death looms � he died on November 24,
1991 � his friends have been celebrating what would have been his 65th
birthday this week with an AIDS charity dinner for the Mercury Phoenix
Trust at London�s Savoy Hotel, marking the start of a fund-raising year.
It is a time of poignant memories for Clark, who was alone with Freddie at
his bedside when he died.
 
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�When Freddie first told me about his illness that night, I was shocked.
He didn�t seem down about it, though I�m sure it had taken him aback.
In fact he looked great, he didn�t look ill, he looked very healthy. He
just carried on. It was only later when it started to kick in, then it was
hard.
�Freddie confided in me a lot. When he was diagnosed there were only a
handful of people who knew.
Close friends: Freddie with Dave Clarke, who spent many happy times at the
Queen singer's West London home
Close friends: Freddie with Dave Clarke, who spent many happy times at the
Queen singer's West London home
'Not even the band knew at first, and his family didn�t know. At that
stage you always believe and hope there is going to be a cure, that you�re
going to get well, you have to. You have to be positive.�
Freddie himself was a fan of Dave Clark, whose band was once seen as The
Beatles� biggest rivals.
A kind of magic: Freddie on stage in 1986
A kind of magic: Freddie on stage in 1986
The DC5, whose hits included Glad All Over and Bits And Pieces, helped
spearhead the British Invasion of America scoring 15 consecutive Top 20
hits and selling over 100&#8201;million records.
Clark and Mercury had been friends since meeting in 1976 after a Queen
concert in London�s Hyde Park, though they became close working together
in 1985 recording the soundtrack album for Clark�s musical Time, including
the title song with its poignant line �We�ve not spoken about it at all,
the  fact that time is running out for us all�.
�Freddie had tried everything. He had special new medications flown in by
Concorde from America.
He said the next generation will be the ones to beat this. And the sad
thing is if it had been 12 months later, he might have been OK when
combination drug therapy first came in.
�But he was getting frail and he decided to come off all the medication
apart from painkillers.
Freddie loved life. He lived it to the full. And towards the end, when he
realised it was no longer fun, he decided to come off medication. He was
suffering and sadly there was no way out�.
On the evening Freddie died, Clark took over the bedside vigil from Mary
Austin, Freddie�s former girlfriend and closest friend.
Also in the house were his long time and loyal friend Joe Fanelli, his
chef, Peter Freestone, his assistant and Jim Hutton, his lover.
�We made everything as comfortable as we could for Freddie. His bedroom
had an adjoining lounge and looked out on to his beautiful garden. He was
grateful for everything and for his friends.�
Clark was alone with Freddie in the bedroom when he suddenly died. �The
doctor had been there half an hour before and said he�s got a few more
days, so we didn�t expect he would die so soon,� says Clark.
I WANTED TO DIE TOO, BY BRIAN MAY
Brian May
The death of Freddie Mercury brought his close friend Queen guitarist
Brian May to the brink of suicide.
Seriously depressed by worries about his own future, exhausted after years
of touring, and unable to come to terms with the loss of Freddie, he found
himself facing a complete mental and physical breakdown.
In desperation, he booked himself into a clinic in Arizona, which he
describes as a cross between a university, a health farm and a mental
asylum.
�I regarded myself as completely sick�, he revealed to me. �I was wounded
and very much in pieces. I went into a serious depression. I was subsumed
by feelings of loss.
�Being in a touring band puts your  friends and family on hold and you�re
focused on one thing � the band. When that finishes, you�re out on a limb.
The band finished, so there was a terrible feeling of loss � the band was
my family.
'We lost Freddie and my Dad died at almost the same time. I didn�t want to
live. I�d lost myself completely.
'I coasted along and got by somehow, but I couldn�t get myself into gear.
So I had to go into this place where I was isolated and removed from my
life. Gradually, the suicidal feelings went away.�
The clinic, he says, helped him unravel his emotional problems.
�I talked about my feelings and it worked fabulously. The problem had been
me. Once I started to fix me, life started to work again.�
Freddie had confided to Brian and other members of his inner circle his
HIV diagnosis. �We lied through our teeth to protect his privacy�, says
May.
�Maybe I was in denial myself. We were all hoping a cure would be found.
But we agreed we�d make life as comfortable and as private for Freddie as
we could�. 
�We phoned Mary immediately. She lived just round the corner. It was
unexpected otherwise she would have been there.
'She had the terrible task of phoning Freddie�s parents and sister to say
he�d passed on.�
Freddie only publicly revealed his HIV/AIDS status the day before he died.
Clark defends that decision. �Because it was so stigmatised Freddie wanted
to keep it a private matter. At the time it was still looked upon as a
plague.�
Raising money for AIDS charities is close to Clark�s heart. Even before he
knew of Freddie�s status, he organised a benefit performance of his
musical Time at London�s Dominion Theatre with Cliff Richard, the show�s
star, and Freddie performing on stage together.
Clark believes he had a special friendship with Freddie as Freddie knew he
wanted nothing from him.
Clark was a visionary in the music business, producing all the DC5
recordings and owning the rights to all his music at a time when it was
unheard of.
�It surprised me that Freddie and I became such great friends because our
personalities were total opposites. But maybe I brought a bit of sanity. 
�Where we were similar was creatively. We were both perfectionists.
Freddie was very much in control of his own life, of what he recorded and
everything he did. He would come to me for advice.
'He could talk to me about his creative things and his businesses which he
couldn�t talk to other people about because he knew I had no vested
interest and I would give him an honest opinion.
'Freddie lived life to the full. He had a zest for life. He was definitely
not a sad person at all. He had his crazy parties.
'And right up until the birthday before his last he decided to have an
amazing dinner party at his house for his close friends and we had 30
courses created by his personal chef Joe Fanelli with a different wine for
each course.
�Freddie was larger than life and yet he was very kind and caring. The
thing I really miss about him is his enthusiasm. He had an amazing sense
of humour and he always made you laugh. He didn�t take life too seriously.
He lifted your spirits up.�
Freddie once said, �I don�t expect to make old bones.� But Clark dismisses
this as the sort of off-the-cuff statement any young rock star might make.
�He wanted to live. And if he was around now I�m sure he wouldn�t have
gone to seed. He was not that type of person. He was too proud. Freddie
loved taking risks, which is my philosophy too.
�His legacy will go on for ever. His songs and his recordings are
timeless. He was a creator, a revolutionary, a one-off. He would have
carried on. That�s what motivated him, his work.
�Freddie was in a lot of pain, but he never complained once. He didn�t
throw any dramas. He was very brave. He wasn�t sad. There was so much more
for him to give to the world.�
A donation has been made to the Mercury Phoenix Trust for this interview.
For further information contact 
mercuryphoenixtrust.com
 
Explore more:
People:
    Dave Clark, 
    Cliff Richard, 
    Brian May 
Places:
    London, 
    America 
Read more:
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