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Everyone by now must know Freddie Mercury’s story, so there’s no worries of giving away any spoilers.  This film is a ‘must see’ for any Queen fans.  It takes us back to the band’s beginning – how they formed from the band ‘Smile’, where Roger and Brian were playing pub/university gigs, and how Freddie took over when the singer decamped to join another group.

The four lookalike Queen members are very convincing as their original counterparts, although I did think Rami Malek’s (Freddie) teeth were a little over the top.  Apparently Freddie was born with 4 incisors which I learned gave him a bigger mouth and a wider vocal range.  Of course he was lip-synching, but not many people can sing like Freddie!

As their fame grew, Freddie left his erstwhile fiancée Mary Austin, announcing he was ‘bisexual’.  However, he still wanted her near him, and so she agreed to move in next door.  However, Freddie was devastated when she finally met somebody else and started a family.  As everybody knows he became promiscuous, began visiting gay bars and clubs, and eventually was diagnosed with AIDS.  He gave the sad news to his tearful band members just before they were due to play the Band Aid gig in 1985, where they stole the show.

There is a fictional character, Ray Foster, loosely based on one of the EMI executives, who true to the real-life story had doubts about releasing the 6 minute song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.  As I remember, DJ Kenny Everett loved the song and played it many times, causing Capital Radio to be flooded with calls and for EMI to eventually relent.  Some footage is also given to Freddie’s solo career, which was surprisingly unsuccessful.

The music is poundingly good, and it’s one of those feel-good films which you don’t want to end.  The only thing I hated about the whole experience was the half hour of whooshes before the film started.  Each trailer consisted of at least 20 whooshes, each one getting louder and louder.  Instead of leaving me in awe, they just caused me to want to run out!