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"It was a pretty nasty bang": Freddie Flintoff airlifted to hospital

<p>Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff is recovering from a "nasty" accident while filming for <em>Top Gear</em>, according to his friend Piers Morgan. </p> <p>The former English cricketer, 45, was airlifted to hospital on Tuesday after receiving medical care at the scene, following a crash at an aerodrome in Surrey. </p> <p>Piers said he had spoken to Freddie's family, and said the TV host is remaining in good spirits. </p> <p>“I’m told it was a pretty serious crash and that Freddie’s going to be OK, but it might be a little bit more serious than first appreciated,” he told <em>talkSPORT</em>.</p> <p>“I’m told he’s going to be OK, which is great news, but I’m also told it was a pretty nasty bang and that he’s had surgery and is recovering now and we’ll have to wait and see."</p> <p>“I’ve been in contact with them privately but I just want to wish him and his family – Rachael, his wife – all the very best and I think we’re all just keeping our fingers crossed that the big man comes through all right.”</p> <p>It is understood that the crash did not happen at high speed, with all health and safety precautions said to have been in place.</p> <p>The health and safety watchdog said it was “aware and making inquiries” after the BBC reported the incident, as was standard procedure.</p> <p>A BBC spokesperson said at the time, “Freddie was injured in an accident at the <em>Top Gear</em> test track this morning, with crew medics attending the scene immediately. He has been taken to hospital for further treatment and we will confirm more details in due course.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Caring

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Lost Freddie Mercury song released by Queen

<p dir="ltr">Queen has released a lost song that was originally recorded in 1988, which features the late frontman Freddie Mercury.</p> <p dir="ltr">The track, titled <em>Face It Alone</em>, was written and recorded for the band’s album called <em>The Miracle</em>, but didn’t make it onto the final track listing and was shelved. </p> <p dir="ltr">The song was later rediscovered when the band’s production and archive team returned to the sessions to work on the upcoming reissue of the album. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Face It Alone</em> is the first new song released featuring Freddie Mercury since 2014’s <em>Queen Forever</em> album. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 2014 album included three previously unheard tracks with the singer: <em>Let Me In Your Heart Again</em>, <em>Love Kills</em> and <em>There Must Be More to Life Than This</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Speaking of the rediscovered track, Queen guitarist Brian May said: “I’m happy that our team were able to find this track.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“After all these years, it’s great to hear all four of us, yes, (former bass player) Deacy is there too, working in the studio on a great song idea which never quite got completed... until now.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Drummer Roger Taylor added, “We’d kind of forgotten about this track but there it was, this little gem.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s wonderful, a real discovery. It’s a very passionate piece.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The song’s resurgence comes ahead of the reissue of the band’s 13th album <em>The Miracle</em>, which was first released in 1989.</p> <p dir="ltr">The album - which included tracks<em> I Want It All</em>, <em>Breakthru</em> and <em>The Invisible Man</em> - reached number one in the UK at the time of its initial release. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Iconic horror house hits market with help of Freddy Krueger

<p dir="ltr">A piece of horror history is up for grabs, as the home featured in<span> </span><em>A Nightmare on Elm Street</em><span> </span>has been<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/house-from-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-hits-the-market-ahead-of-halloween-1098301/" target="_blank">listed for sale</a><span> </span>right before Halloween.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Los Angeles property served as the home of teenager Nancy Thompson (Heather Lagenkamp) in the classic 1984 horror flick about serial killer Freddy Krueger.</p> <p dir="ltr">Since the movie mostly used the exterior of the home - which retains its iconic green and white facade - the inside is less nightmarish than you’d expect.</p> <p dir="ltr">Inside the Dutch Colonial-style home you’ll find walnut floors throughout, patios, terraces, and French doors that open out to sights of the stunning grounds.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 640-square-metre property also comes with a detached guest house, which<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.elliman.com/california/sales/detail/512-l-564-81_21785216/1428-n-genesee-ave-spaulding-square-los-angeles-ca-90046" target="_blank">the listing</a><span> </span>describes as “charm personified”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Still, the realtors have enlisted the help of the horror icon to sell the home. On top of the typical shots of the property, agents Heather Roy and Learka Bosnak brought in a colleague<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dirt.com/gallery/locations/filming-locations/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-house-hollywood-1203432270/lb-a-nightmare-on-elm-street-house-4/" target="_blank">dressed as Freddy Krueger</a><span> </span>to appear in some additional photos while performing mundane tasks.</p> <p dir="ltr">The home has been listed by Douglas Elliman for $USD 3.25 million ($NZD 4.53 million), with offers due before the spookily appropriate date of October 31.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: New Line Cinema, Anthony Barcelo</em></p>

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“We were like brothers”: Queen’s Brian May opens up about his relationship with Freddie Mercury

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brian May, guitarist and icon of the powerhouse band Queen, recently opened up about his relationship with Freddie Mercury. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brain discussed his bond with the enigmatic Queen frontman with </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> host Karl Stefanovic, 30 years after his death. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We were like brothers. We still are," he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"There are moments when he just broke the rules and he broke the rules constantly in what he would wear and what he said to the audiences. The risks that he took."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Freddie Mercury, famously open and proud of his sexuality, died from complications after his diagnosis with AIDS in November 1991. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brian went on to say he still gets overwhelmed at the everlasting success of Queen, and still gets starstruck meeting his own musical inspirations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"To be honest with you, my heroes are still my heroes," he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"If I bump into Eric Clapton, he is my god in a sense, and I don't find it easy to talk to him because of that."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Between the years 1971 and 1991, Queen became one of the biggest names in music, selling over 200 million records, and continuing to have a huge global presence in popular culture. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brian has just released a remastered version of his debut solo studio album Back to the Light, which was first released in 1992. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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“Too frail to get out of bed”: Elton John shares Freddie Mercury’s last days before passing away

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sir Elton John has shared on Queen legend Freddie Mercury’s final days before he passed away of AIDS at the age of 45.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">John explained in his new book </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Me: Elton John</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that Mercury kept his illness a secret from him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I visited him a lot when he was dying, although I could never stay for much longer than an hour,” John remembered.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"It was too upsetting – I didn’t think he wanted me to see him like that."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He also detailed Mercury’s appearance.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"He was too frail to get out of bed, he was losing his sight, his body was covered in Kaposi's sarcoma lesions, and yet he was still definitely Freddie, gossiping away, completely outrageous.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I couldn’t work out whether he didn’t realise how close to death he was or if he knew perfectly well but was determined not to let what was happening to him stop him being himself."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">John discusses how Mercury also helped him get sober, as they pointedly told John he was overdoing it on cocaine at the height of his addiction in the 1980s.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He has now been clean for nearly three decades.</span></p>

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Exploring Freddie Mercury: The man behind the film Bohemian Rhapsody

<p>Freddie Mercury knew he was destined for something more. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KsBq9P3iuM">Classmate Chris Smith</a> recalled that Mercury sat glumly at a pub one night.</p> <p>“I’m not going to be a pop star. I’m going to be a legend!”</p> <p>And become a legend he did.</p> <p>As the front man of <em>Queen</em>, Mercury quickly shot to super stardom. With hits such as “<em>We Are The Champions</em>”, “<em>I Want To Break Free</em>” and much loved classic “<em>Bohemian Rhapsody</em>” showcasing Mercury’s vocal talent, it’s easy to see why these songs resonated with the people.</p> <p>That was just Mercury’s vocal talent. In concert, he was able to capture the attention of thousands, with an odd mix of strength, seduction, outrageous outfits as well as regal glamour in the mix.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf_WPhWg5m3/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf_WPhWg5m3/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">#Queen #freddiemercury #live #legend</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/mercury_motg/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank"> Freddie Mercury</a> (@mercury_motg) on Mar 6, 2018 at 9:15am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>It’s been more than 27 years since Mercury died of complications relating to AIDS, but some would argue he’s more popular than ever.</p> <p>This is due to the new release of <em>Bohemian Rhapsody</em>, the blockbuster film with Rami Malek portraying the late singer. The film is the highest-grossing biopic in history, with old and new fans alike falling in love with Queen.</p> <p>BBC broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, a longtime friend, told <a href="https://people.com/music/freddie-mercury-real-story-bohemian-rhapsody-queen-film/"><em>PEOPLE</em></a>:</p> <p>“Queen are even bigger than when they originally put the records out, and Freddie would love it,” Gambaccini said.</p> <p>“He would just flip his hand and say, ‘It’s fabulous, darling!’”</p> <p>As Mercury desperately tried to fill the yawning void in his soul that came with being sent to boarding school in India, which was thousands of miles away from his parents in Zanzibar, music quickly became the answer. Once the family emigrated to London, Mercury wasted no time in throwing himself into the scene of the Swinging Sixties.</p> <p>Mercury had his eyes on a trio called Smile, and once their vocalist quit, he wasted no time in showing off what he could do.</p> <p>It didn’t take long for the band to be renamed to <em>Queen</em>, which of course, was Mercury’s idea. Mercury told <a href="https://people.com/archive/the-mercury-thats-rising-in-rock-is-freddie-the-satiny-seductor-of-queen-vol-8-no-23/"><em>PEOPLE </em>in 1977</a>:</p> <p>“The whole point was to be pompous and provocative, to prompt speculation and controversy.”</p> <p>Mercury’s fashion choices are known for being equally dramatic and androgynous. Designer Zandra Rhodes, who created some of Mercury’s best-known costumes during Queen’s early period explains:</p> <p>“I think he’d seen my chiffons with feathers and exotic sleeves and extreme approach to fashion,” she tells <em>PEOPLE</em>.</p> <p>Rhodes’ most famous look for Mercury was a batwing cape shirt, which initially started off as a wedding dress.</p> <p>“He and Brian came to my tiny Bayswater attic studio, incognito. I asked Freddie to look along my rail of clothes and he chose an exotic pleated bridal top I had on the rail! He danced around in it in my studio.”</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bog7V7rFq06/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading&amp;utm_campaign=embed_locale_test" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bog7V7rFq06/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading&amp;utm_campaign=embed_locale_test" target="_blank">@ramimalek is Freddie Mercury. • #freddiemercury #queen #bohemianrhapsody @bohemianrhapsodymovie</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/mercury_motg/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading&amp;utm_campaign=embed_locale_test" target="_blank"> Freddie Mercury</a> (@mercury_motg) on Oct 4, 2018 at 7:26am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Despite his outrageous stage presence and incredible vocals, Mercury was known in his close circle to be very shy and private. Brian May told <a href="https://people.com/music/brian-may-queen-in-3d-interview/"><em>PEOPLE </em>in 2017</a>:</p> <p>“Freddie was very extrovert onstage, as we all know, but he was very shy in his private life and liked to be private,” May explained.</p> <p>“He liked those moments of just having a couple of his close friends around. We’d known each other a long time and we were almost like family. We had no airs and graces with each other.”</p> <p>Are you a fan of Queen? Let us know in the comments.</p>

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6 iconic artists whose albums flopped

<p>There’s no doubt about it, the music business is a tough one. One hit single isn’t enough to guarantee artists success – Vanilla Ice, The Knack and countless others may have had one hit album, but it was only downhill from there. For these artists, however, their “flop” album was simply a blip on an otherwise perfect record. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest and most unexpected album flops (both commercial and critical) of all time.</p> <p><strong>1. <em>Mr Bad Gu</em>y by Freddie Mercury</strong></p> <p>It’s hard to believe that the Queen front man could do anything wrong when it comes to music, but Mercury’s first solo album <em>Mr Bad Guy</em> definitely didn’t live up to expectations. While Queen’s highest-selling album cracked 7,500,000 sales, Mercury’s 1985 offering sold less than 1 million.</p> <p><strong>2. <em>Pop</em> by U2</strong></p> <p>Following the success of their previous hit albums <em>The Joshua Tree</em> and<em> Achtung Baby</em>, U2 broke away from their well-known sound in favour of more electronic- and dance-inspired elements. Despite reaching number one in 35 countries, it was poorly received by critics and sold 18 million copies less than their highest seller.</p> <p><strong>3. <em>Invincible</em> by Michael Jackson</strong></p> <p>He may have been the King of Pop, but Jackson’s final album was his most unsuccessful in his more than 40-year career. Even though it still reached number one in 11 countries, Invincible sold 10 million copies. It sounds like a lot, but when you consider <em>Thriller</em> sold 65,000,000 copies, this definitely a “flop” by the King’s standard.</p> <p><strong>4. <em>Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic</em> by Prince</strong></p> <p>Released in 1999 when he went by the unpronounceable “Love Symbol”, this album was without a doubt one of Prince’s most polarising. It received mixed reviews, failed to chart in the top 10 except for in Canada and sold less than 1 million copies, compared to the more than 20 million for Purple Rain.</p> <p><strong>5. <em>“The Spaghetti Incident?”</em> by Guns N’ Roses</strong></p> <p>They brought us the iconic 1987 song “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, but then again, they also brought us… this. Released in 1993, <em>"The Spaghetti Incident?"</em> was the last album by the band to feature Slash and Duff McKagan. It sold around five to six million copies, a poor effort compared to the more than 30 million sales of their debut.</p> <p><strong>6. <em>Self Portrait</em> by Bob Dylan</strong></p> <p>Could this be the first ever intentionally bad album in music history? 1970’s <em>Self Portrait</em> was absolutely slaughtered by critics but still managed to go gold in the US. Dylan later told Rolling Stone he made the album as a joke. “I wish these people would just forget about me. I wanna do something that can’t possibly like, they can’t relate to.”</p> <p>Do you own any of these albums? Tell us what you think of them in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/music/2016/06/unforgettable-songs-of-the-60s/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Unforgettable songs of the '60s</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/music/2016/05/actors-turned-musicians/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">7 actors we didn’t know were also musicians</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/music/2016/05/one-hit-wonders-today/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>One-hit wonders: where are they now?</strong></em></span></a></p>

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