Freddie Mercury’s Final Appearance and Queen’s Last Studio Album
Freddie Mercury made his final public appearance at the 1990 Brit Awards, joined by his Queen bandmates Roger Taylor and Brian May. It was a quiet but significant moment in music history.
Four years later, in 1995, Queen released their final studio album, Made In Heaven. It featured songs Mercury recorded during the final months of his life. Guitarist Brian May reflected on the album in an interview with MOJO magazine, calling it “quite possibly the best album we ever made as a Queen album.”
May described the experience of finishing the album as almost spiritual. “There’s so much of Freddie in that record,” he said. “It often felt like he was still in the studio with us—not in a sorrowful way, but with joy. We’d be working on a part and almost hear ourselves asking, ‘What do you think about that, Fred?’ It truly felt like he was present.”
One of the most poignant tracks on Made In Heaven is A Winter’s Tale, the last song Mercury wrote entirely on his own. It’s a reflective, Christmas-inspired ballad that captures his awe for life’s simple beauty—even as he faced the end.
May remembered how Mercury composed the song in Montreux, Switzerland, in a lakeside cottage the band called “The Duck House.” “The amazing thing,” May said, “is that even though Freddie knew he didn’t have long to live, there’s no trace of sadness or self-pity in the lyrics. It’s just a beautiful observation of life.”
When it came time to record the guitar solo for A Winter’s Tale, May said he imagined himself right there with Mercury. “I had the solo in my head long before I played it. I recorded it in my home studio, but mentally I was back in Montreux with Freddie during those moments.”
May also admitted that listening to those songs from Mercury’s final days brings up a mix of emotions. “There are times you hear the pain in his voice, and that’s tough,” he shared. “But those are sacred moments too—the times when the music just flowed and we got lost in it. So now, I really treasure listening to them. I’ve come full circle.”