'I can dream up all kinds of things' – a classic Freddie Mercury interview from the vaults

Quite often I have quite vicious nightmares—like the other night just before the Rainbow concert. We were sleeping in the Holiday Inn and I dreamed I went out on to the hotel balcony and the whole thing fell and I was a heap on the pavement. Really I was petrified when I woke up in the morning.

— Freddie Mercury, theguardian.com

nightmares Holiday Inn

You've got to make sure that you don't ever admit to yourself that this is your peak. If you admit to yourself that this is your peak, then you're on the way down.

— Freddie Mercury, theguardian.com

Peak excellence decline

I was a precocious child. My parents thought boarding school would do me good so they sent me to one when I was seven, dear. I look back on it and I think it was marvellous. You learn to look after yourself and it taught me to have responsibility.

— Freddie Mercury, theguardian.com

precocious Boarding School

Putting people in different categories is unfair. You have to judge people on what they are.

— Freddie Mercury, theguardian.com

Stereotyping Prejudice

The whole band is very particular. We don't go in for half measures and I'm very hard with myself. There're no compromises. If I thought a song wasn't quite right, I'd discard it. I'm very intricate and delicate.

— Freddie Mercury, theguardian.com

Obsessiveness Particular Compromise intricate Delicate

A lot of my songs are fantasy. I can dream up all kinds of things. That's the kind of world I live in.

— Freddie Mercury, theguardian.com

Fantasy Dreams Songwriting

You have to have confidence in this business. It's USELESS saying you don't need it. If you start saying to yourself, 'Maybe I'm not good enough, maybe I'd better settle for second place,' it's no good. If you like the icing on the top, you've got to have confidence.

— Freddie Mercury, theguardian.com

Confidence Music Industry

I play on the bisexual thing because it's something else, it's fun. But I don't put on the show because I feel I have to and the last thing I want to do is give people an idea of exactly who I am. I want people to work out their own interpretation of me and my image. I don't want to build a frame ar…

— Freddie Mercury, theguardian.com

Queen Homosexuality

To be honest. I'd like people to think there is no falsity in me because what I do is really my character. But I think mystique, not knowing the truth about someone, is very appealing. I'd be doing myself an injustice if I didn't wear makeup because some people think it's wrong. Even to talk about b…

— Freddie Mercury, theguardian.com

Queen Homosexuality

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